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Lacey
SWEET CHARITY
Stranded on the Western frontier, Lacey Stewart suddenly had to depend on the kindness of strangers. And no one showed her more generosity than the rancher who offered to marry her. But shortly after Trey Saunders and Lacey were pronounced husband and wife, he was off to a cattle drive -- and another woman's bed. Shocked to discover that the dashing groom wanted her to be a pawn in a vicious game of revenge, the young firebrand refused to obey her vows. Only when Trey proved that he loved, honored, and cherished his blushing bride would Lacey forsake all others and unite with him in wedded bliss.
Stranded on the Western frontier, Lacey Stewart suddenly had to depend on the kindness of strangers. And no one showed her more generosity than the rancher who offered to marry her. But shortly after Trey Saunders and Lacey were pronounced husband and wife, he was off to a cattle drive -- and another woman's bed. Shocked to discover that the dashing groom wanted her to be a pawn in a vicious game of revenge, the young firebrand refused to obey her vows. Only when Trey proved that he loved, honored, and cherished his blushing bride would Lacey forsake all others and unite with him in wedded bliss.
425 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 1996
3 people are currently reading
116 people want to read
About the author
Norah Hess
52 books94 followersAlways a daydreamer, and often scolded for it by the grandmother who raised her, Norah Hess always wanted to be a writer. At eighteen, she was sent to Chicago to live with an aunt after her grandmother's death. It was there that she met her husband. After raising three children, Norah decided to write her first novel, and since then has had fifteen published romances. After her husband passed away, she and her two cats moved to Palm Springs, where the desert and mountains inspire her to write her Western romances.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
February 24, 2019
OK, I confess I skimmed a fair bit of the beginning...
Lacey is a sweet innocent in a bad situation. At 18 she and her loving father have traveled the country selling vitamins and such for years. But now he's dead and she has nowhere and nobody. In swoops Trey with a marriage of convenience. His father, who hates him. wishes him to marry the local slut, Ruby that the father bangs on the side (and Trey used to as well until he found that out).
Circumstances were such that Trey figured Lacey was a prostitute and it takes most of the book before he pulls his head out his ass. One of those...' My goodness I never knew you were innocent til your hymen proved it!' moments.
OK here comes the nitty gritty of the beginning of their marriage;
He marries her and promptly leaves her to go on a cattle drive while telling her how to get to his place (where his ahole dad lives too)... 3 days away, on her own. Not even staying to be with her at her father's funeral. He just rides off a few housed to the local brothel. (He tries his damndest to bed a whore but can't manage to stay hard long enough.. I suppose that's to make the reader understand that he is smitten by Lacey?? Or are we supposed to conclude that because he didn't blow his load, he didn't actually break his vows??).
She journey's to his house where his dad and Ruby don't believe her and send her to a line shack in a thunderstorm. Fortunately the neighbour, Matt helps her out and brings her to a small cabin to live till Trey returns. But she ends up living there for most of the story.
Trey comes back, finally feeling guilty for his treatment of Lacey, but still can't seem to let go of his preconceived ideas of Lacey. He never reassures Lacey that he only wants her.
The character of Sally jo really brings the story down. She starts as a conniving OW who tries her best to split Trey and Lacey. Then the author decides to all of a sudden turn her into a misunderstood and misguided woman who is actually virtuous and just missed her estranged husband. It was all very ridiculous and incredibly annoying. Sally Jo and her now reunited husband even go so far as to offer love advice to Trey and Lacey. Seriously???
I liked Lacey. She never gives an inch and demands his respect. But i can't say as he truly ever earned hers. He forever alternated between too much pride and too much self pity.
Anyways, it's a silly story. Entertaining but not satisfyingly romantic.
safety isn't great but isn't horrible either But also kinda sad
Lacey is a sweet innocent in a bad situation. At 18 she and her loving father have traveled the country selling vitamins and such for years. But now he's dead and she has nowhere and nobody. In swoops Trey with a marriage of convenience. His father, who hates him. wishes him to marry the local slut, Ruby that the father bangs on the side (and Trey used to as well until he found that out).
Circumstances were such that Trey figured Lacey was a prostitute and it takes most of the book before he pulls his head out his ass. One of those...' My goodness I never knew you were innocent til your hymen proved it!' moments.
OK here comes the nitty gritty of the beginning of their marriage;
He marries her and promptly leaves her to go on a cattle drive while telling her how to get to his place (where his ahole dad lives too)... 3 days away, on her own. Not even staying to be with her at her father's funeral. He just rides off a few housed to the local brothel. (He tries his damndest to bed a whore but can't manage to stay hard long enough.. I suppose that's to make the reader understand that he is smitten by Lacey?? Or are we supposed to conclude that because he didn't blow his load, he didn't actually break his vows??).
She journey's to his house where his dad and Ruby don't believe her and send her to a line shack in a thunderstorm. Fortunately the neighbour, Matt helps her out and brings her to a small cabin to live till Trey returns. But she ends up living there for most of the story.
Trey comes back, finally feeling guilty for his treatment of Lacey, but still can't seem to let go of his preconceived ideas of Lacey. He never reassures Lacey that he only wants her.
The character of Sally jo really brings the story down. She starts as a conniving OW who tries her best to split Trey and Lacey. Then the author decides to all of a sudden turn her into a misunderstood and misguided woman who is actually virtuous and just missed her estranged husband. It was all very ridiculous and incredibly annoying. Sally Jo and her now reunited husband even go so far as to offer love advice to Trey and Lacey. Seriously???
I liked Lacey. She never gives an inch and demands his respect. But i can't say as he truly ever earned hers. He forever alternated between too much pride and too much self pity.
Anyways, it's a silly story. Entertaining but not satisfyingly romantic.
safety isn't great but isn't horrible either But also kinda sad
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 3, 2016
Oh where to begin.... Bull *the father* is probably the nastiest secondary charachter in any book I have read, he is nasty, abusive, morally bankrupt, rapist whoremonger.... Trey is his son.. a son who has been battered by his father until he was big enough to fight back, a man who has watched his mother mistreated, humiliated by his father until she died..... the things this man (bull ) did were beyond nasty.
Bull has a woman he sleeps with who also slept with his son... her name is Ruby and she is a slut as she has money so therefore no one pays her for sex.....Bull is trying to get Trey to marry this woman to get her property....yes a woman they both had slept with. Trey finds Lacey aside the rode after her father has died (while they were traveling in a medicine wagon), Lacey is dressed in a scandalous dress and painted face as she was the "eye candy" to get people to the wagon, so he assumes she is a paid whore so he is going to show his father up by marrying her....he talks her into it so she would be able to bury her father.... which she does... ALONE as her skanky new husband needs to run down to the whorehouse after he gets married to sleep with a whore....yeah....he is on the cattle drive so he sends her to his home (he lives with his father) to shove her into his fathers face while his ass is safe far away.....
Lacey is a good person, kind and pretty but appears like something else... when she appears at the door of her new father in law he is furious and he and ruby lie to her sending her down the road to Trey's house... in a winter storm... when she gets there it is no home.. she is once again trapped until a hero appears... Matt (Trey's neighbor and good friend) finds her and brings her to a small house on his land where she can stay until he gets back....
Bull and Ruby are despicable and then there is Sally Jo the saloon singer who Trey's been bedding for a couple of years and she is a selfish woman who manages to mess up Trey's attempt to reconcile with his wife (and to piss me off she gets a hea).
Trey is not a hero, he is not a bad guy either... but he is unkind, selfish, self centered and a boor.... BUT when you look at what he has seen and been raised by... you hope he is capable of being more like his mother and less like the man who raised him.....because Lacey deserves a hero... good luck... a happy life.
There are a few plot twists but they make the story better so I will not share them...a good read,,,,
Bull has a woman he sleeps with who also slept with his son... her name is Ruby and she is a slut as she has money so therefore no one pays her for sex.....Bull is trying to get Trey to marry this woman to get her property....yes a woman they both had slept with. Trey finds Lacey aside the rode after her father has died (while they were traveling in a medicine wagon), Lacey is dressed in a scandalous dress and painted face as she was the "eye candy" to get people to the wagon, so he assumes she is a paid whore so he is going to show his father up by marrying her....he talks her into it so she would be able to bury her father.... which she does... ALONE as her skanky new husband needs to run down to the whorehouse after he gets married to sleep with a whore....yeah....he is on the cattle drive so he sends her to his home (he lives with his father) to shove her into his fathers face while his ass is safe far away.....
Lacey is a good person, kind and pretty but appears like something else... when she appears at the door of her new father in law he is furious and he and ruby lie to her sending her down the road to Trey's house... in a winter storm... when she gets there it is no home.. she is once again trapped until a hero appears... Matt (Trey's neighbor and good friend) finds her and brings her to a small house on his land where she can stay until he gets back....
Bull and Ruby are despicable and then there is Sally Jo the saloon singer who Trey's been bedding for a couple of years and she is a selfish woman who manages to mess up Trey's attempt to reconcile with his wife (and to piss me off she gets a hea).
Trey is not a hero, he is not a bad guy either... but he is unkind, selfish, self centered and a boor.... BUT when you look at what he has seen and been raised by... you hope he is capable of being more like his mother and less like the man who raised him.....because Lacey deserves a hero... good luck... a happy life.
There are a few plot twists but they make the story better so I will not share them...a good read,,,,
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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February 26, 2019I used to love Norah Hess when I was younger but this guy is no hero. What a pig!!!
August 20, 2019
So I have a bunch of Norah Hess books on my shelf. I really liked Fancy and have enjoyed some of her books but some are just OK/good. I think that is this one as I'm 1/2 way and enjoyed some of it to here but really don't care much to go on. They are together... somewhat and the problems with dad will sort out.
3 stars don't think it can get better but it might get worse.
I'm over halfway through this and I feel like the story is over. Now all they have to do is get along a little better. They are both a bit immature and don't talk to one another. We cannot blame Lacey too much as she is only 18 but trey is 29 so it is only that he doesn't see what is in front of him.
So 55% or so in and I would say 3 stars. I'm sure there will be some excitment and strife in the second half, but these two have come together and started thinking differently about one another. So not really wanting to go on as the characters are not compelling. Lacey is a bit silly and sometimes idiotic and Trey is a self centered, self proclaimed whoremonger. He doesn't even feel bad about it and it is a bit sick to think that he is even with someone so young and definitely clean until him. So there are also things I definitely don't like though I do like some of the characters interactions and life. Still the changing perspectives and POVs along with 1st person to 3rd is a little bewildering.
So I don't have much hope for this couple even if everything turns out great.
3 stars don't think it can get better but it might get worse.
I'm over halfway through this and I feel like the story is over. Now all they have to do is get along a little better. They are both a bit immature and don't talk to one another. We cannot blame Lacey too much as she is only 18 but trey is 29 so it is only that he doesn't see what is in front of him.
So 55% or so in and I would say 3 stars. I'm sure there will be some excitment and strife in the second half, but these two have come together and started thinking differently about one another. So not really wanting to go on as the characters are not compelling. Lacey is a bit silly and sometimes idiotic and Trey is a self centered, self proclaimed whoremonger. He doesn't even feel bad about it and it is a bit sick to think that he is even with someone so young and definitely clean until him. So there are also things I definitely don't like though I do like some of the characters interactions and life. Still the changing perspectives and POVs along with 1st person to 3rd is a little bewildering.
So I don't have much hope for this couple even if everything turns out great.
September 3, 2023
The writing isn’t bad, but Trey is just absolutely AWFUL. He marries Lacey like two seconds after meeting her, assuming she’s a prostitute (sorry, “whore”) - then immediately goes to a brothel and tries to sleep with an actual prostitute. He makes Lacey travel blindly to his abusive father’s ranch by herself while he goes back to his cattle drive, then he decides to go home a few weeks early. He can’t believe that everybody in town believes she’s “an innocent” and still thinks she’s a “whore” and assumes she’s been sleeping with every man who’s come by. He calls her a whore so many times it’s not even funny.
I finally decided to DNF after he got her drunk and let her believe that he took advantage of her while she was passed out, and once again accused her of being a whore and was angry that she was upset at the idea of her husband raping her while she was unconscious. My god. What an asshole.
I finally decided to DNF after he got her drunk and let her believe that he took advantage of her while she was passed out, and once again accused her of being a whore and was angry that she was upset at the idea of her husband raping her while she was unconscious. My god. What an asshole.
August 18, 2024
I loved this book. I couldn't put it down. Norah Hess hasn't ever disappointed me yet. I have several of her books and will definitely be keeping this one also.
July 2, 2016
Another TSTL female. Listening to a liar that tried to kill you (not a spoiler it's within the first few chapters) and refusing to believe anyone else even your good friends who know your 'Husband' is just ridiculously annoying to read. Like a bloody stuck record! 'Ruby said' 'Ruby said' Ruby said' FFS!
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May 21, 2012Good
October 12, 2014
what a bore
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews