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Heart of Dixie
An All-American Smile, and Blue Eyes a Girl Could Drown In...
Writer Jake Gannon couldn't believe it - his brand-new Porsche had overheated in the middle of nowhere, and now he was being towed by a brunette named Dixie! He'd driven South in search of the missing Devon Stafford, the exquisite blond actress whose life story he wanted to write. Instead, he was living in a seaside cottage owned by Dixie La Fontaine, a feisty, warmhearted woman who rescued strays and was all delicious curves. Dixie admired Jake's tanned body and perfect smile, but she suspected his ideal woman ate salad and did aerobics all day - how could he be attracted to a lady who'd rather stretch out in the sun than jog on the beach? Jake felt like a cad for lying to Dixie about why he'd come to her town, but he wanted the woman he'd learned to love to share her secrets. Dixie adored this tender man who'd convinced her it was sweet passion, not impossible perfection, he yearned for. But could she trust him to love her for who she was, to write her a fairy-tale ending?
Writer Jake Gannon couldn't believe it - his brand-new Porsche had overheated in the middle of nowhere, and now he was being towed by a brunette named Dixie! He'd driven South in search of the missing Devon Stafford, the exquisite blond actress whose life story he wanted to write. Instead, he was living in a seaside cottage owned by Dixie La Fontaine, a feisty, warmhearted woman who rescued strays and was all delicious curves. Dixie admired Jake's tanned body and perfect smile, but she suspected his ideal woman ate salad and did aerobics all day - how could he be attracted to a lady who'd rather stretch out in the sun than jog on the beach? Jake felt like a cad for lying to Dixie about why he'd come to her town, but he wanted the woman he'd learned to love to share her secrets. Dixie adored this tender man who'd convinced her it was sweet passion, not impossible perfection, he yearned for. But could she trust him to love her for who she was, to write her a fairy-tale ending?
Kindle Edition
First published September 1, 1991
206 people are currently reading
533 people want to read
About the author
Tami Hoag
100 books6,149 followersTami Hoag is the #1 internationally bestselling author of more than thirty books published in more than thirty languages worldwide, including her latest thrillers—BITTER SEASON, COLD COLD HEART and THE 9TH GIRL. Renowned for combining thrilling plots with character-driven suspense, Hoag first hit the New York Times Bestseller list with NIGHT SINS, and each of her books since has been a bestseller.
She leads a double life in Palm Beach County, Florida where she is also known as a top competitive equestrian in the Olympic discipline of dressage. Other interests include the study of psychology, and mixed martial arts fighting.
Visit her at www.tamihoag.com, Facebook.com/TamiHoag and on Twitter @TamiHoag
She leads a double life in Palm Beach County, Florida where she is also known as a top competitive equestrian in the Olympic discipline of dressage. Other interests include the study of psychology, and mixed martial arts fighting.
Visit her at www.tamihoag.com, Facebook.com/TamiHoag and on Twitter @TamiHoag
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 117 reviews
September 14, 2017
An oldie, but a really, really sweet goodie. When things close in on me and I need a book that will lift my spirits I read an oldie romance. Tami Hoag wrote wonderful romances in her early career. I also love early Suzanne Brockmann and Janet Evanovich.
Jake Gannon is a biographer who wants to be a mystery writer. He is on the trail of a Hollywood starlet who disappeared without a trace a year ago. He thinks there is a book there and he just wants to know why the sexiest, most perfect woman walks away from it all. Like any good detective, he does his research and follows the clues which lead him to coastal South Carolina where his Porsche breaks down outside of the small town of Mare's Nest.
Dixie La Fontaine rescues Jake and his precious Porsche. She is a jack of all trades, doing a little plumbing, a little repair work and drives the local tow truck, when needed. Dixie had a winning personality and an irresistible sex appeal all her own. She is a woman who knows herself and likes herself now, but that was not always the case. Jake thinks she also knows the missing starlet and he is determined to track her down. As Jake gets to know Dixie, he has to rethink what he considers a perfect woman.
Jake Gannon is a biographer who wants to be a mystery writer. He is on the trail of a Hollywood starlet who disappeared without a trace a year ago. He thinks there is a book there and he just wants to know why the sexiest, most perfect woman walks away from it all. Like any good detective, he does his research and follows the clues which lead him to coastal South Carolina where his Porsche breaks down outside of the small town of Mare's Nest.
Dixie La Fontaine rescues Jake and his precious Porsche. She is a jack of all trades, doing a little plumbing, a little repair work and drives the local tow truck, when needed. Dixie had a winning personality and an irresistible sex appeal all her own. She is a woman who knows herself and likes herself now, but that was not always the case. Jake thinks she also knows the missing starlet and he is determined to track her down. As Jake gets to know Dixie, he has to rethink what he considers a perfect woman.
July 25, 2010
What a disappointment! The library had this book in the mystery section. The only mystery is how this book got published. It's not even a good romance.
Hoag tells me Jake Gannon is handsome in almost every paragraph. By the middle of the book, I was skipping whole chapters trying to find out something about Jake Gannon that didn't have anything to do with his looks. Hoag tells me he is a stud, he's solid, he takes your breath away. He's handsome, he's really handsome, he's incredibly handsome, and he's darn handsome.
Kudos to the reader but that is not enough to recommend this boring book. It is a complete waste of time.
I've never read Hoag before and I certainly won't bother with her again.
Hoag tells me Jake Gannon is handsome in almost every paragraph. By the middle of the book, I was skipping whole chapters trying to find out something about Jake Gannon that didn't have anything to do with his looks. Hoag tells me he is a stud, he's solid, he takes your breath away. He's handsome, he's really handsome, he's incredibly handsome, and he's darn handsome.
Kudos to the reader but that is not enough to recommend this boring book. It is a complete waste of time.
I've never read Hoag before and I certainly won't bother with her again.
February 25, 2022
First for me by Tami Hoag and a quick listen of the "Heart of Dixie". Enjoyed but not overwhelmed by the plot. Narration by Deborah Hazlett was just okay and IMO felt like just reading.
February 6, 2011
Cute story but not the Hoag we know now.
July 11, 2018
I had no idea it was pulp romance. Really crappy stereotypical male female relationships that need to be buried & never resurrected. really disgusting!
December 22, 2017
I tried listening to the 5-disc audiobook, but I never got through the first. The characters are stereotyped in the extreme and the writing uninteresting and flowery. Dixie, the female protagonist, seems nearly bipolar, flying from aiming a gun at our leading man to crying from emotional pain at the thought of a mean reporter, all within a minute and a half. For his part, our leading man can think only of his maleness and her breasts. Over and over. Give me a break.
October 7, 2015
I enjoy her mystery/thrillers much more. This romance just isn't my cup of tea.
February 2, 2017
This was my first Hoag romance book. I have only ever read her thrillers, and I enjoyed the romance aspects of those books so I decided to read one of her solely romance books. It was a good, cute story, but when I was reading it, I was missing the thriller "who's going to die next" kind of rush I got from her other novels.
I loved the characters in this novel, and I did feel sorry for Dixie, giving up everything she had to start over and be herself (I thought that whole theme was a good one, just be yourself no matter the cost, which we can tell through Dixie that it is never that easy).
I also loved Jake, for all the flaws he had. Who really actually eats like that? He seems like the kind of guy any girl would be happy to have: loving Dixie for everything she was without asking her to change anything.
I kind of hoped Dixie would let him write his book in the end for a real happy ending. Dixie never fully faces her issues and the problems of her past, and Jake gives up on the one thing that's been driving him for months. I get that people in love sacrifice things, but this novel didn't have any character development. The only development was in Dixie's cousin and her boyfriend (at least, I think they made up; now that I actually think about it, I can't remember if their reunion was even mentioned.). I acknowledge this is a purely romance book, so characters don't need to develop as long as they fall in love in the end, which Hoag gave us, so I shouldn't complain about people not changing or growing up or facing their problems. I'm just a sucker for character development.
I loved the characters in this novel, and I did feel sorry for Dixie, giving up everything she had to start over and be herself (I thought that whole theme was a good one, just be yourself no matter the cost, which we can tell through Dixie that it is never that easy).
I also loved Jake, for all the flaws he had. Who really actually eats like that? He seems like the kind of guy any girl would be happy to have: loving Dixie for everything she was without asking her to change anything.
I kind of hoped Dixie would let him write his book in the end for a real happy ending. Dixie never fully faces her issues and the problems of her past, and Jake gives up on the one thing that's been driving him for months. I get that people in love sacrifice things, but this novel didn't have any character development. The only development was in Dixie's cousin and her boyfriend (at least, I think they made up; now that I actually think about it, I can't remember if their reunion was even mentioned.). I acknowledge this is a purely romance book, so characters don't need to develop as long as they fall in love in the end, which Hoag gave us, so I shouldn't complain about people not changing or growing up or facing their problems. I'm just a sucker for character development.
November 15, 2014
This is the third book by Tami Hoag that I've listened to and it may bel the last. Her other books were worthwhile suspenseful mysteries. There is no mystery here and this weak and pathetic novel filled with excessive swooning and drooling made me cringe many times. I'm still not sure why I finished it. A handsome man admires a drop-dead gorgeous actress who has been missing for a year so he goes to look for her. Instead he finds a tow truck driver who turned out to be more attractive. It's not very interesting or well-written so don't waste your time.
January 3, 2019
I thought the author wrote mystery/suspense books but this was a cheesy romance novel (the library cover was completely different than Goodreads cover shown). Luckily it was a fast listen while I put away Christmas decorations. Not what I expected but a sweet predictable story that made me laugh out loud a few times with it’s cliches. Sometimes it’s nice to listen to something light & easy after all the heavy dramas I read.
February 16, 2019
I think Tami Hoag is a talented author, however I did not really enjoy this one. The character of Dixie is weepy and annoying. Jake is predictable and not all that believable. In one breath he’s shallow, then next deeply in love.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 16, 2019
Listened to. Not my kind of book. Can’t imagine 4 stars from anyone, but....
February 1, 2022
3.5 stars
I have been slowly finding and reading the old '90's romances written by authors I discovered later (mostly when their style had completely changed). I started sneaking these type of novella romances from my mother's and grandmother's shelves in the late 90's, and this book is typical for the time.
There is something nostalgic about picking up a book like this and reading the gushy romantic story. You definitely cannot pick up this book and expect it to be like Hoag's current romantic suspense/thrillers.
I have been slowly finding and reading the old '90's romances written by authors I discovered later (mostly when their style had completely changed). I started sneaking these type of novella romances from my mother's and grandmother's shelves in the late 90's, and this book is typical for the time.
There is something nostalgic about picking up a book like this and reading the gushy romantic story. You definitely cannot pick up this book and expect it to be like Hoag's current romantic suspense/thrillers.
April 1, 2022
This is an early Tami Hoag and it's cute and good escapist romance and a quick read. Which is what I needed after a downer prior book. I liked the characters but it was pretty predictable and the mystery was fairly obvious from the beginning, so I can't really give it a very high rating on my personal scale. Also it's pretty clear the author has never visited coastal SC so the geography described does not exist in real life and she has transported a stereotypical small town here from somewhere else in the South, including speech patterns and names, which is very much out of place.
July 4, 2022
I needed a book to read and this one was on the bookshelf of our company little free library. It's easy to tell that this is one of Hoag's first books. The copyright date was 1991 and I think I read that she published her first book in 1989. Nevertheless, her suspense novels that are written now are so much better. There was no character development and the story line was irritating. Mostly because I don't believe in love at first sight type of books. It was a quick read so it fit what I needed.
Read
April 7, 2020I picked this because I needed a book with a heart on the cover or in title for the April Magical Readathon and I read Tami Hoag's novels years ago and really liked them. Didn't realize this one was straight up 90s romance, and not romantic suspense like her others I enjoyed in the past. I struggled, but finished for the readathon's sake. I would've maybe liked this at another point in my reading life, but I've moved beyond that point now.
April 19, 2021
Jake Gannon is a writer and has come to a small town to find a missing actress. Devon Stafford had been a star and one day just walked away from Hollywood, Jake has no intention of exploiting Devon he just wants to find out why she left a very successful life. Finally tracking Devon to South Carolina Jake meets a spunky tow truck driver who makes all thought of Devon disappear!
May 3, 2023
I’ve enjoyed Tami Hoag’s mysteries and thrillers for years but didn’t realize that her earliest works were romances until I saw this audio book available through my library, so I gave it a shot. Boy am I glad she switched genres. This was AWFUL. The only reason I finished this book- after realizing how cheesy and hokey it is- is so I can catch up on my reading goal for this year.
December 18, 2018
Great, you can skip whole pages without missing out on anything.
If you're behind in your reading challenge, it's a mindless way to fetch up. Otherwise, it's a waste of time and energy. Still, it's written in a better language than most of its kind.
If you're behind in your reading challenge, it's a mindless way to fetch up. Otherwise, it's a waste of time and energy. Still, it's written in a better language than most of its kind.
May 5, 2020
I have known Tami Hoag as a mystery writer So when I was looking for a book to listen to while gardening yesterday I thought I would give this one a try. OMG who knew she started out as a romance writer. Predictable but mercifully short book.
September 29, 2021
Tami Hoag, writer of delightful mystery books, apparently is writing romance novels now. The only good news, this was a very short book. If I’d had another book loaded onto my Kindle, I would have dumped this book after the first few pages.
April 17, 2022
I’ve really enjoyed other Tami Hoag books but this was just too predictable and the characters had no depth. I knew this would be different from the other books I’ve read of hers. I’ll go back to reading her mysteries.
May 4, 2023
Less than one star if I could. The main characters were unlike able. The female lead got mad when the male lead treated her like an everyday woman which is how she wanted to be treated in the first place.
November 6, 2023
Old time romance with a twist
Written before the words body shaming became a thing, this story clearly portraits the pain and anguish the perfect women image produced by media put on females. It is something most women can relate to.
Written before the words body shaming became a thing, this story clearly portraits the pain and anguish the perfect women image produced by media put on females. It is something most women can relate to.
July 25, 2025
I was not aware that Ms. Hoag had started her writing career with romance novels and the short summary did not indicate that, so I was disappointed. The mystery of finding an actress who had mysteriously gone missing was good but there was a lot of voyeurism to skip to get to the conclusion.
December 10, 2018
Good early book by Ms. Hoag. It's a sweet romance about how secrets can destroy a relationship, particularly if they are held onto for too long.
August 6, 2017
A typical romance novel. Very light. But that was good as I listened to it while driving back and forth to Mom's.
June 25, 2018
Very simple writing, but a love story I enjoyed!!
October 14, 2018
Quick, easy and clean read. A little mind candy that would make for a good vacation read for anyone.
January 10, 2019
This is like a hallmark movie turned into a book. Probably wouldn’t run around recommending it but it was a cute little love story with all the love story feels!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 117 reviews