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Long, Tall Texans #45
Texas Born
Their love was born in Texas…
Gabriel Brandon had been her hero ever since she was a girl and he'd rescued her, an orphan, from sure ruin. And Michelle Godrey had loved him forever, the mysterious rancher with the dark eyes, her protector and guardian angel. Now she'd blossomed into a woman. But could Michelle ever cast aside the shadows that lingered between them? Could she show Gabriel that their Lone Star love was true?
"Palmer's latest entry in her Long, Tall Texans series is an intriguing story that blurs the line between good and evil…the romance between the main characters builds nicely with some gentle humor, and the moral dilemmas they face are believable and engrossing."
—RT Book Reviews on Protector
Gabriel Brandon had been her hero ever since she was a girl and he'd rescued her, an orphan, from sure ruin. And Michelle Godrey had loved him forever, the mysterious rancher with the dark eyes, her protector and guardian angel. Now she'd blossomed into a woman. But could Michelle ever cast aside the shadows that lingered between them? Could she show Gabriel that their Lone Star love was true?
"Palmer's latest entry in her Long, Tall Texans series is an intriguing story that blurs the line between good and evil…the romance between the main characters builds nicely with some gentle humor, and the moral dilemmas they face are believable and engrossing."
—RT Book Reviews on Protector
224 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published October 1, 2014
366 people are currently reading
1093 people want to read
About the author
Diana Palmer
1,039 books3,097 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
Diana Palmer is a pseudonym for author Susan Kyle.
(1)romance author
Susan Eloise Spaeth was born on 11 December 1946 in Cuthbert, Georgia, USA. She was the eldest daughter of Maggie Eloise Cliatt, a nurse and also journalist, and William Olin Spaeth, a college professor. Her mother was part of the women's liberation movement many years before it became fashionable. Her best friends are her mother and her sister, Dannis Spaeth (Cole), who now has two daughters, Amanda Belle Hofstetter and Maggie and lives in Utah. Susan grew up reading Zane Grey and fell in love with cowboys. Susan is a former newspaper reporter, with sixteen years experience on both daily and weekly newspapers. Since 1972, she has been married to James Kyle and have since settled down in Cornelia, Georgia, where she started to write romance novels. Susan and her husband have one son, Blayne Edward, born in 1980.
She began selling romances in 1979 as Diana Palmer. She also used the pseudonyms Diana Blayne and Katy Currie, and her married name: Susan Kyle. Now, she has over 40 million copies of her books in print, which have been translated and published around the world. She is listed in numerous publications, including Contemporary Authors by Gale Research, Inc., Twentieth Century Romance and Historical Writers by St. James Press, The Writers Directory by St. James Press, the International Who's Who of Authors and Writers by Meirose Press, Ltd., and Love's Leading Ladies by Kathryn Falk. Her awards include seven Waldenbooks national sales awards, four B. Dalton national sales awards, two Bookrak national sales awards, a Lifetime Achievement Award for series storytelling from Romantic Times, several Affaire de Coeur awards, and two regional RWA awards.
Inspired by her husband, who quit a blue-collar manufacturing job to return to school and get his diploma in computer programming, Susan herself went back to college as a day student at the age of 45. In 1995, she graduated summa cum laude from Piedmont College, Demorest, GA, with a major in history and a double minor in archaeology and Spanish. She was named to two honor societies (the Torch Club and Alpha Chi), and was named to the National Dean's List. In addition to her writing projects, she is currently working on her master's degree in history at California State University. She hopes to specialize in Native American studies. She is a member of the Native American Rights Fund, the American Museum of Natural History, the National Cattlemen's Association, the Archaeological Institute of Amenca, the Planetary Society, The Georgia Conservancy, the Georgia Sheriff's Association, and numerous conservation and charitable organizations. Her hobbies include gardening, archaeology, anthropology, iguanas, astronomy and music.
In 1998, her husband retired from his own computer business and now pursues skeet shooting medals in local, state, national and international competition. They love riding around and looking at the countryside, watching sci-fi on TV and at the movies, just talking and eating out.
Diana Palmer is a pseudonym for author Susan Kyle.
(1)romance author
Susan Eloise Spaeth was born on 11 December 1946 in Cuthbert, Georgia, USA. She was the eldest daughter of Maggie Eloise Cliatt, a nurse and also journalist, and William Olin Spaeth, a college professor. Her mother was part of the women's liberation movement many years before it became fashionable. Her best friends are her mother and her sister, Dannis Spaeth (Cole), who now has two daughters, Amanda Belle Hofstetter and Maggie and lives in Utah. Susan grew up reading Zane Grey and fell in love with cowboys. Susan is a former newspaper reporter, with sixteen years experience on both daily and weekly newspapers. Since 1972, she has been married to James Kyle and have since settled down in Cornelia, Georgia, where she started to write romance novels. Susan and her husband have one son, Blayne Edward, born in 1980.
She began selling romances in 1979 as Diana Palmer. She also used the pseudonyms Diana Blayne and Katy Currie, and her married name: Susan Kyle. Now, she has over 40 million copies of her books in print, which have been translated and published around the world. She is listed in numerous publications, including Contemporary Authors by Gale Research, Inc., Twentieth Century Romance and Historical Writers by St. James Press, The Writers Directory by St. James Press, the International Who's Who of Authors and Writers by Meirose Press, Ltd., and Love's Leading Ladies by Kathryn Falk. Her awards include seven Waldenbooks national sales awards, four B. Dalton national sales awards, two Bookrak national sales awards, a Lifetime Achievement Award for series storytelling from Romantic Times, several Affaire de Coeur awards, and two regional RWA awards.
Inspired by her husband, who quit a blue-collar manufacturing job to return to school and get his diploma in computer programming, Susan herself went back to college as a day student at the age of 45. In 1995, she graduated summa cum laude from Piedmont College, Demorest, GA, with a major in history and a double minor in archaeology and Spanish. She was named to two honor societies (the Torch Club and Alpha Chi), and was named to the National Dean's List. In addition to her writing projects, she is currently working on her master's degree in history at California State University. She hopes to specialize in Native American studies. She is a member of the Native American Rights Fund, the American Museum of Natural History, the National Cattlemen's Association, the Archaeological Institute of Amenca, the Planetary Society, The Georgia Conservancy, the Georgia Sheriff's Association, and numerous conservation and charitable organizations. Her hobbies include gardening, archaeology, anthropology, iguanas, astronomy and music.
In 1998, her husband retired from his own computer business and now pursues skeet shooting medals in local, state, national and international competition. They love riding around and looking at the countryside, watching sci-fi on TV and at the movies, just talking and eating out.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 102 reviews
March 3, 2024
Ugh. So, this was, well, terrible.
When I planned to read random romance novels a few months ago, I anticipated reading a few that were not very good. It was a pleasant surprise that most of what I have selected I have actually liked. They aren’t great literature, mind you, but they have been competently written. Some of the authors have even exhibited something akin to talent in regards to writing.
Then, along came Diana Palmer. According to her bio, she has written over a hundred books, and she is acclaimed as one of the 10 best contemporary romance writers in America. I personally don’t see it.
I realize, however, that it’s unfair to judge a writer’s talent on just one book, which is why I plan on reading another Palmer book eventually, to see if this book, “Texas Born”, may have simply been a fluke. It may very well have been one of her worst books, or maybe she wrote it on an off day. Whatever the case, “Texas Born” was garbage.
There’s so much wrong about this book, but I’ll start with the obvious: the main character, Michelle Godfrey, who, at the start of the novel is a naive 17-year-old growing up with an evil stepmother after her father died.
Michelle is beyond naive, really; she’s almost mentally retarded. It’s a wonder she is able to clothe herself. She has lived at the whim of everyone around her, and she has had everything done for her. Therein lies the problem. It’s not completely her fault.
She is treated like a fragile flower throughout the novel. Everyone, including her 24-year-old ward, Gabriel Brandon, keeps vital information from her and hordes secrets as if they will completely and literally destroy her. The implication is that she is a tragic-stricken young girl who can’t handle anything too stressful or traumatic. There is some pretty fucked-up sexism and misogyny going on here.
And let’s talk about Brandon: He essentially adopts her after almost running her over when she attempts suicide-by-pickup-truck. Secretly, he wants to fuck her brains out, but he has to wait until she’s a bit older and more mature. Meanwhile, he takes one for the team and suffers through major blue balls. We are led to believe that this is because he is a “gentleman”.
What 24-year-old man would even be allowed to adopt a 17-year-old ward? And how would that not look creepy and disgusting in any way? Then again, this book does take place in Texas, so there’s that...
There is also very little plot in this novel. Or anything close to what I have come to expect as “romance” (lots of talking, holding hands, kissing, and soft-core sex scenes, at most) in other novels. “Texas Born” is almost G-rated in its prudishness. Brandon and Michelle hold out literally until the last few pages of the book to finally get it on, and it’s, of course, after their wedding.
An attempt is made to create some suspense and tension when Brandon (a top-secret Special Ops soldier-of-fortune mercenary or whatever the fuck he is) is embroiled in a huge scandal during an operation in the Middle East. Michelle writes a story about it in the newspaper, which causes a huge national uproar that puts Brandon’s reputation in jeopardy.
Yawn. This part is so poorly-written and unbelievable that it simply got in the way of the rest of the non-story.
What I don’t understand is why and how this book was even published.
When I planned to read random romance novels a few months ago, I anticipated reading a few that were not very good. It was a pleasant surprise that most of what I have selected I have actually liked. They aren’t great literature, mind you, but they have been competently written. Some of the authors have even exhibited something akin to talent in regards to writing.
Then, along came Diana Palmer. According to her bio, she has written over a hundred books, and she is acclaimed as one of the 10 best contemporary romance writers in America. I personally don’t see it.
I realize, however, that it’s unfair to judge a writer’s talent on just one book, which is why I plan on reading another Palmer book eventually, to see if this book, “Texas Born”, may have simply been a fluke. It may very well have been one of her worst books, or maybe she wrote it on an off day. Whatever the case, “Texas Born” was garbage.
There’s so much wrong about this book, but I’ll start with the obvious: the main character, Michelle Godfrey, who, at the start of the novel is a naive 17-year-old growing up with an evil stepmother after her father died.
Michelle is beyond naive, really; she’s almost mentally retarded. It’s a wonder she is able to clothe herself. She has lived at the whim of everyone around her, and she has had everything done for her. Therein lies the problem. It’s not completely her fault.
She is treated like a fragile flower throughout the novel. Everyone, including her 24-year-old ward, Gabriel Brandon, keeps vital information from her and hordes secrets as if they will completely and literally destroy her. The implication is that she is a tragic-stricken young girl who can’t handle anything too stressful or traumatic. There is some pretty fucked-up sexism and misogyny going on here.
And let’s talk about Brandon: He essentially adopts her after almost running her over when she attempts suicide-by-pickup-truck. Secretly, he wants to fuck her brains out, but he has to wait until she’s a bit older and more mature. Meanwhile, he takes one for the team and suffers through major blue balls. We are led to believe that this is because he is a “gentleman”.
What 24-year-old man would even be allowed to adopt a 17-year-old ward? And how would that not look creepy and disgusting in any way? Then again, this book does take place in Texas, so there’s that...
There is also very little plot in this novel. Or anything close to what I have come to expect as “romance” (lots of talking, holding hands, kissing, and soft-core sex scenes, at most) in other novels. “Texas Born” is almost G-rated in its prudishness. Brandon and Michelle hold out literally until the last few pages of the book to finally get it on, and it’s, of course, after their wedding.
An attempt is made to create some suspense and tension when Brandon (a top-secret Special Ops soldier-of-fortune mercenary or whatever the fuck he is) is embroiled in a huge scandal during an operation in the Middle East. Michelle writes a story about it in the newspaper, which causes a huge national uproar that puts Brandon’s reputation in jeopardy.
Yawn. This part is so poorly-written and unbelievable that it simply got in the way of the rest of the non-story.
What I don’t understand is why and how this book was even published.
August 15, 2020
No cruel heroes here. Slow burn romance that begins when the hero encounters the heroine after she has been slapped by her evil, coked-out stepmother. Hero vows to protect her, but evil stepmother dies of an overdose before he can do much of anything. Since heroine is alone in the world, the 24 year-old hero decides to be heroine’s “guardian” until she graduates from college.
He sends for his beautiful sister to chaperone so they all can live on his ranch together.
Then he gets busy:
*Hero gets the heroine into college with one phone call to the board of directors (The heroine is reassured that it’s a Protestant college – no unisex dorms)
*He flies her to New Orleans for lunch after he high school graduation, since she had never been on a plane.
*He buys her a white Jaguar so she can learn to drive.
*He takes her to the ballet and provides her a black velvetsack dress evening gown.
So it’s all too good to be true for four years.
The black moment?
Hero has never revealed that he is a mercenary called “The Angel.” The heroine blows his cover when she writes up a “biased” story about a Middle-Eastern raid for a San Antonio newspaper.
After realizing her mistake, she writes a retraction and gives an interview on national TV, hero is out of danger and returns home to marry the heroine.
His sister and the neighboring cattle rancher in Comanche Wells will move to Wyoming and have their own romance in Wyoming Strong.
So it’s a sweet romance that should have been written in the 1970’s when –
*print newspapers were king
*heroes gave their ladies pearls and chocolates
* Jaguars were aspirational
* cell phones were unheard of
*unisex dorms were radical innovations
* under-30's still watched TV
Usually I have a problem with DP’s setting and her understanding of how small town economies actually work, but this time I had an issue with the hero being 24 and talking like a 60 year-old man. I kept wanting to say “Ok, boomer” to a character who is supposed to be two years old than my son. And don't get me started on how much money he was throwing around.
DP really needs to stick with the May/December formula she does so well.
Diana Palmer checklist:
Hairy chest check
Breast Description small and soft
Cigarettes/gaming evil stepmother smokes. Hero of Wyoming Strong plays world of warcraft with this hero’s sister.
Alcohol evil stepmother was a coke fiend
Town Descriptions Comanche Wells is the setting. It’s a small town, except the high school graduation is held in a football stadium with huge crowds
Gardenia Scent No
LOL detail Jacobs county is the safest, friendliest place on earth, but the high school is full of drug-addicted students
Cutesy detail Heroine told the same joke about aliens abducting cows at least five times.
DP hobbyhorse Network TV has five minutes of programming for fifteen minutes of commercials. Journalists are too biased – especially those East Coast newspapers
He sends for his beautiful sister to chaperone so they all can live on his ranch together.
Then he gets busy:
*Hero gets the heroine into college with one phone call to the board of directors (The heroine is reassured that it’s a Protestant college – no unisex dorms)
*He flies her to New Orleans for lunch after he high school graduation, since she had never been on a plane.
*He buys her a white Jaguar so she can learn to drive.
*He takes her to the ballet and provides her a black velvet
So it’s all too good to be true for four years.
The black moment?
Hero has never revealed that he is a mercenary called “The Angel.” The heroine blows his cover when she writes up a “biased” story about a Middle-Eastern raid for a San Antonio newspaper.
After realizing her mistake, she writes a retraction and gives an interview on national TV, hero is out of danger and returns home to marry the heroine.
His sister and the neighboring cattle rancher in Comanche Wells will move to Wyoming and have their own romance in Wyoming Strong.
So it’s a sweet romance that should have been written in the 1970’s when –
*print newspapers were king
*heroes gave their ladies pearls and chocolates
* Jaguars were aspirational
* cell phones were unheard of
*unisex dorms were radical innovations
* under-30's still watched TV
Usually I have a problem with DP’s setting and her understanding of how small town economies actually work, but this time I had an issue with the hero being 24 and talking like a 60 year-old man. I kept wanting to say “Ok, boomer” to a character who is supposed to be two years old than my son. And don't get me started on how much money he was throwing around.
DP really needs to stick with the May/December formula she does so well.
Diana Palmer checklist:
Hairy chest check
Breast Description small and soft
Cigarettes/gaming evil stepmother smokes. Hero of Wyoming Strong plays world of warcraft with this hero’s sister.
Alcohol evil stepmother was a coke fiend
Town Descriptions Comanche Wells is the setting. It’s a small town, except the high school graduation is held in a football stadium with huge crowds
Gardenia Scent No
LOL detail Jacobs county is the safest, friendliest place on earth, but the high school is full of drug-addicted students
Cutesy detail Heroine told the same joke about aliens abducting cows at least five times.
DP hobbyhorse Network TV has five minutes of programming for fifteen minutes of commercials. Journalists are too biased – especially those East Coast newspapers
September 7, 2014
Michelle is a 17 year old orphan. She lives with her stepmother who treats her like Cinderella. When she is left alone Gabriel a man who saves her from certain death becomes her friend and guardian. She moves in with him and his sister. They love her and cherish her, shower her with gifts they help her with university and her career. Years later she becomes a journalist but when she betrays Gabriel will he ever forgive her?
I loved Gabriel and Michelle. Gabriel is not your typical alpha male. He is not cruel or hard. He adores Michelle and he patiently waits for her to grow up and then make his move. Michelle is your typical poor innocent sweet Diana Palmer heroine. I wanted to put her in my pocket and take her home! Her career almost costs her the man she loves but she makes up for her mistakes.
The epilogue was all kinds of sweet and heartwarming! Can't wait for Wolf's and Sara's story!
I loved Gabriel and Michelle. Gabriel is not your typical alpha male. He is not cruel or hard. He adores Michelle and he patiently waits for her to grow up and then make his move. Michelle is your typical poor innocent sweet Diana Palmer heroine. I wanted to put her in my pocket and take her home! Her career almost costs her the man she loves but she makes up for her mistakes.
The epilogue was all kinds of sweet and heartwarming! Can't wait for Wolf's and Sara's story!
April 29, 2015
-1.5-
El padre de la chica fallece por un cáncer terminal, su madrastra de una sobredosis, sus abuelos en un accidente de tráfico.
El padre del chico muere en un accidente de avión, su madre se casa con un alcohólico que intenta violar a su hermana, el cual matan a tiros cuando intenta volver a violarla y su madre se aísla del mundo donde Jesucristo perdió la alpargata.
El cura del pueblo era un ex convicto al que un loco intento matar a navajazos, los cuales no recibió por la intervención de su hija. Dicha hija trabaja en un periódico local, llevado por una editora huérfana por la muerte prematura de sus padres.
¿Por qué leo esta mierda?
El padre de la chica fallece por un cáncer terminal, su madrastra de una sobredosis, sus abuelos en un accidente de tráfico.
El padre del chico muere en un accidente de avión, su madre se casa con un alcohólico que intenta violar a su hermana, el cual matan a tiros cuando intenta volver a violarla y su madre se aísla del mundo donde Jesucristo perdió la alpargata.
El cura del pueblo era un ex convicto al que un loco intento matar a navajazos, los cuales no recibió por la intervención de su hija. Dicha hija trabaja en un periódico local, llevado por una editora huérfana por la muerte prematura de sus padres.
¿Por qué leo esta mierda?
July 11, 2021
This book is ecological. Because it had zero impact on me.
The hero meets the heroine when she’s 17 and he’s 24, and decides he will wait until she’s grown up to court her.
And we readers have to wait until 75% of the book to see them kiss.
They almost have no interactions until that moment, that is the book is full of useless scenes that seem to be there because there are pages to fill. No good.
Then, after their kiss, she does a stupid thing and blows his cover as a secret agent, but she didn’t know he was an agent, so his reaction and his sister’s are not motivated. There is this not so quite angsty moment, then she clears his name and they are together eventually.
One star more because he was celibate and in love with her since their first meeting, that was cute and extremely romantic. This hero was really good and caring. But the book was not worth reading.
The hero meets the heroine when she’s 17 and he’s 24, and decides he will wait until she’s grown up to court her.
And we readers have to wait until 75% of the book to see them kiss.
They almost have no interactions until that moment, that is the book is full of useless scenes that seem to be there because there are pages to fill. No good.
Then, after their kiss, she does a stupid thing and blows his cover as a secret agent, but she didn’t know he was an agent, so his reaction and his sister’s are not motivated. There is this not so quite angsty moment, then she clears his name and they are together eventually.
One star more because he was celibate and in love with her since their first meeting, that was cute and extremely romantic. This hero was really good and caring. But the book was not worth reading.
September 17, 2014
Book starts out with the heroine being 17 years old and living with her stepmother after her father passed away weeks before. She's a few months away from graduating high school. Hero is said to be a neighbor who is always away. He's 24 and a has a secret past. He's frequently away on business. We find out later that he's a mercenary. The best at his job, blah blah blah. Of course he is. At 24. If she had said 34-38, I may have believed that more but 24? No, just didn't ring true.
Stepmother is evil, sells her father's things for money and tells the heroine that she sent it all to the landfill (so the heroine doesn't try to track the items down). Has the sleazy boyfriend who she flaunts in front of the heroine the same day they buried her father. Sleazy boyfriend has his eye on the heroine so she stays away from him. A few chapters in, stepmother dies of a drug overdose (it also happens to be the heroine's 18th birthday) and it's said the boyfriend is the one who gave her the drugs so the heroine's life is in danger from him. Hero is home at the time and says she can't stay home alone because who knows what sleazy boyfriend will do to cover his tracks about the drugs, yada yada yada. He invites her to stay at his place. Heroine has a friend stay with her at hero's place until his sister comes and stays with them while police investigate the sleazy boyfriend & stepmother's death. The heroine is 18 until about 70% into the book, when she finally graduates from high school and the hero is drawn to her but...she's too young for him, he's seen too much ugly stuff in the world and he has to wait for her to grow up. Go to college, have a career, meet someone her own age, etc etc etc. *huge eye roll* Hero is again frequently gone, heroine has no idea what he does. Heroine goes off to college and finally (!!) the book skips ahead to when she's 21 and he's 27. He shows up one night at her apartment when a date decides that a dinner date = sex and kicks him out. Hero can finally give in and kiss her now that she's 21. But then he has to leave again. After she graduates college, she lands a news story about some mercenary named Angel who did some bad things, she writes a story about how Angel needs to be caught and brought to justice and that takes off in the news and then finds out later, after it blows up, that Angel is really Gabriel, the hero. Of course Gabriel would never ever do what she accused in her article but hero and his sister no longer want anything to do with her so the last 10% or so is the heroine all mopey until the hero shows up unexpectedly because she never thought to see him again after she betrayed him blah blah blah. Kiss, make-up, get married, have sexytimes and six weeks later they're pregnant.
A side note: The sleazy boyfriend of the stepmother's? The one that the heroine was in danger from? He never showed up at all after the stepmother's death...it was like that was used to get her out of her house but then nothing ever came of it...he just went *poof* and was gone.
Let me also say that DP was one of the first two romance authors to hook me on romance books so I tend to buy her books as soon as they come out. I usually know what to expect...her books tend to be recycled, same story, just different character names. I still bought them and read them. Some I enjoyed more than others, even knowing I'd already read the story in a different book of hers. But this one...it was just....boring. God, was it boring. Maybe if it hadn't spent the majority of the book with the heroine and hero being 18 and 24? I'm used to her heroines being young & naïve (not that young though!) and her heroes are usually upper 30s/early 40s so I was puzzled that this one was also so young.
Stepmother is evil, sells her father's things for money and tells the heroine that she sent it all to the landfill (so the heroine doesn't try to track the items down). Has the sleazy boyfriend who she flaunts in front of the heroine the same day they buried her father. Sleazy boyfriend has his eye on the heroine so she stays away from him. A few chapters in, stepmother dies of a drug overdose (it also happens to be the heroine's 18th birthday) and it's said the boyfriend is the one who gave her the drugs so the heroine's life is in danger from him. Hero is home at the time and says she can't stay home alone because who knows what sleazy boyfriend will do to cover his tracks about the drugs, yada yada yada. He invites her to stay at his place. Heroine has a friend stay with her at hero's place until his sister comes and stays with them while police investigate the sleazy boyfriend & stepmother's death. The heroine is 18 until about 70% into the book, when she finally graduates from high school and the hero is drawn to her but...she's too young for him, he's seen too much ugly stuff in the world and he has to wait for her to grow up. Go to college, have a career, meet someone her own age, etc etc etc. *huge eye roll* Hero is again frequently gone, heroine has no idea what he does. Heroine goes off to college and finally (!!) the book skips ahead to when she's 21 and he's 27. He shows up one night at her apartment when a date decides that a dinner date = sex and kicks him out. Hero can finally give in and kiss her now that she's 21. But then he has to leave again. After she graduates college, she lands a news story about some mercenary named Angel who did some bad things, she writes a story about how Angel needs to be caught and brought to justice and that takes off in the news and then finds out later, after it blows up, that Angel is really Gabriel, the hero. Of course Gabriel would never ever do what she accused in her article but hero and his sister no longer want anything to do with her so the last 10% or so is the heroine all mopey until the hero shows up unexpectedly because she never thought to see him again after she betrayed him blah blah blah. Kiss, make-up, get married, have sexytimes and six weeks later they're pregnant.
A side note: The sleazy boyfriend of the stepmother's? The one that the heroine was in danger from? He never showed up at all after the stepmother's death...it was like that was used to get her out of her house but then nothing ever came of it...he just went *poof* and was gone.
Let me also say that DP was one of the first two romance authors to hook me on romance books so I tend to buy her books as soon as they come out. I usually know what to expect...her books tend to be recycled, same story, just different character names. I still bought them and read them. Some I enjoyed more than others, even knowing I'd already read the story in a different book of hers. But this one...it was just....boring. God, was it boring. Maybe if it hadn't spent the majority of the book with the heroine and hero being 18 and 24? I'm used to her heroines being young & naïve (not that young though!) and her heroes are usually upper 30s/early 40s so I was puzzled that this one was also so young.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 8, 2014
At first ,I thought that this was a bit on the boring side to be honest,the majority of the book had the heroine in her last few months of high school,just turned 18.The hero,24,but came across as older,a seasoned merc.But my intrest perked up 3/4 way into the book and turned into the DP of old which I love.Very sweet pg type book whenn you want a low key read.I liked this heroine and hero.Gabriel was great.
3.5***
3.5***
January 11, 2015
Not as good as I was expected.
I was expecting the usual "annoying" Hero of Diana Palmer, you know. I was looking forward to read this book because to be honest, this is the last Diana Palmer's book I have and I haven't purchase anything else. I'm a bit disappointed. :(
The plot itself is pretty predictable, but I didn't really get excitement. It lacks of drama and I was hoping for a better closure with Michelle's step mom and her boyfriend, not something so abrupt like this. And I think there's not enough interaction between Michelle and Gabriel because most of the time, Michelle is to busy growing up (which Gabriel insist upon) and Gabriel's too busy staying away. But when Michelle's age is enough, he was like BAM! Just like that. I was wishing for more push and pull, like Diana Palmer usual writing but in this book, I get nothing.
This book's like, a personal diary of Michelle, a daily journal of hers.
Look forward to read another book by Diana Palmer because seriously, I love her no matter what.
I was expecting the usual "annoying" Hero of Diana Palmer, you know. I was looking forward to read this book because to be honest, this is the last Diana Palmer's book I have and I haven't purchase anything else. I'm a bit disappointed. :(
The plot itself is pretty predictable, but I didn't really get excitement. It lacks of drama and I was hoping for a better closure with Michelle's step mom and her boyfriend, not something so abrupt like this. And I think there's not enough interaction between Michelle and Gabriel because most of the time, Michelle is to busy growing up (which Gabriel insist upon) and Gabriel's too busy staying away. But when Michelle's age is enough, he was like BAM! Just like that. I was wishing for more push and pull, like Diana Palmer usual writing but in this book, I get nothing.
This book's like, a personal diary of Michelle, a daily journal of hers.
Look forward to read another book by Diana Palmer because seriously, I love her no matter what.
June 14, 2016
El peor libro de Diana Palmer. Aunque sus historias no suelen ser nada del otro mundo, característica de este tipo de historias de Harlequín, esta no es ni amena, ni divertida, ni nada. Sus protagonitas son muy sosos y aburridos igual que la relación entre ambos. Lo que se supone que fuera la única parte "interesante" se queda en eso, un suponer. Resulta tan forzada que es resulta irrisoria.
Me alegro de no haber conocido a la autora a través de esta obra porque entonces puede que no le hubiera dado otra oportunidad y lo cierto es que sus historias me encantan. Son ideales para distraerme un rato sin darle mucho a la cabeza.
Me alegro de no haber conocido a la autora a través de esta obra porque entonces puede que no le hubiera dado otra oportunidad y lo cierto es que sus historias me encantan. Son ideales para distraerme un rato sin darle mucho a la cabeza.
September 7, 2023
The gentlest H in DP's books I've reread recently. He wasn't mean to h, and always be there for her after the encounter in the road. Even waited for her. Totally a sweetheart. Although they had misunderstanding, it turned out well. Great ending.
March 22, 2019
I barely got through this book. It was slow with very few redeeming qualities. Don’t waste your time.
January 9, 2022
Oplæser: Todd McLaren. Ok tilfreds.
Jeg har lige haft en omgang “kærlighedssyge”, hvor det næsten ikke kunne blive sødt nok. Og så er det dejligt at Mofibo har læssevis af letlæste kærlighedshistorier. Nu er jeg vist mættet i denne omgang, så næste læseeventyr bliver en helt anden genre.
Jeg har lige haft en omgang “kærlighedssyge”, hvor det næsten ikke kunne blive sødt nok. Og så er det dejligt at Mofibo har læssevis af letlæste kærlighedshistorier. Nu er jeg vist mættet i denne omgang, så næste læseeventyr bliver en helt anden genre.
May 17, 2018
This is a heartwarming tale which Ms. Palmer is known for. I enjoyed this quite a bit. I'm always a sucker for a happy ending.
October 5, 2014
I have yet to be disappointed by a story told by the wonderful Ms Palmer. In this story, like them all, you find a love that starts out young and innocent. You have a hardship that only makes that love stronger.The heroes are strong, silent and well, let's be honest, they are amazingly handsome and not necessarily in looks but in actions as well. Diana makes characters that you can't help but fall in love with .I would like to tell those who have read all Diana's book that this one DOES NOT require the Iron Skillet. As an inside joke they will understand that. If you haven't read one of Diana's book, please do yourself a favor and buy this. WARNING: After you have read one , you will want to go and read them all. :)
November 27, 2014
This one fell flat for me. The hero and heroine were... okay (damned with faint praise there), but the hero's sister was the one that really got me. She was a complete shrew, she and all the other characters reacted like her behaviour was this comic relief but is wasn't, what she was was a raving b***h who needed to grow up!
The way this was written threw me as well although there were gratuitous references to modern technology and online gaming it often seemed as though it had been written in the 1980s which just seemed wierd! Not recommended!
The way this was written threw me as well although there were gratuitous references to modern technology and online gaming it often seemed as though it had been written in the 1980s which just seemed wierd! Not recommended!
April 23, 2017
I've got about 15 more pages. I can say without a shadow of a doubt that after 44 Long Tall Texans and a few Wyomingites, Diana Palmer has jumped the shark with this one.
Others have posted more lengthy critiques. All I'm going to say is I'll stick with her dated and gloriously weirdly so-wrong-they're-right alpha/virgin early books. I think that as soon as she started the whole mercenary/military/law enforcement angle the whole series went off the rails and they weren't that firmly grounded to begin with.
Others have posted more lengthy critiques. All I'm going to say is I'll stick with her dated and gloriously weirdly so-wrong-they're-right alpha/virgin early books. I think that as soon as she started the whole mercenary/military/law enforcement angle the whole series went off the rails and they weren't that firmly grounded to begin with.
August 2, 2019
I enjoyed this story. The characters were many that had been introduced before and it was like having friends visit. The h had a lot of growing up to do and a lot of the past to overcome...which she did. She learned some hard but valuable lessons which strengthened her character. The H was an enigma and one that I seriously liked...a lot.
October 4, 2014
2.5 stars though I could give it a three as well.
I'm sorry to say that I was kind of disappointed with this book as I have been a little let down by a lot of her current books of late. Diana Palmer is one of my favorite authors in the world and really got me into adult romance novels in the first place in fact she was the first adult romance novelist that I read at the age of 15 or 16 and I fell in love with her stories of cowboys and the town of Jacobsville that I soon found myself trying to find all of her previous books and purchasing them so I had more of her stories to read. I have probably about 70 percent of her books, and I love her older novels like Lionhearted, Connal, Tyler and so many more that I can't even begin to name because there were so many of her books that I loved and loved falling for the alpha male cowboy hero. This was what got me loving alpha heroes in Harlequin Presents novels and I create that to Diana Palmer. I just fell in love with so many of her characters and novels from the past, but current stories just don't do it for me.
I think my problem with the newer stories, and this one as well was the fact that the romance just seemed secondary to the rest of the plot while in her older book romance was the important ingredient and made it so much fun to read. Just that angst and back and forth and some sensual moments between the characters and you get one hot read that I can't help but read over and over and over again and never bored because I love revisiting those stories and characters. They were just some powerful and fun romance stories that I devoured and addicted too. I just love seeing romance be sizzling but yet growing into something deeper and stronger and even more powerful with this all consuming love.
That's what I expect from my Diana Palmer books and when I don't that then I am very disappointed and dissatisfied. That's not saying that it wasn't a good book, but the other love stories that she has written in the past just resonate with me more and just feel more powerful to me emotional as I went on the love story journey right along with the characters. I felt what they felt. Whether it be joy or pain or hurt or anger or whatever they were going through that made them have obstacles in their romances. It created that angst edge to it that I love and kept me on the edge of my seat and add to the fact these great characters then it's one hot book especially the hot alpha cowboy. So that's the formula I expect and want. I want the angst. I want the rough and tough cowboy. I want their to be misunderstands and problems and just that emotional intensity that drives the action forward. I want more of the couple and the build up and the romance of coarse. And I want to feel it and feel it all. Just that in my opinion is the recipe for success in the romance world.
This book didn't have that, and being that it was a Harlequin novel I expected a whole lot more romance than I got in this one. Instead the romance was just brushed over in my view. Granted this happened over time to show that they didn't just jump in a relationship and they waited for awhile to be together, but other than this waiting quality it wasn't all that interesting in romance game. In fact it was kind of boring and feel flat. They just waited and waited, which would have been especially with the anticipation growing but then when they finally did kiss for the first time it just didn't feel like it was big deal and was just brushed over with a sentence or two of summary of what happened instead of that finally release of them finally acting on their feelings for that first time which should have had a range of emotions going on for both Gabriel and Michelle especially they waited almost three years before they kissed. And I get why Gabriel wanted to wait because she was still very young and wanted to grow up, but I thought after that point when she got older and they finally kissed more romance would ensue like dates or something like that. But no after the kiss, which happened by the way in the last third of the book, then a misunderstanding ensued, which is usually good thing, then the next thing I knew they were reunited and planning on getting married. What? That just seemed like such a jump for me since there was no showing of how they fell in love and instead was just all a waiting game. Granted their relationship built over years, but at the same time during those times they were mostly separated because Gabriel wanted to keep his distance so he didn't do something that would rush her and she would later regret, therefore his chances. I think the point I am trying to make is that there was not enough romance that went on to make me believe they were falling in love. Or let's put it this way I didn't feel it instead I was just told it, which is a no-no.
Plus like I indicated about their passions kind of feel flat after all this time waiting for one another. There wasn't a lot details or describing of emotions going on of what was happening deep within each character when they finally did give into their passion. It was like they kissed and they were done and Gabriel was out the door. Not very exciting or worth the wait in my view. I was expecting an explosion of passion after all the time they waited but instead it was just a lukewarm scene for me. That anticipation was high in this book then when happened it just was really disappointing and kind of had me shaking my head a bit. I was dissatisfied with the scene.
Now if I had never read a Diana Palmer book in the past, I would've said okay that was her formula just to touch on the intimacy and not really going into any description because she didn't want to be too explicit or too hot with the love scene and I could understand that because some authors believe it saying less during those intimate moments and that's okay ,even though I prefer some heat those scenes, because that's the author style, and I could've said that of Diana Palmer, however her older novels were hotter than her current ones in steaminess level with such heightened emotions during those scenes and that's why I enjoyed about the scenes and how she brought them to life. Those scenes showed how much passion the main characters for one another and just how deep their emotions ran during those scenes because they cared so deeply for one another and that intimacy was just the physical expression of those emotional feelings. And Diana Palmer wrote those scenes and yes they were hot and steamy but they were also tender and beautiful written even without being totally explicit and I enjoyed those scenes and it was heart of the book as was the romance, and that's what I want all her books to be, but it seems that the newer the book the less the romance and the passion and more of an afterthought to an external plot going on with the focus on other characters or bad guys or political doing, etc instead of the romance being the focus that kind of took over, and I don't like that especially when this is branded a Harlequin book. Harlequin = romance not barely any romance. Now I have no problem with the plot devices like the bad guys coming into play especially when affects the relationship between the hero and heroine and their relationship and how he could tear them apart or bring them closer together that's what those plot devices are meant for not to take over the whole plot. GIVE ME THE ROMANCE as the number one thing in the book not secondary.
And in this book it definitely was secondary. I really felt this book was just about Michelle coming of age and how they had to wait until she was older until they could be together with little things thrown in here and there to keep them apart, but not enough to create a great angst romance for me taste. In my opinion the first half of the book could have been wiped out and just summarized either in a couple paragraphs or even a chapter of the backstory between Gabriel and Michelle and just giving us the basic setup of their history before continuing on to their romance, which wasn't much which was probably why it couldn't fit into a whole book so the whole set up became the book them, and just let the emotions fly from there. It's not usual for Diana Palmer character's to have some history or backstory before their romance even began in fact it was kind of an expected theme to her past novels and that history added to the edge of that story and heightened the stakes emotional because usually the heroine was love with the hero but the hero "hates" her even though he was really attracted to her but did everything in his power to make her hate him so he could keep her at a distance therein by him not giving into that powerful attraction because he knew the heroine was at the time too young for him then once she became of age hormones went a flying and passion ensuing. So the emotional intensity would there and would heighten the romance and therefore the payoff would be bigger plus the hero had to grovel a bit which I don't mind seeing either. But in the case of Gabriel and Michelle, yeah the attraction was there but it wasn't as intense as I would have liked and there really wasn't a conflict (other than them not giving into their passions) or back forth between them that would create drama and add to that intensity and just the heighten passion and emotions between them. It was kind of them accepting waiting until she was all grown up and just being a waiting game for them. It wasn't really a will they won't they kind of thing but the waiting game and that was boring. I wanted to see sparks flying and passions flaring and just some friction between them that would make the romance semi-interesting not have the friction happen the last third of the book and them making up shortly there after. No. That's no fun. I want that drama. I want to experience that with them, and I didn't get that. And like I said there was no said romance. I guess the waiting was meant to be the romance part but other than that when they had the kiss/make out scene for the first time it fell flat and wasn't exciting just barely mentioned in a page or too. I wanted a bit more description and just more of that lovey dovey stuff and there was less than a handful of moments like that which isn't good for a romance novel.
The whole beginning of the book to the middle was all setup and background information with Michelle's stepmother and Gabriel being her guardian after the stepmother died of a drug overdose and then him keeping his distance until she grew up and just the waiting game. It was uninteresting I am sorry to say. It was just one big synopsis. Half the stuff I didn't care about and I am sorry say I skimmed a good portion of the book. I had to just to get through it. I thought it was unnecessary to make a big deal about the stepmother's boyfriend coming after Michelle and nothing really came to fruition there. Okay, it got her to move into Gabriel's house and him becoming her guardian but other that it just was useless. I was expecting he would come back at some point and try something and Gabriel would need to be the hero, but nothing did. Plus the stepmother said on her deathbed that he needed to pay, what he did was wrong and there was some big secret that he didn't want anyone wanted to know. Sounds interesting and intriguing right? Wrong the boyfriend didn't come play at all and he definitely didn't get his come uppance about getting the stepmother hooked on drugs so I didn't get the point of all that. I would have preferred just the stepmother to be a wicked one and hated Michelle and that was why she was treated so awfully, but having the whole drugs thing in there was kind of distracting especially knowing it didn't go anywhere.
And then suddenly we had this whole thing about Gabriel being known as the Angel when he went on covert missions trying to help people out. I commend him for that, but it just felt really awkward and weird. I get why it was in there because that caused the conflict between Michelle and Gabriel in the end, but it was just really strange. However as soon as the mention of this mysterious person Angel came into play, it was very predictable that it was Gabriel with no real shock value when it was revealed who he was. So that didn't work either and it kind felt in there just to have a conflict between the pair. It just didn't feel right and kind of more forced and contrived more than anything.
Just this book was missing a spark. A passionate one. And to me it wasn't really a love story more of tale of set up to their marriage more than anything else. There was no romance or spark to it. Them falling love wasn't really shown and just given in a summary of the years that had gone by with a few things sprinkled here and there. I was more told what was going on then shown. I want to be shown their journey than told. I want to feel the emotions and passions coming off them and I want to feel it right along with them and I didn't get that here. I want the Diana Palmer of old back because these new ones aren't cut it for me because I feel like the romance has taken a backseat instead of being on the forefront like it should be. And this book being a new release definitely had the romance as the afterthought than front and center and what I like in my romance novels. Just wasn't feeling the love story between Gabriel and Michelle because to me there wasn't one and more of a summary of one than an actual one.
GIVE ME MORE ROMANCE DIANA PALMER LIKE IN YOUR OLDER NOVELS BECAUSE YOU REALLY KNEW HOW TO DEVLIEVER. I MISS HER STORIES.
I'm sorry to say that I was kind of disappointed with this book as I have been a little let down by a lot of her current books of late. Diana Palmer is one of my favorite authors in the world and really got me into adult romance novels in the first place in fact she was the first adult romance novelist that I read at the age of 15 or 16 and I fell in love with her stories of cowboys and the town of Jacobsville that I soon found myself trying to find all of her previous books and purchasing them so I had more of her stories to read. I have probably about 70 percent of her books, and I love her older novels like Lionhearted, Connal, Tyler and so many more that I can't even begin to name because there were so many of her books that I loved and loved falling for the alpha male cowboy hero. This was what got me loving alpha heroes in Harlequin Presents novels and I create that to Diana Palmer. I just fell in love with so many of her characters and novels from the past, but current stories just don't do it for me.
I think my problem with the newer stories, and this one as well was the fact that the romance just seemed secondary to the rest of the plot while in her older book romance was the important ingredient and made it so much fun to read. Just that angst and back and forth and some sensual moments between the characters and you get one hot read that I can't help but read over and over and over again and never bored because I love revisiting those stories and characters. They were just some powerful and fun romance stories that I devoured and addicted too. I just love seeing romance be sizzling but yet growing into something deeper and stronger and even more powerful with this all consuming love.
That's what I expect from my Diana Palmer books and when I don't that then I am very disappointed and dissatisfied. That's not saying that it wasn't a good book, but the other love stories that she has written in the past just resonate with me more and just feel more powerful to me emotional as I went on the love story journey right along with the characters. I felt what they felt. Whether it be joy or pain or hurt or anger or whatever they were going through that made them have obstacles in their romances. It created that angst edge to it that I love and kept me on the edge of my seat and add to the fact these great characters then it's one hot book especially the hot alpha cowboy. So that's the formula I expect and want. I want the angst. I want the rough and tough cowboy. I want their to be misunderstands and problems and just that emotional intensity that drives the action forward. I want more of the couple and the build up and the romance of coarse. And I want to feel it and feel it all. Just that in my opinion is the recipe for success in the romance world.
This book didn't have that, and being that it was a Harlequin novel I expected a whole lot more romance than I got in this one. Instead the romance was just brushed over in my view. Granted this happened over time to show that they didn't just jump in a relationship and they waited for awhile to be together, but other than this waiting quality it wasn't all that interesting in romance game. In fact it was kind of boring and feel flat. They just waited and waited, which would have been especially with the anticipation growing but then when they finally did kiss for the first time it just didn't feel like it was big deal and was just brushed over with a sentence or two of summary of what happened instead of that finally release of them finally acting on their feelings for that first time which should have had a range of emotions going on for both Gabriel and Michelle especially they waited almost three years before they kissed. And I get why Gabriel wanted to wait because she was still very young and wanted to grow up, but I thought after that point when she got older and they finally kissed more romance would ensue like dates or something like that. But no after the kiss, which happened by the way in the last third of the book, then a misunderstanding ensued, which is usually good thing, then the next thing I knew they were reunited and planning on getting married. What? That just seemed like such a jump for me since there was no showing of how they fell in love and instead was just all a waiting game. Granted their relationship built over years, but at the same time during those times they were mostly separated because Gabriel wanted to keep his distance so he didn't do something that would rush her and she would later regret, therefore his chances. I think the point I am trying to make is that there was not enough romance that went on to make me believe they were falling in love. Or let's put it this way I didn't feel it instead I was just told it, which is a no-no.
Plus like I indicated about their passions kind of feel flat after all this time waiting for one another. There wasn't a lot details or describing of emotions going on of what was happening deep within each character when they finally did give into their passion. It was like they kissed and they were done and Gabriel was out the door. Not very exciting or worth the wait in my view. I was expecting an explosion of passion after all the time they waited but instead it was just a lukewarm scene for me. That anticipation was high in this book then when happened it just was really disappointing and kind of had me shaking my head a bit. I was dissatisfied with the scene.
Now if I had never read a Diana Palmer book in the past, I would've said okay that was her formula just to touch on the intimacy and not really going into any description because she didn't want to be too explicit or too hot with the love scene and I could understand that because some authors believe it saying less during those intimate moments and that's okay ,even though I prefer some heat those scenes, because that's the author style, and I could've said that of Diana Palmer, however her older novels were hotter than her current ones in steaminess level with such heightened emotions during those scenes and that's why I enjoyed about the scenes and how she brought them to life. Those scenes showed how much passion the main characters for one another and just how deep their emotions ran during those scenes because they cared so deeply for one another and that intimacy was just the physical expression of those emotional feelings. And Diana Palmer wrote those scenes and yes they were hot and steamy but they were also tender and beautiful written even without being totally explicit and I enjoyed those scenes and it was heart of the book as was the romance, and that's what I want all her books to be, but it seems that the newer the book the less the romance and the passion and more of an afterthought to an external plot going on with the focus on other characters or bad guys or political doing, etc instead of the romance being the focus that kind of took over, and I don't like that especially when this is branded a Harlequin book. Harlequin = romance not barely any romance. Now I have no problem with the plot devices like the bad guys coming into play especially when affects the relationship between the hero and heroine and their relationship and how he could tear them apart or bring them closer together that's what those plot devices are meant for not to take over the whole plot. GIVE ME THE ROMANCE as the number one thing in the book not secondary.
And in this book it definitely was secondary. I really felt this book was just about Michelle coming of age and how they had to wait until she was older until they could be together with little things thrown in here and there to keep them apart, but not enough to create a great angst romance for me taste. In my opinion the first half of the book could have been wiped out and just summarized either in a couple paragraphs or even a chapter of the backstory between Gabriel and Michelle and just giving us the basic setup of their history before continuing on to their romance, which wasn't much which was probably why it couldn't fit into a whole book so the whole set up became the book them, and just let the emotions fly from there. It's not usual for Diana Palmer character's to have some history or backstory before their romance even began in fact it was kind of an expected theme to her past novels and that history added to the edge of that story and heightened the stakes emotional because usually the heroine was love with the hero but the hero "hates" her even though he was really attracted to her but did everything in his power to make her hate him so he could keep her at a distance therein by him not giving into that powerful attraction because he knew the heroine was at the time too young for him then once she became of age hormones went a flying and passion ensuing. So the emotional intensity would there and would heighten the romance and therefore the payoff would be bigger plus the hero had to grovel a bit which I don't mind seeing either. But in the case of Gabriel and Michelle, yeah the attraction was there but it wasn't as intense as I would have liked and there really wasn't a conflict (other than them not giving into their passions) or back forth between them that would create drama and add to that intensity and just the heighten passion and emotions between them. It was kind of them accepting waiting until she was all grown up and just being a waiting game for them. It wasn't really a will they won't they kind of thing but the waiting game and that was boring. I wanted to see sparks flying and passions flaring and just some friction between them that would make the romance semi-interesting not have the friction happen the last third of the book and them making up shortly there after. No. That's no fun. I want that drama. I want to experience that with them, and I didn't get that. And like I said there was no said romance. I guess the waiting was meant to be the romance part but other than that when they had the kiss/make out scene for the first time it fell flat and wasn't exciting just barely mentioned in a page or too. I wanted a bit more description and just more of that lovey dovey stuff and there was less than a handful of moments like that which isn't good for a romance novel.
The whole beginning of the book to the middle was all setup and background information with Michelle's stepmother and Gabriel being her guardian after the stepmother died of a drug overdose and then him keeping his distance until she grew up and just the waiting game. It was uninteresting I am sorry to say. It was just one big synopsis. Half the stuff I didn't care about and I am sorry say I skimmed a good portion of the book. I had to just to get through it. I thought it was unnecessary to make a big deal about the stepmother's boyfriend coming after Michelle and nothing really came to fruition there. Okay, it got her to move into Gabriel's house and him becoming her guardian but other that it just was useless. I was expecting he would come back at some point and try something and Gabriel would need to be the hero, but nothing did. Plus the stepmother said on her deathbed that he needed to pay, what he did was wrong and there was some big secret that he didn't want anyone wanted to know. Sounds interesting and intriguing right? Wrong the boyfriend didn't come play at all and he definitely didn't get his come uppance about getting the stepmother hooked on drugs so I didn't get the point of all that. I would have preferred just the stepmother to be a wicked one and hated Michelle and that was why she was treated so awfully, but having the whole drugs thing in there was kind of distracting especially knowing it didn't go anywhere.
And then suddenly we had this whole thing about Gabriel being known as the Angel when he went on covert missions trying to help people out. I commend him for that, but it just felt really awkward and weird. I get why it was in there because that caused the conflict between Michelle and Gabriel in the end, but it was just really strange. However as soon as the mention of this mysterious person Angel came into play, it was very predictable that it was Gabriel with no real shock value when it was revealed who he was. So that didn't work either and it kind felt in there just to have a conflict between the pair. It just didn't feel right and kind of more forced and contrived more than anything.
Just this book was missing a spark. A passionate one. And to me it wasn't really a love story more of tale of set up to their marriage more than anything else. There was no romance or spark to it. Them falling love wasn't really shown and just given in a summary of the years that had gone by with a few things sprinkled here and there. I was more told what was going on then shown. I want to be shown their journey than told. I want to feel the emotions and passions coming off them and I want to feel it right along with them and I didn't get that here. I want the Diana Palmer of old back because these new ones aren't cut it for me because I feel like the romance has taken a backseat instead of being on the forefront like it should be. And this book being a new release definitely had the romance as the afterthought than front and center and what I like in my romance novels. Just wasn't feeling the love story between Gabriel and Michelle because to me there wasn't one and more of a summary of one than an actual one.
GIVE ME MORE ROMANCE DIANA PALMER LIKE IN YOUR OLDER NOVELS BECAUSE YOU REALLY KNEW HOW TO DEVLIEVER. I MISS HER STORIES.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 24, 2016
Gabriel :3
February 5, 2024
This one was kinda... weird.
The first thing I noticed that that this entry in the LTT series is published under Mills & Boon 'Cherish' line here in the UK. Cherish is usually sweet and cheerful romance. Not what I associate with Diana Palmer but OK I'm on board.
The second thing I saw was the page count, 217 pages. Almost 100 pages less than the last few entries in the series. Dare I hope that the lower page count equaled less waffling, time wasting filler? I did hope!
Hopes were of course quickly dashed. We were subjected to at least 4 separate scene in which characters stand about talking about World of Warcraft. Please Diana Palmer, PLEASE I'm begging you, please stop inserting painfully cringe Warcraft content into your books it's UNBEARABLE!
Also a LOT of time wasted rehashing the romance between Wolf and Sarah. These two already had their book, we don't need it all repeated again here. We also rehash a little of Carlie and whats-his-face's romance from an earlier book. Throw in a lot of scenes in which characters talk about other character in the series, complain about the amount of adverts on TV these days, tell 'hilarious' stories about chickens and aliens, moan about old fashioned values and bore us senseless with what channels characters like to watch, and who likes what types of history.
OK so I've got my regular 'there is so much bollocks cluttering up these books' rant out of the way - onto the romance.
It's WEIRD and CREEPY. The heroine starts off as a high school student, going to class and studying for her exams. The H wants her but needs for her to 'ripen' and 'mature' and 'experience life' - but without her ever actually meeting men and losing her v card of course. So he sends her off to college and gives her three years to become legal or whatever. It's really skeevy and I hated it.
Once the parts about her breaking a story and trying to put things right got going I was invested and really into it, but the majority of the book is basically our H making moves on the h while telling her she's an unopened bulb that needs a few more years to bloom. Blergh.
Still, it was far far far better than the last few entries - I would say it's not complete dog shit, but a highly polished turd.
The first thing I noticed that that this entry in the LTT series is published under Mills & Boon 'Cherish' line here in the UK. Cherish is usually sweet and cheerful romance. Not what I associate with Diana Palmer but OK I'm on board.
The second thing I saw was the page count, 217 pages. Almost 100 pages less than the last few entries in the series. Dare I hope that the lower page count equaled less waffling, time wasting filler? I did hope!
Hopes were of course quickly dashed. We were subjected to at least 4 separate scene in which characters stand about talking about World of Warcraft. Please Diana Palmer, PLEASE I'm begging you, please stop inserting painfully cringe Warcraft content into your books it's UNBEARABLE!
Also a LOT of time wasted rehashing the romance between Wolf and Sarah. These two already had their book, we don't need it all repeated again here. We also rehash a little of Carlie and whats-his-face's romance from an earlier book. Throw in a lot of scenes in which characters talk about other character in the series, complain about the amount of adverts on TV these days, tell 'hilarious' stories about chickens and aliens, moan about old fashioned values and bore us senseless with what channels characters like to watch, and who likes what types of history.
OK so I've got my regular 'there is so much bollocks cluttering up these books' rant out of the way - onto the romance.
It's WEIRD and CREEPY. The heroine starts off as a high school student, going to class and studying for her exams. The H wants her but needs for her to 'ripen' and 'mature' and 'experience life' - but without her ever actually meeting men and losing her v card of course. So he sends her off to college and gives her three years to become legal or whatever. It's really skeevy and I hated it.
Once the parts about her breaking a story and trying to put things right got going I was invested and really into it, but the majority of the book is basically our H making moves on the h while telling her she's an unopened bulb that needs a few more years to bloom. Blergh.
Still, it was far far far better than the last few entries - I would say it's not complete dog shit, but a highly polished turd.
September 10, 2018
This is Gabriel Brandon and Michelle Godfrey's story. Gabriel is a merc and he takes in Michelle as his ward when she loses her stepmother at 17. She has no other family to take her in. Gabriel is a true gentleman and asks his sister Sara to come down to live at the ranch as a chaperone for Michelle to quell any gossip.
She has a crush on him and he her but he wants her to grow up and experience other men first. He is 24 to her 17 and life has hardened him. He doesn't laugh a lot nor does he like to be touched but Michelle brings that out in him.
He and Sara never tell Michelle what he does for a living and that comes back to bite everyone in the butt. You see Michelle graduates from college and goes on to become a journalist. She learns a hard lesson when a story about Gabriel comes to light and she doesn't listen to all the sides to the story. She sells him out and ruins him in the press but she doesn't know that until it's too late.
Will their love survive?
Gabriel is not awful to Michelle or hurt her the way that a lot of the heroes in Ms. Palmer's books do. This was a good story and I liked the characters. It also paves the way for Wolf and Sara's story.
She has a crush on him and he her but he wants her to grow up and experience other men first. He is 24 to her 17 and life has hardened him. He doesn't laugh a lot nor does he like to be touched but Michelle brings that out in him.
He and Sara never tell Michelle what he does for a living and that comes back to bite everyone in the butt. You see Michelle graduates from college and goes on to become a journalist. She learns a hard lesson when a story about Gabriel comes to light and she doesn't listen to all the sides to the story. She sells him out and ruins him in the press but she doesn't know that until it's too late.
Will their love survive?
Gabriel is not awful to Michelle or hurt her the way that a lot of the heroes in Ms. Palmer's books do. This was a good story and I liked the characters. It also paves the way for Wolf and Sara's story.
April 30, 2020
Contrary to what others may think about this, it was a charming and heartbreaking story. One which I thoroughly enjoyed.
Gabriel is one of the few heroes I loved all the way through. He was so charming and sweet to Michelle. He falls in love with her from the moment he meets her and she with him, but she is young and has yet to experience the world, so he backs off to allow her to grow. Unlike other couples in Diana Palmer's books, this couple is not that far apart in age. There is a moment of heartbreak when Michelle reports a story that unknowingly portrays Gabriel as a murderer. Though she recants the story and prints the truth, she doesn't know if Gabriel or his sister will forgive her. Especially since he had hinted at a future together.
If you read her books, you should know how it ends, but the journey to the ending is so sweet, though it may drag at times, for me it was worth it. (As I read it at least once a month!)
Gabriel is one of the few heroes I loved all the way through. He was so charming and sweet to Michelle. He falls in love with her from the moment he meets her and she with him, but she is young and has yet to experience the world, so he backs off to allow her to grow. Unlike other couples in Diana Palmer's books, this couple is not that far apart in age. There is a moment of heartbreak when Michelle reports a story that unknowingly portrays Gabriel as a murderer. Though she recants the story and prints the truth, she doesn't know if Gabriel or his sister will forgive her. Especially since he had hinted at a future together.
If you read her books, you should know how it ends, but the journey to the ending is so sweet, though it may drag at times, for me it was worth it. (As I read it at least once a month!)
March 29, 2018
Journalist Michelle Godfrey and Gabriel Brandon are the key characters in this story of fantasized love as a young teen grown into womanhood after a series of tragedies that place Michelle in a bad place. Because Gabe is her nearby neighbor, he's the one who happens on her at her darkest moment and he then makes sure she finishes high school and goes on to college. He's taken with her, but concludes she needs to grow up before he can act on his desires with her.
Over time, she's ready, but when he goes overseas again and Michelle, now a journalist, writes a story that inadvertently places a bulls' eye on his back, she is certain he'll never see him again. Or his sister. How that story might be reversed brings us to the end of the story.
Over time, she's ready, but when he goes overseas again and Michelle, now a journalist, writes a story that inadvertently places a bulls' eye on his back, she is certain he'll never see him again. Or his sister. How that story might be reversed brings us to the end of the story.
June 14, 2025
3.5 stars
I received a copy of Texas Born, Long Tall Texans Book 40 by Diana Palmer, and this review was given freely.
A story of morality, secrecy, abuse surviving, video gaming, forgiveness, and love.
It was ok. A long section of gaming references and at times odd, unexpected humor, in the form of playful banter, is intertwined with scenes of violence, culminating in a rapid relaying of Michelle’s college days and her unwittingly publicly persecuting the man she has loved since age 15.
Alone after her father dies of cancer and her abusive, drug addicted stepmother dies, seventeen-year-old Michelle Godfrey is raised by her secretive neighbor, Gabriel Brandon, and his sister Sara, who is waiting for her to come of age and become his wife.
18+ for steamy scenes.
I received a copy of Texas Born, Long Tall Texans Book 40 by Diana Palmer, and this review was given freely.
A story of morality, secrecy, abuse surviving, video gaming, forgiveness, and love.
It was ok. A long section of gaming references and at times odd, unexpected humor, in the form of playful banter, is intertwined with scenes of violence, culminating in a rapid relaying of Michelle’s college days and her unwittingly publicly persecuting the man she has loved since age 15.
Alone after her father dies of cancer and her abusive, drug addicted stepmother dies, seventeen-year-old Michelle Godfrey is raised by her secretive neighbor, Gabriel Brandon, and his sister Sara, who is waiting for her to come of age and become his wife.
18+ for steamy scenes.
December 12, 2021
Over half the book is Michelle still in high school and then it take a chapter to fast forward 3 years. One review said “slow burn”. They were right
Instants chemistry and instant love was almost too much with no solid “YES” moment.
Her virtue and his background are in the front of his mind forcing them to not do anything because “she’s too young, haven’t lived and she needs to meet other men her age even though it will tear me apart” for chapters.
As a true adult, out of college/etc just seems too easy and not like it would happen even in smaller places.
She’s a great investor reporter right from the get go but screws up her life???
Instants chemistry and instant love was almost too much with no solid “YES” moment.
Her virtue and his background are in the front of his mind forcing them to not do anything because “she’s too young, haven’t lived and she needs to meet other men her age even though it will tear me apart” for chapters.
As a true adult, out of college/etc just seems too easy and not like it would happen even in smaller places.
She’s a great investor reporter right from the get go but screws up her life???
December 3, 2022
I never tire of reading when it's a Diana Palmer book and Texas Born is proof. Once I read the opening pages I was hooked. This book tells the story of Gabriel and Michelle, set in Comanche Wells and Jacobsville, 2 places I wish were real. I would drag my husband along (or not!) and be a total fangirl as I meet all thse people. Sigh ...
Diana Palmer is my go-to author when I need a break from everyday life. Her books are clean, suspense-filled romance that leave me with a joyful heart and a smile on my lips. Texas Born is all of these things, giving me the warm fuzzies with a HEA ending.
5 fabulous stars!
Diana Palmer is my go-to author when I need a break from everyday life. Her books are clean, suspense-filled romance that leave me with a joyful heart and a smile on my lips. Texas Born is all of these things, giving me the warm fuzzies with a HEA ending.
5 fabulous stars!
July 19, 2024
Good book but not a great one. By this time in Ms.Palmer’s career writing she had found religion or something. As such her writing is still interesting in its plot but lacks much heat. He heroine is so young she doesn’t have much of a personality and when we meet her again as a grown woman, it’s near the end of the book.
He hero is just that this time which is a huge departure from her alpha-a*** typical heros! He quite likeable!
I would have liked to have seen the beginning of the book tightened up which could have left room for more H&h interaction.
He hero is just that this time which is a huge departure from her alpha-a*** typical heros! He quite likeable!
I would have liked to have seen the beginning of the book tightened up which could have left room for more H&h interaction.
June 9, 2023
I try to stay on top of this series so I honestly couldn't remember if I'd read this previously.
Some of it seemed familiar but I think it may have also been updated a bit when it was republished.
It's typical for Palmer with her young, naive, sweet girl in love with the older, rough, closed-off guy.
good chemistry b/w Michelle & Gabriel show through the dialogue. some humor.
sexual tension build-up. I also liked the tie-in w/previous books characters.
sweet wedding & HEA at the end.
Some of it seemed familiar but I think it may have also been updated a bit when it was republished.
It's typical for Palmer with her young, naive, sweet girl in love with the older, rough, closed-off guy.
good chemistry b/w Michelle & Gabriel show through the dialogue. some humor.
sexual tension build-up. I also liked the tie-in w/previous books characters.
sweet wedding & HEA at the end.
February 2, 2018
If they had 3 1/2 stars that would be my rating. It's pretty typical Jacobsville merc/ young girl love story stuff. There was a very unlikely 'meeting' and set-up to the relationship. The longer timeline made it interesting. There were some inconsistencies in what. people said, but this isn't classic lit, it is what it sets out to be.
June 14, 2025
This was a typical Diana Palmer book, but that is what I want when I read one of her books. Michelle is only fifteen when she meets Gabrial for the first time. She thinks he is the most handsome man she has ever seen. He thinks she is going to grow up to be a beautiful woman.
There is a wicked stepmother, her father dies, and Gabrial comes to the rescue. It takes a while, but there is a HEA.
There is a wicked stepmother, her father dies, and Gabrial comes to the rescue. It takes a while, but there is a HEA.
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