Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book

Western Man

Rate this book

A Simon & Schuster eBook

Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1983

30 people are currently reading
118 people want to read

About the author

Janet Dailey

397 books1,851 followers
Janet Anne Haradon Dailey was an American author of numerous romance novels as Janet Dailey (her married name). Her novels have been translated into nineteen languages and have sold over 300 million copies worldwide.

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

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

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

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
52 (25%)
4 stars
49 (23%)
3 stars
76 (36%)
2 stars
24 (11%)
1 star
6 (2%)
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
111 reviews
October 13, 2021
Sharon has had a crush on her brothers best friend Ridge ever since she was a teenager. Ridge owns the neighboring cattle ranch. When Ridge is injured by a bull, Sharon is elected to look after him. Let me just start by saying I am a big fan of cowboy romances and I usually enjoy Janet Dailey but Ridge is so chauvinistic and at times plain unlikeable. I see this book was published in the early 1980s and as a result it is terribly dated. For a start when Ridge is nearly crushed by a bull it is just assumed that Sharon, who is a talented horse trainer will just drop everything to be his nursemaid. Her parents seem to have no concerns that their 21 year old daughter will be living in such close proximity with an older more experienced man. I liked Sharon's character, she has a good heart and works hard but Ridge is so ungrateful and demanding of her time, calling out for her every 5 minutes or so like a spoiled child. There was a couple of instances in the story which made me a bit uncomfortable. Ridge was borderline aggressive with her, grabbing her roughly and almost forcing her to kiss him. This stuff just would not fly today. I hated the way he took advantage of her kind nature. Also I am a nurse and the way Ridge abused the nurses when he was in hospital made my blood boil. There is no excuse for this behavior. It really turned me off him. His smoking was also a big turn off, he even smoked in bed yuck. The ending was not satisfying either. It seems like Ridge only proposes to her because he misses having her around to wait on him. His declaration of love is so half hearted too. Poor Sharon deserved better. I would have given this 2.5 stars but that wasn t an option.
Profile Image for MissKitty.
1,755 reviews
February 28, 2018
A bit boring, a bit dated. The book was decent enough.

The heroine had loved and adored the Hero, who was a friend of her brother, all her life. Now she is an adult, she loves him as a woman, but the Hero-worship aspect is gone. The Hero is the happy to be single type, and though he is friendly and flirtatious he never shows her anything special that singles her out fr all the other women he has known.

When he is injured, she goes to take care of him and there begins a subtle shift in their relationship. It was a good premise and could have been better. I felt the H merely got used to her taking care of him, instead of really falling in love with her :-(

Plus all that smoking while in the bedroom - yuck!!!
Profile Image for PAINTED BOX.
696 reviews7 followers
Read
December 31, 2017
NO LONGER A STARRY-EYED CHILD...

For years Sharon Powell had idolized Ridge Halliday, the arrogant rancher whose western Colorado spread adjoined her family's. Ridge had always indulged her wide-eyed adoration, yet Sharon realized that he saw her only as an amusing child and fought hard to overcome her infatuation.

Now, no longer an impressionable teenager, she was immune to his lazy sensuality and meaningless love games. Or so she thought.

Had she conquered an adolescent crush only to have it replaced with the heated passion of a full-blooded woman?
Profile Image for Cindy.
172 reviews2 followers
June 9, 2019
I always love a good Janet Dailey book!!
Profile Image for Aarann.
1,011 reviews85 followers
April 14, 2016
3.5 stars.

This was a short, sweet little ditty. Sharon used to be in love with Ridge when she was a kid, but he never really noticed her. She didn't go to France and pull a Sabrina or go to college out of state or make some big dramatic move. She just stayed at home and did her best to get over him. And when the book opens, she pretty much has.

Ridge is a bit of a flirt at the beginning of the book and you can understand where a younger Sharon (not that Sharon is old -- she's only 21 when the book opens) would have gotten confused about his mixed signals. After Ridge is seriously injured (although apparently not so seriously he couldn't pretty much get over it in three days... RUUUURLY?), Sharon is elected caretaker and of course has to stay at Ridge's house, in the bedroom next to his. Of course after a while, it isn't long before old feelings come rushing back and things get confusing for Sharon again.

The copy I had was old and I'm guessing this book was published in the 80s-ish, although I forgot to check the title page. There is a decided lack of sex in this one, so I'm thinking it was before the sex was de rigueur in all of the Harleys. Some of the reactions were a bit OTT soap-operatic, even in comparison to some of today's shenanigans, which seemed to be a theme in the older romances.

Still, I had fun reading it. I'm not sure how much I'd re-read, but I'm not sorry I picked it up from the library book sale. Janet Dailey is never going to be an Old Skool favorite of mine, but I enjoy her from time to time.
582 reviews4 followers
June 24, 2015
Good, interesting novel. Sharon Powell has had a crush on Ridge Halliday since she was a teenager. She is an adult now and says she is over him. Ridge gets stomped on by a bull and is seriously injured, but refuses to stay in the hospital. Sharon is more or less elected to stay with him at his ranch and take care of him. In spite of what she had said, old feelings surface even stronger; however, each one of them has his/her own idea of what they want and it doesn't look like there is any hope of a lasting romance--Sharon won't be one of Ridge's one-night stands.
Profile Image for Anne.
4,789 reviews71.4k followers
August 13, 2010
Not my cup o' tea. I never felt that Ridge was worthy of all that hero worship on Sharon's part. Especially once she was a grown woman.
At least it was mercifully short. If you feel the need to read every single book about cowboys out there, then maybe you'll like this one. Otherwise, skip it.
Profile Image for PAINTED BOX.
696 reviews7 followers
Read
July 1, 2018
As a teenager, Sharon Powell had adored Ridge Halliday, the handsome, long-limbed owner of the Colorado Ranch that borded hers. She realized he'd seen her only as an amusing child, someone to tease. Working at his side on a cattle roundup, Sharon was enthralled and succumbed to his kisses. Her passions ran too deep for only one night of love-she vowed to win his heart for a lifetime.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews

Can't find what you're looking for?

Get help and learn more about the design.