Colorado winters are rugged and cold, but there’s nothing warmer than a cowboy’s tender kiss to ignite the spirit of the season . . .
Meadow Dawson needs Santa to deliver a solution to her management of the enormous Colorado ranch she’s inherited. YouTube videos just aren’t going to cut it. Too bad she’s not on speaking terms with the one man who can help her out. . . . Cattleman Dal Blake just wants his too pretty, too clumsy, and too inexperienced neighbor’s dog to quit digging under his fence. But this Christmas, the unexpected gift of love will surprise them both.
Librarian 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.
For once I actually had some sympathy, well not sympathy, but a modicum of understanding since the heroine is the dumbest heroine ever. Just for starters, her answer to not knowing anything about ranching after inheriting her father’s cattle ranch is to watch YouTube videos.
The hero being a Diana Palmer hero is a condescending, cruel and arrogant jackass that laughs at her at every turn.
Tried and true DPisms:
1. She's had a crush on him forever. 2. She's made pathetic attempts to seduce him in the past. 3. H has cruelly laughed at her which probably made her love him all the more. 4. He parades another woman, "the florist", around. Surprisingly she isn't mean to the heroine and after the H and h declare their LOVE sets her claws for the Sheriff. 5. Men lust after the heroine....for her ranch and water rights. Poor girl. 6. She's only kind of attractive. 7. She was dropped on her head and it's affected her balance. I am not kidding. Dropped on her head. 8. She works in Law Enforcement, in fact the FBI at one point. The fact that it would be a surprise for the woman to be hired as a grocery clerk much less the FBI makes me fear for the safety of our country. 9. He points off what a payoff it was for her he has all this sexual experience.
Sadly the only two creatures with any fun personality and character are the H and h’s pets. His cat has a crush on her, and her dog adores him. They are constantly running to the other’s houses.
Hearing some of the atrocious fashion choices the heroine made I thought for sure this was written in the 80s, but the Youtube reference as well as one regarding Chris Pratt brings this a little closer.
The book starts as a typical DP novel- the heroine is an innocent, the hero a brute. Both are neighbors. The h has loved the hero afar. The H is attracted to her too, but hides it by being uber mean and insulting to her. He also sleeps around and throws OW and her inexperience on her face. This is apparently set in the 2010s, but has a VERY 80s hangover. Then we come to the things that pissed me off- -The heroine being portrayed as a cowardly incompetent police officer, being shamed for having PTSD, for not being feminine enough, slut shamed by the hero for wearing a sexy dress, being overly trusting and kinda stupid and wallowing in self pity- IF she was being portrayed as a modern woman, atleast give her a BACKBONE! -The fcking hero having the audacity to shame the heroine after being a giant tomcat -The hero being an emotionless and judgmental DOUCHE -All men being condescending and chauvinistic towards career oriented women, and the women blindly accepting it -The political and religious discussions about purity -How ignorant the heroine was about both her career, and her responsibilities
I feel like in 80s and 90s storylines, these things are not glaringly obvious. However, if you're setting a story in 2010+, with characters talking about iPhones and Youtubes and Sherlock, even if theyre still living in another century, atleast make them smart and likable?!
Rather short but wished it was longer for a better ending. This is your typical DP. Older lady's man next door treats tender hearted heroine like shit until he realizes it was because he can't resist her innocent allure.
That's all fine. I love that formula. But this one was unbalanced... Dal is an unremitting asshat to her til about 80% in when he does a total 180. Why did he give in to her all of a sudden??? I didn't get the feeling it was love. In fact neither of them spouts ILYs at any time. It was more like he was tired of being single and wants a baby mamma.
I loved his cat and her dog who keep switching houses. That was cute. There is a little OM drama but not really. Just enough to keep the story a little more fair.
There is an explanation for her clutziness too, which I appreciated.
The OW isn't evil this time round, which was nice for a change.
But overall I preferred DP's similar story Lionhearted
Meadow has been visiting her father (parents divorced) for years and has always loved the man next door (Dal) but he is always saying nasty things to her. Calling her a slut/tramp/prostitute. It was OTT and ridiculous. Meanwhile he has a revolving door of women who are much more like what he is calling Meadow. Does Meadow ever call him on this? Nope. She's a powerless doormat in the story who of course has no idea how alluring she is. Anyways, she becomes a cop and then FBI (but she's still really young of course). She isn't good at her job because she is clumzy and has no self confidence. Of course this isn't helped by Dal cutting into her every damn time they meet. There's a thief in town stealing antiques and Meadow is on the job to catch him.
oh... there is so much to say about this one and I just can't right now without getting mad but review to follow.
edited 8/29 Dal Blake is anything but a hero. I hate to say this but the only thing that was remotely attracting to me was that he liked animals – no wait scratch that – that’s not enough to redeem this character and the things he said to the female MC, Meadow, that could ever make up for it. In short, he was abrasive and abusive to her, calling her names and slut shaming her with no facts to back up his claims, he belittled her for about 80% of the book and then ignored her for like 20% in between all of that and so how am I supposed to be impressed by him is beyond me.
I have no idea how Meadow ends up liking, lusting and falling in love with this man because all of those qualities above are not endearing for me to love. Yet she does and I want to say that the girl must have hit her hard a few times but no… she genuinely loves him and I just can’t understand or believe it, which made reading this book a task. Meadow came across as a naive doormat and I hated it – She’s supposedly and ex-FBI agent turned local cop and I want to say that she should be able to see past his abrasiveness and realize that he’s no good – but nope, she just accepts it as “his way” – like really?
I know I can DNF a book but I was hoping against hope that it would get better ya know?
One raging star only because zero stars isn’t an option!!!!
This book was published in 2017. I know because I checked , thinking surely this was a reprint from the 80s or 90s, but apparently not. The “hero” is an emotionally abusive a$$hole who has been insulting and slut shaming the heroine for a decade. He continues to do so up until the last 20 pages of the book wherein he actually explains his abusive treatment of her was because he has always been attracted to her. He then proceeds to propose to her. They’ve never dated and he has never been nice to her for a 24 hour period in the last 10 years.
The heroine is a a law enforcement officer with both a police and FBI background yet is somehow more incompetent than Barney Fife. She has “balance issues” and severe clumsiness that are hinted at as being caused by a tumor, but are vaguely dismissed in the last two pages as “a brain lesion”. The author seems to think one just signs up to be an FBI agent or police officer like it’s the Girl Scouts or something. There is no way the heroine’s balance issues wouldn’t have been noticed during a police academy or FBI training academy. Also, despite having been beaten by a suspect in an interrogation room, she puts an unhandcuffed suspect in the back of her car. Yeah, not happening in real life.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Well after over 30 years of romance novels I am saying goodbye to the the queen of romance for me. I can n longer find romantic or loving for the male character to call young women whores and sluts to fight off their feelings.
A mature man could control himself without humiliating or tearing down another human being. Especially a person that he miraculously in the last 20 pages decides he loves.
Then the slight political commentary suggesting that liberals are patriotic or believe in the constitution. Done!
I say goodbye with much love and some good memories. But I would not want my daughter to accept this type of treatment.
Oh man, where did this one go wrong? From the get go where Meadow is mocked and insulted by Dal, her father’s friend and neighbor who she idolizes for some bizarre reason. This man is a turd in a cowboy hat but somehow manages to attract every woman he meets and runs a successful ranch.
When Meadow inherits her father’s place Dal makes it his business to flaunt his conquests in her face while trying to convince her to sell him her ranch. He also lets everyone in town know he thinks she’s a slut (of course she’s a virgin), a clumsy fool (well, I have to admit he’s not wrong about that), and he despises her (which, despite his actions, quickly becomes an obvious lie).
Thank goodness they both have adorable pets which makes it easier to read the story without setting the book on fire. I believe I may take a pass on this author’s other books.
This was a fun novel. Definitely a “long game” sort of romance. And lots of snow - almost another character in the story. Also two wonderful animals (dog Snow and cat Jarvis) to liven things up. I read this in ebook format, which seems to make the writing style feel oddly disconnected to me. I definitely blame the small electronic pages for that.
I think this book made me cringe the whole time I read it. Not good. I thought I would read a romance Christmas winter cowboy book thinking there would be some sexy spice. This story had no spice and the woman in the book is belittled and insulted and the main male character is an abusive douche bag. I read it on a flight and feel like a wasted a small window of my life.
You know how you always have more to say about something you hated?
Ugh, just no. I'm very familiar with DP's formula and back in the 90's I was a fan, but this novella takes it to extremes. We have a vocally and even sometimes physically abusive H with trama in his past, a dumb as a stick h who used to be an FBI agent (come on seriously, who are we kidding, she wouldn't even pass the pysch evaluation...Dana Scully she's NOT!) and a small town vibe where the men are "in charge" and the other female characters are either conniving or just a requirement to move along the plot. Not to mention a nice jab at the "liberal agenda "when the h is trying to butter up her Sheriff boss ( Who she should not be dating! There are rules, even in small towns against that!) by implying she's conservative (this is after she's spent half the evening trying to convince him she's a liberal because she thought that might impress him and then realized she was wrong) by saying about law enforcement : "We're mostly patriotic and on the side of constitutional law." Why is that comment even in a romance novel? And what a wishy-washy characteristic anyway-changing her stance based on the man she's with? She should go into politics. I didn't buy the quick turnaround by the H and his contemplation of having a child with the h just made me want to puke. Don't count your chickens before they hatch, bub. She should have dumped him. That fall on her head as a teenager not only caused balanced issues, but brain damage.
I am a bit over DP’s repetitive rinse and repeat theme of virginal heroine and douche hero. The heroine, who worked as an FBI agent, watches YouTube videos to learn how to run her dead fathers cattle ranch. She of course has had a crush on the older hero for years and made a fool of herself more than once when younger trying to get his attention. The hero is mean, cruel and belittles the heroine and has for years. He parades another women in front of her, denigrates her innocence then brags about what a good lover he will be. Funny enough the other woman goes straight after the sherif the next day. And how dense was Meadow in regards to the thief. She had just drawn a sketch of the thief and then bumped into him and never picked up on it. Some police officer she is. Everything wraps up extremely quickly, even the thief is sorted out and is all just a bit too unbelievable for me. Supposed to be in modern times but had the feel of an early DP story. Think it is time to retire her books from my iPad.
I am sorry. This book should be in fantasy. Or in dreams. The author should not give people the idea that this is real life. This is so fake. Research.
Dear Lord. You turned Meadow in a ditzy blond. Seriously? A clumsy FBI agent? Think. Do your research. You are degrading women and the law enforcement officers and I am still on chapter one. Still reading. She says she is a veteran law enforcement officer. Hmmmm. The FBI requires a college degree so when she gets out of college 21? 22? Works as a police officer and then two years as a Special Agent and she is now 25? The numbers don't work.
This is ridiculous. This was in the book. "So she had a long talk with the sheriff and the district attorney. And soon afterward, she had a new job.". Amazing how she can become a assistant district attorney without going to law school.
If you have ever been kissed when you said No or been kissed multiple times after trying to pull a way or said No - yet again, have someone call you a slut and a hooker or say "you're asking for it" and hated it???? ... Then this is not the book for you. What utter garbage for any self respecting man to degrade a woman for basically 8 years and then think he's worthy.
I'll never read one of these books again. I hate-read it to finish it just to see what utter social and relational garbage was being perpetuated - turns out loads. This man deserves Krav Maga Hello (at the least, a round in the ring would be even better) and massive amounts of therapy and lessons on being a decent human.
There is just something about a good old sweet romance and Palmer does them so wonderfully well. A tough arrogant sexy devil of a cowboy bought down by the love of a sweet innocent woman he fought to hate. I love how the author wove in the danger of head injuries, people do think nothing of getting their heads hit. So much is now coming to light of the unseen damages left behind. Our heroine is clumsy but still tries to do her best in law enforcement. Our hero is arrogant and a womanizer but he can't be too bad because of his love of animals, so he can be redeemed. Plus two scene stealing animals(1 cat and 1 dog) and the beauty of a Colorado winter. A Palmer romance leaves a smile on your face.
It was a bit like watching a train wreck in slow motion. I just couldn't look away. I almost didn't finish it. Dal was incredibly verbally abusive. I couldn't see how "he's verbally abusive and hates me" turns into happily ever after. It was just like he flips a switch and all of a sudden accepts that he is in love with her and then stops his horrible behavior. Unfortunately that is kinda the pattern with abusers, they stop and are sorry for a while. I just couldn't accept that as a "happily ever after".
Awful, annoying, irritating characters. Not well written and the conservative agenda push caused me to dnf this because it had absolutely nothing to do with the storyline and came out of nowhere. I don’t think I’ll be wasting any more of my time on Palmer’s novels. I’m definitely not a fan of switching pov’s within the same chapter, sometimes paragraph to paragraph without any warning. It takes away from the flow of the story and gets confusing the way she does it.
I had not read one of Diana Palmer' s books in quite awhile. But when I started reading it, I was totally involved in it. It was a great story and it has a lot of scenes in it that you could relate to, especially the red dresses. And then the final ending came all at once and what an ending! It shared the animals too. LCR
"I was disappointed in the hero being such an ass by treating the heroine like a unwanted whore. The heroine tries to keep trudging through his treatment and embarrassing moments, some at his hand, to try and save her fathers ranch. He is a bully and very degrading, bordering on mental abuse."
I hate when the MC is currently dating someone and in this book Dal is dating Dana, kissing her and flirting with her in front of Meadow even though Dal said he never slept with Dana but still I hate him. Not only that but also, Dal is so mean for Meadow for years. I just can't take it!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
This is a fast read in which a younger woman is in love with an older man. I didn't think it was as good as other books by Diana Palmer that I have read.