Customer Reviews

Calhoun (Silhouette Desire)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

It is 6 years and 8 months and this story still has appeal.

Calhoun, the younger brother at 32, is in partnership with older brother, Justin Ballenger and run a cattle feeding lot in Jacobsville, Texas. [Wow! what a beginning to the Long, Tall Texans.]
The feedlot business skyrocketed with Justin's business sense and Calhoun's feel for marketing.

Abigail Clark was 15 when her mother and the Ballenger brothers' father were killed just before their wedding. The two young men took in the heartbroken Abby as their ward. Now six years later, just three months before Abby's 21st birthday we learn of the many conflicts going on in this Texas town.

We also meet Shelby Jacob and her brother Tyler, whose grandfather was the founder of Jacobsville.

Abby feels so inferior to the blond bombshells that Calhoun dates that she feels that she has to defy his restrictions.
Calhoun does not love any of his "women" but all it takes is a little skin and a lot of imagination for him to start feeling jealous of any mans' intentions toward Abby.

Justin is more tollerant but just as watchful and slightly amused as he watches the changes coming about in Calhoun.

We soon learn why the dark eyed, black haired, reticient, Justin harbors a vengeful attitude toward the beautiful black haired, green-eyed Shelby.

Abby's rebellion leads her to emotional confusion [some girls mature later emotionally]and she doesn't know how to handle her embaressment with a man's passion and body. [about time we have a gal like this]. She just needed time.

Calhoun [like a lot of men] didn't know how to handle, emotionally, a virginal young woman - although it seems that he left a few broken hearts behind.

I did like the skillful handling of D. Palmer of the delicate situations and scenes and emotions of her characters that brought them to living, breathing life. GREAT WORK, as in most all of this series.

I give it an unequivically HIGH RECOMMENDATION. I set a high standard for the characters I like.

This is an excellent story!! I couldn't put it down. I am a dedicated reader of Diana Palmer and this is my favorite. It is included with the stories of Justin and Tyler in "A Long Tall Texan". It follows the story of Abbigail, Calhoun's ward and her attempts to make Calhoun notice her as a woman and not the child that he has gaurded over for so many years. Calhoun is attempting to deal with his new feelings for Abby that he can't deny. This is a wonderful story.

I love Diana Palmer!! Calhoun is just another example of how she brings that gut wrenching feeling to her romances. She is so descriptive, it is easy to put yourself into Abby's shoes and feel her pain and frustration with Calhoun as he fights his feelings for her & her attempt to get his attention. She also has the inate ability to inject some humor as she did in the scene with Justin & Abby getting drunk and singing "The Song" on the couch. This is one book I know I will enjoy over and over and never tire of reading!! What's next Diana?? I can't wait for your next book!!

Overall good story. The usual young lady falling in love with a ladies' man 10-15 years older. Abby is portrayed as innocent but not stupid. Calhoun is the usual tough, not wanting marriage man. However, I think it was a little too rushed at the end. Out of nowhere Calhoun comes and offers Abby marriage. Not a surprise of course, but I still think it lacked a little closure. Also, there were other characters involved with too much information on them. Good story, but needed more to be great.

Back of book reads:

SWEET DARLIN'

Although Calhoun Ballenger had raised Abby since childhood, she was now nearly twenty-one years old. How dare he keep her under his thumb, protected like a hothouse flower! Abby had to teach Calhoun a lesson. With the fury of a South Texas twister, she devised a plan to prove her independence--and capture his attention.

But Abby's scheme backfired. She wasn't like the diamond-studded sophisticates Calhoun chose as his companions. She was just a simple country girl who craved the love of a good, strong man. How could she make Cal see that his young charge had blossomed into a rose...and was now ripe for the picking?

This book started the ongoing series "Long, Tall Texans". As always, Diana Palmer, does a splendid job developing her characters. There are moments of hilarity, in the beginning for example, when Abby tries to attend a male strip show and Calhoun catches her. As well as moments of sadness, when you can feel how burdened Abby is with her unrequited love of Calhoun. As you read the book you can see how both Abby and Calhoun mature. While Abby recognizes her feelings towards Calhoun from the very beginning, things aren't as simple for Calhoun himself. He realizes his feelings towards Abby have slowly change and aren't what a ward should feel towards his charge, but has yet to realize what they are. This is a beautiful story and will have you reading it over through the years.

This book made me laugh.Though the ending isnt great and it isnt as good as Evan(also by Palmer)it's worth reading.The drinking scene when Abby and Justin are drunk was just so well wrote I could picture it in my mind.I also hope you read Ethan and Evan which are wrote in similarity and refer to one another once or twice in each book.I love this series but please read the reviews for other Palmer books before you buy them,Palmer's later books are a little boring.But I give this series 5 stars.

This book made me laugh.Though the ending isnt great and it isnt as good as Evan(also by Palmer)it's worth reading.The drinking scene when Abby and Justin are drunk was just so well wrote I could picture it in my mind.I also hope you read Ethan and Evan which are wrote in similarity and refer to one another once or twice in each book.I love this series but please read the reviews for other Palmer books before you buy them,Palmer's later books are a little boring.But I give this series 5 stars.

This is a wonderful story about Calhoun and his ward Abby. As Abby's 21st birthday approaches, things begin to sizzle between them, and makes for great, passionate reading material. Diana keep it up!

Love Ms.Palmer but this one was not good. Abby was really immature for a twenty year old. There was to much conflict between them during the entire book and she kept trying to get back at Calhoun. One minute she loves him the next she's trying to forget him, that was really tiring, it was like make up your mind already. In the end I really didn't care if they got together.