Texas Glory - Jalan Kebahagiaan

Texas Trilogy #2

by Lorraine Heath, Elliyanti Jacob Saleh (Translator)

Dallas Leigh bertekad untuk terus membangun kesuksesannya. Tapi semua kerja kerasnya terancam sia-sia, kecuali ia memiliki seorang anak laki-laki guna menjadi pewarisnya. Untuk itu ia membutuhkan seorang istri, sayangnya hanya sedikit wanita yang ada di Leighton. Dallas akhirnya menemukan jawaban atas persoalannya tersebut pada keluarga McQueen, musuh yang telah berselisih dengannya selama tiga tahun terakhir.

Cordelia Jane McQueen, alias Dee, yang cantik dan pemalu, tahu bahwa sudah takdirnya untuk hidup di balik bayang-bayang pria seperti ayah dan kakak laki-lakinya. Hatinya hancur ketika sang ayah yang telah berjanji untuk melindunginya malah menukarnya dengan sebidang tanah dan akses untuk menguasai air. Terlalu takut melawan ayahnya, Dee bersedia menikahi Dallas meskipun ia hanya pernah mendengar keburukan pria itu.Dallas berpikir bahwa mimpinya akan segera jadi kenyataan, tapi ia menyadari bahwa butuh waktu lama untuk mendapatkan kepercayaan istrinya. Dee, di sisi lain, terkejut ketika mengetahui bahwa Dallas bukanlah pria seperti yang dikatakan keluarganya kepadanya. Ia juga heran dengan besarnya kebebasan yang diberikan Dallas, dan sedikit demi sedikit ia mulai menyayangi suaminya itu.

Akankah penyatuan dua orang asing bisa menciptakan kebahagiaan? Mampukah Dee mengalahkan rasa takutnya dan menjadikan dirinya bagian dari mimpi Dallas? Bersediakah Dallas menyerahkan kepercayaannya kepada Dee dan mencintai wanita itu apa adanya?

Genres: Historical Romance, Romance, Westerns, Historical, Western Romance, Marriage Of Convenience, Historical Fiction

472 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1998

About the author

Also writes Young Adult under Rachel Hawthorne, Jade Parker, and with her son as J.A. London.

Lorraine Heath has always had a soft spot for emotional love stories. No doubt because growing up, watching movies with her mom, she was taught that the best movies "won't half make you cry."​​​​​​​

She is the daughter of a British beauty (her mom won second place in a beauty contest sponsored by Max Factor® during which she received a kiss from Caesar Romero, (the Joker on the original Batman TV series) and a Texan who was stationed at Bovingdon while serving in the air force. Lorraine was born in Watford, Hertfordshire, England, but soon after moved to Texas. Her "dual" nationality has given her a love for all things British and Texan, and she enjoys weaving both heritages through her stories.

When she received her BA degree in psychology from the University of Texas, she had no idea she had gained a foundation that would help her to create believable characters—characters that are often described as “real people.” She began her career writing training manuals and computer code for the IRS, but something was always missing. When she read a romance novel, she became not only hooked on the genre, but quickly realized what her writing lacked: rebels, scoundrels, and rogues. She's been writing about them ever since.

Her work has been recognized with numerous industry awards including RWA's RITA®. Her novels have appeared on bestseller lists, including ​​​​​​​USA TODAY and the New York Times.

The author of more than 60 novels, she writes historical and contemporary romance for adults and historical romance for teen readers.

Under the names Rachel Hawthorne and Jade Parker, she writes popular contemporary, historical, and paranormal r​​omance for teens readers. She also writes young adult novels with her son under the name J. A. London.

Reviews

[UniquelyMoi ~ BlithelyBookish · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finally on Kindle!!!

I know people, including myself, who paid a small fortune on eBay for used copies of these books, but I just discovered they're FINALLY available got kindle! These 3 books are seriously 3 of my favorite historical romances, and worth every penny! And yes, I'll be buying them again!

Texas Destiny http://amzn.to/1HA0eD0
Texas Glory http://amzn.to/1Lmm1if
Texas Splendor http://amzn.to/1FExUQA

My review...

Texas Glory is the second book in Lorraine Heath’s Texas Trilogy and to be honest, I just wasn’t sure how much I’d enjoy it because the first book, Texas Destiny was such an amazing read that I didn’t see how this one could possibly compare. Well, I’m glad to say my fears were for naught. This was, quite simply put, an incredibly emotional story. I liked Dallas in the first book, but I love him now!

In Texas Destiny, Dallas Leigh stood and watched - not without putting up a fight, however - as his own mail-order bride fell in love with his younger brother, Houston, and his dream of having a son to pass his legacy onto slip through his fingers. Now, while his dream might have been temporarily waylaid, it was not forgotten! His all consuming desire for a son has Dallas taking advantage of a water rights feud with Angus McQueen, a neighboring rancher, and offering to marry his daughter, Cordelia, in exchange for the right to use water on Dallas’ land. It certainly isn’t a love match, and rumor has it that not only is Cordelia homely, she also lost her nose in a tragic accident. But the way Dallas sees it – as long as she gives him a son, he doesn’t care what she looks like!

I’m not going to go into the plot other than to say it’s pretty brutal sometimes. Gunfights, robbery, murder, and attempted murder… this book has everything we've come to expect from the Wild West, including a child abuse of the most heartbreaking kind. We're introduced to Rawley Cooper, a young boy whose story broke my heart, and I sobbed for what that child was forced to live through. Thank God for Dallas and his kindness, compassion and his sense of justice, and Cordelia for her unconditional love.

Texas Glory, like Texas Destiny, is a wonderful story. Heartwarming tales of the trials of frontier living, the love of family, and the joy of finding your happily ever after in the most unlikely of ways.

[Colette · Rating 3 out of 5]

“A hundred years from now, everything I’ve worked so hard to build will be nothing more than dust blowing in the wind, but if I can spend my life loving you, I’ll die a wealthy man, a contented man.”

Dallas Leigh has almost everything that a man can ask for except a son to share his legacy with. As he isn’t getting any younger, he feels it is time to look for a wife who can fulfill his last dream in his already successful life. Enter Cordelia McQueen, the daughter of another family who have been feuding with Dallas over land and water rights. He thinks the perfect solution is right in front of him: marry the girl and solve his problems. He’ll give her family the access to his land, and she’ll be his wife to bear his children. What he didn’t prepare himself for is another difficulty, such as winning his wife’s love and earning her trust…and building the family he had always dreamt of.

Texas Glory is the second book from Lorraine Heath’s Texas Trilogy. This is a book set in the 1880s and obviously in Texas. It tells the story of Dallas Leigh and Cordelia Mcqueen who couldn’t have been more different from one another. For quite some time, I’ve had the biggest book slump. I never know what to read anymore, and I can’t seem to be invested in the books I try to read. I picked this up without reading book one of the series because I felt I would have liked this so much better and it wouldn’t have been hard to understand. Of course, it managed to stand alone but by the time I finished, I had a nagging thought that maybe I should’ve read book 1 instead. Maybe I would have liked that book much better. To be fair, it seems that the problem is me and not the books I read. This one has so many five stars rating so I was excited and had high expectations…but alas…alas… I wasn’t completely satisfied. Which sucks big time!

I never quite warmed up to the heroine. I guess the reason is that she was not what I was expecting. I think her character isn’t as compelling as what I’ve hoped for. Cordelia or Dee as she likes it got on my nerves for most part of the book. She was a virtual prisoner of her father’s home meaning she was overly sheltered to the point of being very ignorant. Lorraine Heath is an excellent HR author but this is one heroine I can’t get behind. For a rather large portion of the book, she was fearful of everything and most especially her husband and honestly it got tiring. She didn’t have a mind of her own and formed her opinions regarding the hero based on what her family told her. She blatantly showed again and again how she preferred other people’s company than her husband who was actually trying to build a relationship with her while she was not even close to trying. I guess I didn’t like how she let fear get the worst out of her. Then suddenly we are supposed to believe that she has this genius idea of building a hotel which was so random, by the by. It also didn’t help that she assumed things instead of actually communicating with her husband. It was so frustrating. I would have loved her more if she did things to show her willingness to make the relationship work but I felt none of that. She might be other people’s cup of tea, but she most definitely wasn’t mine.

What made this book a bit more bearable is the hero, Dallas Leigh. I haven’t read book 1 so I am certain I might have missed some character build up from there but from what I know, he had a mail order bride who fell in love with his brother Houston instead. This book is some five years after that event, I believe. From the very first chapter, the loneliness coming from this man was very obvious. He built an empire and he wanted a child, more specifically, a son to share that legacy with. It can be said that he is a wealthy man that seemed to have it all and yet hungered for a simple thing: love and a family of his own. I wasn’t willing to DNF this book even when I wasn’t so sure about the heroine because I wanted to see how Dallas’s story would unfold and how he would get his happily ever after. I loved this hero. He was such a good big brother and by now I think it is quite obvious that I have a thing for responsible and caring men. Beneath his gruff exterior, he was honestly a very sweet and gentle man. Quoting the heroine, Such a strong hand, with a gentle touch. Such a strong man, with a tender heart. That’s basically him. He wasn’t perfect as well, he had his faults in the beginning but he did try to make the marriage work which is why I loved him. He put in the effort and did what he can to keep his wife happy and that’s honestly all I can ask for in a romantic hero. Loved how he protected her and cared for her. I loved his relationship with his family, especially with his niece Maggie. The reader can see how he would obviously be a good father. This is one of the rare moments when a historical romance hero actually wants a family from the very beginning so that’s refreshing! I can’t say anything more except he was really sweet and considerate for the people he cares for in his life which is 100% the reason I loved him.

I now realize that I am not really the biggest fan of books where the main plot would be about the couple’s marital problems, especially when the problem is miscommunication/ misunderstanding. I most definitely prefer the courting part / forbidden romance in HRs. When the couple is already married, the excitement isn’t there any more plus their failure to communicate properly drives me insane. This one is forced marriage [I think] since the heroine didn’t really have much say in the matter. I find that arranged marriage / marriage of convenience works better for me as the couple mostly share a common ground. I was mostly frustrated by the fact that the heroine was always fearful of everyone and most especially the hero and how she quickly assumed things without actually talking to Dallas. The hero might be quite frustrating to some since he didn’t voice out his feelings as well but he sure as hell showed it in many other ways / ways he knew best. That’s the difference. He tries and shows how he cared for her meanwhile the heroine just exists and I found her very lacking and couldn’t quite figure out why Dallas loved her. Sorry.

It seems Lorraine Heath knew that I was losing interest and that’s when she decided to add this side character who became an important person in the couple’s life. I felt very sorry for Rawley and found myself shedding tears for him. If I am being honest, he made the book more interesting when I felt my interest dwindle.The last few chapters were full of angst and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel anything. I was simultaneously frustrated while also feeling for the hero and heroine’s loss. In the end, I still think this could have been better. I am sure it’s more of an “It’s me, not the book” problem since Lorraine Heath is a great HR author and this book is loved by many. I just have to love both main characters or else the book won’t do it for me. In this case, I only loved the hero, which is too bad since it affected my enjoyment of the book. I might go back and read book 1 and then the rest as well. But I am not sure it’ll be any time soon. With all that said, I think even this book which is not my favorite work from Heath is still better than other books in the genre so I am not regretful of the fact that I finally read one of the books from this trilogy. I always appreciate how Lorraine Heath never forgets to write an epilogue. It’s always a good treat!

Some quotes:

“I’ll never love any of them as much as I love you. I know that as surely as I know the sun will come up in the morning.”

He had kissed her before, so many times before, but never like this‥ as though her mouth were the only one he’d ever known, as though her lips were the only ones he’d ever teased, as though her kiss were the only one that would ever satisfy him.

“Instead I discovered that I didn’t even know what glory was, not until you smiled at me for the first time with no fear in your eyes.”

[Floripiquita · Rating 5 out of 5]

El primer libro de esta serie me gustó muchísimo y este segundo libro me ha parecido también maravilloso. Me encantan los hermanos Leigh, la relación que tienen entre ellos y lo mucho que se quieren y se apoyan.

Texas Glory narra la relación entre Dallas y Dee, dos personas que no pueden ser más opuestas entre sí pero que acaban teniendo muchos sueños en común. Su relación empieza como un matrimonio de conveniencia y termina en una preciosa historia de amor, tras muchos malos entendidos y acontecimientos que te desgarran el corazón.

El segundo libro de la serie Texas Destiny también es un canto al amor en todas sus formas y cómo este nos ayuda a superar lo que creemos insuperable, incluso la cara mas fea y vil del ser humano. Lorraine Heath toca temas difíciles de una manera tan sensible en esta novela, que no puedo más que felicitarla.

Ahora, a por las historias de Austin y Rawley, un personaje que me ha llegado al corazón.

#RitaHeath #RetoRita4

[Jane Stewart · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don’t like books where most of the conflict is based on mis-communication and inaccurate assumptions.

He loves her but never says the words. So she thinks he does not love her, so she’s going to leave. But she won’t tell him why. So he thinks she does not love him. He lets her go without saying anything. Of course this just confirms to her that he doesn’t care.

Another example. She was a virgin. When they have sex for the first time, she thinks he feels pain based on his grunts and groans. So she says we don’t need to have anymore sex. He thinks she doesn’t want him. So now they don’t have sex for a long time.

When he does nice things for her, she says to herself, he’s not doing it for me, he’s doing it for this other reason.

The book does not elicit romantic feelings. So then the author brings in a secondary story about an abused boy. His father sells him for sex, beats him, and starves him. I had tears during that part of the book. And I was happy for how things turned out for the boy. But I felt manipulated. The author couldn’t engage my emotions with the hero and heroine, so she added the child abuse story to get me to cry. Not sure I wanted that.

THE SERIES:
I gave 3 ½ stars to book 1 “Texas Destiny.” I did not like books 2 and 3 “Texas Glory” and “Texas Splendor.”

DATA:
Narrative mode: 3rd person. Story length: 278 pages. Swearing language: mild including religious swear words. Sexual language: none to mild. Number of sex scenes: 4. Setting: 1881 to 1884 West Texas. Copyright: 1998. Genre: western historical romance.

[Gloria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dallas is an ambitious, no nonsense empire builder: his ranch is huge and prosperous, the town he started is growing, the railroad is coming. The only dream he has yet to achieve is the most important one of all, the one without which all the rest would be meaningless: a son to share it with and to carry forth after he is gone. He’d gotten himself a mail order bride in book one of the series but she and his brother had fallen in love, so he stepped aside. Women are scarce. When his land dispute with the neighboring McQueen brothers turns violent and he hears they have a reclusive 26-year-old sister no one knows about, he decides to offer marriage to end the feud and acquire the necessary female to deliver him a son.

Cordelia is a passive prisoner of the male members of her family, but still feels betrayed to be traded to a man she’s never met for water rights and land. Bizarrely, she blames Dallas for making her father and brothers the offer instead of her family for taking it. She resents him. She’s frightened of him. She hides in her room. She doesn’t speak. She wants to leave.

And she’s stuck in frightened and unhappy mode for a long, long time. While Dallas is growing a heart and a conscience and trying to figure out how to befriend his new wife, Cordelia is withdrawn, fearful, and wary with Dallas, but friendly and cheerful with everyone else in his family. I felt bad for Dallas, and I don’t normally have much sympathy for a man who views a woman as a commodity, at least initially. I couldn’t help but think that I would be enjoying the book so much more if Dallas was battling a she-lion who gave him tit for tat instead of a mouse he needed to handle with kid gloves.

Eventually Cordelia softens toward Dallas, who has already found himself anxious to please her for reasons unrelated to getting an heir. They begin to spend time together and to enjoy an intimate relationship, which leads to even deeper feelings, but Dallas claims he doesn’t have words and Cordelia talks to everyone but him. This is when lack of communication becomes the catalyst for the rest of the novel.

They handle tragedy individually, without words of comfort. They silently live separate lives. Danger threatens, dire injuries are sustained…still no expression of feelings. In the vacuum created by the absence of communication, suppositions arise about what the other person wants or needs. Unilateral decisions are made, decisions that spell heartbreak for everyone involved.

This is written as well as it could possibly be and broke my heart to read it, but it was also frustrating and caused me to wonder: if two people can’t communicate any better than this after being married for almost a year, should they really be together?

3.5 stars, rounded up for quality, but if a quivering heroine or lack of communication irritates you, you might want to skip this one.

[Pepa · Rating 4 out of 5]

https://masromance.blogspot.com/2019/... completa:

3.75 Una historia más compleja de lo que parece,
Cuando leo una novela en inglés siempre me queda la sensación de que en castellano la puntuación sería mayor. Me sigue costando y eso me da un poco de rabia. Por eso lo indico. Para que se tenga en cuenta.
Dallas me ha sorprendido mucho como personaje. Algo frío y calculador en la novela anterior, aquí es todo lo contrario. Creo que una lectura independiente puede hacer que el lector pierda los motivos que lo han llevado a actuar como actúa, ya que la autora lo explica en la entrega anterior y aquí casi ni se comenta.
Me ha costado más el crecimiento de ella. Pasa de ser una mujer extremadamente apocada y tímida a tener un arrojo que me cuesta que haya adquirido en tan pocos meses. aunque la idea es muy bonita
Una lectura mucho más tierna con una historia de amor bonita y en la que la autora no abusa del dramatismo pese a la dureza de algunas escenas
Creo que son novelas con matices muy destacables y en los que la maestría de la autora se refleja en pequeñas frases que dicen tanto

[Viri · Rating 5 out of 5]

No puedo con lo bonito que fue este libro. NO PUEDOOOOOOOOOO

Es que esta señora sabe como hacerlos MYYYY GOSHHHH...


No hay reseña que valga, en serio, solo léanlo y disfruten.


4.5 solo por la cosa de la nariz del principio jajajaj

[Melanie A. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audio: 5 STARS!
Story: 4.5 STARS!

"I wouldn't like living my life around a woman's wants and needs."

"If you loved her as much as I love Amelia, you'd like it just fine."

It's official: Lorraine Heath and I are two peas in a pod. :D

While Dallas and Cordelia weren't as likable as Houston and Amelia from book 1, this author's sense of romance easily won me over. All the feels, high drama, and romance, romance, romance.

And the narration! Eva Kaminsky is just incredible.

On to book 3 ===> IMMEDIATELY!

[Becky (romantic_pursuing_feels) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Note: Some of my goodreads shelves can be spoilers

Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Readability: 📖📖📖📖
Feels: 🦋🦋🦋
Emotional Depth: 💔💔💔💔
Sexual Tension: ⚡⚡⚡
Romance: 💞💞💞
Sensuality: 💋💋💋
Sex Scene Length: 🍑🍑🍑
Steam Scale (Number of Sex Scenes): 🔥🔥🔥 (I think? My notes aren’t good)
Humor: A bit
Perspective: third person from both hero and heroine, and a little bit from a side character
More character focused or plot focused? character
How did the speed of the story feel? slow to medium
When mains are first on page together: Not too far in – 8% (chapter 2 of 22)
Cliffhanger: No, this has a happily ever for the mains
Epilogue: Yes
Format: listened to audiobook from library (Hoopla)
Why I chose this book: I saw it on Hoopla and liked book 1 so decided to continue the series.
Mains: This is a M/F relationship between a cishet hero and heroine
(Descriptions found at end of my review)

Should I read in order?
Ideally yes because Dallas has a decent character in that book and this is his book.

Basic plot:
All Dallas wants is a son – and he bargains for a wife when the opportunity arises.

Give this a try if you want:
- late 1800s, America - 1881
- Texas, USA setting
- arranged marriage – the hero makes a deal with the heroine’s brother – a wife in exchange for water access
- hero wants a wife and a son
- rancher hero
- bit of rival families feel – the heroine’s family feels they are owed the hero’s land
- taller heroine – she’s up to his nose
- pets – heroine rescues a prairie dog
- lack of communication is a big factor here
- medium steam – this one was actually way steamier than I expected after reading book 1. The scenes were a touch longer and there was multiple of them throughout the book – I didn’t keep the best track but think there’s at least 3? They ARE on the shorter side still

Ages:
- I think the hero is 35 and heroine is 26? My memory might be faulty – I was listening and not taking notes

First line:
Dreams.

My thoughts:
I honestly didn’t know how I’d like this one after reading book 1. I guess I didn’t love Dallas after reading that story? I just was kind of leery. And I was so surprised how much I started out loving this story. The first third or so was soooo good to me. Dallas was so sweet and gentle and understanding with Dee. And I loved the arranged marriage.

But it was soon after they were married I just started getting annoyed and it never got better. They both start to love each other. But neither will say it. And both are hinting around that they want to believe each other will love them. But neither will reassure the other. And they will say little hints and the other will walk away morosely because alas, the love will never happen. It was so annoying to me – it was like the whole book was a giant miscommunication/lack of communication and it got old for me.

Then the ending just went bonkers with every plot thing you could think of. I really dislike books that stuff all this drama at the very end of a book especially after such a slog and I just want them to talk to each other. There’s child sex trafficking and abuse, there’s physical assault of the heroine resulting in a miscarriage, there’s a kidnapping and physical abuse of the hero, threats on the heroines life by her own family and a miracle baby in the epilogue after she was told she’d never have more children. It was A LOT and the romance and couple just got lost for me. I was just ready for this one to be over sadly.

Few random reading stats for this author
# of books read: 13
Average rating from me: 3.62
Favorite book: Lord of Wicked Intentions

Content warnings: These should be taken as a minimum of what to expect. It’s very possible I have missed some.

- parental loss
- remembrances of domestic abuse resulting in extreme disability of heroine’s mother
- attempted sexual assault of a side character (from their point of view)
- miscarriage on page
- physical assault of heroine resulting in miscarriage
- kidnapping and torture of hero
Author content warnings? Nothing mentioned on audio


Locations of kisses/intimate scenes, safe sex aspects, consent, pregnancy/child in the story: My note taking was bad and I definitely missed some

Safe sex: No
How’s the consent? It’s pretty good – the heroine might not have wanted the marriage but the acts are consensual
Pregnancy/children in story? Pregnancy is a focus of this story – the hero really wants a son. There children that have page time (nieces, orphaned children). Heroine does fall pregnant and have a miscarriage on page and then goes on to have a miracle baby in the epilogue after the doctor told her she wouldn’t have any more kids

Chapter 3 (? I think? I didn’t take notes at this point) – kiss
Chapter 12 – kisses, missionary (v loss for her)
Chapter 14 – kisses, missionary (it’s pretty light)
Chapter 21 - kisses, missionary (it's very light and short)
I think there’s there’s another at the hotel bridal suite
Total chapters: 21 and an epilogue


Extra stuff like what my review breakdown means, where to find me, and book clubs


Full break down on what my ratings above mean here:
Overall: How I felt about it everything considered!
Readability: How ‘readable’ was the book? Did I fly through it? Did I have to tell myself to pick it back up repeatedly? Were any passages confusing? (I will probably score like (1) is literally unreadable due to formatting/typing errors, etc (2) There were lots of errors that made it difficult to read OR It was extremely confusing and I had to reread passages to make sense of it OR I disliked it so much I had to bribe myself to keep reading (3) I didn’t really want to keep reading and would have preferred to abandon the read and start something else OR some minor continuity issues/confusion (4) I liked it fine, maybe a minor error or 2. I was happy to pick it up when I had time. (5) I never wanted to put this down. I thought about it when I wasn’t reading it. I hid in the bathroom from my kids to read. I threw inappropriate food at my children for dinner so I could read instead.)
Feels: Totally subjective to each person but did the book give me any tingles? Any butterflies? Did it rip my heart out (in a good way?)
Emotional depth: How well do I feel I know the characters at the end? How much did I feel their emotions throughout the story?
Sexual tension: Again, subjective, but how strong was the wanting and longing to me between the characters? A book might have strong sexual tension without a single touch.
Romance: Was there romance? Did romantic things happen? This can be actions/words/thoughts of the characters and again is subjective.
Sensuality: This is how the intimate scenes are written. Kisses and sexual scenes – how sensual were they? Were they on the mechanical side? Was there emotional pull tied in? Were the details explicit or flowery? These are subjective but generally (1) too short to get a good judgement (2) not all what I'm looking for - very vague or flowery prose (3) either not explicit enough or not enough emotional pull (too mechanical/physically descriptive without the emotions) (4) what I love in a scene (5) absolute perfection - perfect balance of emotional longing and explicit descriptions
Sex Scene Length: How long the bedroom scenes are (generally (1) is 1-3 sentences (2) is a few paragraphs to a page-ish (3) is about average, a few pages (4) more well developed scenes, quite a few pages with descriptions (5) the majority of the book takes place in the bedroom. This is always hard to tell for me on audio!
Steam Scale: Generally, each flame is a scene. If scenes are super close together I sometimes combine them. If a scene is super short or so vague I don’t know what’s happening, I don’t count it. There’s some levels of grey but generally the number of flames is how many sex scenes there are (I max out at 5 so I’ll put a + after if there’s more than that)


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Book Clubs
The Ton and the Tartans (Historical Romance)
Upturned Petticoats and Undone Cravats (Historical Romance with Steam Requirements)
A Love Less Ordinary (Science Fiction, Paranormal, Monster, Fantasy)
Modern Manuscripts (Contemporary Romance)
Words for the Wicked (Contemporary Romance with Steam Requirements)
Vintage Romance (Old School Romance – published 2000 and prior)

[Zoe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ahhhhh it hurts to know that I could have loved the book but somehow something was not right.

When I started this book I thought, oh I think I am going to like Dallas's story better than Houston. A marriage of convenience, Dallas and Cordelia both sound extremely promising, what is not to like?

Then Cordelia's fears started to get on my nerves. I tried to be more understanding of her fears, but even I got annoyed. Dallas was a saint. Cordelia's character started out fine, but once she married Dallas, she kept thinking about how she "could not stay". She was too fearful in the beginning of the marriage, then too much of a ambitious woman once she started with her hotel plan, which Dallas kind of "allowed" to happen. I could see what Lorraine Heath was doing: Cordelia was transforming from a fearful woman to a woman of her own mind, from having little self-esteem to feeling confident and in control of her destiny. I respect that, but I found it hard to relate to her personal growth. The kind of woman that she was turning to seems too much like a managing sort. And I do despise a manaing sort of a woman. Like I said, I respect her aspirations but find her goal hard to relate to.

Dallas wanted a son. This was a theme from book 1. So I was half afraid from the beginning that he would not get his heart's wish. I won't go into details because that would be spoilerish. While I understood why Heath wrote the story this way, I secretly wish for another ending for Dallas and Cordelia. If we could not have our happily ever after with all our wishes fulfilled in a romance novel, where are we ever going to find it?

I am glad that I read the book. It was a good story with intriguing characters. I could not relate to Cordelia but that was a personal thing. However I feel that the story was stuck in some kind of a limbo: it could have been really great but somehow could not get there. It just dangled between "good" and "could have been good". I feel that Dallas and Cordelia did not have enough foundation for their "coming together" to be special. And the drama with the pregnancy and Cordelia's despicable brothers were just too over the top and pushed the relationship into the shadow.

I feel this is really quite a shame. Dallas deserves a better story, from where I see it. But from this book's high rating, I guess most people are happy with his HEA. I for one, wish that he had a different story.

[Lyn❤Loves❤Listening to Real Voices Only!!!!❤️🎧📚 Addict ON HIATUS · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audio - 5 + stars
Story - 3.5 stars

[Julianna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reviewed for THC Reviews
"4.5 stars" I ended up having a difficult time rating Texas Glory, because I really enjoyed almost everything about the story, but was rather frustrated by one element. As with her other books that I've read, Lorraine Heath once again showed her masterful understanding of the human psyche by creating relatable characters and taking them on a believable journey of self-discovery. The road that takes them there is not always perfect and filled with bliss. The author makes her characters go through some heartache along the way too, which helps them to grow and change in a positive way. In the end, I felt like everything was perfect, even the bad stuff, because it all happened for a good reason. In this way, Ms. Heath manages to bring an amazing amount of depth to both her characters and her stories, making them a joy for me to read. The one and only thing that bothered me about the book, is how distant Dallas and Cordelia are from each other pretty much right up until the end. The previous book in the series, Texas Destiny, had this intense and vibrant romantic quality to it that was brought about through the personalities of the hero and heroine and how they interacted with each other. Dallas and Cordelia are just two very different characters whose personalities didn't really lend themselves to that more swoon-worthy quality. Even during their more romantic moments, it still felt like there was a barrier between them, making it difficult to feel that really deep connection. Both could be head-strong, stubborn and pretty clueless, especially Dallas. This led to a lot of misunderstandings and miscommunication that didn't get resolved until it was nearly too late, and it caused them to not be able to fully embrace their love for one another until the end. Normally this would drive me crazy in a romance novel, but I found myself being a little more forgiving of it in this book. I think it was mainly due to the author allowing the reader into Dallas and Cordelia's thoughts and feelings, so that I could understand them even though I still wanted to shake some sense into them at times. They would frequently think of the “right” thing to say or do, but then for various reasons wouldn't, which left me thinking, “just say it” or “just do it.” Overall, I really liked Dallas and Cordelia's story, but without that more intense romantic element, it felt like a little something was missing.

Considering that Dallas had a 13-year misunderstanding with his brother, Houston, in Texas Destiny that was mainly due to fear and a lack of communication, I'm not too surprised that he had so many misunderstandings with his new bride. Dallas just doesn't truly know how to communicate with people and simply ask for things. He only knows how to give orders, which was something he learned from his father and his time as a teenage officer in the Civil War, trying to earn the respect of his soldiers. In the beginning, Dallas is so straight-froward he scares Cordelia, which makes him mad at himself and the situation. Then that anger came out directed at Dee, which make him even madder, creating a never-ending cycle. Dallas is a rather gruff, intense, and clueless alpha who stubbornly insists that he doesn't need love and the only thing missing from his life is a son to share his empire with. Usually guys who are this alpha end up annoying me, but Dallas actually made me laugh sometimes because he honestly didn't initially recognize the feelings he's having for Dee as love. It was pretty fun watching him try to figure it all out. While Dallas could be a little irritating sometimes, it was clear that underneath it all he had a heart of gold and was an honorable man who could be trusted at his word. He was also good with kids, playing the doting uncle to his niece, Maggie, and later, a father-figure to the little street urchin, Rawley. Dallas may have been a hard man, but he was also a fair man and one I could easily respect especially as he started to grow.

At the start of the story, Cordelia has been so sheltered by her father and brothers, it has gone beyond mere protection into the realm of mental and emotional abuse. She is a virtual prisoner in her own home until her father barters her away to Dallas in exchange for land and water rights over which the two families have been fighting for years. Dee comes to the marriage a timid shell of a woman who hides away in her room, preferring to escape into a book. She is frightened to death of Dallas, because of all the terrible things her family has said about him. As she observes him interacting with his family, she begins to wonder if her father and brothers were wrong about him. When Dallas realizes that he should have courted Dee and given her a choice in marrying him instead of trading for her, he becomes extremely patient, giving her time to get accustomed to him and being married. He also gives her the freedom that she had always longed for, and listens to her ideas, doing everything he can to support her and bring them to fruition. Dee ends up being the perfect mate for Dallas, because underneath her shy exterior lurks the heart of a lion and a savvy businesswoman who compliments him in every way. I loved how she stood up to her family when she finally realized who the better man really was.

Texas Glory had a great cast of secondary characters. I really enjoy the family closeness of this series, and how the other Leigh brothers have significant supporting roles and aren't just window dressing. Houston and Amelia (Texas Destiny) were back along with a new addition to the their family, little Maggie who was as cute as a button. I had wished for an epilogue at the end of Texas Destiny, but everything I needed to know about them was revealed in this book. It was wonderful to see them still so passionately in love. Austin (Texas Splendor) is in this one too, and his was a heart-breaking ending which makes me very eager to read his story soon. It was great to see Houston, Amelia and Austin picking up the slack to make Cordelia feel at home until Dallas got a clue about how to put his bride at ease, and it was hilarious to see Dallas jealous of Houston and Austin but too bewildered to understand why. The abused little boy, Rawley Cooper, touched my heart and brought tears to my eyes. I was so glad to see him find some peace and happiness after experiencing so much grief and heartache in his young life. Precious, the prairie dog that Cordelia made her pet, was hysterical mainly because of the reactions she evoked in Dallas. Of course there was Dee's family too, but only her brother, Cameron, was truly worthy of any attention. The rest were worthless weasels (and that's putting it nicely), along with Rawley's father, all of whom made some pretty nasty villains. Since Dallas had finally realized the dream of building a town in west Texas, there were plenty of colorful townsfolk too. All in all a great cast of characters that really brought the story to life.

Since Cordelia spent a lot of time afraid of Dallas, and Dallas spent a lot of time being clueless, theirs was not a grand passionate romance in the traditional sense, but there were plenty of sweet, touching moments to keep me reading and mostly satisfied. Their relationship was a more realistic one of two strangers coming together, slowly learning about each other, and then falling in love. It is also about two people who really needed to find themselves in order to be happy together, and in Dallas's case, he had to discover what was truly important in life, as well as learn that what he thought he wanted and needed to feel complete wasn't what he really needed at all. There were a few events in the story that were somewhat predictable including a very sad tragedy, but as I also correctly foresaw it was a necessary catalyst to give Dallas a wake-up call and led to many positive things happening later on. In spite of some frustrations with Dallas and Cordelia's stubborn natures, I found Texas Glory to be a tale with plenty of thought-provoking, emotional depth and complex characterizations that made it an enjoyable read, and ultimately, I decided it was worthy of being placed on my keeper shelf right next to its predecessor, Texas Destiny. I can't wait to read the final book of the trilogy, Texas Splendor, but once I do, I think I'll be a little sad to let his wonderful band of brothers go.

[Kimberly Carrington-Fox · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nuestra reseña en A la cama con... un libro

4'5 ⭐ A mí estos hermanos vaqueritos me tienen conquistado el corazón. Y Lorraine Heath está convirtiéndose en una de mis favoritas también

[Mei · Rating 5 out of 5]

Let me start saying: Would you please give me a weapon, so I can go at the beginning of this book and erase from this earth Boyd, her worthless father, Duncan and Cooper!!!



Maybe then I would have read this book without the pressing need to slam my e-book down so often!

Don't get me wrong, I liked this book very, very much, but most of the time I wanted to smash something!



Dee is a sweet girl. She's beautiful, but so very much doormat shy. Mostly I couldn't find the reason why Dallas fell in love with her.
Why Dee has to be so, so... oh, I miss my words!!!... submissive to her family? why couldn't she react at least a little bit?
I liked her better at the end of the book when she confronted her family. I wanted to yell: That's the way, girl!!! Go, go, go!!!

Dallas was also not without fault. He's so rigid that I could almost hear his bones snapping here and there. He's also so sweet and I couldn't understand how Dee missed that he was soo in love with her!
I cryed when he washed his still-born son and buries him in a little grave beneth the windmill.

There were some TSTL moments, but, as I said, I was so upset that I didn't mind them too much.

The book is so good because it caused a very strong emotions, but at the same time was also very sweet and romantic: an excellent mix!

Now, let go and read Austin's story poor boy!

[Joanna Loves Reading · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the romance. It was sweet, with lovely character growth. I didn’t like the plot garbage at the end. I am not too keen on reading Austin’s book because of it.

[Irina · Rating 3 out of 5]

“When I was a boy, I went to war searching for glory. I didn’t find it. I came here, thinking I’d find glory if I built a ranching empire or a thriving town.” He trailed his thumb over her lips. “Instead I discovered that I didn’t even know what glory was, not until you smiled at me for the first time with no fear in your eyes.”

After losing his mail-order bride to his younger brother in the first book of the series (review), Dallas is now looking for another wife. Any woman will do as long as she can give him a son to share his empire with. When he learns that his neighbor has a daughter, he tries to kill two birds with one stone: settling the war with her family over the border of their lands and gaining himself a wife. Unfortunately, Cordelia is afraid of him and not willing to let him in her bed after their wedding, so it takes him a long, long time to earn her trust and make her truly his.

It's a rocky road for poor Dallas and the readers. Permanent miscommunication and non-communication are the reasons for their problems, as well as Cordelia’s continuing blindness to the obvious: Her husband may not express his affection verbally, but he is a good and honorable man who cares deeply about her. Her! Not a son. Just her.

The mousy, super fearful woman got on my nerves pretty quickly. She's fine with both of his brothers (too fine, if you ask me, given Dallas/Houston's history with Amelia), but she jumps and startles every time Dallas looks in her direction or talks to her. You have to admire the man for his patience with her—it takes her forever to come to her senses and trust him.

In addition to the communication issues, the plot is driven forward by a lot of drama and brutality. (Miscarriage, rape, child abuse, flogging, and murder). One event in particular will be important for the third book in the Texas trilogy, Austin's story, which is set up nicely.

Overall, I liked Dallas and his family, but I disliked Cordelia most of the time and didn't enjoy their love story. I wish the author had paired Dallas with a strong woman who could stand up to him.

2.5

[ᑭᑌᑎƳᗩ [Punya Reviews...] · Rating 5 out of 5]

My review contains spoilers and they're mostly my thoughts as I went with the book...

“Dreams were the stepping stones to glory.”

My god! This book made me the ultimate watering pot. WOW! Dallas turned out to be one heck of a sweet pea and Dee, not as odd I thought she was. I have to say, the 1st half of the book was quite slow and a bit frustrating but the 2nd half made it for me, 10 times over. I cried and I laughed and had this silly grin on my face in the end. And, GOD, Houston and Amelia’s daughter Maggie was so so adorable!

Dallas was still dreaming of a son who’d take care of his ‘empire’ when the story starts. He’s still not married but, I saw he’s changed quite a bit in the 5 yrs after Texas Destiny. I found him less ambition prone, not as crazy about having a son as he was in that book. Dallas has already founded a town called ‘Leighton’ which was thriving gradually. Now, his latest trouble is with the McQueens who moved close to his land about 3 yrs ago and causing trouble ever since. McQueen’s two eldest boys are basically criminals and trying to take over his lands and the water that runs through their lands but owned by Dallas. Dallas has tried defending but this night, in the beginning, things went a bit wrong. The McQueens, predictably, came to make trouble while he, Austin and Houston were keeping an eye on the fences. The scuffling that ensues, Austin getting hit by Boyd McQueen’s bullet and Dallas breaking Boyd’s arm. Amelia takes care of Austin while Houston and Dallas think about what to do. Dallas learns from the doctor that the McQueens have a sister, whom no one saw or even heard about. She’s virtually kept prisoner in her house. This gave Dallas a plan and next day, he went to the McQueen to talk about it. Their exchange was less than gentlemanly and the McQueen sort of sold his daughter for more of Dallas’s lands and the water that started it all. Oh, I felt so much for Cordelia or Dee, for having such nasty family. But, I was glad that she wasn’t at all like her father and the two elder brothers.

Dallas doesn’t even see her before marriage, which takes place soon. The situation was really funny because beforehand, he heard from Austin, who’s a good friend to Dee’s youngest brother Cameron, who told Austin that Dee has some kind of facial disfigurements. But, Dallas stays strong, thinking that won’t hamper him from getting a son. Lord, I should’ve been irritated at Dallas but somehow I wasn’t. Maybe I understood why he was so desperate to have a son. And, seeing the way the greedy McQueens were, I had to give it to the man. There are more talks about more land between Boyd, the stinky and Dallas just before the marriage was about to take place. Then, when it was time to ‘unveil’ the bride, I thought the scene was just priceless! That Dee actually had no problem and the fact that Cameron was joking. I had such good laugh when Dallas glared at Austin, who was sputtering. And, boy didn’t Dallas fall on the spot for his bride? Poor guy, he came off more saintly than Amelia IMO, throughout the story.

Dee, all her life, tried to abide by her father and the older brothers. Her own family tragedy, which includes her mother, was very sad. Dee’s father is an autocratic monster, never loved her mother and vice versa. There are reasons to why Dee never really trusted men, the way she saw her father treated her mother which led her to have an affair with a ranch hand. She planned to runaway with Dee and Cameron (he’s probably the result of this affair and nothing like the two eldest McQueen boys). Her plan didn’t work and things went wrong. Dee had to take care of her mother for a long time, before the woman passed away. Dee’s 26 and kinda given up on marriage, as her father won’t let her, stating she’s ‘delicate and fragile’ like her mother! So, when she heard about this marriage to Dallas Leigh, she couldn’t but get apprehensive. Still, she relented, thinking her father wants this marriage. And, she didn’t know what kind of a man Dallas really was, only the exaggerated versions by her brothers, who couldn’t voice a line about him without demeaning Dallas. Dee, inevitably found out, that how wrong she was about him in the later part of the story.

So they marry. Dee’s scared of Dallas. Dallas doesn’t really know how to rectify that feeling. He hates that his wife is so scared of him. But, the fact is, being lonely and homebound; Dee didn’t know any man other than her brothers, even than only Cameron genuinely cared for her. With Dallas’s straightforwardness with his commanding presence, Dee didn’t know how to react. It didn’t help that her brothers kinda portrayed him as nothing less than a monster. But, Dallas was like that because of his past as a soldier in the Civil war, he’d learned to command men from a very young age. This is how that man is made, he meant no harm. But, Dee didn’t know it and Dallas has no idea how to approach about it. She’s always clumsy around him and he’s disgusted with himself for making her so. Houston then asks Dallas to give her sometimes to get used to with the idea of being married. Dallas does that and man, that was one heck of a wait for him. But, he always tried, in his way, to be nice to her. Dee was relieved beyond words because she doesn’t have to do her ‘duty’ anytime soon but she knew, without it, Dallas’s dream of getting a son won’t come true. She dreaded it but she couldn’t but love the guy when she starts REALLY getting to know him as days passed by.

Dallas learns that Dee isn’t a ‘weak, fragile woman’ but smart and intelligent. He likes to see her smile, gives her whatever she asks for. Once, Dee rescues a prairie dog. Even knowing he can’t have it around the ranch, Dallas lets her keep it. Austin, who’s now 21, said some stuff here, I again thought, too perceptive for someone so young. But, what I loved was seeing Dallas annoyed about the whole situation, yet couldn’t deny Dee of her little Precious and calling it ‘the damn prairie dog’ every time the dog came up in any conversation! I couldn’t but adore Dallas more as I read his yearning to make Dee smile, to not see a single trace of fear in her lovely eyes. It was pretty obvious that he was falling in love with her. You can’t but love this man. Their conversations were stilted in those times; Dee even had to make notes of the topics they might discuss in the breakfast table but soon, it changed. Once, in the breakfast table, when Dee asked what Dallas’s favorite color was, he said brown. What he didn’t explain was it’s because Dee’s eyes are brown. I was like, my god he’s gone! I saw many such little scenes I adored. I loved seeing Amelia and Houston too, knowing about their life and their 3 yrs old daughter Maggie. She was SO ADORABLE. There were scenes aplenty in the book that’d melt your heart. Dallas dotes on the girl and Maggie is crazy about her ‘Unca Dalls’ who gives her lemon drops when ‘she got a sad’. She’s a huge reason why I loved this book.

Things were going quite well between Dallas and Dee. Dallas finds out that he likes sharing his ‘empire’ with her, and she’s smart enough to understand. In the process, she comes up with this idea of a hotel. Dallas already had a plan laid out but he indulged her, making Dee thinks she came up with this idea first. How can I not adore this man? He was nowhere near getting into her bed and he never tried too, except for the wedding night misunderstanding. And, Dee saw a man so very different than what her father and brothers made her believe, she knew if he courted her, the she’d choose him. She wanted to give him what he wanted yet she was hesitant. So, it went on for the 1st half of the book and I got a bit frustrated. The day the foundation of the hotel was laid, is when Dee finally decides she’s help this man achieve his long standing dream of having a son. That night they consummate the marriage. Everything went great but ... *sigh* More misunderstanding. I have to talk about it, the whole was so strangely funny and weird at the same time. Dee thought one time was enough to have a kid; Dallas was trying to tell her it might not be. Dee wants to wait and see. Dallas, who of course, didn’t want things to go like this accedes for ‘once a month’ thing (oh hell!), thinking she doesn’t really want him in her bed. Then, the next month it’s apparent they weren’t successful so Dee shyly informs him that. Dallas is whooping inside *grins*. They reminded me of two kids, really. Anyway, he decides if ‘once a month’ it is, he’ll make the best of it. So he goes to Houston (ermm...) to know how can he make her ‘want’ him more. Oh, it was pretty awkward, Dallas actually asks Amelia first. What? Ermm...? Amelia wasn’t (of course) easy with it so she asks him to talk to Houston. Houston tells Dallas he’d learned kissing watching him. Oh man, this was so funny! But still, Houston gives him a little something which worked just fine in the end. And, that love scene was again, kinda funny, since Dee (who knew very little about the physical aspects of marriage) thought the ‘process’ brings pain for men (you guess why she thought this :p) while pleasure for women, something to balance for the pain women go through in childbirth! It was hilarious yet strangely endearing to me. Dallas was laughing hard as Dee confessed why she didn’t want to make love often. Their relationship improved so much afterwards. They were having fun, making Dallas’s dream come true. I felt so happy knowing the way it all looked. Also, the hotel was running fine. Soon, Dee finds out she’s pregnant. BTW: in the beginning of the story, it’s known that Amelia was pregnant with her 2nd baby.

We get to know about Rawley Cooper before this. About an 8 yrs old, he’s got a drunkard for a father, an useless SOB and no mother. Dee felt for him when she met him but didn’t know what kind of a role fate would play that involves Rawley and herself. So before the Christmas, Dee and Dallas were spending a great time together, dreaming away about their empire when the tragedy struck. Oh, it was too horrible to read. Dee was in the hotel with Dallas, spend a great day making love. She goes out alone to talk to the manager when she heard someone crying in the back ally. When Dallas hears her blood curdling scream, he runs down, finding her amongst the crates that somehow fallen on her. While he took her home, it was clear that she’s losing the baby. It was a son. I couldn’t imagine the pain these two suffered. The scene where Dallas buries his son was so so heartbreaking, I was crying hard. Doctor tells them Dee’s wounded badly so she won’t be having anymore children. Dee asks Dallas to find Rawley out because she was sure it was him who’s cry she heard. Dallas does that and some horrible truth about Rawley comes out. The doctor checks on him and in very little word, tells Dallas later that Rawley was being molested by some perv and its probable that his sick excuse of a father was taking money in exchange. Some of the things were narrated from Rawley’s POV and you can’t but cry for the boy too. No children should ever have to go through such nightmare in their lives.

Rawley worships Dee in his own way so he agrees to stay with them. Dallas does everything in his power to make him safe. He also meets his father and beats the guy, threatening that he never go near Rawley ever again. The Christmas came and it was obvisously painful for Dee because she had such plans for her baby but now ... Amelia, in between has her baby girl. Dee was very strong about the whole situation, even helping Amelia throughout the ordeal. I loved the scenes on the Christmas day; the distribution and the opening of the gifts, Maggie’s enthusiasm, and Austin’s childish pranks but mostly, about Rawley and how they all took him in. I loved the speech Dallas gives to the family and then they sing. It was so very emotional, so touching, considering the loss they just experienced.

The heart wrenching incident of losing their child creates a gap between Dallas and Dee. Dee thought Dallas would be better off without her; though she loves him, it’s better to leave him so that he can marry someone else to make his ‘dream’ come true. She talks to Amelia about it and I was like what?! After everything he’d done for you? Dallas on the other hand, was scared that he’d hurt Dee if he tries to make love and so on, so he kept his distance. Hell, if they only talked, this misunderstanding won’t even take place. And, I was frustrated again, kept thinking why oh why this is happening to two people so not deserving of so much pain. Then, something happens again. Dee was abducted by Rawley’s dad. Dallas goes out to save her. Rawley was there too. Dallas was injured badly but in the end, it was Rawley who saves them. Dee takes care of Dallas, who soon overcomes with infection and fever.

From early on, it was apparent that Austin had a tendre for a girl named Becky. On a later part of the story, when Austin found Rawley distort in a barn (after he starts living with the Leighs), he asks him what happened and Rawley tells him, albeit hesitantly, that the man who’s been ‘hurting’ him was here. At the sometime, Boyd, Duncan and Cameron were there to talk to Dallas. Of course, Boyd did most of the distasteful talking of lands, money and now that Dee’s lost the baby, how Dallas should hold up his side of the bargain. This guy was so damn nasty throughout the book but soon, it was apparent he’s a monster as well. Anyway, Austin listens to Rawley but reassures him he’d take care of it. Soon after Dee and Dallas was rescued, the sheriff comes in, informing them the kidnappers have been murdered. Now there was no way to prove that it was Boyd who paid them to kill Dallas. After this, Dee goes to her father’s house, taking Houston, Austin and other ranch hands with her. She makes it clear to them that things won’t change, that if anything happens to Dallas, she’d make sure McQueens get nothing out of it. I loved this scene, the confident and angry Dee. She tells her father that Dallas was ‘the finest gift’ he’d ever given her. *whoop whoop!*

As Dallas kept fighting with fever, Austin goes out in the town of Leighton. Meanwhile, Houston and Amelia were in the house, helping Dee to take care of Dallas. In the morning, the sheriff comes with the news of Boyd being murdered and that it was Austin’s name he’d written in the sands before he died. The fact that Austin went to town to threaten Boyd and fired one bullet in front of the people there also comes out. Austin is detained but won’t tell them what he was doing that night or if there’s any alibi to his whereabouts. He’s jailed and sentenced to 5 yrs in prison. Dee soon visits him and learned something vital about his whereabouts but Austin assures her it’s alright, that 5 yrs would pass soon. I don’t know, I didn’t like it much. Though I understood the reason why he just took it onto him, Austin was such a good boy. Hmm, anyway as Dallas regains consciousness and leans about it all, he feels helpless. All through the book, reading of the profusion of love these brothers shared together overwhelmed me with emotion.

In the end, Dee talks to Dallas about leaving him. I was again like, what the hell is this?! But, my annoyance went out in the wind when I read the scene before epilogue. It was too beautiful, made it upto me without a doubt. I loved the words they exchanged, so touching. As I said earlier, I was a watering pot by then.

"When I was a boy, I went to war searching for glory. I didn't find it. I came here, thinking I'd find glory if I built a ranching empire or a thriving town." He trailed his thumb over her lips. "Instead I discovered that I didn't even know what glory was, not until you smiled at me for the first time with no fear in your eyes."

His gaze swept beyond her, to encompass all that surrounded them. "A hundred years from now, everything I've worked so hard to build will be nothing more than dust blowing in the wind, but if I can spend my life loving you, I'll die a wealthy man, a contented man."

Tears overflowed and spilled onto her cheeks.

"Stay with me," he said.

Nodding mutely, she wrapped her arms around his neck. The flowers floated to the ground as he lifted her into his arms and carried her into the house.

"Your back," she said as he started up the stairs. "You shouldn't be carrying me."

"My back's fine."

*sigh*

The epilogue was great. They finally have a baby, a girl, while they’ve already adopted Rawley. Ah, the words on Dallas’s dream of talking his daughter (while it was a son before) to his favorite windmill to show her what he’d made were so sweet. It didn’t matter to him anymore that it’s a girl. He and Dee now have a baby, one they created in love. It was all that mattered. Oh, that man stole my heart... 5 stars. *sigh*

PS: Now that I think about it, Dallas was maybe the first hero I’ve read, with a mustache throughout the story. That’s why I had a bit of a trouble imagining him, ermm ... Anyway, his habit of rubbing his mustache when he was thinking deeply was an endearing habit IMO. :)

[Donna (Currently Busy) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is not for everyone. I found it exciting with some flaws, so it will be challenging to review. It contains harsh criminal acts and tragedy readers will find it grim to learn about.

The book begins about five years after book one ends. It’s 1881 and MMC Dallas Leigh is desperate to find a wife who will give him a son. After a nightly stakeout to catch his malicious neighbors cutting his fence to rustle cattle turns violent, he learns from Dr. Freeman that Boyd McQueen has a 26-year-old sister that never leaves home. (Boyd is the lying evil son of Angus McQueen, Dallas’ neighbor.) After so much feuding and wanting an end to the conflict, Dallas uses Dr. Freeman’s information to strike a deal with Cordelia McQueen’s father.

FMC Cordelia McQueen (or Dee) is a very quiet woman because her father has instilled in her that women are to be seen and not heard. Her brothers Boyd and Duncan treat her the same way. Her youngest brother, Cameron, is kind and close to her. She knows he’s friends with Austin Leigh but never discloses this information to her father or brothers. When she was much younger, Dee accidentally witnessed her father raping her mother. To calm her, he promised she would never have to endure anything like that because he would keep men away from her. Well… that is, until he needed water for his cattle. And then he agrees to trade her for access to Dallas Leigh’s water supply.

Dee goes into the marriage scared of Dallas after hearing everything her brothers and father had said about him. Boyd and Duncan tell her he couldn’t keep his first wife (Amelia from book one) because he was so mean to her. (Not true if you read book one.) She’s also heard her father call Dallas a mean-hearted bastard, a thief, and a cheat. Dallas doesn’t help her impression of him when he returns to the bedroom on their wedding night and finds the door locked. He kicks in the door instead of knocking first.🙄 Realizing he scared her, he changes his approach. It takes about a month before they become closer and the marriage is finally consummated.

Dee goes from being a very shy and quiet woman who has a pet prairie dog, to one who wants to own a hotel that will bring more women to the area. Eventually and through tragedy, Dee discovers how criminal her family is and a void develops between her and Dallas. It lasts longer than it should because they don't communicate. Dallas thinks he's shown her love through his actions but has never said the words. She thinks Dallas doesn't love her because of what the doctor tells them. It's a real mess of assumptions.

Throw in an abused little boy, a kidnapping, attempted murder, three actual murders, and Austin sent to prison before the book ends, and you have a story that Houston’s little daughter Maggie May would describe as… “I have a sad.”

Rating is 3.5 stars. I'll take my candy lemon drop now.

[Hannah B. · Rating 2 out of 5]

When I said it was boring I absolutely did not mean for it to trade in the boring for the SAD. Good god that felt unnecessarily cruel.



CW: miscarriage on page, brutal torture via whipping, child abuse, pedophilia, false imprisonment, kidnapping, rape, murder, parental abuse, spousal abuse, pregnancy after infertility diagnosis

[Eleni Ouzouni (Life is Art) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Στο δεύτερο βιβλίο της τριλογίας του Τέξας ακολουθούμε τον μεγάλο αδερφό της οικογένειας Ντάλας Λι. Μετά την νέα αυτοκρατορία που έχει χτίσει (Απέραντη δική του γη, βοσκοτόπια, μια πόλη) όνειρο του είναι να αποκτήσει έναν γιο. Δεν τον ενδιαφέρει η αγάπη και ο έρωτας απλά θέλει μια αξιοπρεπή σύζυγο και παιδιά.
Η Κορντίλια στην αντίπερα όχθη, έχει περάσει όλοι της την ζωή κλεισμένη μέσα στο σπίτι να προσέχει την άρρωστη μητέρα της, χωρίς δικαίωμα για καμιά επιλογή. Το μεγάλο όμως χαστούκι της ζωής, έρχεται όταν θα "πουληθεί" από την οικογένειά της σε έναν άντρα που δεν γνωρίζει και δεν αγαπά, απλά και μόνο για να αποκτήσει ο πατέρας της πρόσβαση σε περισσότερη γη. Αναγκάζεται έτσι όπως πιστεύει αρχικά να αφήσει μια φυλακή για να πάει σε μια χειρότερη.

Παρά τις απαίσιες ιστορίες που έχει ακούσει από τους δικούς της, για τους Λι η εικόνα που αποκτά ζώντας μαζί τους αλλάζει. Αρχίζει να βλέπει στον άνδρας της έναν έντιμο, τρυφερό άνθρωπο που έχει γνώσεις και ιδανικά. Αντίστοιχα και ο Ντάλας παρά τις αρχικές του σκέψεις πιάνει τον εαυτό του να νοιάζεται για την σύζυγο του και να αποζητά την φιλοφρόνηση της. Έτσι μέσα από το ταξίδι του έγγαμου βίο τους, θα μάθουν πως τελικά μια λέξη, ένα μικρό σ'αγαπώ σημαίνουν πολλά περισσότερα από όνειρα και αυτοκρατορίες.



Ξεκινώντας το βιβλίο ένιωσα αρχικά ότι δεν θα μπορέσει η ιστορία να φτάσει αυτή των Χιούστον και της Αμέλιας. Που να ήξερα όμως τι μας επιφυλάσσει η Lorraine Heath ως το τέλος. Έκτος ότι έφτασα στο σημείο να τους λατρέψω και τους δυο τόσο πολύ, να περιμένω πως και πως αυτό το ρημάδι το σ'αγαπώ, συγκινήθηκα απίστευτα και έκλαψα σαν μικρό παιδί κάτι που δεν περίμενα με τίποταα. Γινόμαστε μάρτυρες κάποιον πολύ βίαιων καταστάσεων και λεπτών θεμάτων τα οποία με σόκαραν αλλα πραγματικά βγάζω το καπέλο στην συγγραφέα γιατί το χειρίστηκε μαγικά.



Συνολικά ήταν ένα πολύ όμορφο ρομαντικό μυθιστόρημα, από τα καλά του είδους. Με βάθος, έντονα συγκινητικό, ιδιαίτερα γλυκόπικρο και τρυφερό, γεμάτο εντάσεις και αγωνία. Ανυπομονώ πλέον για την ιστορία του Όστιν!

Πριν έκαναν έρωτα για να εκπληρώσουν ένα όνειρο. Τώρα έκαναν έρωτα για να γιορτάσουν την υπόσχεση ενός ονείρου!

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 STARS

“A hundred years from now, everything I’ve worked so hard to build will be nothing more than dust blowing in the wind, but if I can spend my life loving you, I’ll die a wealthy man, a contented man.”

LOVED book 2! Dallas and Cordelia's book. This one really put me through the wringer at the end. Heartbreaking. Some really evil son's of bitches, those McQueens'. Well except for Cameron. Duncan gets the label by default though. And don't even get me started on Cooper... 🤬. So there's no doubt I'll start Austin's book adequately depressed. Not that I'm not happy for Dallas and Dee, but, the prices they paid for happiness were pretty high. Anyway, enough jabbering. On to book 3! Texas Splendor

[♥Sharon♥ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my word these Leigh cowboys are something else!

Loved this one too! Actually, I loved it a little more than Texas Destiny.

Dallas was a bigger and bolder character than Houston was. I had expected that but what I didn’t expect was how big his heart was and how much love he had to give.

Cordelia was his saving grace. Truly. Neither of them knew it but as they ventured towards the big dream that Dallas had she would be the one to show him what true dreams were made of.

I loved having Houston and Amelia very present in their story along with little miss Maggie May. ❤ And Austin what a loving soul he is.

Dallas and Dee shared some pretty wonderful moments but they also shared some pretty tough ones too. The last few chapters had me crying and sniffling all the way through. The silver lining for me was Rawley. He was such a brave little guy.

And those McQueens’. What evil bastards they are with the exception of Cameron.

On to Austin’s book!!

[Just A Girl With Spirit · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5⭐️

“You were my dream Dee, I just didn’t know it. The part of me that I was always searching for.”

I knew Dallas’ love story would be good and boy was it! I love the way Dee started out being fearful of Dallas due to her shitty father, but watching all the fear and hesitancy melt away and then seeing her open herself up to him and her bed was truly beautiful. This book was emotional and dealt with some heavy stuff, but only love and beauty remained in the end.

[Menia · Rating 4 out of 5]

buddy reading

[Grecia Robles · Rating 4 out of 5]

PopSugar 2019: 28. Un libro que incluya una boda

Dalla es simplemente HERMOSO!! 😍🥰💕❤️

La historia de Dalla y Dee me gustó tal vez un poquito que la anterior es que Dallas en tan tan aklsdlfldlksd

Amo las historias de matrimonios arreglados donde son prácticamente desconocidos y con la convivencia se van conociendo y enamorando y esta historia es todo lo que me gusta.

Mi único pero sería Dee ya que algunas veces me cayó medio mal cuando lastimaba a Dallas pero de ahí en fuera todo me encantó.

Ya la última escena donde Dallas confirma su amor fue de los más bonito.

Sé que esta historia se merece una mejor reseña pero hay veces que las palabras no son suficientes.

[Beanbag Love · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the weakest of the Leigh Family trilogy. Dallas and Dee were completely mismatched for most the story and the entire plot was built on contrivance on top of contrivance. One long misunderstanding.

I found it incredibly annoying that no one, not even Amelia, clued into the fact that Dee's family would have told her the worst things about Dallas and that someone -- Amelia being the perfect someone -- needed to sit down and talk to her about what she'd been told and sift through fact from fiction with her. It didn't make any sense that they just let it sit there. Especially Amelia who's always sticking her nose in everything anyway.

Ultimately, I was happy to see them get together. However, as with all stories that are built so inorganically, the ending feels like the point when the story should actually start. Like you've been treading through mud the entire time, and just when all that muck gets cleared up, it's over.

It's a weak installment in the series, but it's helpful for back story in the next book. And, of course, Houston and Amelia are there and we meet young Rawley Cooper who is a wonderful, poignant character in the story. It's not a waste. It's just not one of Heath's better efforts, IMO.

[Mirjana **DTR - Down to Read** · Rating 4 out of 5]

***4.5 Stars***

Such a strong hand, with a gentle touch. Such a strong man, with a tender heart.

He would deny it, of course, but she had seen too much evidence not to recognize the truth. For all his gruffness, he had a heart as big as Texas.

My heart! Another winner in this addicting, emotional, and heartwarming series!

Rough around the edges Dallas meets his equal in sheltered Cordelia.

I started this book late one night and only managed a couple of pages before I fell asleep, but the next time I picked it up, I had to force myself to put it down. I ended up reading most of it in one day.

Dallas has big dreams and a lot of people who depend on him. He's authoritative and a born leader, but also a fierce protector. He has a singular focus on growing his ranch and is desperate for a son to share it all with.

Cordelia has lived a sheltered life...basically jailed by her father and brothers. She doesn't know much about the world, and what she does know, she fears. She was raised in a toxic environment, never really seeing or knowing what respect, love, and family looks like.

These two were so great for each other. Dallas wanted to give Cordelia the world she was afraid of, and she wanted to give him the dreams he deserved.

I'm not going to lie, I was frustrated a lot with these two. Being in their POV and knowing what they were feeling and thinking, but watching them hold back was so hard. I wanted to yell" JUST TELL HIM/HER!"

But I also know how much they feared. How terrified they were of rejection, of losing the other...how little they knew about asking for what they wanted, about sharing what was in their heart, but how much they knew about loss. So while my frustration was there, I also know how big of a hurdle that fear can be.

The little gestures, the small comments...that's where the moments of love were hidden until they could find the courage to speak them aloud.

"The day we were married, you told me that it wasn't hard to dance, and that you would guide me. I was wondering if your offer was still open?"

"It's always open for you."

Now I'm off to jump into Austin's book because after everything that went down in this book, I'm dying to get his story!


I'd be doing a disservice if I didn't mention that this book should come with trigger/content warnings. There are spoilers, so I'll put it under a tag...

Cordelia suffers an on-page late stage miscarriage, and there's on-page scenes of aftercare of the baby and it's burial. There's also sexual abuse of a child (though not in graphic detail, but enough where your brain can make it graphic).

Also, I didn't write down all the additional things that are upsetting to read, but as this book takes place in the 1880's, there is misogyny, homophobia, and mention of slavery.

[Mariana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sooooo good if you are in the mood to cry!

[Capt. · Rating 4 out of 5]

DALLAS MY MAN I LOVE HIM DEAR LORD

[Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dallas Leigh had everything he ever wanted except a son. To accomplish that, he needed a wife. With women in short supply in West Texas, Dallas bargains with Angus McQueen. He'll give McQueen access to the river on his property if he can marry McQueen's daughter, Cordelia.

Cordelia "Dee" McQueen knows that her father sold her to Dallas to ensure water for his cattle. She feels she is getting out from under her father's thumb just to be placed under her new husbands. As Dee and Dallas come to know each other, their ideas about each other change. Dee sees a hard man who has a soft side when it comes to his family. Dallas watches Dee as she comes out of her shell and shows him that she can be a partner in this marriage.

I read this book when it came out in 2011 and enjoyed the story. This time I listened to the audiobook narrated by Eva Kaminsky, and I loved it even more. It's a wonderful story with strong characters. I'm upping my rating for this book. My rating: 5 Stars.