El maleducado granjero Carson Wayne quería aprender buenos modales para así poder enamorar a una mujer, y Mandelyn Bush era la única persona del pueblo que tenía la suficiente educación para llevar a cabo ese trabajo. Ninguna otra mujer se hubiera atrevido a acercársele, e incluso para Mandelyn representó una ardua tarea intentar transformar a ese hombre en un refinado caballero.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
Diana Palmer is a pseudonym for author Susan Kyle.
(1)romance author Susan Eloise Spaeth was born on 11 December 1946 in Cuthbert, Georgia, USA. She was the eldest daughter of Maggie Eloise Cliatt, a nurse and also journalist, and William Olin Spaeth, a college professor. Her mother was part of the women's liberation movement many years before it became fashionable. Her best friends are her mother and her sister, Dannis Spaeth (Cole), who now has two daughters, Amanda Belle Hofstetter and Maggie and lives in Utah. Susan grew up reading Zane Grey and fell in love with cowboys. Susan is a former newspaper reporter, with sixteen years experience on both daily and weekly newspapers. Since 1972, she has been married to James Kyle and have since settled down in Cornelia, Georgia, where she started to write romance novels. Susan and her husband have one son, Blayne Edward, born in 1980.
She began selling romances in 1979 as Diana Palmer. She also used the pseudonyms Diana Blayne and Katy Currie, and her married name: Susan Kyle. Now, she has over 40 million copies of her books in print, which have been translated and published around the world. She is listed in numerous publications, including Contemporary Authors by Gale Research, Inc., Twentieth Century Romance and Historical Writers by St. James Press, The Writers Directory by St. James Press, the International Who's Who of Authors and Writers by Meirose Press, Ltd., and Love's Leading Ladies by Kathryn Falk. Her awards include seven Waldenbooks national sales awards, four B. Dalton national sales awards, two Bookrak national sales awards, a Lifetime Achievement Award for series storytelling from Romantic Times, several Affaire de Coeur awards, and two regional RWA awards.
Inspired by her husband, who quit a blue-collar manufacturing job to return to school and get his diploma in computer programming, Susan herself went back to college as a day student at the age of 45. In 1995, she graduated summa cum laude from Piedmont College, Demorest, GA, with a major in history and a double minor in archaeology and Spanish. She was named to two honor societies (the Torch Club and Alpha Chi), and was named to the National Dean's List. In addition to her writing projects, she is currently working on her master's degree in history at California State University. She hopes to specialize in Native American studies. She is a member of the Native American Rights Fund, the American Museum of Natural History, the National Cattlemen's Association, the Archaeological Institute of Amenca, the Planetary Society, The Georgia Conservancy, the Georgia Sheriff's Association, and numerous conservation and charitable organizations. Her hobbies include gardening, archaeology, anthropology, iguanas, astronomy and music.
In 1998, her husband retired from his own computer business and now pursues skeet shooting medals in local, state, national and international competition. They love riding around and looking at the countryside, watching sci-fi on TV and at the movies, just talking and eating out.
Oh wow, what a pleasant surprise. This was just plain fun. I found myself laughing out loud in so many places. I typically don't read DP. Her type of heroes just don't appeal to me, but this book was an exception.
Carson was great and the heroine was very strong. If you love a "besotted fool" then this is the ticket. A truly lovely and engaging story with such likable characters.
I liked both protagonists and the story overall. Hero cracked me up with his deliberate rudeness at the .
But I couldn't rate this any higher than a "liked" because:
1. The characterization and themes were underdeveloped.
2. The dialogue felt simple and dated at times, just like an old '80s TV show airing in the middle of the night (before cable) guaranteeing no one will watch it.
3. I didn't care for one plotthread being dropped without any mention again.
4. The angst and passion were too mild for my tastes.
P.S. I previously noted hero's unclear celibacy as a minus, but it didn't really bother me because he and the heroine weren't a couple or committed to each other. I just would have liked a definite answer. Some readers say the hero was celibate after meeting the heroine eight years ago, but it sounded to me like he wasn't. It'd just been awhile.
A tad paint by the numbers, but Diana P gives us a besotted hero. Finally! Eight years besotted. The rugged and rough-and-tumble H falls for the Southern bred lady h like the ton of bricks he is when he first sees her. He likes them sassy as his Luh-H-U-V is only cemented when she slaps him for cussing.
The h is the one the sheriff and other sundry concerned citizens call when he goes on a bender which is pretty often. With one touch she gentles him and he goes his merry way...back to the ranch for a less than celibate life.
It's been eight years and he has a proposition for her: he wants her to be Henry Higgins to his Eliza Doolittle because he is in love with a mystery woman and wants to be better for her. Who could it be?
He is not a good learner because he fails his first lesson at being a gentleman at a crepe place. Checking the pub date; yep, 1985. That, the polyester pants and a tan and white checked sport coat gave that away. I'm wincing here.
Standard DP fare: hairy chest that he is more than proud to show off; frank sexual discussion on how natural sex is despite the fact that the h is a virgin, a ranch...and misunderstandings.
Just because he is besotted doesn't mean he can't be mean. When he finds out why she's still a virgin he is not a nice guy, but we have to forgive him as he actually wrote a song about her and can play the guitar.
What's not to love with a hairy chested, guitar singing hero?
Mandelyn is a is a southern bell living in Arizona for the last eight years. Carson her rough rancher neighbor has been in love with her for years but he knows he doesn't fit in her high society cultured world. He asks Mandy to teach him how to be a gentleman so as to get close to the woman he loves. Mandy doesn't realize he talks about her. Besides she is still too fixated on her past and the love she lost. When Carson realizes she is still obsessed with her deceased fiancé they have a bad fight, he walks away and now it is Mandy who is chasing after him.
Loved the angst and the romance. Hero was great and my heart broke for him. Mandy said some very harsh things to him but she totally redeemed herself towards the end. I still liked Carson more though lol
“Cattlemans Choice” is the story of Mandelyn and Carson. Two neighbors live on ranches side by side- polar opposites. While Carson is wild and free, Mandelyn is prim and proper. But when Carson gets into brawls, only Mandelyn calms him.. Soon Carson employs Mandelyn to teach him how to be a gentleman, to woo someone he greatly cares for, and our story begins.. A non typical DP book with all her classic elements -hairy cowboys -sweet innocent heroine -a past which makes one of them wary -hidden attraction -sweet kisses -jealousy involving other people But mixed with this we had the sweet plot of a hero head over heels over the heroine, a heroine who realizes her feelings and a sweet reverse seduction with surprising ending. Also glad minor characters got their HEA! Safe 3.5/5
A wild, savage cattleman with a prim & proper lady... The hero and the heroine knew each other for eight years. He falls in love with her but thought he was not good for the heroine. And you know what? He was also celibate for all these years... No OW!!! But he can be mean. There were lots of times when I wanted to punch him for being mean to the heroine. But I forgive him a little cause he tried to change for his lady love. We don't get to meet heroes every day who are willing do anything for the heroine. He was so smitten with her that he even wrote a song for her.
The heroine was ok. She was a strong independent women. But she was caught in her past and that past actually created a great deal of misunderstanding between the hero and heroine.
Before reading a DP's book I checked at least two times cause her types of hero isn't my liking. Although this hero was mean sometimes still he was a lot better than her other heroes.
I just could not get past his years of promiscuity while he pined for her. Certainly DP has H's who are womanizers, but not ones who are fully aware of their feelings for the h. Typically they stop having sex with other women at that point. This was just gross.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Wow a Diana Palmer I enjoyed, colour me surprised. Yes the hero did act like a jerk but less of a jerk than the usual Palmer books. Also I loved that he had loved the heroine forever.
SPOILER FREE CAUSE YOU SHOULD READ THIS ONE WOW! This was an amazing book. The hero was so gone over the heroine it was amazing to read. Even if the reader does not get his POV much, you could tell how he felt about her. That first kiss...man oh man! One look and he was hooked! The heroine, who has lost her fiancé in a tragic set of circumstances way way before she mets the hero here, so she does not want to take a chance on loving again and thinks her love life is over. The hero sets about winning her and opening her eyes to who he is and what they could have together. Now this book is a totally safe book. Even when they are not together they are both faithful. This is why I love DP the emotions are so strong it leaps off the pages. I loved this book. One of my fav. If you like DP then this is a must read.
Carson and Mandelyn. I wanted to like this more than I did. Carson was great but Mandelyn was a self centered ... Anyhoo, Carson calls her on it but still her BS drags 0N because she is.. well... a coward. Overall it was a 'role reversal' story. She is the asshat, and he is the pining fool. Not my cup of tea I guess. A red-neck falling for the debutante story. But it kinda fell flat for me. Mostly because they have know each other for 8 wasted years, and Mandelyn has not once thought of him 'THAT' way. I felt so bad for him so fall for such a cold fish. I think if she had any attraction to him before then, the story would have been much better. She moves to their small Texan town from Charleston, after her fiance dies. She is only 18 but she has been holding a torch for the teenage kid ever since... despite his being dead. Eight years Carson's been in love with her and finally decides to make a play despite her obliviousness. He asks her to help him learn to be more cultured to attract a woman he loves. The plot sounds great... but imho she holds out WAAAAAAAYYYYYYY tooo long. There's some stupid jealousy between her friend and his foreman but even after that she chooses to be a self absorbed idiot. I think the ending was supposed to be cute, but I had lost respect for her character by then. Really, I just felt sorry for Carson but he was WONDERFUL. I listened to this as part of the 'Christmas on the Range' audio book. The reader was good.
Well, my first Diana Palmer and I did like it. I must confess that I’ve been avoiding reading her books because, from the reviews, I know her Heroes can be such jerks towards the heroines.
This one was quite sweet. It’s a beauty and the beast story with a totally besotted beast. The Hero is not ugly, but he does have quite beastly manners and the heroine is the quintessential proper southern belle.
It was just so sigh worthy how the Hero would do anything for her and even tried to change his manners to just so he could have a chance with her.
Not too pleased with the short length, yet it was still a chore to finish. I also didn't like the eight years it took H to try to initiate a courtship.
Cute but I felt nothing about their relationship. The story was short and I felt like the ending was rushed. Of course, we have DP' s favorite elements: a hairy hero, a virgin heroine, unrequited love, a little ow drama, and the fact that the ow was actually a kind woman not after the hero.
I hated the main male character, Carson, in this book. His only redeeming moment in this book is at the beginning of chapter ten when he opens the door completely naked. That was a laugh out loud moment but for the rest of the story I hated him. I didn't want the main characters to end up together. He acted like he was raised by wild animals. Yeah, so this book is supposed to be about Carson asking the main female character, Mandelyn, to teach him "how to court a lady" but there's a difference between not knowing "how to court a lady" and acting like a wild animal. He had no redeeming qualities.
Classic Diana Palmer... surly, gruff, older man alternately pursues and pushes away sweet, innocent, virginal heroine. But what's not to love about that?
2.5 stars Unrequited love from hero's side. The feelings from h's end were a bit abrupt and the way the H behaves (getting in bar brawls) and the h being a classy lady due to her upbringing , I really find it difficult to imagine an actual happy ending in long term for this couple . Inspite of this I enjoyed the romance and I like how Diana Palmer writes her romance.
I loved this book. The H was awesome and went all out to get his h who was totally oblivious for 95% of the story. He pretty much fell in love with her at first sight and his poor behaviour was a lot to do with the way she handled him. I didn't mind his fighting too much he had had a pretty awful upbringing.
h was also pretty cool, sassy, intelligent and knew what she wanted. She had been burned at a young age and her fiancee died but once she realised how the H felt about her she went all out to win him back.
H was none too pleased to find out about the dead fiancee but I feel he did overreact a little. His hot temper definitely got the better of him there when a cool conversation would have soothed a lot of his hurt feelings.
It lost a star for me at the end as I feel he took the embarrassment of her too far at the ballet and the brawl at their wedding where she joined in was just pure silliness. I was rather hoping that getting married would have soothed that particular savage beast.
Still a great read and one of DP's better books I think.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Oh I had so much hope when I started reading this, I felt that it was built up on pent up sexual tension and it had a lot of potential but the last few chapters got wishy washy and frustrating for me so my 4 stars now became a 3.
Carlson have always wanted Mandelyn, but it seems like she isn’t aware of it at all. In order to do something about his unrequited love, he challenged her to give him lessons on etiquette and manners so that a savage like him might be appreciated by the cultured lady he likes. Of course, as is with these stories, Mandy didn’t know that she was the woman he wanted all along.
It’s good and easy to read, but the hero’s attitude is too much for me, and in my opinion, he gave up too easily and is tormented by small things quite frequently.
Avete mai avuto il sogno di chiudere gli occhi e svegliarvi nel contesto di un libro che preferite? Beh io si e se chiudessi gli occhi vorrei svegliarmi a Jacobsville nel Texas dalla Dianona,in uno di quei bei ranch mandati avanti da un bel fustacchione con lo stetson ,i jeans logori e le camicie a quadri sbottonate fino a metà torace. Nella storia che ho letto non siamo in Texas, ma in Arizona, ma fa uguale. In realtà non dovrebbe fare uguale perché tra il Texas e l’Arizona differenze paesaggistiche ce ne sono e tante ,ma con Dianona non te ne accorgi. Così come non ti accorgi la differenza fra i vari personaggi maschili... si ok qualcuno spicca più di un altro, qualcuno ha qualche differenza ,ma sostanzialmente sono tutti uguali; quasi tutti i bruni con gli occhi scuri (fino ad ora ho letto soltanto di due biondi ma non chiarissimi) Tutti i temprati dal lavoro e dalla fatica perché ,malgrado siano milionari si alzano alle quattro del mattino e si spaccano la schiena insieme agli altri (ma quando mai...) tutti con un’infanzia dura alle spalle,tutti che nascondono strenuamente i loro sentimenti perché fa tanto macho. Lei sempre parecchio più piccola di lui...Il massimo è stato 23 anni di differenza , quindi tutte con la sindrome del tutore o del papà, tutte orfane, tutte vergini ( Mai che se ne trova una che ha fatto esperimenti col compagno di banco o che si è divertita col collega di ufficio!) In uno È riuscita inserire una donna sposata per tre anni,ma vergine.( Dianona no limits) Lo schema normale è che lui la tratta tipo straccetto per pulire i sanitari, lei somatizza, si allontana ,lui la segue le rivela di averla sempre amata e l’amore trionfa. In questo che ho letto lo schema è praticamente identico; solo che lui è un pochino meno ricco un po’ più grezzo, lei è un pochino più bon-ton , ma alla fine lui a furia di metterle le mani sulle tette le fa capire che sono altre le cose che contano nella vita e non le buone maniere. ma allora perché il libro mi è piaciuto? Perché l’ho letto con piacere come tutti gli altri? Emozione. Diana Palmer scrive con l’emozione che probabilmente lei stessa prova mentre scrive...E ti arriva, ti arriva talmente tanto che è come una droga... finito un libro ne vorresti iniziare un altro. Grande Dianona . Leggetevill!
3.5 - Carson, Carson... que difícil que sos! pero a la vez te robas mi corazón. Mandelyn siempre ha sido la única a la que Carson le da bolilla cuando se pasa de copas, el goza de sacarla de las casillas hasta que una noche que ella aparece a rescatarlo, un beso trastoca toda la relación y es allí cuando Carson le pide ayuda para que le enseñe "modales" para así conquistar a una mujer... claramente toda la historia es un enorme chiché pero ME ENCANTA! Lo único que me generó un poquito de ganas de revolear el libro es el final, lo sentí muy abrupto, necesite unas poquitas hojitas más con algo extra pero es Diana Palmer, amo casi todo lo que he leído de ella así que es una autora que recomiendo siempre que busquen a dos que quieran sacarse chispas.
I stopped reading at the scene in the fancy French breakfast cafe.
The hero's behavior was just idiotic. I could tolerate this scene in a historical romance, as cowboys were rough and tough back then. But fast forward to present day, ppl in general society should know basic rules in how to behave in public.
And up to this point, the heroine seemed very inconsistent to me in how she reacted to the hero. She was either sitting by meekly or we are being told how sassy she is in standing up to the hero.
So I think I will stick to historicals for my western romances from now on.
I liked the idea of the story, although I will be honest.. he was a bit of a jerk. Some of Diana Palmer’s heroes tend to be that way. Men that put down women for being inexperienced virgins. Sorry, not sexy. I gave it four stars because I liked that he was a rugged cowboy that knew nothing of manners and she was an elegant woman. The whole two worlds thing that seemed very romantic. Also the ending was sped up too fast, as some of her books tend to be. Anyway it was a nice little read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
A bit like “As Good as it Gets” with Jack Nicholson and Helen Hunt, which I liked a lot, where Jack Nicholson has no manners and Helen Hunt is a very much down-to-earth woman who attempts to teach him. That is where the comparison ends. Carson’s manners are completely absent and Madelyn is swept off her feet much of the time. I got to around 30% and then browsed through some of the remaining pages, giving up.
This book was SO bad, that it was hilarious. The male love interest is introduced just after he's broken a man's jaw in a bar fight. He immediately forces an unwanted kiss on the heroine, so hard that he cuts her lip with his teeth. With. His. Teeth. This is by far the tip of the iceberg. Read this book only if you're looking for the terribly absurd.
I really loved this story! Had a different take for once and I truly enjoyed it. Carson is a cowboy totally n love with Mandelyn and is ready and willing to do anything to win her love. The h have lost her fiance years ago and doesn't want to love again. This was a very lovely story with intense emotions. The love jumps from the pages. Highly recommended