Customer Reviews

Desperado (STP _ Silhouette Lead)

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

Let me start by saying that I am a devoted Diana Palmer fan, and truly enjoyed most of her older titles with the arrogant alpha hero, and the young vulnerable heroine. Diana seemed to make it work somehow. Now, it's just stale. "Desperado" is the long awaited story of Cord Romero. That's where the suspense ends. The storyline involved Cord and his Foster Sister Maggie, who worked with the Lassiter Agency (from previous books) to bring down a Child Labor Ring. Maggie had a secret from her past that tied in well with Child Exploitation, but the writing style prevented it from bringing the story to have the impact that it should have. The sex scenes in recent books, are all the same. It's more like sex education, and quite frankly, I feel that all of the romantic scenes in this book were cheesy. Also, too much details are given about things that are not important, leaving the reader feeling like they are reading from an encyclopedia and not a romance novel. Being critical of an author, who in the past, was a must buy for me is not easy, but it is dissapointing. Each new book is so similar to the last, you feel as if you are reading the same book with different names. Let's face it, The old Heroine and Hero are not blood related, but are still somehow almost brother and sister, she's never had sex, he's starts off as a alpha male but he's doesn't know how to be tender and when he does, it's hoaky, he's gonna call her "little one" she's gonna get hurt somehow, and there is going to be some mention of Science Fiction or National Geographic. Palmer fans are starting to wonder if past books are being copied with new covers. I gave this book 2 stars because it was a good storyline idea, but I couldn't get past the outdated and similar to other books writing style that continues to occur with new Palmer books. Sadly, my new Motto is, "Read one Palmer book, and you've read them all."

That I am a long time lover of Diana Palmer, have all of her books and have enjoyed reading her stories up until the past few years when her plots seem to be recycled from other books she has already written. I have to agree with some of the reviewers below that the same old Virginal,sexually ignorant, Bad sex experience, dowdy dressed 21-28 year old woman with hang ups has gown tiresome and lame. I was hoping against hope that Diana would not write Cord and Maggie as the same vapid, stale characters as in previous books but was disappointed that they turned out that way.

Eight year old Maggie and Sixteen year old Cord were raised together as foster siblings by a woman called Amy. Eighteen years have passed and both had married on the rebound and lost their spouses to suicide and a drunk driving accident. Guilt and secrets are major factors in the relationship between Maggie and Cord and it puts them at odds with each other along with an intense attraction both feel for one other, but will not admit.

I thought the premise of the story about child slavery was a subject that really needed to be addressed and Diana did that well, but the hokey actions of the lead characters ruined it for me. The sex scenes were not sensual at all and read more like a sex education manual for beginners. Another thing that bothered me is that Cord is portrayed as a very sexy, good looking man that could have anyone he wanted, yet doesn't date much at all. I found this a bit far fetched as I did Maggie's ignorance about sex.

I would love to see Diana go back to her roots and write as she did as Diana Blayne (candelight ectasy) or Susan Kyle. Her romances were gripping and had a grown up quality to them that I loved. I have to say that after twenty years of reading her books, Diana is not a must race out and buy for me anymore as in the past. I gave Desperado a three star because I did feel that Diana did a good job bringing child slavery to the readers attention.

No one beats Diana Palmer for sensual anticipation; this most recent story is no exception. Maggie introduced in "Lord of the Desert", hops a plane back to the states to be with Cord, who is recuperating from an eye injury sustained while disarming an explosive device. Cord lashes out at Maggie, who is heartbroken over his hostility, and what she gave up overseas to return to Cord's side.

The pace picks up from this point on; the sexual tension flying like sparks between Cord and Maggie. Enter the Lassiter Detective Agency, and the mission to bring down Gruber and his international bad boys is off and running.

Cord and Maggie struggle throughout with their tormented pasts, especially Maggie, who has been through more than any woman should ever have to face. Can any man ever convince Maggie to trust again?

This book is what we have come to love and expect from DP. The hero is DP's usual arrogant alpha male, the heroine vulnerable, but they get beyond their usual bickering and on to the main story line rather quickly. Plus we get to find out what characters from past books are up to, and leave us wondering whom the next Soldier of Fortune book will be about. Makes for a light enjoyable read in-between the heavy-duty stuff.

I am a big fan of Palmer and because of this i rushed to borrow this book ASAP.
I finished reading the book with hopes that it would get better, i kept hoping that Cord would stop feeling guilty and get out of the Texan-mercenary-regretful role. The development of the characters was weak. For all of Cord's intelligence he seemed pretty dumb in regards to Maggie.
Maggie desparately needed to bone up and stop acting like al love sick female i mean considering all that she has been through in regards to the oppositie sex
This book is sooooooooo predictable- Maggie's secret can be seen a mile away
There was no suspense- from Chapter 3 i could already tell how it would end and what would be the fate of the bad guys
A true novel should allow the possibility for the love birds being seperated for life
That was not the case
From the onset it was evident that they would be together as soon as Cord got his act together.
I regret to say that Diana Palmer is suffering from writer's block and because of this cannot come up with an original plot but just keeps reusing the innocent female- who has always loved the experience male- who was always to blind to see her
This book was not a total waste of my time though
The conversations between the two major characters and the romance was off-the-hook
Palmer i am a big fan so pleaaaaassseeee come up with a less predictable plot

For SHAME Diana! I agree with the previouse reviewers (except Harriett), if you change the cover, you've got the same OLD story. I think what really upsets me is that I feel like Diana is stealing from me. Why did this book need to come out in hardcover? Did you think you were fooling us with the LARGE print and thick paper? This story was not worth the price and not worth waiting for. . . .and if a man calls me "little one" as many times as Cord did, I'd run screaming from the house. I still love Diana's previous work, but I think she needs to update the stories. If this were a paperback, then I'd give this book 3 1/2 stars. All in all, it's still an ok way to pass the time, but if you are a big-time reader of romance novels . . and a loyal fan of Ms. Palmer's, you won't find this to be one of her best works. Better luck next time, Diana!

After reading this book it made me want to move to Texas and find a man just like Cord! The romance and sexuality just thrilled me. I could not finish this book fast enough. I will definitely be reading this again and again. This for me was just like Paper Rose, Once in Paris, Lord of the Desert and Texas Ranger. I can not get enough of these books. They are marvelous! They put the MAN back in ROMANCE!

I too am an avid reader of Diana's books, but enough is enough. I have to agree with some of the other reviewers below that it is boring to read about the same old, same old plotlines. Diana was great in her glory days, but it appears that with each new book she writes the characters seem the same as in previous ones. I was very reluctant to pay hardcover price for this book but read some of the previews and thought I would take the chance. I was really hoping this new novel would be different, but lo and behold we have another rewrite of her previous books. I wished I had listened to my misgivings and saved myself twenty one dollars. I don't want to down Diana, but she really needs to give her fans something more than this. Her females need to be updated badly and the men need to tone down the gorilla act and written in a more believable manner. Save yourself some time and money by just getting this one at the used bookstore if you really feel the need to read it.

I have to start out by saying that I have read a lot of Diana Palmer books, so I knew what to expect going into this book. (Lots of emotional drama.) There were a couple things that I found wrong with this book, but overall....I would reccommend it to anybody.
Maggie was a very strong woman and I loved the fact that she gave her ex-husbands money to his other abused ex-wives. It made sense to me that she did that, if he beat me and caused me to miscarry my baby, than I wouldn't want any of his money either. I wouldn't take a cent from him, and that's exactly what she did. Maggie was very independent looking for adventure in her life and I thought that was great! Her comments about wanting to be a detective were funny and made me laugh. When she walked right up to the villian on the street and pretended to know him so the other woman could get a picture of him took guts and that's why I liked Maggie so much in this book...she wasn't afraid of the bad guy. I thought that she had her faults though also. I think that she should have been more worried about Cord finding out about the baby that she lost then what happened to her as a child. She needed therapy and it showed. She was obsessed with keeping what her stepfather did to her as a child away from Cord. She couldn't help it and it wasn't her fault, she should have realized that as she grew older.
I loved Cord also. He started out as being very mean and cruel to Maggie, but realized that he loved her and that she has had a rough life and that is why she keeps secrets. Cord came across to me as a strong man that would take care of her no matter what costs. I liked what he did for a living, it brought action into this book. He feels like he has to protect Maggie and does a VERY good job at it. I thought that there was lots of action to tie into the romance of this book and I loved it. If you like detective and mercenary books than I would reccommend this one. Lots of romance too!

Maggie Barton rushed home from Morocco after she discovered that her foster brother, Cord Romero, had been injured in a bomb explosion. Three days later, after enduring numerous airport delays and lack of sleep, she arrives to find that Cord doesn't want to see her or have anything to do with her. Dejected because she had turned down her job to rush to Cord's side, she needs to find a temporary job until she can leave Texas - and Cord - far behind her. But Cord's in the middle of a dangerous job, and her new job puts her in harm's way, too. Cord is going to have to protect her...

Cord Romero didn't really know what to do with Maggie. He found her incredibly attractive, even though she wanted little to do with men because of a childhood trauma he knew nothing about. He's on the trail of a dangerous child pornography ring, but before he knows it Maggie has involved herself and he's going to need to keep her very close to keep an eye on her. He doesn't count on falling in love with her - and wanting to keep her by his side, forever.

Okay, this is only the third Diana Palmer book I have read, but already they are starting to run together and sound awfully similar. The plot seems to be: white younger woman who isn't drop-dead gorgeous is completely inexperienced when it comes to sex and men; dark, handsome, and dangerous man with issues falls in love with heroine after treating her cruelly. This book was the same. Cord treated Maggie like a jerk, but she still loved him despite his cruelty towards her. Maggie was totally naive about just about everything, especially men. She had the emotional maturity of about a 10 year old girl. I didn't really care for either the hero or the heroine. Reading this book once was enough - I won't be picking it up again.

You have to love this book, the pages practically turn themselves. I especially love the chemistry between Maggie and Cord...Cord is another man who seems to hit me much as Colby Lane does, the all masculine, ex mercenary who will do whatever it takes to take down those who threaten his woman and/or the weak...I especially love the scenes of danger and serveillence......