Under a Texas Sky

by Dorothy Garlock

Growing up poor and largely abandoned on the streets of 1920s Chicago, Anna Finnegan has struggled her entire life. Until a talent manager discovers her and brings her into the world of theater. Now years later she's about to start shooting her first movie. Arriving on location in Redstone, Texas, in 1932, Anna steps off the train and collides into Dalton Barnes. He's lived in Redstone all his life and hates how the big city out-of-towners are gawking at the small-town locals like him. It doesn't take long, though, for Anna and Dalton to discover fireworks of a different sort between them. But the movie is plagued by one trouble after another, including a fire that destroys an elaborate set and costumes ruined by huge splashes of paint. Who is sabotaging the film and why? To what lengths will they go? When Anna finds herself threatened, how will she and the love blossoming between her and Dalton survive?

Genres: Romance, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical, Audiobook, Historical Romance, Adult Fiction

384 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

Dorothy Garlock was a best-selling American author of over 60 historical romance novels, most of them set in the American West. More than 20 million copies of her books are in print, in 18 languages. Her books have been on the New York Times best seller list seven times. She was named one of the 10 most popular writers of women's fiction four years in a row, from 1985-1988. In 1997, she was awarded the Romantic Times Lifetime Achievement Award. Garlock is also a member of the Romance Writers Hall of Fame.

Garlock worked as an editor, agent and publicist for most of her writing career. She was a native of Texas who grew up in Oklahoma then married and moved to Iowa. Garlock donated many of her manuscripts and other unpublished writings to the University of Iowa libraries.


Pen names include:
Johanna Phillips
Dorothy Phillips
Dorothy Glenn

Reviews

[Leea · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars...

Anna turned as a man stepped out of the shadows near the door and approached her, two drinks in hand. Unable to hold back her smile, she beamed as brightly as the city below, still struggling to believe that all of her dreams had somehow become real.

Under a Texas Sky is an original mix of old hollywood glamor and the harshness of West Texas. Sometimes you pick up a book, having little knowledge about the author or really what the book is about. I mean the synopsis is just a snippet of what if found within these pages. I was beyond surprised to find myself turning page after page falling more in love with each character.

In Under a Texas Sky we meet Ann Finnegan a young girl trying to survive in Chicago, her parents are gone and she's torn between stealing food and starving. Fate steps in and Ann finds herself on the stage, acting has stolen her soul and she loves it more than anything. It's 1932 and Ann finds herself thrown into her first movie and into the small down of Redstone Texas. Fate has a way of handing you what you never knew was missing, in walks Dalton Barnes.

The Characters

In the dark and silence of her dingy bedroom, Anna pulled one of the other apples she’d stolen from her coat, one of the two she’d managed to keep hidden from her brother, and took a ravenous bite. I’m going to be somebody.

What I loved about how Under a Texas Sky was written was the feeling for coming full circle. We meet Ann at a low point in her life, she's hit rock bottom and she makes a choice to do what's needed to survive. It's a powerful heart wrenching moment which leads us to understand her character on such a deep level. She's strong, has a great heart but above everything else understands the everyday person. I was fascinated by how Ms. Garlock was able to create such a likable heroine. Dalton, he's a blacksmith who grew up fixing the messes his father left in the wake of a devastating gambling problem. He's torn between the love for his father and the hurt and anger he's caused with his addiction. Then there's Walter, Dalton's best friend who happens to be mute and their friendship is something I loved reading about. It added this depth to Daltons hard honed exterior, plus Walter was never afraid to tell Dalton how he felt or give him some advice about what Dalton was doing wrong with regards to Ann.

The movie set is filled with interesting characters as well: The aging actress who is jealous of the new and upcoming star. The male costar who's never be denied his advances before. The old time actor who's seasoned and honed his craft but his acting career may be coming to an end. The Villain, who at every turn has his heart set on making money and never thinks about the cost to those involved. Under a Texas Sky is layered with character you can relate to. Some more than others.

The Story

I found the mix of Old Hollywood with the back drop of this struggling West Texas town very fascinating. I've never read a book that mixed these town before, I was captivated right away. What I didn't expect was a little mystery intertwined with this story. You see someone is sabotaging the movie set, but we don't know who it is and till the end, I still was wrong about who the person was. That was just fun!

Ms. Garlock gives us details about everything involved in making a movie in 1933, Hollywood movie reporters are lurking around the saloon. Down to how the costume designs are put together and altered. Such details we're not too much but added to the feeling of being in the town of Redstone.

The ending was not what I expected in a very good way. To be honest, I expected Ann to give up her career for Dalton, to stay in Redstone and have a family. In the end, Dalton followed Ann's dreams and her to Hollywood. It was simply beautiful the way he faced every uncomfortable moment to be by her side.

In conclusion... I was pleasantly surprised with Under a Texas Sky. Rich characters, moving story and a romance that tugged at your heart. All with the back ground of this harsh Texas land. As the reader you were taking into Old Hollywood a place filled with mystery and intrigue. In the end it was the relationships that made this book so good. This being my first book by Ms. Garlock, I look forward to reading more of her works.

Every moment that Anna spent with Dalton felt better than the last. Listening to the sound of his voice, looking up at his smile as she wrapped herself in his arms, even lying in bed and feeling the rise and fall of his chest as he slept, everything about him enchanted her. Sometimes she felt as if he was a matinee idol and she was the swooning fan.

ARC by Grand Central publishing via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[namericanwordcat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Under A Texas Sky Growing up poor and largely abandoned on the streets of 1920s Chicago, Anna Finnegan has struggled her entire life. Until a talent manager discovers her and brings her into the world of theater. Now years later she's about to start shooting her first movie. Arriving on location in Redstone, Texas, in 1932, Anna steps off the train and collides into Dalton Barnes. He's lived in Redstone all his life and hates how the big city out-of-towners are gawking at the small-town locals like him. It doesn't take long, though, for Anna and Dalton to discover fireworks of a different sort between them. But the movie is plagued by one trouble after another, including a fire that destroys an elaborate set and costumes ruined by huge splashes of paint. Who is sabotaging the film and why? To what lengths will they go? When Anna finds herself threatened, how will she and the love blossoming between her and Dalton survive?
 
Review
Dorothy Garlock paints an amazing textured world of the film industry in the 1930s. We are on location in a little Texas town where there is as much drama off set as one. Anne, our pull her self out of the gutter heroine, meets our blacksmith hero who has troubles of his own.
 
Garlock's books are always poignant and richly detailed and this one is no different. If you want to be submerged into a unique historical moment, this is a great book for you. The romance here is compelling as well.
 
However, all the drama on the sides with villains and family takes away from the relationship a bit for me. The historical fiction is top notch. As a romance book, I am giving this book 3 stars. Its good but not great as historical fiction it deserves more.
 
I was given this book for my honest review. So, there you have it.

[Laura Aase · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am so disappointed with these newer books! 2000’s values in the Depression! First kiss and fall into bed...what about the character and Accurate setting and quality of the Route 66 series and older titles? Anna is an actress and is recruited for her first film in Redstone Texas. From an onset fire to an evil famous movie star things go from bad to worse. Then she meets the local blacksmith Dalton who has severe anger management problems and they solve the mystery and - spoiler- live happily ever after!

[Jen Lane · Rating 2 out of 5]

not overly exciting.

[Cheryl · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bleh, probably won't read another book by D. Garlock. Totally predictable...

[Marie Buccellato · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very slow moving - Couldnt wait to finish it

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had to force myself to finish this book. The premise sounded interesting, with a Hollywood starlet falling for the local blacksmith, but unfortunately the actual story was boring, anachronistic and uninspiring.


The story begins with the heroine, Anna, getting discovered in a playhouse. A very nice, fatherly Hollywood producer tells her she's perfect to play the lead in his latest film and she instantly signs up. The movie is being filmed on location in Texas so she soon finds herself in a backwater little town. Literally the moment she steps off the train she gets flattened by the hero, Dalton. I liked Anna's character well enough. She was down-to-earth, hard working and pleasant. However Dalton was another matter.

He came across as a petulant child with a violent streak and a massive chip on his shoulder. He immediately gains a powerful hate for all the "Hollywood people" for basically no reason at all. It's not like he's got some story in his past of a Hollywood person doing him wrong, or even that anyone has been particularly rude to him since this current movie started filming. Nope, he just automatically assumes that everyone must necessarily be an obnoxious snob and proceeds to act accordingly. The reason he plows into Anna is because he sees the crowd gathered to welcome her train and decides in his mind that he's going to teach the Hollywood people some sort of lesson by refusing to walk around. It's ridiculous and childish. This is only an issue in Dalton's own small mind. No one is even asking him to walk around and no one gives a damn if he chooses to walk through the crowded train depot. The only one with an issue here is Dalton himself. Then he smashes into poor Anna, knocking her to the ground and instead of offering her a hand up, he stands there gaping at her. Not exactly the work of a gentleman. Then when the movie producer rushes over to help Anna up and chastises Dalton for not having the decency to even apologize, Dalton immediately becomes enraged to the point where he almost punched the man. Quite frankly, Dalton was kind of psychotic in how easily he resorted to violence for the slightest little thing.

As the story progresses, Dalton is drawn to Anna's beauty, but still holds onto his conviction that all Hollywood people are evil, spoiled snobs who've never worked a day in their lives. He plucks up the courage to ask Anna to go for a walk but then insults her by throwing his uninformed prejudices in her face and admitting that he believes the same bad things are true of her. She stands up to him and, like all bullies, he backs down when challenged. The next day he apologizes to her and she gives him another chance but despite his apology, he still believes all the nasty things he said about her and admits as much to her again. Why did he apologize if he intended to just insult her again? Why is he even interested in her if he thinks these nasty things about her? And why on Earth is she interested in him when all he's done is prove himself to be an ignorant, violent jerk?

Only after Anna tells him the long, sad story about her terrible childhood does Dalton finally realize that his prejudices have no basis....at least where Anna is concerned. Because, despite her demonstrating that not everyone in Hollywood was born with a silver spoon in their mouth, Dalton STILL holds onto his belief that they're all evil snobs, at least, all except for Anna. Again, he's got ZERO basis for this accusation, he's just a nasty, judgmental person. Not very good hero material in my opinion.

Couple that with the fact that Dalton still lives with his parents and is perpetually stuck in that "I'm angry at my dad" phase and he comes across as a spoiled teenager rather than a man. And the fact that Anna acted much more like an adult who had to step in and soothe Dalton to keep him from doing something stupid, made their relationship feel more like a mother/son one than anything truly romantic. I never understood why Anna was attracted to Dalton. He knocked her down, insulted her and all her friends, repeatedly demonstrated himself to be violent, disrespected his parents right in front of her and constantly put his own concerns above hers. What about that package is soooo alluring that Anna fancies herself in love with him to the point where she starts considering abandoning her dream of becoming an actress?

Maybe I've just gotten too used to the stereotypical romance novel where the hero is a slightly older and uber-capable man who can handle every situation with a cool efficiency that would make James Bond proud, but Dalton just never felt like the hero to me. Aside from the whining and temper tantrums, he never really saved the day. When Anna was being attacked in her hotel room, he did try to rescue her, but managed to let the villain THAT HE KNEW WAS THERE surprise him with a sucker punch to the gut that had him rolling on the floor in agony so badly that Anna, still in her ripped clothes fresh from her near-rape, had to come and help HIM. And her reassurances afterward that no, really, he did rescue her because his arrival forced the villain to stop raping her in order to deliver said sucker punch, just served to underline how pathetic and useless Dalton had been. Not to mention that it was another example of her "mothering" him so as to spare his tender wittle feewings. She was just nearly raped! He should be the one comforting her!

Aside from the lousy romance, there were so many anachronisms in the book that I kept forgetting this was supposed to be the early 20th century rather than present day. Anna did not behave like a woman from that era. She also didn't act like someone who gave 2 licks for her alleged "dream" career. First she let Dalton spend the night in her hotel room after her attempted rape and didn't give even a passing thought to what that might do to her reputation and budding career. Then, she chose to have sex with Dalton with no protection and didn't even consider that an unplanned out-of-wedlock pregnancy at this stage would be career suicide.

The writing in this book was also very repetitious, which surprised me, considering what a successful author Dorothy Garlock is. I lost track of how many times Anna was "just about to" do something when she was suddenly interrupted. That's a pretty lazy writing trope to begin with, but when it's used half a dozen times in the same story it starts to become ridiculous. Over and over Anna was just about to give someone a piece of her mind, or just about to tell the movie producer some vital information, only to get interrupted and side tracked. People also frequently "barreled" into or past one another in this book. It was weird to see such sloppy writing.


Overall it was just not that satisfying of a read. Dalton behaved like a violent brat for most of the book such that I can't believe their relationship will work out on the long term. The ending shows Anna at a party being recognized as the next big thing in Hollywood with Dalton standing uncomfortably by in the shadows tugging at his suit collar. He doesn't fit into her new Hollywood world and doesn't really want to fit in. So I'd give their relationship a year at most.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

A young Anna had a hard life. Fending for herself and stealing food. She began to sing for her supper and was spotted for her talent. Off to star in a movie, she arrives in Texas. Someone is trying to shut down the production and bad things happen. Can the only good be Dalton Barnes? An ok book, nothing out of the ordinary.

[Kathryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read a couple books by in or around the late 90s, which I really very good. This one was good, but nothing very special. There was also a mystery involved and I never guessed who done it, until it was revealed. All in all, there was something lacking with this book. This is not one of my least favorite eras, though.

[Meaghan Frangipani · Rating 4 out of 5]

A romance between two unlikely people with some mystery and action to keep you on your toes!

[Kem · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book for the most part. There's mystery, danger, humor, and romance. I like the two main characters. The closure is satisfactory if not as complete as I like.

[Chere Weaver · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fast read with a good story.

[Pattie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love story with a mystery. What's not to like!

[Bec Braswell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok this was a almost miss for me, and that is rare in a Garlock. Nice enough story line but kinda lacking in her signature style.

[Rose Bedwell · Rating 3 out of 5]

My aunt, Katherine, gave me a large trash bag full of books she had read one of the last few times I saw her alive. I am slowly reading through them along with selections by 2 book clubs I am in and books I want to read and am committed to--like the Outlander and Daniel Silva's Gabriel Allon series. She was a voracious reader--I didn't know that until too late. I would have liked the opportunity to discuss some of the books with her.

The book was entertaining and an easy read.

[Edith Ray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anna Finnegan was alone and hungry on the streets of Chicago. She got into vaudeville and decided she would become an actress. That would give her money to eat, dress well, and have a warm place to live. She is chosen to be the star in a movie that is to be produced in Texas.
There is a also a famous star in the cast. This star is jealous of Anna and does spiteful things to her. There are other events are that are happening to delay the production of the show.

The small town's residents have mixed feelings about having this show produced in their town. It has given many jobs, but they aren't sure if that is worth having so many strangers in their town.

One of the towns people is the son of the blacksmith. He protects Anna and they become friends.

At long last the culprits of the many mishaps are part of the organization.

[Candace Smith · Rating 1 out of 5]

Well, I liked it until near the end. First of all, the sex out of nowhere. I just wish I'd been able to tell at the beginning something like that might happen, then I wouldn't have read it! Then, she is molested and keeps on going like literally NOTHING HAPPENED?! Are you kidding? Sorry, but I don't think this author has any real experience with sexual abuse, otherwise she would know that just doesn't make sense. You can't just walk away like that. It doesn't happen. Don't get me started on the dynamite and how it hurts noone. Sorry, but I never want to see this book again. It was just so good until the last section!

[Linda Bridges · Rating 3 out of 5]

Anna Finnegan gets a shot at a starring role in a movie being filmed on location in the backwaters of west Texas. There she meets handsome blacksmith Dalton. The film is beset with many problems and sabotage, there is a town villain worthy of Mr. Potter in It's a Wonderful Life, and . . . ..
I don't want to rate this book because it is a very formulaic romance novel, and I'm not really into those. I picked up the book because of a brief synopsis I read and it sounded more like historical fiction. As far a romance novels go, this one was fine; they're just not my thing.

[April · Rating 4 out of 5]

1050s-A new actress offered starring role in western. Mysterious sabotage of movie uncovered by her & blacksmith boyfriend.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun story which most of the story occurs in Texas. Most of the main characters are movie people as they are shooting a movie. The hero is the native Texan in a little town along the border. He doesn't want to like the movie people. The heroine is the actress selected to be the star in the movie but she isn't known yet.

The movie is being sabotaged by someone when accidents start to happen and the heroine enlists the hero to help her figure out who is responsible.

Very quick read.

[Lyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Romance with some Mystery!
A well written romance. Just as soon as I thought I knew “who dun nit” the plot twisted and turned again! Garlock novels always are worth the time invested. Enjoy! NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing provided an advanced review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book was enjoyable but did not have much of a plot.

A young girl acting in a small-town playhouse is seen by a director and given a starring role in a western to be filmed in Texas. During the filming, too many accidents began to occur for it to be coincidental. Anna and her friends Dalton and Walker try to find out who is behind the accidents and stop them before someone is killed.

[Max · Rating 1 out of 5]

I received this book through Goodreads Giveaways. I am not a romance novel-reader generally, and this book just didn't keep my interest. However, it is probably perfect for those looking for a Western-themed romance, and I would not discourage those looking for that type of book to read this!

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fairly good with a little suspense. I enjoyed the main characters. The sense of "the glass half full" is always present in this book. Thank you for giving me the oppurtunity to read this as a goodreads first read.

[Navem · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's not bad. It's jut not a top notch book. I would not go out and specifically look for it. But if I had found it at a thrift store for a quarter I would have liked it better.

[Spring Adams · Rating 5 out of 5]

it was a really good book

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always enjoy reading Dorothy Garlock's books but Under a Texas Sky I felt wasn't as well written as her previous books. It seemed to me that a part of the story was missing.

[Diane Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Dorothy Garlocks books. They are usually set back in the 20's and 30's and have lots of excitement in them...

[Sandy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'll give this book a 2.5 as it was not a favorite. I like Dorothy Garlock books, but this one was not my cup of tea.

[Ralynn · Rating 2 out of 5]

not a bad book, could of done with out the love scence.