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Lone Star Sisters #3
Straight from the Hip
Izzy has always been the fearless Titan sister. But when an oil rig blows up, leaving her barely able to see, her sisters find themselves as concerned by her emotional withdrawal as by the possibility that the explosion was no accident. Are the mind games their long-lost brother Garth has been playing turning physical? Or is someone else out to get them?
When her sisters enroll her in a survivor training camp, Izzy is not happy. Nick, her instructor, is determined that she won't be left in the dark. In more ways than one. But if he tells her the terrible truth behind why he's helping her, he'll never see her again. Unless they're both willing to take the biggest risk of all.
When her sisters enroll her in a survivor training camp, Izzy is not happy. Nick, her instructor, is determined that she won't be left in the dark. In more ways than one. But if he tells her the terrible truth behind why he's helping her, he'll never see her again. Unless they're both willing to take the biggest risk of all.
304 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published July 1, 2009
235 people are currently reading
2101 people want to read
About the author
Susan Mallery
862 books15.4k followers#1 New York Times bestselling author Susan Mallery writes heartwarming and humorous novels about the relationships that define women's lives—family, friendship, romance. She's best known for putting nuanced characters into emotionally complex, real-life situations with twists that surprise readers to laughter. Because Susan is passionate about animal welfare, pets play a big role in her books. Beloved by millions of readers worldwide, her books have been translated into 28 languages.
Critics have dubbed Mallery "the new queen of romantic fiction." (Walmart) Booklist says, "Romance novels don't get much better than Mallery's expert blend of emotional nuance, humor, and superb storytelling," and RT Book Reviews puts her "in a class by herself!" It's no wonder that her books have spent more than 200 weeks on the USA Today bestsellers list.
Although Susan majored in Accounting, she never worked as an accountant because she was published straight out of college with two books the same month. Sixteen prolific years and seventy-four books later, she hit the New York Times bestsellers list for the first time with Accidentally Yours in 2008. She made many appearances in the Top 10 before (finally) hitting #1 in 2015 with Thrill Me, the twentieth book in her most popular series, the Fool's Gold romances, and the fourth of five books released that year.
Susan lives in Washington state with her husband, two ragdoll cats, and a small poodle with delusions of grandeur. Her heart for animals has led Susan to become an active supporter of the Seattle Humane Society. Visit Susan online at www.SusanMallery.com.
Critics have dubbed Mallery "the new queen of romantic fiction." (Walmart) Booklist says, "Romance novels don't get much better than Mallery's expert blend of emotional nuance, humor, and superb storytelling," and RT Book Reviews puts her "in a class by herself!" It's no wonder that her books have spent more than 200 weeks on the USA Today bestsellers list.
Although Susan majored in Accounting, she never worked as an accountant because she was published straight out of college with two books the same month. Sixteen prolific years and seventy-four books later, she hit the New York Times bestsellers list for the first time with Accidentally Yours in 2008. She made many appearances in the Top 10 before (finally) hitting #1 in 2015 with Thrill Me, the twentieth book in her most popular series, the Fool's Gold romances, and the fourth of five books released that year.
Susan lives in Washington state with her husband, two ragdoll cats, and a small poodle with delusions of grandeur. Her heart for animals has led Susan to become an active supporter of the Seattle Humane Society. Visit Susan online at www.SusanMallery.com.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 228 reviews
July 5, 2019
Eee bu da bitti :(
Çok değişik şeyler oldu ve son kitap resmen bomba çiftin kim olduğunu şimdi öğrendim kuduruyorum ofofofof
Çok değişik şeyler oldu ve son kitap resmen bomba çiftin kim olduğunu şimdi öğrendim kuduruyorum ofofofof
March 24, 2021
This is a Women's Fiction/Romance, and this is the 3rd book in the Lone Star Sisters series. This a great book. The main character had been in a bombing because of that she is now mostly blind. During this book she is taking to be ok with being mostly blinded and deciding if she wants to have a surgery done to maybe get her vision back. During this time she fells in love. (*)
July 2, 2009
It's hard not to gush, but I just loved this fantastic book, and the whole series so far. I never realized before what a terrific story-teller Susan Mallery is, even though I've read quite a few of her books. This one was my favorite of the still running series (Lone Star Sisters), and I'm wondering if she'll be able to top it. Her characters are so expertly drawn, you feel like you've known them all your life. The pace was fast, fast, fast...I had a hard time finding a place to stop when I needed to put it down. But I never once wanted to put it down--in fact, I didn't want it to end! There's been a few books that I've felt that way about--you want to find out what's going to happen, but then again you don't want it to end--you want to savor it and drain every drop of enjoyment out of it!
This one is about the youngest Titan sister, beautiful, free spirited, daredevil Izzy. Izzy's the most unconventional of the three Texas sisters, with a free and easy/no strings lovelife, dangerous and unusual jobs (she's an underwater welder on an oil rig) and full of sassy attitude. Recently Izzy's been injured when there was an explosion on the oil rig where she was working, and has lost 70% of her vision. She retreats to her bedroom, withdrawing physically and emotionally. There's a good chance her vision could be restored if she has an operation, but there is also a (small) chance that she could end up permanently blind. But Izzy's afraid to take that chance of being permantly disabled, so she's sort of in limbo, just hiding out in her bedroom. Her sisters are beside themselves with worry for her, and hate to see her retreating from life. So they do the only thing they can think of--they place her in the capable hands of someone who comes highly recommended-- Nick Hollister.
Nick has a ranch that specializes in corporate survival training. Companies send their employees on an outing to Nick's ranch to bond and to learn how to work as a team. On the weekends he voluntarily takes in kids who have suffered a traumatic loss or been victims of a violent crime, and they come to his ranch to ride horses and just to get away from their troubles. Izzy's sisters want Nick to take her in for a few weeks to help her adjust to being blind. It's their hope (and Nick's) that she'll gain enough confidence by helping out around the ranch and with the horses that she'll be able to face having the surgery she needs.
Well, the extremely reluctant Izzy and the gruff, tough, green-eyed hunk Nick soon lock horns, with Izzie refusing to cooperate with Nick's ideas that will help her adjust and build her confidence. Nick dishes out some tough love and Izzy digs in her heels. There's lots of verbal sparring and sexual chemistry to spare. Eventually Izzy sees that she's not as bad off as some other people, and loses the self pity and adjusts her attitude. Of course it helps that she starts to have some feelings for sexy geek (graduated from college and got a Master's and half way to a Phd. by age 19) Nick, who as it turns out, has had some tough times of his own. But having real feelings for someone is something new for Izzy, and she's not quite ready to admit it or knows how to proceed. And Nick is the same about not wanting to care for someone, although his reasons are rooted in him feeling that he doesn't deserve happiness. Nick harbors a couple of guilty secrets, and his need to constantly punish himself may come between him and any future happiness with Izzy. And when it looks like Nick has been conspiring with the person who has been trying to bring down the entire Titan family, Izzy has a decision to make--does she trust Nick and his feelings for her or does she throw in the towel on her first real love relationship?
I loved the relationship that Izzy had with Nick, of course--they were one sexy hot couple, with lots of snappy dialogue and some hot bedroom moments. Loved the sexual tension between them and their obvious chemistry. You could see that they truly cared about each other too, but I wasn't sure if Nick was going to be one of those heroes who ruined his chance at love because he was just so stubborn about feeling 'undeserving'. I also loved Izzy's relationship with Nick's right-hand man, the obviously gay and quite funny Aaron. That guy was a riot, and had some great and funny scenes. And I loved when he set stubborn Nick straight about Izzy--way to go, Aaron! It was hard not to feel sorry for Izzy, as she tried to cope with her near blindness and finally dealt with her feelings about the parents who basically ignored her. At times (in the beginning) it seemed that Nick was being too rough on her, but there was a method to his madness, and it worked. I also enjoyed reading about Nick's surprising (and horrific) background, and just what his relationship was to the man who was determined to bring down the powerful Titan family. I would be remiss if I also didn't mention that Izzy's father Jed is still the a**hole he was in the previous books, and I sure wouldn't mind seeing him get taken down. This guy would never win "father of the year".
So, if you're looking for an emotional, fast paced read with an adorably feisty heroine, and a quiet, sexy somewhat tortured hero, this is the book/series you'll want to try. I can't wait for the next installment, featuring an unlikely couple I'm anxious to read about. So far, this was my favorite of a great contemporary series. 5 stars.
This one is about the youngest Titan sister, beautiful, free spirited, daredevil Izzy. Izzy's the most unconventional of the three Texas sisters, with a free and easy/no strings lovelife, dangerous and unusual jobs (she's an underwater welder on an oil rig) and full of sassy attitude. Recently Izzy's been injured when there was an explosion on the oil rig where she was working, and has lost 70% of her vision. She retreats to her bedroom, withdrawing physically and emotionally. There's a good chance her vision could be restored if she has an operation, but there is also a (small) chance that she could end up permanently blind. But Izzy's afraid to take that chance of being permantly disabled, so she's sort of in limbo, just hiding out in her bedroom. Her sisters are beside themselves with worry for her, and hate to see her retreating from life. So they do the only thing they can think of--they place her in the capable hands of someone who comes highly recommended-- Nick Hollister.
Nick has a ranch that specializes in corporate survival training. Companies send their employees on an outing to Nick's ranch to bond and to learn how to work as a team. On the weekends he voluntarily takes in kids who have suffered a traumatic loss or been victims of a violent crime, and they come to his ranch to ride horses and just to get away from their troubles. Izzy's sisters want Nick to take her in for a few weeks to help her adjust to being blind. It's their hope (and Nick's) that she'll gain enough confidence by helping out around the ranch and with the horses that she'll be able to face having the surgery she needs.
Well, the extremely reluctant Izzy and the gruff, tough, green-eyed hunk Nick soon lock horns, with Izzie refusing to cooperate with Nick's ideas that will help her adjust and build her confidence. Nick dishes out some tough love and Izzy digs in her heels. There's lots of verbal sparring and sexual chemistry to spare. Eventually Izzy sees that she's not as bad off as some other people, and loses the self pity and adjusts her attitude. Of course it helps that she starts to have some feelings for sexy geek (graduated from college and got a Master's and half way to a Phd. by age 19) Nick, who as it turns out, has had some tough times of his own. But having real feelings for someone is something new for Izzy, and she's not quite ready to admit it or knows how to proceed. And Nick is the same about not wanting to care for someone, although his reasons are rooted in him feeling that he doesn't deserve happiness. Nick harbors a couple of guilty secrets, and his need to constantly punish himself may come between him and any future happiness with Izzy. And when it looks like Nick has been conspiring with the person who has been trying to bring down the entire Titan family, Izzy has a decision to make--does she trust Nick and his feelings for her or does she throw in the towel on her first real love relationship?
I loved the relationship that Izzy had with Nick, of course--they were one sexy hot couple, with lots of snappy dialogue and some hot bedroom moments. Loved the sexual tension between them and their obvious chemistry. You could see that they truly cared about each other too, but I wasn't sure if Nick was going to be one of those heroes who ruined his chance at love because he was just so stubborn about feeling 'undeserving'. I also loved Izzy's relationship with Nick's right-hand man, the obviously gay and quite funny Aaron. That guy was a riot, and had some great and funny scenes. And I loved when he set stubborn Nick straight about Izzy--way to go, Aaron! It was hard not to feel sorry for Izzy, as she tried to cope with her near blindness and finally dealt with her feelings about the parents who basically ignored her. At times (in the beginning) it seemed that Nick was being too rough on her, but there was a method to his madness, and it worked. I also enjoyed reading about Nick's surprising (and horrific) background, and just what his relationship was to the man who was determined to bring down the powerful Titan family. I would be remiss if I also didn't mention that Izzy's father Jed is still the a**hole he was in the previous books, and I sure wouldn't mind seeing him get taken down. This guy would never win "father of the year".
So, if you're looking for an emotional, fast paced read with an adorably feisty heroine, and a quiet, sexy somewhat tortured hero, this is the book/series you'll want to try. I can't wait for the next installment, featuring an unlikely couple I'm anxious to read about. So far, this was my favorite of a great contemporary series. 5 stars.
January 7, 2015
I am usually a huge fan of Susan Mallery, but this novel was a disappointment; I really did not enjoy myself reading it.
June 4, 2019
Another piece of the puzzle has snapped into place. Garth doesn’t seem to want to hurt the sisters just Jed and if he has to use the sisters he will... But I think there is more to the story.
The Nick/Garth connection was interesting and how he wanted to help Izzy makes me think he isn’t all bad.
The concertation with Garth and Jed blew me away as well as the one with Jed and Izzy she surprised me in the best way how she stood up for herself.
He is going to push all his kids away and where will that leave him with his big house and his big pile of money how lonely that would be. Why Garth can’t just let it frustrates me.
Izzy and Nick together made sense and I liked their story.
The narration was great.
The Nick/Garth connection was interesting and how he wanted to help Izzy makes me think he isn’t all bad.
The concertation with Garth and Jed blew me away as well as the one with Jed and Izzy she surprised me in the best way how she stood up for herself.
He is going to push all his kids away and where will that leave him with his big house and his big pile of money how lonely that would be. Why Garth can’t just let it frustrates me.
Izzy and Nick together made sense and I liked their story.
The narration was great.
June 5, 2019
3,5 / 5
May 5, 2017
Straight from the Hip, the third Lone Star Sisters book, begins a month after where Lip Service leaves off. Izzy Titan has always been the fearless, carefree Titan sister; she always did whatever she wanted when she wanted. Until the oil rig she was working on exploded, leaving her without seventy percent of her sight. After a month of doing nothing, including not having the surgery that could either restore her eyesight or blind her completely, her sisters have Izzy "kidnapped." Enter Nick Hollister, the owner of a large facility that helps children that have lived through violence. He comes to Lexi's house, kidnaps Izzy, throws her in the back of his car and drives her out to his house, where she is to stay until she heals internally and decides to have the surgery. During her time there, she works in the stables, helps at corporate retreats, helps a young girl scarred for life, makes lasting friendships, decides to go back to college, decides to have the surgery, and...falls in love? Without intending to, Izzy manages to fall in love with Nick, despite the gruesome past he shared with her. Little does she know that Nick harbors an even bigger secret: Garth Duncan, her half-brother and the man out to ruin her family, is Nick's best friend. After hearing about all the horrible things Garth has done to her family, Nick confronts him. Garth says he won't stop terrorizing the Titans; Nick severs their connection and returns to the ranch, deciding not to tell Izzy about his connection to Garth until after she had her surgery. However, good intentions got lost in the fray when Garth decided to inform Izzy himself about their connection, telling her heartbreaking lies in the process. Izzy leaves the ranch and goes to live with Dana, her best friend, as she has nowhere else to go. About two weeks later, Izzy and Garth run into each other again. He explains to her what really happened and that Nick was not working with him; he tells her not to give up on Nick. Izzy decides she is going to "save" Garth. With love. She wants to bring him into her family and show him that there are people out there who can love him. The next day, Nick comes to see Izzy. He tells her he loves her, grovels for forgiveness and another chance, and proposes. When she doesn't agree right away to the proposal, he kidnaps her again and they live happily ever after in their love for each other.
This book was quite an emotional one for me, and I can honestly say that this book is my favorite of the whole series. (Yes, I know I haven't read the last one yet!) I know this because, with the first two, it was upsetting to see how Garth was hurting Lexi, Cruz, Skye, and Mitch but it was never devastating for me. The way he hurt Nick and Izzy in Straight from the Hip broke my heart. Just broke it and tore it right out of my chest. I was fully involved in their growing relationship, totally cheering them on. Then he went a ruined everything. I cannot express to you how much that hurt me. And if it hurt me that much, imagine how it felt for Izzy and Nick!
Izzy Titan is one of the strongest heroines I have read about in a long time. In the first two books of this series, she comes off as cocky and arrogant, she likes to be the center of attention and being the daredevil. However, during her time at the ranch, she realizes that all that, especially her adrenaline junkie ways, are just her way of hiding, particularly from the parents who never loved her. She was trying to earn that love from her father, was trying to be the son he never had. In the beginning of this book, her actions were exhibiting a sad deviation from her powerful inner strength. She was moping around, doing nothing, and very self-pitying. Admittedly, that irritated me for quite a while, even though I understood why she was doing that. So, I was glad to see her get back to the confident, courageous, witty woman I knew she could be. Also, she finally allowed herself to open her heart to someone, which showed her strengthening maturity. However, her heart was broken by the reality she thought was true after Garth came to talk to her. Being the strong woman that is, though, she decided not to let her broken heart get in the way of her life and her dreams. During that time her maturity developed even further when she decided to forgive Garth everything and try to help him. I loved Izzy from the start and I continue to do so by the end of this book.
In some ways, Nick Hollister was a cliché leading man (dark past, can't forgive himself, thinks he needs to pay for the rest of his life and doesn't deserve love), but in others he was simply a deeply disturbed man who had trouble seeing the reality of his life. About ten years previously, Nick had accidentally caused the deaths of three people, and he still feels guilty about it. He feels that the torture he received as payback was deserved and that he still had to pay for that mistake. He doesn't open his heart to anyone and thinks he deserves even less than he has, particularly when it comes to love. As a way to atone, he has children come to his ranch to help them heal a little bit from their traumatic pasts and to just give them a place to come to in order to get away from their everyday life. What he doesn't realize, though, is that he needs to do some of that healing himself. He needs to let go of his guilt and move on with his life. It takes Izzy leaving and several admonishments from Aaron, the manager of his business, to get him to see that. Finally, he is able to go back to Izzy and take the love that he deserves.
In the beginning of this book, I still hated Garth Duncan. He was doing everything in his power to hurt the Titan sisters and I'd developed affection for them, as if I were their friend. However, much as I'm loathe to admit it, by the end of the novel, I find myself liking him. He even had me smiling at one point! So, I'm very interested to see how this is going to play out in the next book, especially the relationship with his sisters.
Jed Titan, as always, is a bastard. I'm glad that, in a way, he finally got what was coming to him from his daughters: Izzy slapping him. And, I don't even care what Garth does to him because the bastard is just so rotten that he deserves what's coming to him.
The biggest question I'm left with at the end of this book, besides what's going to happen with Garth, is about who blew up the oil rig. I believe that it wasn't Garth; he hasn't lied about his actions thus far so why would he lie about this? But, then, who did it? I can't wait to find out.
Straight from the Hip deserves every one of those stars I gave it, and if I could give it more I would. This is definitely a book I will be re-reading over and over again.
This book was quite an emotional one for me, and I can honestly say that this book is my favorite of the whole series. (Yes, I know I haven't read the last one yet!) I know this because, with the first two, it was upsetting to see how Garth was hurting Lexi, Cruz, Skye, and Mitch but it was never devastating for me. The way he hurt Nick and Izzy in Straight from the Hip broke my heart. Just broke it and tore it right out of my chest. I was fully involved in their growing relationship, totally cheering them on. Then he went a ruined everything. I cannot express to you how much that hurt me. And if it hurt me that much, imagine how it felt for Izzy and Nick!
Izzy Titan is one of the strongest heroines I have read about in a long time. In the first two books of this series, she comes off as cocky and arrogant, she likes to be the center of attention and being the daredevil. However, during her time at the ranch, she realizes that all that, especially her adrenaline junkie ways, are just her way of hiding, particularly from the parents who never loved her. She was trying to earn that love from her father, was trying to be the son he never had. In the beginning of this book, her actions were exhibiting a sad deviation from her powerful inner strength. She was moping around, doing nothing, and very self-pitying. Admittedly, that irritated me for quite a while, even though I understood why she was doing that. So, I was glad to see her get back to the confident, courageous, witty woman I knew she could be. Also, she finally allowed herself to open her heart to someone, which showed her strengthening maturity. However, her heart was broken by the reality she thought was true after Garth came to talk to her. Being the strong woman that is, though, she decided not to let her broken heart get in the way of her life and her dreams. During that time her maturity developed even further when she decided to forgive Garth everything and try to help him. I loved Izzy from the start and I continue to do so by the end of this book.
In some ways, Nick Hollister was a cliché leading man (dark past, can't forgive himself, thinks he needs to pay for the rest of his life and doesn't deserve love), but in others he was simply a deeply disturbed man who had trouble seeing the reality of his life. About ten years previously, Nick had accidentally caused the deaths of three people, and he still feels guilty about it. He feels that the torture he received as payback was deserved and that he still had to pay for that mistake. He doesn't open his heart to anyone and thinks he deserves even less than he has, particularly when it comes to love. As a way to atone, he has children come to his ranch to help them heal a little bit from their traumatic pasts and to just give them a place to come to in order to get away from their everyday life. What he doesn't realize, though, is that he needs to do some of that healing himself. He needs to let go of his guilt and move on with his life. It takes Izzy leaving and several admonishments from Aaron, the manager of his business, to get him to see that. Finally, he is able to go back to Izzy and take the love that he deserves.
In the beginning of this book, I still hated Garth Duncan. He was doing everything in his power to hurt the Titan sisters and I'd developed affection for them, as if I were their friend. However, much as I'm loathe to admit it, by the end of the novel, I find myself liking him. He even had me smiling at one point! So, I'm very interested to see how this is going to play out in the next book, especially the relationship with his sisters.
Jed Titan, as always, is a bastard. I'm glad that, in a way, he finally got what was coming to him from his daughters: Izzy slapping him. And, I don't even care what Garth does to him because the bastard is just so rotten that he deserves what's coming to him.
The biggest question I'm left with at the end of this book, besides what's going to happen with Garth, is about who blew up the oil rig. I believe that it wasn't Garth; he hasn't lied about his actions thus far so why would he lie about this? But, then, who did it? I can't wait to find out.
Straight from the Hip deserves every one of those stars I gave it, and if I could give it more I would. This is definitely a book I will be re-reading over and over again.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 31, 2020
Great book! I loved this way more than books one and two. There was just something about Izzy and Nick that had me glued to the pages. I'm definitely planning to read book four since there are still some unresolved cliffhangers.
November 20, 2009
Rating: 3.5 / 5
I definitely liked this one better than the 2nd book in the series, but I also thought it could have been a lot stronger. There was an area or two where I thought the story was a little weak. Aside from that, fairly decent book. It was about on the same level as the first book, for me.
Series Note: this is the second book in Susan Mallery's Lone Star Sisters series. These books should be read in order because they are heavily intertwined.
Summary:
Izzy Titan is the wild and reckless one of the Titan sisters. She loves to do crazy things like swimming with sharks, cave diving, and whatever else gets her adrenaline going. Her jobs are just the same...she's currently an underwater welder on an offshore oil rig. Which is how she's ended temporarily, possibly permanently, blind. There was an explosion on the oil rig and now Izzy has only 30% vision. Her doctor says surgery may save her vision...or may cause her to lose it completely.
Trapped by fear of being in the dark forever, Izzy has sat day after day in her room...until her sisters hire Nick Hollister to "kidnap" her, take her to his ranch, help her cope with her loss of vision, and convince her to get the surgery. Izzy is furious...but eventually realizes they were right. Plus, being around Nick is no hardship. The two set off sparks within each other. But Nick is keeping secrets, and he may lose Izzy when she finds out.
Review:
I wasn't really sure I would like Izzy from the way she was portrayed in the first two books. I liked her whole "wild child" aura, but the whole thing with her jumping from guy to guy and having sex with any guy just for the hell of it is a turn-off for me. It made her seem kinda flighty. But Izzy goes through some nice self-discovery in this book about some aspects of her personality. Though I have to admit, one of the things I thought could have been a little better in the book was Izzy's self-discovery. I thought it could have been more thorough and gone a little deeper. But that's just me, I like it when characters dig deep.
On the romance front, again I found the things thoroughly predictable. From pretty early on, I knew exactly how it was all going to play out and I don't think the book really deviated at all from my expectations. Makes the book a little boring.
There's also the continuing storyline of Garth Duncan, and the Titan's father, Jed. Which, while it has it's interesting points, is getting a little old. I dunno, maybe the whole thing just doesn't have enough zing for me.
And on a related note - Garth. His book is next and it's still rather baffling to think he's going to be the hero of the book. Because so far, he's a Class A jerk. Mallery has her work cut out for her to make him redeemable.
But all in all, this wasn't a bad book. I didn't mind reading it and liked it better than the last one. So far, though, I can't say this series ranks anywhere near of the top of favorite series of mind. It's just kind been a light, easily readable set of books, but nothing all that great.
I definitely liked this one better than the 2nd book in the series, but I also thought it could have been a lot stronger. There was an area or two where I thought the story was a little weak. Aside from that, fairly decent book. It was about on the same level as the first book, for me.
Series Note: this is the second book in Susan Mallery's Lone Star Sisters series. These books should be read in order because they are heavily intertwined.
Summary:
Izzy Titan is the wild and reckless one of the Titan sisters. She loves to do crazy things like swimming with sharks, cave diving, and whatever else gets her adrenaline going. Her jobs are just the same...she's currently an underwater welder on an offshore oil rig. Which is how she's ended temporarily, possibly permanently, blind. There was an explosion on the oil rig and now Izzy has only 30% vision. Her doctor says surgery may save her vision...or may cause her to lose it completely.
Trapped by fear of being in the dark forever, Izzy has sat day after day in her room...until her sisters hire Nick Hollister to "kidnap" her, take her to his ranch, help her cope with her loss of vision, and convince her to get the surgery. Izzy is furious...but eventually realizes they were right. Plus, being around Nick is no hardship. The two set off sparks within each other. But Nick is keeping secrets, and he may lose Izzy when she finds out.
Review:
I wasn't really sure I would like Izzy from the way she was portrayed in the first two books. I liked her whole "wild child" aura, but the whole thing with her jumping from guy to guy and having sex with any guy just for the hell of it is a turn-off for me. It made her seem kinda flighty. But Izzy goes through some nice self-discovery in this book about some aspects of her personality. Though I have to admit, one of the things I thought could have been a little better in the book was Izzy's self-discovery. I thought it could have been more thorough and gone a little deeper. But that's just me, I like it when characters dig deep.
On the romance front, again I found the things thoroughly predictable. From pretty early on, I knew exactly how it was all going to play out and I don't think the book really deviated at all from my expectations. Makes the book a little boring.
There's also the continuing storyline of Garth Duncan, and the Titan's father, Jed. Which, while it has it's interesting points, is getting a little old. I dunno, maybe the whole thing just doesn't have enough zing for me.
And on a related note - Garth. His book is next and it's still rather baffling to think he's going to be the hero of the book. Because so far, he's a Class A jerk. Mallery has her work cut out for her to make him redeemable.
But all in all, this wasn't a bad book. I didn't mind reading it and liked it better than the last one. So far, though, I can't say this series ranks anywhere near of the top of favorite series of mind. It's just kind been a light, easily readable set of books, but nothing all that great.
January 29, 2012
3.5 stars. An explosion cost Izzy Titan most of her eyesight and almost all of her interest in life. When she refuses to even consider the surgery that would almost certainly restore her sight, her desperate sisters hire Nick Hollister to drag her off to his ranch. Through tough love from Nick and his staff, Izzy begins to deal with her situation, face her fears about the surgery, and fall in love. But she has no idea that Nick’s hire was no accident -- his oldest, closest friend is Garth, the man whose vendetta against the Titans may have been the cause of her accident.
Although it had many serious themes, this wasn’t a downer like the previous book in the series. I was irked by Izzy’s pity party at first: “Why me?” she whines. Um, maybe because you were a thrill-seeker who deliberately took a lot of risks? What, you think being a Titan makes you invulnerable? But luckily, unlike Mitch in the previous book, Izzy snaps out of it fairly quickly; she’s still realistically frightened and worried, but making an effort to adjust. Her wry sense of humor comes back to life -- that, and the likable secondary characters, keep the tone of the book from sinking into the mire.
Although it might stand alone, I appreciated this most as part of the series. The Titan sisters are really coming together as a family -- after being almost driven apart by their coldhearted father -- and the situation with Garth is intensifying in a very interesting direction. He’s a very cool but deeply troubled character and I’m looking forward to seeing him redeemed.
Although it had many serious themes, this wasn’t a downer like the previous book in the series. I was irked by Izzy’s pity party at first: “Why me?” she whines. Um, maybe because you were a thrill-seeker who deliberately took a lot of risks? What, you think being a Titan makes you invulnerable? But luckily, unlike Mitch in the previous book, Izzy snaps out of it fairly quickly; she’s still realistically frightened and worried, but making an effort to adjust. Her wry sense of humor comes back to life -- that, and the likable secondary characters, keep the tone of the book from sinking into the mire.
Although it might stand alone, I appreciated this most as part of the series. The Titan sisters are really coming together as a family -- after being almost driven apart by their coldhearted father -- and the situation with Garth is intensifying in a very interesting direction. He’s a very cool but deeply troubled character and I’m looking forward to seeing him redeemed.
June 9, 2012
This one was my favorite of the series so far. I was surprised by that as I didn't really love Izzy in either of the first two books. I was a bit worried because she does start out whiny and full of self pity but it hadn't been that long since the explosion and I've certainly wallowed in self pity for a lot less than being blinded so I cut her a break. I think that Aaron as the FGF (fabulous gay friend) helped bring out a lot of the positives about Izzy, like her humor and caring side. That eventually comes out with Nick but it takes longer there as there is more at stake.
Nick is more of an enigma. He seems trapped in some self punishment cycle and he does totally screw up in keeping The Big Secret from Izzy. His backstory is pretty intense but he's harder to get to know emotionally than Izzy is. The set up with Nick's relationship with Garth was very interesting and serves as the first step for the redemption arc for Garth's story. Jed continues to have no redeeming characteristics as all.
I wasn't really looking forward to Garth's book but I have to say that Mallery did a good job setting it up to be an interesting storyline and now that I've finished this one I am looking forward to the next.
Nick is more of an enigma. He seems trapped in some self punishment cycle and he does totally screw up in keeping The Big Secret from Izzy. His backstory is pretty intense but he's harder to get to know emotionally than Izzy is. The set up with Nick's relationship with Garth was very interesting and serves as the first step for the redemption arc for Garth's story. Jed continues to have no redeeming characteristics as all.
I wasn't really looking forward to Garth's book but I have to say that Mallery did a good job setting it up to be an interesting storyline and now that I've finished this one I am looking forward to the next.
November 9, 2020
Titan kardeşlerden üçüncüsünün hikayesi. Diğer kitaplarda Izzy'i hiç sevmemiştim ama bu kitapta kendini sevdirdi Ve tabiki sor 4-5 sayfada her şey olup bitti
January 31, 2014
Kitap Adı : Hüznün Gölgesinde Aşk
Yazar : Susan Mallery
Orjinal Adı:Straight from the Hip
Goodreads Puanı : 5/4,05
Puanım :5/5
Bayıldım müthiş bir kitap müthiş bir seri. Bu seriyi okumadan önce Susan Mallery'yi okumayı pek de sevmezdim...Fakat bu Titan kız kardeşleri ile yazara bayıldım...Yazarın kurgusu kaleminin gücü bambaşka... Lone Star Sisters serisinin 3. kitabı idi. Kız kardeşlerden üçüncü ve en haşarı olan İzzy'nin hikayesi idi.
Çok daha duygusallık ve acı vardı bu sefer. Özellikle erkek kahramanın ikilemde kalmasını İzzy'yi hayata döndürme çabalarına bayıldım.Onu tekrar eski mücadeleci kişiliğine döndürmeye çalışırken bazen tam bir pislik gibi davranmasına çok kızdım..Ama yaşadığı acıları okuduğumda da içim acıdı durumuna.Onun arkadaşı,dostu hatta kardeşi olarak gördüğü biri vardı... Garth Duncan ..Titan kızlarının üvey ağabeyleri. Bu olayların baş kahramanı..,
Hikayede bir de gay bir kahraman vardı Aaron bu karakter de hikayeye ayrı bir renk katıyordu..İzzy ve Nick arasında iletişimi sağlayıp ara buluculuk yapıyordu. Bir de yeni birine aşık olmuştu o heyecanını okunmaya değer buluyorum..
Kiatpdaki en nefret ettiğim kahraman Jed Titan idi..Bu adama insan demek ona iltifat idi.Bazı yönlerden Garth'a hak verdiğimi belirtmeliyim. Özellikle İzzy'ye yaptıkları,hakaretleri tahammül edebilecek gibi değildi. Adamın içinde değil sevgi insaniyet namına hiç bir şey yoktu..
İzzy Titan kardeşlerinin belki de en çılgını ve cesuru idi..Fakat petol kuyusundaki patlamadan sonra gözlerinin %70 yetisini kaybetmiş %30 kadar düşük bir kapasite ile görmek denirse görüyordu.
Ameliyat olmak gibi bir seçeneği vardı ama ameliyatın %10 bir riski vardı. Eğer ameliyat sonucu kötü olursa kapkaranlıklara gark olabilirdi. Çünkü İzzy küçüklüğünde geçirdiği bir olay yüzünden karanlık korkusu vardı..Bunu göze alamıyordu.
İşte bu duruma el koymak isteyen Garth Duncan Nick'den İzzy ile ilgilenerek onun ameliyat olmasını ikna etmesini ister ama onu tuttuğunu kesinlikle saklayacak ve ondan kimseye bahsetmeyecektir.Birlikte gizem dolu geçmişi olan birbirlerinin hayatını kurtaran bu iki adam neredeyse ergenliklerinden beri beraberler birbirlerini ailesi olarak görmektedir.
Nick bir çeşit bir bakım evi kurmuş orada zor durumdaki insanlara yardım etmeye çalışmaktadırlar.İşte burada İzzy'ye yardım etmeye çalışacaktır. Fakat kendisinde geçmişteki yaşamı yüzünden hem görünen hem görünmeyen yaraları vardır. Bu yüzden insanlara yardım etmeye çalışsa da karşı cins ile iişkilerinde pek de iyi değildir. Geceleri kabuslar görmekte oda İzzy gibi karanlıkta uyuyamamaktadır..
Çok güzel bir konusu olan duygusal düşündürücü bir romandı. yardıma ihtiyacı olan insanların ruh halini yazar çok çok iyi işlemişti.Çok etkilendim.
Serinin Dördüncü kitabında Garth'ın hikayesini okuyacağız. Deyim yerinde ise iple o kitabı bekliyorum.Çünkü Garth bu hikayede Titan kızlarının arkadaşı,dostu,koruyucu meleği Dana Birch..Bu ikilinin macerası oldukça ilginç olacak..
Bu seriyi özellikle tavsiye ediyorum.Polisiye, Macera,Aşk,Aile,Dram temalarını seviyorsanız sakın kaçırmayın....
http://hulyami.blogspot.com.tr/2014/0...
November 5, 2010
The third sister makes for the third book in Susan Mallery's Lone Star Sisters series.
Izzy Titan is known as the wild sister, the crazy & adventurous one that no one sees settling down any time soon. Until the explosion happens. Someone set up a bomb to go off on the oil rig that she was working on, and now she only retains about 30% of her vision. For someone like Izzy, it might as well be a death sentence. She has closed herself off from the world and from her sisters when in waltzes Nick Hollister & he throws her over his shoulder like a cave man & tosses her in his backseat. The sisters have paid him to take her to his farm where she will have to learn how to deal with the cards she's been dealt & convince her to get the surgery to get her eyesight back.
As she starts to come out of her shell little by little, we start to see her humor and spunk breathe life back into her. She's never been much of a monogamist but there is something different about Nick. He understands her need to sleep with the light on and her back and forth behavior because he has demons too.
Nick is such a perfect match for Izzy, it was so great watching them fall for each other & learn to trust each other in a way they never have let anyone else. Nick's history with Garth is terrifying and made his constant self-punishment understandable, as unnecessary as it was.
Aaron, Nick's friend & coworker was one of the best supporting characters I've read in a while! Not only was he fabulously flamboyant, but he & Izzy worked really well together -
"...Let's dish. Steve is the director of finance. That's good, right? I mean he's successful?"
"You're not just in for his pretty face?" she teased.
"That, too. I'm so excited. I hope this works out. I'm ready for a real relationship. Oh, and you should head up to the house. The guys are really putting away the wine. They're going to get rowdy pretty soon and you don't want to be here when that happens."
"Are you worried about me? That's so sweet."
"I know. I'm an incredible human being. Be sure to tell Steve if he asks."
I loved this book for two main reasons, one being that Izzy is just a fantastic character & I loved her humor, her charisma, her determination, and her capacity to love. Two, was that we finally saw a glimpse of Garth as a human. At the end when Izzy decides to drown her brother in love instead of fighting him, I wanted to cheer out loud! Garth will finally get what he deserves, but not in any way he expected!
Izzy Titan is known as the wild sister, the crazy & adventurous one that no one sees settling down any time soon. Until the explosion happens. Someone set up a bomb to go off on the oil rig that she was working on, and now she only retains about 30% of her vision. For someone like Izzy, it might as well be a death sentence. She has closed herself off from the world and from her sisters when in waltzes Nick Hollister & he throws her over his shoulder like a cave man & tosses her in his backseat. The sisters have paid him to take her to his farm where she will have to learn how to deal with the cards she's been dealt & convince her to get the surgery to get her eyesight back.
As she starts to come out of her shell little by little, we start to see her humor and spunk breathe life back into her. She's never been much of a monogamist but there is something different about Nick. He understands her need to sleep with the light on and her back and forth behavior because he has demons too.
Nick is such a perfect match for Izzy, it was so great watching them fall for each other & learn to trust each other in a way they never have let anyone else. Nick's history with Garth is terrifying and made his constant self-punishment understandable, as unnecessary as it was.
Aaron, Nick's friend & coworker was one of the best supporting characters I've read in a while! Not only was he fabulously flamboyant, but he & Izzy worked really well together -
"...Let's dish. Steve is the director of finance. That's good, right? I mean he's successful?"
"You're not just in for his pretty face?" she teased.
"That, too. I'm so excited. I hope this works out. I'm ready for a real relationship. Oh, and you should head up to the house. The guys are really putting away the wine. They're going to get rowdy pretty soon and you don't want to be here when that happens."
"Are you worried about me? That's so sweet."
"I know. I'm an incredible human being. Be sure to tell Steve if he asks."
I loved this book for two main reasons, one being that Izzy is just a fantastic character & I loved her humor, her charisma, her determination, and her capacity to love. Two, was that we finally saw a glimpse of Garth as a human. At the end when Izzy decides to drown her brother in love instead of fighting him, I wanted to cheer out loud! Garth will finally get what he deserves, but not in any way he expected!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 8, 2020
I would give this novel 3.5 stars. The story was very engaging but some characters are hard to accept. Perhaps I should go back to read #1 in the series. Until I got to the end, I had not realized that I was going to be left hanging! Like other readers, I felt I would have a hard time tolerating Izzy, but the author won me over with the character's self-reflection. I liked each character except Jed and Garth. I found it hard to believe that Izzy would take such a turn (spoiler alert) at the end of the story. Jed seems to be an irredeemable human. I really don't like to spend time hearing about his selfish exploits.
I found Izzy's exchanges with Heidi very interesting. The author did a good job of making them kindred spirits.
At any rate, I will look forward to the final installment of this saga and to seeing if characters develop as I am guessing they will.
I found Izzy's exchanges with Heidi very interesting. The author did a good job of making them kindred spirits.
At any rate, I will look forward to the final installment of this saga and to seeing if characters develop as I am guessing they will.
April 1, 2011
"Straight From the Hip" is the third book in the Lone Star Sisters series by Susan Mallery. This is Izzy's story. Although I really liked this book, I didn't like it as much as the first two, so I rated it a little lower. It follows the story of the Titan Sisters and the half brother who is trying to destroy them. This is the story of Izzy's rehabilitation from the explosion she went through in book #2. Her hero, Nick, like all Susan Mallery's heroes is sexy, strong, yet flawed and vulnerable. All in all a satisfying read.
May 16, 2020
How do you review a story that is just okay? It was a love story with a predictable plot, reminiscent of many romance movies. The characters were interesting, but not well defined. Izzy is blind and is taken kicking and screaming to a ranch by Nick. They want her to get eye surgery and she just wants to feel sorry for herself. At least it all ends happily and I should try to avoid novels that do not float my boat.
February 5, 2017
Damn these cowboys. Why do they have to be so damn irresistible?! Nick is giving Mitch a run for his money in my opinion. And Izzy and Nick are definitely the best couple. But I guess I shouldn't speak before reading the last book.
November 9, 2009
5 stars – Contemporary Romance
July 16, 2014
Very much a strong 3.75 - close to 4 stars. Easy to read and a story that hung together well. Was good (and would be a good beach read) :)
July 26, 2021
I've read a couple of books by this author that I enjoyed, and this one sounded interesting. A young woman badly injured, enrolled in some kind of survivor training camp - I liked the idea. Shades of Happiness for Beginners and How to Walk Away, two of my favorite novels this year. Unfortunately, the more I read the more worried I became.
Slight spoilers ahead...
This book has me so angry I have to stop reading and reviewing it. I'm going back to read How to Walk Away, and cleanse my brain...
Slight spoilers ahead...
This book has me so angry I have to stop reading and reviewing it. I'm going back to read How to Walk Away, and cleanse my brain...
Read
August 30, 2017This was a super tropey romance that was alrightbut left a lot to be desired. I almost didn't make it through this one because Izzys attitude at the beginning got on my ever loving nerves and it waa making me grind my teeth. she was whiny and bitchy and shallow and self absorbed. She was still shallow and self absorbed somewhat by the end but she wasn't so whiny which made me more palatable. Nick was kind of an ass but honestly at the beginning it was necessary and later...well I wasn't overlyinvested in the characters or romance so it didn't bother me too much. I'm not sure if this author was trying to write fluff or a book with depth but either way it was a flop because she wrote in this heavy topics but just glided right on by them in a way that made them irrelevant to the book. I also didn't like the loose end of not figuring out who was behind the explosion since I don't particularly want to read the other books. maybe I would have enjoyed this more if I'd read the other books first but while I wouldn't ignore this author if one of her books ended up on my shelf neither was I impressed enough by this book to seek her out again
October 7, 2018
Hüznün Gölgesinde Aşk (Lone Star Sisters Serisi 3)
Susan Mallery
Serinin üçüncü kitabı da bitti. Çok hareketli çılgın kızımızın hikayesi☺ burada oldukça hüzünlü ve zor durumda görüyoruz ve nick onun en gıcık en haylaz düşüncelerine ortak oluyor.
Ben çok beğendim özelikle zorluklarla baş etme şekillerine. İnsanların neyle karşı karşıya kalacağı belli olmaz ve zorluklar karşında nasıl duracağı
Beğendim kesinlikle özelikle izzyin duruşunu☺ serinin son kitabı kaldı ve graht en merak ettiğim ikinci karekter
Susan Mallery
Serinin üçüncü kitabı da bitti. Çok hareketli çılgın kızımızın hikayesi☺ burada oldukça hüzünlü ve zor durumda görüyoruz ve nick onun en gıcık en haylaz düşüncelerine ortak oluyor.
Ben çok beğendim özelikle zorluklarla baş etme şekillerine. İnsanların neyle karşı karşıya kalacağı belli olmaz ve zorluklar karşında nasıl duracağı
Beğendim kesinlikle özelikle izzyin duruşunu☺ serinin son kitabı kaldı ve graht en merak ettiğim ikinci karekter
July 29, 2021
I read this book a few years ago and I think I liked it. But what the hell? I didn’t know this was the third book in a series
July 6, 2009
Probably my favorite of the series so far, which is surprising because I haven't loved Izzy in the previous books and didn't much care for the preview we got in the last book. Nick's story is probably a bit over the top but Mallery focused on just the parts that explained how he was relating to Izzy and everyone else so that helped. Plus, I get the sense that part of the story was more about setting the stage for the next book than it was giving Nick an outrageous backstory. Either way the book was completely enjoyable and I even found it an easier read than the two previous books in this series.
There were only two things that bugged me about the book and they are related (literally!). I'm going to try and keep my comments pretty vague but you may want to read the next part caustiously if you haven't read the book yet...
** Spoiler Alert **
Compared to those other books, any realizations Izzy has about her father are pretty understated. I thought for sure Mallery was going to have Izzy's refusal to do the surgery have something to do with Jed. I thought the story implied it at several points and, yet, it's never actually acknowledged by any of the characters. It just felt weird that both Skye and Lexi got to have "ah ha" moments and, while I think you could argue Izzy has something close to that, it's never really acknowledged as such by anyone in the book. Plus, I must admit I kind of wanted Izzy and her sisters to have more of a confrontation than we got. We've seen the sisters' relationship tackled from Skye and Lexi's point of views and I really felt like Izzy deserved the same treatment. Again, the book lays the groundwork for Izzy's behavior so I was surprised that we never got the confrontation between the sisters.
There were only two things that bugged me about the book and they are related (literally!). I'm going to try and keep my comments pretty vague but you may want to read the next part caustiously if you haven't read the book yet...
** Spoiler Alert **
Compared to those other books, any realizations Izzy has about her father are pretty understated. I thought for sure Mallery was going to have Izzy's refusal to do the surgery have something to do with Jed. I thought the story implied it at several points and, yet, it's never actually acknowledged by any of the characters. It just felt weird that both Skye and Lexi got to have "ah ha" moments and, while I think you could argue Izzy has something close to that, it's never really acknowledged as such by anyone in the book. Plus, I must admit I kind of wanted Izzy and her sisters to have more of a confrontation than we got. We've seen the sisters' relationship tackled from Skye and Lexi's point of views and I really felt like Izzy deserved the same treatment. Again, the book lays the groundwork for Izzy's behavior so I was surprised that we never got the confrontation between the sisters.
January 1, 2016
OK, 3,5 stars but who's counting? ;)
I had some issues with Izzy because she had sex with a man dating her sister (in order to show her sister how horrible that man was, but showing what a horrible sister she was).
Now she's blind because of an explosion where she worked and she didn't want to accept the operation that could resolve the problem but could make her totally blind forever.
All the environment is good and Izzy starts bad but in the end she gains points. Her father is a horrible person and he deserves to rot in prison forever :(
I had some issues with Izzy because she had sex with a man dating her sister (in order to show her sister how horrible that man was, but showing what a horrible sister she was).
Now she's blind because of an explosion where she worked and she didn't want to accept the operation that could resolve the problem but could make her totally blind forever.
All the environment is good and Izzy starts bad but in the end she gains points. Her father is a horrible person and he deserves to rot in prison forever :(
November 6, 2017
This book I was not a fan of in be beginning. Izzy has been my favorite sister in the series, but I was not a fan of her just giving up. Then Nick came and got involved. As the story went on it became one of my favorites in the series. I cannot believe I have one book left of the Titan sisters. Once again Susan Mallery wrote a good one.
March 27, 2018
Having a blind, traumatized heroine? Very interesting take. Recycling your conflicts from other books? Less interesting.
I read this book in a day, so I clearly liked it. However, i was annoyed at how formulaic it was. I loved having an uber prickly heroine, but i hated seeing her become a great child-carer on a dime.
I read this book in a day, so I clearly liked it. However, i was annoyed at how formulaic it was. I loved having an uber prickly heroine, but i hated seeing her become a great child-carer on a dime.
April 11, 2011
Fabulous! And I absolutely loved Aaron. Mallery really did a great job with an intense storyline and extremely likable characters. I'm really looking forward to seeing how she redeems Grant.
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