What do you think?
Rate this book
Just Joe
TODAY AND FOREVERBeing accidentally tackled by six-foot-three of green-eyed, muscle-bound football player was the stuff women's dreams were made of. But for photographer Mattie Grey, snapping pictures of the Conquerors' opening game, this lively mishap fueled memories of a private nightmare.With no family or history, she had easily moved from one assignment to another--running from her past... and her pain. But Joe Ryan had seen that pain the day fate threw them together. He offered her the trust, comfort and shelter of his friendship, determined to prove that love--his love--would be the ultimate mender of her shattered heart.
- GenresRomance
Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1987
54 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
January 5, 2021
Sweet story about a Texas football player who falls for a photographer – literally. Their meet-cute occurs when the hero is pushed from behind and falls on top of the heroine who is taking photos from the sidelines. He looks into her eyes and falls instantly in love – and stays that way.
The heroine was sexually abused as a child by her foster father and is afraid of men and of being touched. Hero works hard to understand her and support her – even going to a psychologist for advice.
Hormones and many, many friendship scenes (really - they are cute together) eventually get them horizontal. All seems well until the heroine leaves the hero for two months to finally deal with her ghosts.
She returns to a very thin, pining hero who has retired from football to his ranch (after winning the Super Bowl) for an HEA and a baby girl on the way. The epilogue contains the neighboring couple – stars of the book before this - delivering a boy on the same day. Both fathers pass out.
Like I said – a sweet story. Hero is a wonderful man. The sexual abuse was handled sensitively –and the psychologist emphasized that most people need professional help to heal – not just love.
The most unrealistic part was the football. Hero never worried about injuries or his stats, he skipped practices, and never mentioned away games. Yet he still lead his team to win the Super Bowl. LOL. Plus, heroine who lived in Texas her whole life, had no idea about football – not even that “home runs” were baseball and “touchdowns” were football.
I mean what? My disbelief only goes so far.
The heroine was sexually abused as a child by her foster father and is afraid of men and of being touched. Hero works hard to understand her and support her – even going to a psychologist for advice.
Hormones and many, many friendship scenes (really - they are cute together) eventually get them horizontal. All seems well until the heroine leaves the hero for two months to finally deal with her ghosts.
She returns to a very thin, pining hero who has retired from football to his ranch (after winning the Super Bowl) for an HEA and a baby girl on the way. The epilogue contains the neighboring couple – stars of the book before this - delivering a boy on the same day. Both fathers pass out.
Like I said – a sweet story. Hero is a wonderful man. The sexual abuse was handled sensitively –and the psychologist emphasized that most people need professional help to heal – not just love.
The most unrealistic part was the football. Hero never worried about injuries or his stats, he skipped practices, and never mentioned away games. Yet he still lead his team to win the Super Bowl. LOL. Plus, heroine who lived in Texas her whole life, had no idea about football – not even that “home runs” were baseball and “touchdowns” were football.
I mean what? My disbelief only goes so far.
February 3, 2021
I was pleasantly surprised to find out how much I enjoyed this older Silhouette Desire. I certainly wasn’t expecting a sweet hero with a well-developed plot and a slow-building friendship that became a slow-burn romance.
By accident, literally, professionally quarterback Joe Ryan met Mattie Grey. He sensed immediately she was in stress. Long story short, Just Joe tackled the sensitive subject of physical abuse. Both heart wrenching and heart warming, Joe was the mover and shaker with the development of this romance.
Side note: Ms. Morgan only wrote two romances as far as I am know. Though the two books are not listed as a duo, No Holds Barred is the first story. It is about Joe’s close friend (now husband and wife in Just Joe) and the turmoil he goes through to find true love.
By accident, literally, professionally quarterback Joe Ryan met Mattie Grey. He sensed immediately she was in stress. Long story short, Just Joe tackled the sensitive subject of physical abuse. Both heart wrenching and heart warming, Joe was the mover and shaker with the development of this romance.
Side note: Ms. Morgan only wrote two romances as far as I am know. Though the two books are not listed as a duo, No Holds Barred is the first story. It is about Joe’s close friend (now husband and wife in Just Joe) and the turmoil he goes through to find true love.
January 1, 2013
Rating 4.5 stars
I truly loved this book, we see the hero/heroine become friends and gradually more. The hero despite being successful is lonely while the heroine has so many emotional scars from the abuse she suffered. I loved how gentle the hero was with her and how crazy he was about her. Now, I am going to read the story about the hero's friend.
I truly loved this book, we see the hero/heroine become friends and gradually more. The hero despite being successful is lonely while the heroine has so many emotional scars from the abuse she suffered. I loved how gentle the hero was with her and how crazy he was about her. Now, I am going to read the story about the hero's friend.
January 14, 2013
Tender hearted romance about a young man who helps a woman heal and get over the hurt from a sexually abused past.
Well done.
Well done.
December 9, 2015
This is the first Silhouette novel I read. I'm not really a snob about not wanting to read these, it's just that their covers are SO awful. This one was no exception. I know it's a romance novel already--they don't have to show us the two main characters half-naked and messing around. Whatever, this one was recommended to me so I thought I'd give it a try and I loved it.
Mattie was sexually abused as a child. Now she's 23 and a freelance photographer who keeps totally to herself. She meets Joe, a professional football player, while covering a game. He's immediately drawn to her and they become friends, but Mattie's problems get in the way of the relationship developing into anything further. From the start, Joe can tell that she's afraid of being touched and has walled herself off from the world, but when he realizes what happened to her, he really does his best to help her.
I thought it was great. Usually in romance novels where there's been abuse, the heroine still gives it up pretty soon and pretty eagerly and the hero has this overly simplistic attitude of "I'll make it good for you." I hate that. Here, Mattie's trauma was depicted a little more realistically. She and Joe are just friends until almost the end of the book, and Joe is always struggling with the uncertainty of whether they'll ever be able to establish a physical relationship. Their friendship was really sweet, also.
Mattie was sexually abused as a child. Now she's 23 and a freelance photographer who keeps totally to herself. She meets Joe, a professional football player, while covering a game. He's immediately drawn to her and they become friends, but Mattie's problems get in the way of the relationship developing into anything further. From the start, Joe can tell that she's afraid of being touched and has walled herself off from the world, but when he realizes what happened to her, he really does his best to help her.
I thought it was great. Usually in romance novels where there's been abuse, the heroine still gives it up pretty soon and pretty eagerly and the hero has this overly simplistic attitude of "I'll make it good for you." I hate that. Here, Mattie's trauma was depicted a little more realistically. She and Joe are just friends until almost the end of the book, and Joe is always struggling with the uncertainty of whether they'll ever be able to establish a physical relationship. Their friendship was really sweet, also.
Read
January 10, 2022SOME RANDO ON TWITTER SAID THIS WAS ONE OF THEIR FAVORITE ROMANCES AND SO I JUST BOUGHT IT? FROM THRIFTBOOKS? AND READ IT IN A NIGHT? IT WAS OKAY.
January 17, 2024
I read this book as a teenager when it first came out in the late 1980s. It was one of my favorite books because of the trauma that Mattie Grey deals with and how Joe responds to her. I recently bought the book off thrift books after searching for it for years. It’s still just as sweet a romance as I remembered and still touches me just as much as it did when I was a teenager.
February 17, 2024
Inherited from Grandma. This was sweet. Well developed emotional journey for the heroine. Joe was a good man. And I appreciate that while it was pretty quick love at least for Joe that they took the time to develop the relationship. Though the end misunderstanding was a bt annoying for me. but understandable I guess.
October 23, 2025
A older book. I read this book almost 30 years ago and I always have to have a copy. I lost my copy after a bad hurricane one time and was lucky enough to find two on eBay. My sisters are just as bad as me.
I wish this one would be made an e-book
I wish this one would be made an e-book
May 1, 2022
DNF @ page 21.
3rd person, dual POV, but alternates every line or so. I got whiplash after a minute. Plus, the dialogue is so...awkward and stilted.
3rd person, dual POV, but alternates every line or so. I got whiplash after a minute. Plus, the dialogue is so...awkward and stilted.
October 18, 2019
A professional football player...'nuff said !!!😘😁
April 28, 2008
Well written genre romance that sensitively and realistically handles the aftermath of sexual abuse.
January 6, 2013
I love, love, love this book. I just read it again today for the 100th time.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews