Customer Reviews

Give Me A Texan: Amarillo by Morning, A Shade of Sunrise; The Love Letterand No Time for Love

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

 

 

An anthology always has at least one popular author to anchor it so that fans of that author will buy the book. In this case, Jodi Thomas was the anchor for me, and the fact that there was also a story by Linda Broday was a pleasant addition. The two other authors, DeWanna Pace and Phyliss Miranda were new to me.

"Amarillo by Morning", Jodi Thomas, Fort Worth 1889, 4 stars
Hank Harris was invited to dinner but he didn't discover until later what the catch was for the invitation. He, along with two other men, were there to meet the spinster sister of Dolly Tucker. Marriage was definitely the ultimate goal, although not necessarily the goal of Aggie. She was the last of the unwed sisters in her family and was being sent from the home of one sister after another in an attempt to find her a husband. Aggie didn't want to get married but her father wanted to re-marry and his home wasn't big enough for two women.

I liked this story. Aggie was a very unusual character. Physically beautiful but painfully shy is a combination which is hard to write about convincingly but Jodi Thomas managed to make me believe that Aggie could actually be more concerned with being a gunsmith than with being a wife. I have no idea when the story was actually written by Ms Thomas but I am glad to see that it reminds me much more of the writing she has done in the past. I am not a fan of the Whispering Mountain series and so was glad to see the Jodi Thomas style I enjoy more than the stories I've read from her lately.

"A Shade of Sunrise", DeWanna Pace, February 19, 1916, No stars
Briar Duncan was the station master for the railroad in Amarillo. He has a seven year old daughter, Violet, and is a widower. The heroine of the story is Mina McCoy, a poor Irish girl who speaks throughout the story with an Irish brogue. Let me quote a paragraph from the book: "The stranger wore a lampshade tunic with baggy trousers gathered at the ankle and a matching yellow turban that offered an exotic halo to a mixture of doe-shaped eyes, high cheekbones, and full lips. A woman?" Please, a penniless Irish waif? A telegraph operator penniless Irish waif? A thick Irish brogue spouting, tree climbing, pants and turban wearing penniless Irish waif in Amarillo, Texas in 1916?

I tried to read it, really I did. I even went back after I read the other three and tried to read it again. No luck. It just wasn't going to happen. I can't tell you what happened. I didn't care!

"The Love Letter", Linda Broday, Spring 1889 Texas Panhandle, 4 stars
Amanda Lemmons is a single woman trying to live her life the way she wants to live it. She has a small parcel of land and raises sheep. That is a huge problem when you are smack in the middle of cattle country. Payton McCord had his own cattle ranch until he lost it through a legal trick used by the railroad company to gain the rights to his land. He now works the cattle on the Frying Pan Ranch. He and another ranch hand like to play practical jokes on each other but Payton has no idea that one of Joe's pranks has involved him with Amanda. And she is not finding it funny.

I liked this story very much. The characters were very well portrayed and I understood, and accepted, the motivations for both Amanda and Payton.

"No Time for Love", Phyliss Miranda, Spring 1889 Texas Panhandle, 2 stars
Quinten (Quin) Corbett is the editor of the Amarillo newspaper. He is awaiting the arrival of his new apprectice sent by the newspaper owner in Boston. When Kaira Clairce Renaulde arrives, she is definitely not what Quin had expected. First of all, she definitely is not a man. Second, she is the granddaughter of the owner of the paper. She is also a most proper Boston lady with more Saratoga trunks than he can count, not to mention all the hat boxes.

I didn't like this. Kaira was an irritant for me from the first time she opened her mouth. She was spoiled, frivilous, pampered and self centered. I don't like that type heroine and so this story did not stand a chance with me. I also just plain did not like the story. Kaira was such a proper lady that she only drank TEA while waiting in the saloon for hours while Bat Masterson played cards? Hours? She wanted to interview him and prove that she could get a story. She announced to the entire saloon what his cards were and yet Bat Masterson thought that was O.K.? I think not!

There is a theme running through all four of these stories; Amarillo by morning. I wonder if these four writers are fans of George Strait because that phrase is present in all of the three stories I finished. Another theme is the word "snot". I absolutely HATE that word and to have to read it over and over in these stories was pure torture for me. As is always the case with an anthology, the good stories are much too short and would have made wonderful full novels. The other two, well, I'm sure you get my point. Overall, I would recommend this book only for the Thomas and Broday stories. I was very pleasantly surprised by the Linda Broday offering and glad to read a Jodi Thomas story that at least reminded me of why she has been one of my favorite Western Historical authors in the past. What I don't understand is why the editorial decision was made to present these four stories in the order in which they are presented. It makes no sense. Stories #1, 3, and 4 all take place in 1889. Story #2 takes place in 1916. Why this placement? It was definitely jarring to me as a reader. Each of the four stories carries through, in one way or another, the characters from the other stories. And there are grammatical errors in several stories. That type of mistake is not acceptable from a publishing house as large as Zebra.

Four quick reads for busy folks. I found the short stories to be funny, easy to read, and an opportunity to lean back and enjoy getting away from the pressures of the day. Truly enjoyed them.

A quick read that was hard to put down! Recommended for all romantics.

Jodi Thomas delivers a truly unique wedding twist. Hank is the kind of reluctant hero I like to read about, and Aggie proved to be a very special heroin. Reminiscent of all her novels, Jodi delivers a beautiful "growing into love" story.

DeWanna Pace's story of widower Briar Duncan, his daughter Violet and Mina McCoy tugged at my heartstrings just like her previous book Beckoning Shore.

Linda Broday creates wonderful characters in sheep rancher, Amanda Lemmons and cattle cowboy Payton McCord. Amanda daydreams about true love, but fears to trust any man. Payton McCord doesn't know much about love but soon finds himself infatuated with the woman on the opposite side of the fence. A truly romantic read!

Phyliss Miranda contributes a humorous tale centering on spunky Kaira Renaulde and sexy Quinten Corbett. And man do the sparks fly between these two as the author weaves a wonderful spellbinding story!

I like Jodi Thomas and so I bought this book at the second hand store- good thing too. Only one story was worth it; the other three were not worth it.

Jodi Thomas' story was quite believable while the other three were not. The heroine in Jodi Thomas' story was not mad at anyone while the other three stories the heroine seemed to come off as being angry at the hero even though she just met the guy. I hate stories where there is no evidence for all the anger. There was also no evidence for the couples to fall in love overnight other than physical attraction. Save your money and just buy one of Jodi Thomas' other books.

I love Jodi Thomas' writing, and thus the reason for getting this book, She's an amazing writer and once I start her books, I can't put them down. As for the other stories, it was my first read for the other authors. I liked three out of the four stories in this book. Make sure to pick up the next one, Give Me A Cowboy.

Her books are violent, sex, cursing. they do not belong in Christian catagories for books. Who do we report it to?
We bought several from this catarory thinking they were Christian in content, they are not!!!

Historical Westerns are usually my favorite romances. Give Me A Texan, however, was disappointing. Jodi Thomas' addition was the best of the four stories, yet it was only so so. I know that writing a short story can be difficult, but I have read many others that far outshine these four.

The 1st story by Jodi Thomas, "Amarillo By Morning" was okay. Not the best of her work, but not the worst either. However, it was too short...but then this is an anthology.

The other stories weren't worth the time it took to read them at all. The story by DeWanna Pace, "A Shade of Sunrise" didn't make sense half the time. The dialogue was just strange (and I don't mean the Irish accent - that was actually cute). I don't think the author cared what she wrote or whether it made sense or not - it definitely showed in her writing.

Also, there were obviously key words each author were required to put in her story. The phrase "Amarillo by morning"; referring to the woman's bosom as her "uh...attributes"; using the words odoriferous & snot; along with referring to how one of the characters looked in the sunset. So if you're reading the stories keep an eye out for these, it may help keep you from falling asleep while reading the book.

Now for my complaint about the publisher who put this book together:
The stories, in my opinion, should have been read in this order: "No Time for Love", "The Love Letter", "Amarillo By Morning" and "A Shade of Sunrise". But really I'd recommend not reading it at all.