Bluegrass King

by Janet Dailey

"You didn't actually think you were the only girl Barrett was seeing, did you?" Marshall jeered. "He's just been seeing you because he felt some misguided sense of responsibility toward you."

Dani never doubted that Marshall knew what he was talking about. Information like that was his specialty.

Dani had been slow to realize that she was in love with Barrett King. Now the futility of that love swept over her. How could she face the rest of her life without him?

Genres: Romance, Contemporary Romance, Harlequin, Fiction, Category Romance, Harlequin Presents, Contemporary

Mass Market Paperback

Published February 1, 1987

About the author

Janet Anne Haradon Dailey was an American author of numerous romance novels as Janet Dailey (her married name). Her novels have been translated into nineteen languages and have sold over 300 million copies worldwide.

Born in 1944 in Storm Lake, Iowa, she attended secretarial school in Omaha, Nebraska before meeting her husband, Bill. Bill and Janet worked together in construction and land development until they "retired" to travel throughout the United States, inspiring Janet to write the Americana series of romances, where she set a novel in every state of the Union. In 1974, Janet Dailey was the first American author to write for Harlequin. Her first novel was NO QUARTER ASKED.

She had since gone on to write approximately 90 novels, 21 of which have appeared on the New York Times Bestseller List. She won many awards and accolades for her work, appearing widely on Radio and Television. Today, there are over three hundred million Janet Dailey books in print in 19 different languages, making her one of the most popular novelists in the world.

Janet Dailey passed away peacefully in her home in Branson on Saturday, December 14, 2013. She was 69.

Reviews

[*CJ* · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Bluegrass King" is the story of Dani and Barrett.

An unusual story with a sweet ending!

Our h is a young, unkempt filly who lives and breathes horses at her small ranch in Kentucky. When her beloved horse is shot after being injured in a rice, her father walks away from her, asking her to find herself and become a woman. She blames the whole incident on the H, her neighbor who wanted her horse and whom she always hated.
She is approached by OM, who tells her she has the features to be a model and the h soon agrees to give it a try. She soon has a duckling to swan transformation, and finds the H a constant presence in her life, a secure link to her past.
Soon the h is torn between a glamorous woman she is told to be, and the innocent soul she is...between two men in different worlds.

Nice book with h trapped between two men. The H was smitten, the OM demanding. We knew the h's preference from the start and after some drama, the book ended on a sweet note.

Enjoyed it!

Safe h is kissed by OM
3/5

[Debbie DiFiore · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very sweet story about a tomboy who becomes a model with two men after her. One was trying to change her into someone different and one who loved her spirit. They both loved her. I actually felt sorry for the other guy even though he was kind of a manipulator but I think he really did care for her. But she totally loved the H from the start. She was gruff with him and sometimes downright hateful but it was because she was crushing on him I think. Loved the ending. Wish there could have been an epilogue though.

[Julie (Let's Read Good Books)]

DNF

My teenaged self loved Janet Dailey and this book; my adult self, not so much. Dani's dislike for Barrett is unreasonable, and her hostility towards him is immature. He's correct when he labels her a brat. This is a NOPE for me now, though at one time I enjoyed this book.

[Becky Underwood Baldwin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoy reading books based on where I live. Short read. Great read.

[Tina Hornak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Memories

This was the very first Janet Daily novel that I read as a teenager (borrowing from Grandma's precious set of Harlequins). I am so happy to have read it again.

[Naksed · Rating 2 out of 5]

In Kentucky, an angry-at-the-world, teenaged heroine is torn between the Svengali who turned her from a rough country tomboy into a glamorous model overnight, and the rancher who shares her love of horses, but who she does not trust. This was a boring story with a demon spawn from hell female character and an enigmatic hero with an incomprehensible patience for her temper-tantrumy ways. Typical of a 1970s romance, there is a big age gap, and the conflict is all internal and caused by the heroine's immature, illogical neuroses. What was the big grudge she had against the hero? He swindled her father out of money? No. He seduced her and left her with a Seekret Illegitimate Baybee? Nope. He caused the accident that killed her mother? Wrong. The only bad thing she held against him is that he wanted at one time to buy her father's prize horse, which her father said no, and the hero was like, okay. Then, the horse subsequently perished in an accident and this bitch starts pummeling the hero, who had nothing to do with the accident, and screaming that he is to blame. Guuuuuuuuurl. She had no resentment or anger for the dad who abandoned her or the slimy OM who manipulated her, just the hero? smh

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

To be honest, the plot is a little nonsensical--her father just suddenly up and leaves her because he think he's a failure and some rich guy sees her face in a newspaper and decides that he's going to turn her into a model--but Dani is the kind of fiesty that I like, and Barrett (our love interest) is never interested in changing her, which is what I was worried was going to happen. In fact, Barrett is a nice change of pace from the last couple Janet Dailey love interests: he's not a controlling rage monster, he actually apologizes to Dani the few times he does get mad, he's not forcing himself on her at every turn in order to create ~chemistry~. Dani and Barrett's relationship grows gradually--or at least as gradually as one can in 180something pages--and it's a sweet romance.

This is the kind of Janet Dailey that I like, cheesy and sweet.

[RomLibrary · Rating 3 out of 5]

She’d made such a fool of herself. “You didn’t actually think you wer the only girl Barrett was seeing, did you?” Marshall jeered. “He’s just been seeing you because he felt some misguided sense of responsibility toward you.” Dani never doubted that Marshall knew what he was talking about. Information like that was his specialty. Dani had been slow to realize that she was in love with Barrett King. Now the futility of that love swept over her. How could she face the rest of her life without him?

[Jo Watson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gets a bit dodgy at one point (and by dodgy I mean rapey). That seems to be common in books from the 80’s, a scary cave-man moment. In another book from this series the heroine finds her independence and her own path to happiness only to immediately discard it for marriage. This followed the same theme. Love and marriage is a great Happily Ever After but it’s not the only one and there seems to be little compromise.

[Debby · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an oldie from 1977. He takes his time with her. They listen to music and build a relationship. There was another man interested in her who had too big a part in the book. It was sweet, but also a little bit boring when she does what her dad wants her to do.

[Jaci · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rushed to digital?

Full of misspellings and grammatical errors. I think it was rushed too quickly to digital.

This is a very short book with limited character development.

[Kellie Westley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love it

I'm falling in love again with your books great read fun character. Love your stories for years. Can't believe I miss this one

[Jill Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bluegrass King actually had a likeable male love interest. Of course, the book was typical fluff-beautiul , too rough male, but at least I could like the characters.