Customer Reviews

Daisy's Back In Town

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(14)
1 star:		(22)

 

 

Ive never rated a Rachel Gibson book less than 4 stars (most of them I consider 5 star reads) but this one does disappoint. If youve read all of Ms Gibsons books this story may sound familiar. Its a bit TRULY MADLY YOURS with a touch of SIMPLY IRRESISTIBLE thrown in.

Daisy, Steven and Jack were inseparable as children doing everything together. But by high school Daisy had blossomed into a beauty that both Steven and Jack wanted, so in order to preserve their friendship, they agree that Daisy is off limits. Daisy adores them both, but she has stronger feelings for reckless bad boy Jack (dont we always!) so when Daisy makes it clear that she wants Jack, their agreement is forgotten as Jack and Daisy meet secretly. But just after graduation the world falls apart  Jacks parents die in a car wreck leaving him responsible for his younger brother Billy and the family business. And at this same time Daisy discovers that she is pregnant. Daisy is frantic about what to do. When she attempts to tell Jack about the baby, he is not in a place where he can even listen and tells her that he needs some time to deal with the sudden changes in his life. Daisy hears its over and decides (with influence from Steven and her mom who never approved of Jack) that the best thing for all concerned is for Daisy to take Steven up on his offer to marry her and take her away. Jack already has too much to deal with and doesnt need to be burdened further. And so Jack is left to believe that after all they had meant to each other, that his two best friends have betrayed him and left him all alone when he needed them most.

Fifteen years later, Daisy has returned to her small hometown, a widow on a mission. Steven has died and she now must honor Stevens last wishes to personally deliver a letter from Steven to Jack and to tell him that he has a son, Nathan, that he never knew existed. Daisy knows that Jack will not take this well and is not looking forward to this confrontation, but it has to be done and she wont chicken out. You can imagine his reaction to seeing her again and then hearing her news. Hes understandably pissed and unpleasant. Jacks challenge is to conquer his anger, get to know his son and somehow try to forgive Daisy and Steven. Its a choice between being alone, bitter and stuck in the past or reuniting with the woman he has always loved and finally being a father to his son.

But the characters here are simply not up to the authors usual standards. Though we've all made mistakes in life, this one's a whopper and as a result Daisy is not a very sympathetic character. Her inability to fully appreciate that she REALLY hurt Jack and that keeping his son from him for most of his life was REALLY WRONG frustrates. Yes, you cant change the past and whats done is done, but for crying out loud, Jack deserved and needed the time to work out his anger and his sense of betrayal and she should have better understood that. And though I fully sympathized with Jack, he was not all that likeable or sexy or appealing  certainly not to the standard of other Gibson leading men like Nick from TRULY MADLY YOURS or Luc from SEE JANE SCORE or Dylan from TRUE CONFESSIONS. His feelings for Daisy seemed more of the lust variety than deep emotion and his forgiveness of Daisy happens so quickly and abruptly that it may just give you whiplash! And some of the secondary characters seemed to exist only to drive the plot  her sister Lily for one whose sole purpose seemed to be to give Daisy an excuse to stay longer than expected and to bring Nathan to town. And I found her mothers rambling as annoying as the rest of the characters did (if I want to experience that I can talk to my own mother!). But I did enjoy Nathan and Jacks brother Billy  the best and most realistic characters in the book! Not Ms Gibsons finest hour, but I'm not giving up on this author. Im hoping the next one meets the standard of prior, better books.

This is one of my favorite Rachel Gibson books, and I've read them all. I think the old ones (like this and SEE JANE SCORE) are far better than the newer ones which have way too much white space and too little writing.
I've read the negative reviews and can understand the impatience with the outline of the plot but what carries this book is the writing; the right-on characterizations of everyone from teen-age Nathan to man-hating Lily to bitter Jack to clear-eyed brother Billy; and the believable dialogue and situations. Tired of Daisy's mother's run-on stories? Well, that's her personality and her personality doesn't change through the book just because the reader "got it" the first time. Daisy should have told Jack the story the first time she saw him? Sure, in a perfect world. What makes the book work is that neither the world nor the people are perfect. Daisy gives in to her attraction to Jack, is uncomfortable with blurting out the truth, delays on purpose....so what? That is what real people do.
I've reread this book several times and enjoy getting reacquainted with the characters each time.....and the not sex scenes don't hurt either.

This is my second Rachel Gibson book (I read See Jane Score first) and I loved them both so much that I bought all the books she's written. This book had mixed reviews, so I didn't know what to expect, but I loved it. My favorite thing about Gibson's books is her love scenes. They're written more realistically than some other authors (Janet Dailey comes to mind). And she seems to favor characters in their thirties (at least the two books I read) which is nice. I liked the premise, that Daisy, Jack, and Steven were best friends growing up and betrayal separated them. I'm not giving anything away to say that Steven and Daisy's 15 year-old son Nathan is really Jack's. The book begins with Daisy going to Jack's house to tell him the secret she's kept for all those years. She's only supposed to be in town for a week, but Jack's bitterness won't allow him to hear her out, so it takes several tries on Daisy's part to talk to him. The more they interact, the more Jack finds he still can't resist her, even though he doesn't want to want her. The scenes where they briefly re-unite, almost against their own wills, are so hot! But when Jack finally learns the truth about Nathan, he's furious. He feels robbed of all those years he's missed with his son. Jack is a likable, sexy, strong character, one most women would be attracted to. He's bitter, but anyone can understand that, considering what his two best friends did to him. But the reader sees Daisy's point, too, and how scared she must have been to be eighteen, pregnant, and thinking her boyfriend doesn't love her anymore. The thing that saves Daisy as a character is that she's very remorseful and never tries to defend her actions. She really wants Jack to get to know his son. The later part of the book, where Jack and Nathan get to know each other is very sweet. I really enjoyed this book, and if it's not Gibson's best work, then the others must be pure gold!

I almost passed on this one because of the bad reviews. Boy am I glad I didn't. Once again Ms. Gibson creates a wonderful novel filled with real people, living real lives, and making real mistakes. I don't agree with some of the reviewers who have said that this book isn't AS funny as Ms. Gibson's other books. I wonder if we were all reading the same book. Daisy's Back In Town is filled with Gibson's trademark humor. It's also hot and steamy and filled with raw emotion. My only complaint with Ms. Gibson is that she doesn't write fast enough.

I highly recommend this book.

Rachel Gibson usually writes deliciously fun fluff, but this book is MORE. It's more serious, it's more touching, it's more difficult to sympathize with her realistic characters. It's also darned funny, tender, sexy and well-written.

If you've read the synopsis, you know that Daisy, Steven and Jack were friends since the 2nd grade. When they became teenagers, the guys both realized that they were harboring feelings for Daisy that went beyond friendship. Daisy loved them both, but fell in love with Jack and secretly they became lovers. Then tragedy: Jack's parents are killed in an auto accident leaving him in charge of his younger brother and the family business. He finds 18-year-old Daisy to be clingy and jealous and pushes her away while he deals with grief and the urgency of making a living. But Daisy has discovered she's pregnant. Jack rejected her, obviously doesn't love her anymore. Terrified, she confesses her troubles to Steven, who snaps her up.

So how mature were you at 18? That's a nightmare scenario for a teenage girl like Daisy, a dream opportunity for a teenage boy like Steven. It's easy to dictate what they all should have done, but in real life you screw up. And once you do, you seem to keep building on the first bungled decision. So 15 years after Daisy and Steven leave town, the widowed Daisy returns with Jack's teenage son.

Pain, love, resentment and anger, feelings of betrayal and longing are all realistically laid out for the reader to feel. A surprisingly fine book from a dependable author. Highly recommended.

Daisy, Steven, and Jackson were the best of friends since the second grade. When they became teens, Steven and Jackson promised not to pursue her romantically, but Daisy fell hard for Jack and they started a secret passionate love affair. When his parents are killed in a car crash, he is suddenly guardian for his younger brother and a relationship with clingy Daisy is too much for him to handle, so he breaks it off with her. Daisy finds that she is pregnant, and confides in Steven, and they quickly and quietly get married with plans to return to college in Seattle. When they confront Jack on their way out of town, he beats Steven up in a fit of anger and betrayal.

Fifteen years pass, and Jack hasn't heard from either of them until Daisy is suddenly back in town wanting to talk to him. He tries to avoid her, but they keep ending up in the same room. No longer the poor boy she grew up with, he still is angered that she chose wealthier Steven over him. She wants to come clean with him about the paternity of her son - a promise she made to Steven on his deathbed. Jack just wants to pretend she doesn't exist. Not only does she exist, but so does their mutual passion for each other. She finally gives Jack the letter from Steven, but he just puts it away to read later.

When Jack meets Steven & Daisy's son at his auto shop, he's surprised he's a teenager. The more that he talks to Nathan with his brother Billy, the more he realizes the similarities that Nathan shares with their deceased father. He suddenly realizes based on Nathan's age that he is probably his son, which is only confirmed when he reads Steven's heartfelt letter. Enraged, he tells Daisy that he will not allow her to leave Texas with his son.

As he gets to know his son, he finds that they have so much in common despite never having met. He also learns that the only way to get close to him is to not be so surly around Daisy. When they plan a family camping trip, it is a turning point in all their lives as Nathan turns to him for fatherly advice, despite wincing every time Nathan calls another man dad. Jack wants the three of them to be a family, but can they move on until he forgives Daisy for her deceit?

Based on other reviews, you either love or hate this book. I happened to like it. While Gibson is mostly known for her light and comical romances, this one is more serious in tone - a real departure for her. Despite Daisy's deception, I was engaged in the story, particularly Jack and Nathan finding each other.

I was counting the days until Rachel Gibson's next release. I've read EVERYTHING else she's written and have loved it all (5 stars!). This book, however, was very disappointing and I couldn't finish it. The main problem is the unlikable main character who decides to never tell her former boyfriend that she had his child. Then, MANY years later after her husband dies and she returns to her hometown..... You can guess the rest. I just couldn't get past how cruel and heartless her act was. I really did not like this character. As a result, I couldn't finish the book. Back to my used bookstore it goes! I gave it 3 stars (versus 1 or 2) because her writing is intelligent and smooth.

My advice: DON'T buy this, but DO buy any other Rachel Gibson. I hope she can get back on track next time.

Fifteen years ago Daisy stomped all over Jack's heart when she married his best friend and hightailed it out of Texas shortly after his parents died in a car crash. Jack had thought the years had softened the sharp edge of betrayal until the night Daisy showed up at his house demanding to speak with him. Her presence opened old wounds that he had thought were healed and Jack is determined to steel his heart against her. But there's just one teensy problem: Daisy won't get the hint and leave him alone. She follows him everywhere and won't leave him alone until he hears her out but Jack has no interest in what Daisy has to say.It's just that no matter how hard he tries to keep her at a distance eventually Daisy manages to worm her way back into his head and eventually his heart. However, happily ever after won't come easy because Jack finds it impossible to forget and after finding out that Daisy kept his son a secret from him for fifteen years he finds it even harder still to forgive.

In my opinion what makes Rachel Gibson's books special is her unique ability to write "real" people. By the time I finish one of her books I feel as if I've known these people all of my life. This book is no exception to that rule. The main characters are never boring and Nathan, Daisy and Jack's son, was a joy to read.What kept this book from being a keeper for me was Daisy and her past actions which I thought were inexcusable and callous and I did not think she ever really redeemed herself. I also thought that Jack's forgiveness of Daisy was much too abrupt and was not in sync with his character. In my opinion he should have made Daisy grovel just a tad bit before admitting his love for her. In the end I just could not suspend disbelief long enough to accept that Jack could get over Daisy's actions so easily and so quickly. The book also suffers from weak second characters which do not really serve to move the plot along. In short, I think that if this book had been written by any other author it would have been great but by the author of one of my favorite contemporaries of all time (See Jane Score) it is merely so-so.

I just hate to have to write a bad review for a Rachel Gibson book, but...I just could NOT stand this book. It was hard to get into the romance when all I wanted to do was scream at Jack "She kidnapped your son!! What are you thinking???!!" I mean seriously, how can you honestly believe that he had any feelings for her except hate - heck, even I REALLY hated her. I had absolutely NO sympathy for her or her dead husband. Then, to top it off, I'm supposed to understand the logic (after everything Jack was put through) that it's HIS responsibility to "get over the anger". I think she should have spent the rest of her life "putting up with the anger" simply to make up for the horrifying things she did to that man. Just awful!

I like Rachel Gibson as an author, but DAISY'S BACK IN TOWN is not her best work; far from it.

Ms. Gibson usually writes romances that sizzle. There are a few themes that run through one or more of her books; for example, LOLA CARLYLE REVEALS ALL had tones of SIMPLY IRRESISTIBLE. Still, these two stories each were unique. In contrast, DAISY is a mish-mash of devices that have worked for this author in the past, thrown together here in the apparent hope that these will coalesce into a good plot.

Want to read about two kids who had had crushes on each other once-upon-a-time and finally are reunited as adults? Her book TRULY MADLY YOURS beats DAISY any day. And for a story about a girl who "forgot" to tell the father of their baby that they had become parents, Ms. Gibson's SIMPLY IRRESISTIBLE is the best.

As for the woman returning after decades to her hometown, Susan Elizabeth Phillips tops anything that Rachel Gibson has written in Ms. Phillips' new novel, AIN'T SHE SWEET.

Yet all of these elements show up in DAISY'S BACK IN TOWN, and with far less success than in their first airings.

In DAISY, the conflicts are revealed too easily, resolved too quickly--and even too happily. Despite the obvious fact that this is a genre that requires a happy ending, the conclusion of DAISY just is too pat. Although the genre actually requires sexual conflict that concludes in great passion, Ms. Gibson could have phoned in these love scenes. It almost seems as if her editor begrudged her the space to explore the story fully.

Rachel Gibson has done her previously-excellent reputation no service with DAISY'S BACK IN TOWN. Do yourself a favor and read one of her earlier novels instead.