Diablo (The Texans) [Paperback]

Georgina Gentry (Author)

Book Description

Series: The Texans | Publication Date: February 1, 2010

They call him 'Devil', and with good reason. The half-breed Santee Sioux bears the twisted scars that made him the fastest, deadliest gunfighter in Texas. Diablo will never forget the kind cattleman who once took him in, but it is his torturer who haunts his every thought. And when some powerful Wyoming ranchers come looking to hire ruthless men for a wicked job, Diablo seizes the opportunity to settle a score...Her name is Sunny, and she more than lives up to it. She's a dazzling ray of light - and the bride-to-be of Hurd Kruger, the man who scarred Diablo. What better way to destroy Kruger than to capture, dishonour, and dump his greatest prize? It's a perfect plan, except for the one thing Diablo never counted on...the only thing that could turn him away from the dark side, the angel who could save his bedeviled soul...

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Launching a new series, western romance writer Gentry (To Seduce a Texan) sets an unlikely, blood-soaked love affair in late 19th-century Wyoming. The son of a white woman raped by a Sioux warrior, Diablo is a gunfighter-for-hire plotting revenge against wealthy rancher Hurd Kruger and his men, who gang-raped and tortured Diablo 15 years before. After murdering Kruger's hired hands and stealing his prized possessions, Diablo kidnaps beautiful, obedient Sunny Sorrenson, Kruger's reluctant fiancée. Initially insipid, Sunny becomes a much more interesting character as she begins to see the good in Diablo, and their passion blazes like the Texas sun. Gentry's setting is compelling and readers will celebrate Diablo's redemption, but the romance and happy ending are undermined by numerous scenes of brutal bloodshed and references to sexual violence. (Feb.)
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From Booklist

He Not Worthy of a Name has finally gotten a lucky break. Made a slave of the Santee Sioux after his Native American father was hung for raping his white mother, the abused 13-year-old finally escapes and heads for the Promised Land called “Texas”; but when Trace Durango discovers him, sadistic ranchers have branded his face until it was scarred beyond recognition. Trace and his wife nurse He Not Worthy of a Name back to health, and even teach him how to use a gun. Intent on revenge, the teen becomes the feared gunfighter known as “Diablo.” There’s only one chink in Diablo’s armor—he’s in love with Sunny, but her initial reaction to the maimed outlaw is horror. Gentry has cleverly given the Beauty and the Beast tale a western twist by setting it during the 1892 range wars in Wyoming. Readers who enjoy this book will also like Lorraine Heath’s poignant Texas Glory (1998), another western featuring a wounded hero. --Shelley Mosley

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Zebra (February 1, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1420108506
• ISBN-13: 978-1420108507
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #846,347 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A dud, March 29, 2010

By 

RomReader (TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Diablo (The Texans) (Paperback)

The story is about an 18-yr-old daughter of Wyoming rancher is engaged to an old conniving rancher b/c he told her that was her dad's last wish. She gets kidnapped by scarred half-breed cowboy mercenary who's seeking revenge against her fiance for physically & sexually abusing him along with 3 others 15 yrs prior. Heroine is attracted to Hero who returns her attraction but thinks he's too ugly for her to willingly want to be with him.

Don't know if this is how Gentry typically writes since this is my 1st book of hers but I was either bored or annoyed with this book. The characters were like caricatures. The plot very predictable. Lots of language & theme repetitions (i.e., Hero thinks he's so repulsive to women, Hero keeps on forgetting heroine's name even though he think about her constantly, villain ruminating about how he wants heroine as his wife) as if Gentry just cut & pasted. Most times the language characters used was modern & only Westernized by the words "I reckon". The only part I liked was the author's notes at the end, which gave interesting historical view of Wyoming ranchers, the Shantee rebellion, & other historical tidbits.

Not recommended. This is my 1st book of hers but will try her other books to see if she can surpass this disappointment.

1.0 out of 5 stars Don't Bother, September 18, 2010

By 

Not Telling - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Diablo (The Texans) (Paperback)

I wanted to like this book, I really did! It was my first Georgina Gentry book, and I don't think I'm going to read her again if this is the way she writes all of her books.

First of all, there were a lot of grammar errors, which is a pet peeve of mine, and it really takes away from the story.

Second, this was the stupid heroine I have ever read about. Where in the world is her intelligence? My gosh! I don't know what this poor guy Diablo saw in her, but he deserved someone a LOT nicer. She was stupid to the point where I wanted to toss her over the edge of a cliff and take Diablo for myself. He was so sweet, so caring, so hurt from his past, and what does she do? Tries to escape.

WHAT AN AIRHEAD!

She actually wanted to go home and marry her UNCLE who made her feel uncomfortable every time he was near. She would rather do that, than stay with Diablo? I can't even go over the amount of things she did that made me stop and think, "Oh my God...I cannot believe this is the woman who's supposed to end up with this misunderstood hero..."

She was an absolute biotch when it came to his scar. She thought that because he had a scar, he must be dangerous.....Um, what? And, for the life of her, it was just utterly impossible to believe that her perverted uncle was the person who hurt Diablo...Was she seriously 18? Or still 16?

Diablo was one of the best heroes I've ever read about. Too bad he had to get (somehow) ensnared by this brainless witch of a character.

I wished with all my heart that I was going to come across a scene where he'd let her off somewhere and find a sweet, NON-SHALLOW, NON-JUDGMENTAL young woman who would love him with all her heart and see him for all he was on the inside, and not try to escape him every five seconds, or sell herself to him for her "freedom." Seriously, the stuff this ditz did...

5.0 out of 5 stars Suzie Housley, Midwest Book Reviewer, May 23, 2010

By 

Suzie Housley (Oak Ridge, Tn United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Diablo (The Texans) (Paperback)

A half-breed Santee Sioux was born to a white woman. Since his birth he had not been accepted in either the white world or by the Sioux culture. His white mother had been raped by a Sioux Warrior; in humiliation of being violated she ended her life. Her family couldn't stand to raise the cause of her death and turned the child over to the Sioux's. The Sioux's wouldn't accept him as an equal and made him serve as their slave; they called him He Not Worthy of a Name.

At the age of fourteen, He Not Worthy of a Name managed to escape from the Sioux. He set out to find some place that would accept him. He traveled for days; close to starving to death he killed a cow to stay alive. While he was eating it raw, a group of cowboys stumbled upon him. He feared they would end his life for what he had done to their steer. He was surprised that they offered him their friendship and invited him into their camp. They offered him a part of their meal and spoke of returning to their homeland of Texas.

The rustler cowboys were the first people who had ever shown any type of kindness to He Not Worthy of a Name. His new found friendship was short lived for his friends were cattle rustlers. The owner of the herd caught them by surprise and ordered then to hang for their crimes. He Not Worthy of a Name watched in horror as their lives ended in a matter of seconds. The owner allowed him to live, but demanded he become a walking billboard for all other would be rustlers who thought about stealing from him. He had a group of his men hold him down and tortured him, as a lasting reminder they branded one side of his face.

Years later, He Not Worthy of a Name was given the name Diablo which meant Devil. He was known as one of the fastest guns in the west. Revenge was a poison that ran freely through Diablo's blood. Each time he looked at his reflection in a mirror he was reminded of that one horrific day. He vowed one day soon to hunt down those responsible for his pain and suffering and end their lives in a slow agonizing death.

Diablo's chance at vengeance came when the person responsible for scarring him hired a group of gunslingers to run settlers off farm land in Wyoming. Diablo seen this as a perfect opportunity to get close to his worst enemies he plotted out each one of their deaths to ensure they were slow and painful. As he narrowed it down to the main ringleader, Hurd Kruger he decided to torture him by stealing his most prized possessions, one of them being his intended fiancee Sunny Sorrenson.

Sunny is the type of woman Diablo can only dream about for her beauty would never accept a scarred beast such as himself. As the days of her captivity progresses Diablo finds it hard to resist her kindness and charm. Will he allow himself to take of her forbidden fruit? Or will his will to seek revenge against Hurd blind him from the love that could be his?

Diablo - The Texans is one of the best historical romances this reviewer has ever experienced. I fell in love with each one of the characters. When they hurt I felt their pain, when they rejoiced I was right there with them. Georgina Gentry stand up and take a bow, you have written a romantic masterpiece.

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