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Wyoming Brides #1

Denim and Diamonds

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In Debbie Macomber’s heart-wrenching novel, now available for the first time as an eBook, two wounded hearts give in to the healing power of love—and learn to trust again.
 
Letty Ellison left her small town and her high-school sweetheart behind to chase her dreams—but music never worked out. When she returns nine years later, nothing’s changed in Red Springs, Wyoming, except for her. Letty’s a little more humble, she’s a single mom to a beautiful daughter, and she has a secret: she needs surgery for a potentially fatal heart condition. On top of everything, seeing Chase Brown again makes her realize that what she really wants may have been right here all along.
 
After Letty moved away, Chase poured his hurt and anger into fixing up his family’s ranch. Now that she’s back, he vows to stay as far away from her as possible, and yet he can’t ignore the rush of emotions he feels every time their paths cross. He may be risking heartbreak, but Chase has to face the past to build what he really wants: a future, and a family, with Letty.
 

227 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 1, 1989

1022 people are currently reading
1377 people want to read

About the author

Debbie Macomber

895 books20.6k followers
Debbie Macomber is a #1 New York Times bestselling author and one of today’s most popular writers with more than 200 million copies of her books in print worldwide. In her novels, Macomber brings to life compelling relationships that embrace family and enduring friendships, uplifting her readers with stories of connection and hope. Macomber’s novels have spent over 1,000 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. Fifteen of these novels hit the number one spot.

In 2023, Macomber’s all-new hardcover publication includes Must Love Flowers (July). In addition to fiction, Macomber has also published three bestselling cookbooks, three adult coloring books, numerous inspirational and nonfiction works, and two acclaimed children’s books.

Celebrated as “the official storyteller of Christmas”, Macomber’s annual Christmas books are beloved and six have been crafted into original Hallmark Channel movies. Macomber is also the author of the bestselling Cedar Cove Series which the Hallmark Channel chose as the basis for its first dramatic scripted television series. Debuting in 2013, Debbie Macomber’s Cedar Cove was a ratings favorite for three seasons.

She serves on the Guideposts National Advisory Cabinet, is a YFC National Ambassador, and is World Vision’s international spokesperson for their Knit for Kids charity initiative. A devoted grandmother, Debbie and Wayne live in Port Orchard, Washington, the town which inspired the Cedar Cove series.

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5 stars
1,144 (43%)
4 stars
780 (29%)
3 stars
508 (19%)
2 stars
135 (5%)
1 star
56 (2%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 117 reviews
1,394 reviews
June 5, 2021
This is the story of high school sweethearts Chase and Letty. Letty left Wyoming 9 years earlier to pursue a singing career. She returns home with a 5 year old daughter when she needs heart surgery. I could barely finish this one. The actions of the characters made no sense. This is definitely not one of the author's better books.
Profile Image for Laura.
59 reviews5 followers
August 13, 2016
As always a Debbie Macomber leaves you wanting more and with a smile on your face. I highly recommend this story of 2 people finding each other again.
Profile Image for Melissa.
284 reviews62 followers
November 27, 2017
I really enjoyed this story. Letty moved away from a town and friends that she loved, looking for a spotlight for her singing career. But, she always loved the small town that she moved away from...A lovely story of a romance between two people and the small town community that they loved.
Profile Image for Riley.
109 reviews
July 16, 2019
UGH! Where do I even begin?

I started this book with the expectations of a short, sweet, maybe overly cheesy romance. It's only 251 pages, so I didn't expect the plot to be particularly exciting or even that original (my grandmother loves western/cowboy romances - Diana Palmer takes up like 90% of her bookshelves - so I've seen the "girl leaves town then comes back years later and goes back to her old beau" trope a hundred times), but I DID expect it to be a fun read.

Spoiler alert: it really isn't sweet, and it is NOT fun.

There were so many moments where I wanted to either throw the book across the room or reach into the pages and just slap the crap out of Chase or both. I really did not want to finish this, but like I said, it's only 251 pages, and I was committed. I've given up on too many books lately and I just wanted to finally finish one. Sigh.

Let me go down the list of things that bothered me (and yes, I wrote everything down as I read this mess):

-Letty (h) left Wyoming nearly 10 years ago. She never asked Chase (H) to wait for her but he did. He ends up resenting her when she gets pregnant by another man four years later.
-Letty left to chase her dreams of becoming a singer. Instead of believing in her, Chase seemed to comfort himself in the belief that she would fail and come back to him within a year. He wasn't actually supportive of her and didn't believe she could achieve her goals.
-Chase holds on to his resentment and anger towards Letty for having Cricket (her daughter) for five whole years. When Letty does return, he treats her and Cricket like garbage.
-Chase intentionally says cruel things to Letty just to try to provoke her into getting defensive. When she doesn't, he's disappointed in her - but not himself for being a total douche.
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-Every time Chase kisses Letty it's when one or both of them are angry at the other. HE KEEPS KISSING HER EVEN SHE SAYS NO AND TRIES TO PUSH HIM AWAY FROM HER.
-Chase kisses her and then will immediately go back to being mean to her or will avoid her for weeks. When she can't look at him the next day after he kisses her the first time (because he'd immediately snapped at her and walked out afterward), he thinks she's embarrassed (which makes him HAPPY because apparently embarrassment = she doesn't let men touch her that often?) and convinces himself that she regrets the kiss which makes him mad at her again.
-His attitude towards Letty's past sex life is just disgusting and downright misogynistic. When she first comes back and goes to church, Chase glares at her the whole time and is furious that she "has the nerve" to be in church after her "horrible sins." Then his whole being happy that she's embarrassed because he believes that means she doesn't actually sleep around that much. And he seems to mourn the fact that she's no longer a virgin like she'd been when she left (or, as it's repeatedly called in the book: "innocent").
-This cringe-worthy line: "The agonies of the damned knowing another man had tasted the sweet fruit of her innocence." blegh.
-Chase is EXTREMELY bossy and demanding of Letty.
-CHASE WON'T TALK TO HER 99% OF THE TIME SO HE COMES TO HIS OWN CONCLUSIONS AND PUNISHES HER FOR THINGS HE IMAGINED. When Cricket lets it slip that Letty is "seeing a man with a mustache" in the city, Chase immediately assumes Letty is sleeping with another man. Then he convinces himself that she's leaving again. His reaction every time she gets near her piano makes her not want to play it anymore. He punishes her with the silent treatment, emotional abuse and manipulation ("I don't love you anymore," "I want you but I HATE you," "I never said I felt the same way about you," "Don't confuse great sex with love," among other things), and random angry kisses.
-The finale, is apparently supposed to be romantic but it's actually just manipulative? He accused her of lying to him when she didn't and punished her for it, but when he ACTUALLY lied to her it was okay because he was "making a huge sacrifice for her"?? On what planet. All I got from the last few pages of the book were that

That's just all the things I hated about Chase, the "hero". I could make another list of the things I hated about Letty's brother Lonny, since he's almost as bad with his misogyny and the childish "I insult her and argue with her all the time because I like her and can't admit it" crap between him and Joy. It's not cute when little boys pull little girls' pigtails because they "like" them, and it's certainly not cute when grown men set out to make women miserable because they "like" them.

Really wish I hadn't wasted my time on this one, but it was too late to turn back.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Glenda L.
544 reviews30 followers
December 10, 2017
I read Debbie Macomber novels when I want to relax ... doesn't tax the brain and gives you a warm fuzzy feeling ... haven't read one yet that I didn't like.
Profile Image for Tasneem.
1,805 reviews
September 7, 2013
I really didn't like this book. Letty is such a whiny woman and she totally doesn't understand Chase or her brother. I wanted to slap her and making her ill didn't help the case. I didn't feel sympathy for her and more than once wanted her to just drop dead and stop troubling the fine men in her life.
Profile Image for Jessica.
104 reviews6 followers
September 21, 2020
Oh my goodness! I got this book at the grocery store during the pandemic or quarantine 2020 as I call it . I like this author because of the small town charm . I have been following her career for years. I love this book and the romance between Letty and Chase. Cricket is so cute. I didn't want this book to end. I loved it! A+
Profile Image for Tilde.
23 reviews
February 22, 2021
Were should I begin!? I did not like this book. I usually love countryside romantic books but this was just so bad.

-Most of al I couldn’t stand Chase, he was such a hypocrite! And made Letty feel bad about herself al the time. He was straight up mean just because he was a coward and couldn’t communicate with her. Why couldn’t he just talk to her? and he always thought the worst of the her. He acted like a child. Straight up embarrassing 😳

-Letty on the other hand I was more okay with then Chase but she also had her own issues. Through almost the entire book she never told anyone of her heart condition and her reasoning for that was that she wanted to fix everything herself (with the money problem and the doctors). That I can understand but I thought it was weird that she didn’t even tell her own brother. She also had a very patronising image of her dead mother as a person who could not make her own choices in life. Letty painted a portrait of her mother as a martyr.

-The only two things that was okay about this book was Cricket (Letty daughter) and the relationship between Lonny (Lettys brother) and Joy.

-And the sex scene between Letty and Chase was just a disappointment, there was no real spark between them.

-The ending was okay but could have happened a lot sooner and if I felt anything for the characters it would have been more impactful, I just couldn’t bring myself to care.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Chloe (Always Booked).
3,169 reviews122 followers
June 27, 2020
(On my shelf as a bind up of the Wyoming Brides)
3.5 stars but feels like a 4 because I've been reading so many duds lately! This book is about Chase and Letty. Letty left their hometown (and Chase) 9 years ago to pursue a music career. Now she's back with a 5 year old child and a big secret. She has a heart condition that was discovered during pregnancy and now she's got to have a surgery that is life or death. Without it, she will not be able to live much longer. So she goes back to their hometown to stay with her brother, Lonnie, and she runs into Chase. Her daughter, Cricket, is SMITTEN with him and loves him a lot from the get go even though he is grouchy and wants nothing to do with her. Both Letty and Chase have changed-- shes more humble (she now has to take handouts and get a lot of help) and he is much more broody after the love of his life left and got pregnant with someone else's child. Can they come back together!? Read to see! Love Debbie Macomber for a nice, refreshing read.

SPOILERS AHEAD:
Chase and Letty end up together HEA. Her brother also gets together with Letty's best friend (Joy). She's sort of indifferent to him and it angers him until they finally start to bond.
Profile Image for ev.
1 review
October 6, 2023
The book was a annoyingly repeating many things like “she/he realized how she felt and kept having the chase and Letty have romantic moments just for them to act like nothing happened and to keep avoiding each other and doubting that they loved each other even after kissing multiple times which i found confusing and annoying because even after all that how do they still not know they love each other? And at the end it was very confusing how Chase started acting very cold saying that she could leave for all he cared and stuff which hurt because i was really liking his character until he just took a whole personality twist but im guessing he was just acting? But still, I didn’t really like the way it was written in some parts. Overall I give it a four because in my opinion it had a good plot and im a big sucker for romance so i liked it haha i just needed to point out the annoying stuff before saying how much i loved it. I feel like i came out straight from the book. Had me reading for hours. I would recommend for anyone who are suckers for any romance like me haha
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Allison.
167 reviews23 followers
February 3, 2021
I honestly cannot believe this is my first book finished this year and tbh, I’m sorry to all the intellectuals who follow me. (I’m looking at you, Trevor.)

This book was pure trash in the best/worst way possible. The characters were horrible, the writing was horrible, there was all this built up tension that we were supposed to believe was sexual, and then no payoff to the sexual tension. Absolute trash. But I hate to admit that it made Nick and I laugh while we read this to each other. We currently have the titular quote on our living room letter board- it’s just that ridiculous.

Thank you to my grandmother who sent me this book thinking it was the perfect read for me and my literature loving fiancé. We will never be the same again.
40 reviews
July 6, 2024
This one was great!!

Oh to have the simplicity of yesteryear back. Our world has become so riddled with selfishness, immorality, devastation, and discontent, that sometimes it’s hard to see the multitude of good still in the world, but this book brings us back to days gone by. I was telling my 30 yo old son what it was like back in the 70’s and 80’s the other day and for some reason this book brought back even more memories of that time. They say WWII era had the greatest generation, and the 80’s had the best music. Well I think the 80’s was also a great time to be a kid. Thank you for this classic Debbie Macomber!!
181 reviews2 followers
October 28, 2018
So beautiful

She left for California from right after high school hoping to become the next singing sensation.
No matter how hard she tried it never happened. She met a wonderful man who treated her like a princess. When she became pregnant did he finally decide to tell her he was married.
Returning to Wyoming with her 5 year old daughter, her brother welcomed her home, but her high school sweetheart treated her like dirt. Till she finally told the truth, she needed heart surgery.
Profile Image for M Williamson.
35 reviews
September 20, 2020
Disclaimer: I only read this because I was stuck waiting somewhere and this was the most accessible book. This is not my typical cup of tea.

Have they ever, I don't know, considered talking to each other? The way people normally communicate? It would be nice to have a plot that revolves around something other than a basic miscommunication. It disturbs me to my core that this book is rated about the same as a classic like The Princess Bride. If you want something fluffy, this is perfect, but fair warning - you may lose some brain cells in the process.
17 reviews1 follower
August 7, 2022
Not a healthy relationship

I hate to show dislike for something someone worked so hard on but the relationship between Chase and Letty is horrible. The whole book Chase insults Letty and Letty just takes it and pines for him and says but “you show me your love” even though seconds before he’s insulting her. It’s not a healthy, loving relationship. Plus it repeats itself over and over again with two plot points. Save your money and time and find a different book.
Profile Image for Lis Sigona.
588 reviews
September 27, 2022
Everyone has someone they seem to like but at the same time they find themselves never being able to agree with them, or finding them frustrating to us. But that’s what brings the magic sometimes of love between us and what makes combustion and fire and everything feels right between being together. Even if there are days you want to pull out your hair or give up on the other person. This is the story of that kind of love.
Profile Image for Laura.
110 reviews1 follower
October 27, 2018
Dysfunctional love.

It was interesting to compare Ms. Macomber's earlier writing to some of her later writings. The growth in complexity of her characters & story lines is the most obvious feature. But what stays constant is her basic family love, devotion & values. I also like seeing church being such a normal role in the characters' lives.
348 reviews3 followers
November 4, 2018
Entertaining

Have you been to Wyoming? I have not but after reading this story
I would like to.
This story was about a young woman who could sing wanting more than
A romantic relationship with a young man on a neighboring ranch.
But life can make make other decisions for anyone. You will have to
Read this story to see what happens.
395 reviews2 followers
November 13, 2018
Can major heart surgery mend a broken heart?

An enjoyable love story set on a ranch in Red Spring, Wyoming... A broken love affair when Letty left for a singing career in California. When she returns years later with a five year old daughter and in need of major surgery will Chase be able to forgive her and pick up where they left off?
Profile Image for Carole Mckee.
335 reviews7 followers
February 25, 2019
Wonderful Story

I never expect anything less than wonderful when it's a Debbie Macomber book. Letty has been gone for nine years. She returns with her five year old daughter and a heart problem. Chase, the man she left behind, is full of resentment. It's time to mend fences and repair bridges. Great characters. I loved it.
Profile Image for Nikki.
1,419 reviews12 followers
October 24, 2019
Debbie Macomber is one of my favourite authors and I'm working my way through all of her books, not found a book I didn't enjoy yet abs so haven't, although this is an old book of hers is still as good as her current releases.

I couldn't put this down so finished it in a few hours, a must read if you like Country romance.
Profile Image for Jennifer.
403 reviews1 follower
April 11, 2020
I enjoyed this book till that last quarter. Give me a break. Chase sells his family land to pay for a expensive surgery that would have been paid for if they waited to get married. He says he deceived her because she didn’t like being a charity case. There more but I already said to much. Talk about messed up.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Jessica.
3 reviews
July 13, 2017
Satisfying!!

I had a craving for a good read and was fortunate enough to find Denim and Diamonds! I fell in love with all of the characters and the resolve left me teary eyed. Will definitely be reading more of Debbie Macombers books!
33 reviews
September 20, 2017
Denim and Diamonds

Excellent story. I loved the ending. Chase had a lot of thinking to do,but he did finally come to terms with Letty Now he has his own family. Cricket will bring them lots of wonderful memories.
1,629 reviews7 followers
September 30, 2017
Really enjoyed this romance by D. Macomber. I read the companion story that went w/this one and liked it too. A very predictable yet light romance. I enjoy D. Macomber as an author. Will definitely read more of hers. I always snap hers up when they come on sale through bookbub.
995 reviews4 followers
October 30, 2018
This is a reissue of an early book by the author. That said it is a very basic story, basically described and lacks the depth and complexity of her later works. If you appreciate the artist author she has become, you might want to skip this earlier work.
16 reviews
November 2, 2018
Debbie Delivers

Always enjoy reading Debbie’s stories. It is easy to put yourself into the story and for this one I just wanted to shake some of the characters into seeing the truth. It was an easy and quick read. Thanks Debbie!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 117 reviews

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