Devlin's Promise [Paperback]

Robin Lee Hatcher (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1996

Hoping to restore her reputation by marrying the trouble-making Devlin, unwed mother Angelica prepares for a new life on Devlin's Washington ranch and is surprised when she falls in love with her husband of convenience. Original.

Product Details

• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Leisure Books (Mm) (January 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0843939079
• ISBN-13: 978-0843939071
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,831,098 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I'm the author of 60+ novels and novellas. My home is in Idaho, where I spend my time writing stories of faith, courage, and love; pondering the things of God; and loving my family and friends. Please note that the list of my books on Amazon includes novels written for the general romance market from 1984 to 1999. My Christian fiction has been published from 1999 to present. I no longer recommend my older fiction. Purchase used books with caution. For more information, please visit my web site at http://robinleehatcher.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very Good 90s Western Romance, July 25, 2011

By 

A.B. (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Devlin's Promise (Paperback)

I became interested in the author's earlier novels after reading her author profile on Amazon, wherein she stated she does not recommend any of her work published before 1996, when she apparently turned to writing Christian romance.

I usually stay away from books where the heroine already has a child, and here, not only did she already have a child but she was unwed. Call me judgmental, but normally kids get in the way of the romance, so I didn't have high hopes going into the book. I was impressed with how honest the author was with the heroine being "fallen." The heroine, Angelica, thought she was in love and was naive enough to believe the father was going to marry her and that he had, in a fashion, proposed before they met love. Angelica wasn't a harlot and had a lot of pride, despite what had happened. And her two year old, Robby, was really well written and if anything, helped develop the relationship between the hero and heroine.

The hero, Devlin, is a gunslinger tired of his life and missing his family (mother and siblings), all of whom he hasn't seen in 18 years, since the end of the Civil War. He and the heroine, who have just met, agree to pose as a family and move from Colorado to Washington Territory where she wants to start over. Of course she doesn't tell him the child's father is after her until they are well on the way. On their way to Washington, they stay with his family and both the hero and heroine, neither having had a family for so long, fall easily into being part of a family.

This is a well written story, albeit it a little long at over 400 pages. Both realize they are in love and suffer by not confiding it to the other, but of course each has personal demons and angst that keeps them from revealing their feelings. There is drama and intrigue relating to the villian/child's father, which I didn't feel was really necessary.

There was a lot of longing, although it took about 150 pages to get to, and the love scenes were cleanly written. I suppose the author objects now to this book for the cover and the fact that the first time the couple made love, they were unwed. After that, however, the hero insisted on waiting until they were actually married, not just pretending to be.

I'm giving this 4 stars because it was a little long and the villian was just a little too cartoonish for me, as well as his wife. Robin Lee Hatcher is an excellent writer and I will read more of her earlier works. It's just a shame she's turned her back on them because she has nothing to be ashamed of.