Customer Reviews

Heart Of Stone (Harlequin Special Edition)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

I am reluctant to give this book one star, but i feel as a die hard reader of Diana Palmer, i must. As a stand alone book, perhaps....perhaps it deserves two, but when taking into account the latest stream of carbon copy stories Ms Palmer has delivered I feel I have to give it a singular, lonely star.
I dont even know where to begin except to say that if you have read any of her books in the last few years...then you have read this one. Only perhaps before the story was a lot more interesting, and thats not saying much if you look at the reviews for "Winter Roses". On top of being formulaic, and contrived, the love story itself was boring.
Her last book "Fearless", I thought was a step in the right direction. A heroine with brains and a little personality. A story line that had a little bite, and a little sizzle, but this book....lacks even that.
>>>Heres the part were i would say warning...spoilers, but if you have read anything by her in recent years, then you have read this book! so theres nothing to SPOIL!!!!<<<
Ok so heres the rundown, and you decide for yourself if its familiar

Plain faced, emotionaly scarred, AND disfigured, green eyed, blond virgin who has loved the "hero" since for-eva, and yet scared of her own shadow..sound familiar?? it should, shes a recycled character from Fearless, Carrerras bride, Heartbreaker, Lawman,especially and Iron Cowboy. I mean really....are they all sisters are they clones...can we get a redhead or a brunette in here somewhere?
ok,., now to mix add Dark, rich, brooding, rude, hairy, alpha male, who never has anything nice to say to the heroine...yet were supposed to believe he desires her? that he holds her in high esteem when he berates her and demeans her? What the french toast????
Now stir in boring and stupid anticillary characters, a weak story line, and a frustrated reader ( thats me!) and you get the longest three hours of my life.
The heroine has an abusive mother, a cracked out father, no friends except the heros sister, and has been mauled by a mountain lion.
( yeah thats right..Pete Puma, one lump or two)
Shes, meek, a self admitted wimp, and coward...I mean really, what kind of man would be attracted to the kind of woman who cant even stand up for herself.?
Do all of her female characters have to be so....damaged, so fearful of men and of the world itself. I mean I get that Ms Palmer is not the biggest fan of the independant woman, but I just want to shake her and say "You can be smart, and beautiful, and work really hard..and still want a good man to love and cherish you"

There was nothing about this woman that I as a reader, or as a human found attractive. She likes animals....great. she slaves away for her alcholic mom and her nitwit friend...whopee? But who is she? Shes a 19 year old girl, with no life experience and who is to afraid of her own mother and would be boyfriend to even find her way into womanhood.

Just to be cute....I asked my boyfriend to read some of the book this morning, just to get a gage on what his reaction to the character would be. Do you know what he said after he made me promise to never make him read another romance novel again?....he said "Why would any man want to be with a woman who is so pitiful?" He told me in one word that he thought the character was, from what he read...pathetic. ----this from a man who thinks that watching Monday night football should be an olympic event!
Ill go a step further and ask, why would anyone want to be with either to them?

And...,while we're on the topic of men..Why are all the men so out of touch with their own emotions that they cant even manage a kind word until the heroine ends up in the hospital (As they almost always do, due to car crashes, miscarriages, and in this case a snake bite)

With all the time Ms palmer spends on adding characteristics to her characters she could have spent more time adding personality. I never saw, or understood what the connection was between the two main characters....they didnt communicate that much, or really, seem like they were that into each other. More attention was paid to the hero's "Va-jay-jay" whipped brother and his skank-muffin waitress girl friend whose milkshakes apparently brought all the boys to the yard...if you get my drift, and the heroines drunk for no reason mother, than the actual personalities of the characters. I feel like when I opened the book, i joined a show already in progress and I never understood what the heck I missed.
And after all this, you might ask...why does she do it to herself....why does she bother,
Answer: I remember the good old times, Once in paris, Desperado, After Midnight, Lord of the Desert, Lacy, Trilby...aka Diana Palmer at her best, when the characters had character and were interesting. not shallow carbon copies of stories past told.
I'm hoping she'll find whats shes clearly lost....her imagination.

Boone is jerk who hates his sister's best friend, Keely (in the same way that Stuart hated Ivy, and JB hated Tellie, and so forth). Keely is plain, blond, and has light eyes (I think, but she doesn't wear glasses), and a medical condition/secret scars. However,the heroine of this DP book has a real job! And parents (dysfunctional, but not dead)! And we finally find out who sold the Congressman who was beaten by Calhoun Ballenger in the election's daughter <Julie?> the drugs that killed the sheriff's brother. Or was it Ivy's (from Winter Roses) sister who did that? It doesn't matter, because recently DP hasn't cared about continuity either!
More drug dealers in Jacobsville, land of the ever-shifting geographical location. Evil-doers doing evil, no shades of grey, unless it is convenient to the "plot". The Pendletons from Fearless aren't blood siblings (I smell a new book storyline!)and a whole bunch of other stuff that gets in the way of what should have been the "romance" in this romance novel. The hero and heroine interact more with other people than with each other! But, again, it is significantly better than many of Diana Palmer's recent efforts. Of course, that isn't truly saying much.
*I ordered the book from eHarlequin, because I am a glutton for the trainwreck nature of DP writings.

This is my last Diana Palmer book. I am tired of the same old story line that she has done again and again. Always the brooding older man and the much younger girl who has loved him forever. Can't she come up with something different? Just change the names of the main characters and it could any of her many Long Tall Texan books. Enough is enough.

Do not bother to read this book. It is exactly like her other books. They are all with the same characters, the men; rought looking, emotionally cold and women haters and the women; timid, midly attractive, scarred with a crush on their best friend's brother. They all have the same personalities with the same ending. Can't she write something different. I have been reading her books for years hoping one will be different, I give up. Do not waste your money.

If there was a way to give it negative stars I would have. Just like what the previous reader said, why do we keep buying Diana Palmer's books? It is because her stories used to be so heartwrenching and funny, the heroines have spunk and the heroes portrayed are not some macho, self-centered person. If anyone has noticed, Ms. Palmer's last two books portrayed the women as barely 20. What has happened? To make the "virgin" persona more realistic? I think her stories lately have been more unrealistic. A woman can still be virtuous without having to be poor or plain---that was the reason I love the character from her previous book---Tippy Moore (Cash Grier).
I just hope that Ms. Palmer is not giving in to her editor's pressure to produce stories for her fans, because it just makes those of us who love her story-telling disappointed,but most of all CHEATED.

First of all, as I have said in other reviews of Palmer books, I have all of Palmer's books and love the older titles. However, it seems that there is one master story on Palmer's computer and when it's time for her to submit something she goes and changes the names of the characters. If you like the same story with a young virginal, scarred or sick heroine who has a "case" on her best friend's older brother because he is a "dish" and you love Palmer's endless referrals to breeding programs, Science Fiction or ancient ruins, then don't hesitate to buy. I am sure that all of us will rush out and get the next release which will probably be another carbon copy, but Palmer fans can't seem to help it.

Please read all the reviews written before me....they are alsolutely accurate. In fact, the only comment I would add is "MIND NUMBINGLY BORING!!!"

After her latest disappointing books, I told myself that I would not buy another Diana Palmer book again. However, after re-reading a few of her older works, I developed the Diana Palmer itch again. Thus, when I knew that Heart of Stone was releasing, I jumped the gun and ordered in on eHarlequin instead of waiting for the in-store release.
"Heart of Stone" is nowhere near as good as her older works (die-hard fans of DP should know what I'm talking about!), but it is a vast improvement from her other recent releases. There were times during the reading of "HOS" that I found myself rolling my eyes or gaping with disbelief at the strange flow of the story. One minute, the hero is hating, er, abusing the heroine, and in a blink of an eye he is declaring undying love and showing extreme tenderness. I was like, "WHAT?! Where did that come from?"
One thing about DP books tho- No matter how bad and unbelievable they are, you can't stop reading until you finish the book. The flow of the story is not very smooth (in my opinion), but Mrs. Palmer definitely knows how to keep the reader engrossed. A worthwhile read I think, but I don't know if it's a keeper...

DP books are really begining to creep me out. Keely, she is such a victim. I do not like her because of her lack of spirit and her willingness to be a doormat for everyone. I understand she had horrible parents but the odds of her turning out so good and angelic are slim to none. I understand due to her unresolved family relationships that she is drawn to an emotionally abusive man. He treats her horrible and he is willing to believe anything that is said about her. Why are the heroine in DP books getting younger? She is 19 and he is 35. Why would he verbally mistreats a child and then in the next breath madly in love with her. He needs therapy. What is wrong with him that he cannot deal with a mature woman? The age difference is huge and I was disgusted. I was a huge fan of DP earlier works but this will be my last book. Here are her books young, plain, virginal who is damaged in love with a much older man who is emotionally unavailable and verbal abusive. The only thing that changes are the names of the characters. Save your money do not buy any of her books new.

Diana Palmer is known for her stories about rough, arrogant men that meet their downfall at a woman's hands. My favorite part of her books is when the women have had enough and leave these arrogant cowboys, just to have the men come chasing after them, begging for a third or fouth chance. This one wasn't quite to that extreme but nontheless entertaining. You'll fall in love with these hardened cowboys, and the equally tortured women who soften them up.