Customer Reviews

Leather and Lace (Texas Legacy, Book 1)

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Gritty and real; tender and enveloping all at the same time. Casey O'Hare is a heroine that you will be thinking about for a long time. Through no fault of her own, Casey is led into an outlaw's life. She lives through abuse and deception. You don't see what keeps her from giving up. The plot twists several times and won't let you put the book down.

This book is about running. Running from life's injustices, from fear, from God - and from yourself. Although the book is a gallop through the frontier, I identified with Casey on so many levels. You won't realize until you're finished reading that Casey, Morgan, Sarah and even the foul Jenkins have taken up residence in your mind. They each have a story to tell and Mills relays it perfectly.

From the moment Casey O'Hare finds herself staring into the barrel of a Winchester .44 to the exciting conclusion, the reader is on an adventure along with Casey and Morgan. The characters are well-drawn to the point the reader feels as if he/she is actually with Casey. You will also feel Morgan's pain as he makes decisions that can save Casey, or send her to her death. There's never a dull moment as these two search for freedom and find love. Prepare for a wonderful ride through the old West with unforgettable characters.

In 1884, Casey O'Hare is tired of her life as an outlaw and decides to leave the gang. However, though she tries to start over in a remote mountain of Utah, her past will not leave her alone to start over. First someone is blaming her for a crime wave with wanted posters containing a reward all over the west. Additionally her former gang leader Davis Jenkins accompanied by her brother Tim also a member, chase after her as no one rides out on them and lives to tell it especially his woman.

However, instead of Jenkins abducting her, Morgan Andrews captures Casey in an isolated campsite. He insists he will keep her safe, but she believes he, like all men, is using her. She is not sure why at first, but soon realizes she is an expendable pawn for Morgan to get to Davis Jenkins. Though attracted to her warden, Casey plans to escape from him just as she has from the law and from the Jenkins brood. Morgan is reconsidering his values as he has fallen in love with his guest (prisoner if you ask Casey) and would die before allowing her to be harmed yet needs her as the bait to capture Jenkins.

The first Texas Legacy western romance is a terrific tale starring a delightful lead couple, a nasty villain, and a sibling pulled in two directions by his love for his sister and his loyalty (and fear) of his leader. The story line is action-packed as readers expect a High Noon showdown and get this and much more. Sub-genre fans will want to read this strong late nineteenth century romance.

Harriet Klausner

In LEATHER AND LACE, the first in the Texas Legacy Series you follow Casey O'Hare, an unlikely heroine as she tries to put her outlaw days behind her. Unbeknownst to her, she is being followed by Morgan Andrews, a man bent on using her to flush out Jenkins, the notorious outlaw she's been riding with. Morgan's intentions change when he realizes Casey isn't the harden criminal the wanted posters have made her out to be. Now, he has to find a way to keep her from the law and Jenkin's long enough to prove her innocence.

The fast pace of LEATHER AND LACE keeps you reading chapter after chapter. I loved the characters DiAnn Mills created in Morgan and Casey. Her secondary characters were colored with charm and personality as well. A quick read, because you don't want to put it down. Enjoy! I am off to read LANTERNS AND LACE, the second book in the series.

Casey O'Hare is running for her life. What starts out as a quick getaway from an outlaw band and the man who thinks he owns her, ends up with a mysterious stranger, looking down the barrel of his gun. Casey can't decide whether to shoot the handsome lawyer, Morgan Andrews, or trust him.

Author DiAnn Mills takes the reader on a wild historical western ride with Casey and Morgan and the bloodthirsty Jenkins gang. Casey wonders if running away is worth the risk. Can she start her life anew? Or is her desire to do so putting everyone else in danger? Or worse, is Morgan friend or foe--is he setting her up for the kill?

I found the characters in this story entertaining and engaging and enjoyed this trek into the old west--the time of horses and wagons and small towns and outlaws. Ms. Mills does a memorable job of weaving this historical tale.

DiAnn Mills lives up to her slogan, "Expect an Adventure" with her first in the Texas Legacy Series in Leather and Lace. From the very first page when outlaw Casey O'Hare decides to stop running from the law, until the surprise in the last chapter, her story will keep you turning pages way into the night. Casey exemplifies the term leather and lace in her struggle to become a respected member of society, but her rough and rowdy past haunts her. With a bounty on her head from riding with the notorious Jenkins gang, she crosses paths with Morgan Andrews, who has his own score to settle with Jenkins, intending to use Casey as his pawn. Romance is soon intertwined in this fast paced adventure with twists and turns that makes this a delightful read. Strengthened by a recommittment of faith and forgiveness, along with the support of great secondary characters, Casey and Morgan strive to rectify the wrongs and put the past behind them. The characters are believeable and faith is told in true life fashion. It's a great tale of the Old West, trust and God's grace. This story will take you on the ride of your life.
Brenda a.k.a Maggie Brendan

Not since reading Francine Rivers' _Redeeming Love_ have I been so impressed with the wordplay of an author while being unable to put the book down. Mills' writing style flows beautifully off the page--almost Louis L'Amour with a splash of Janette Oke. Her convincing characters pull the reader along with breathless frustration as unavoidable circumstances keep Casey's and Morgan's lives and relationship in danger. I had read a number of Mills' novellas and enjoyed them, but it took reading this book to help me understand what a powerful writer she truly is. Make sure you don't have big plans to interfere with completing this book when you sit down to read it--you'll either cancel or resent the interruption. This book is wonderful!

Casey is a young woman whose face is on the wanted posters and she is running, from the law but mostly from the leader of the gang she was with for 7 years. She meets up with Morgan, a man who is looking for the gang leader he hates with a passion.

This book explains how early life, fear, anger and hate can form a life forever until one gives it all up to God. Love has a hard time forming when distrust is so large.

A few times I wanted to strangle Casey, and a few times I wanted to smack Morgan up side the head. Both are so very stubborn and both are so much in love, but can they ever breech the gulf between them?

I look forward to a sequel.

This was the first novel I ever read by DiAnn Mills, and I think it was her best. The story is exciting, the characters make you love them and hate them, and the adventure is thrilling. Gotta get it!

DiAnn Mills' "Leather and Lace" is an enjoyable western adventure. Casey is being chased by a notorious outlaw! After seven years with the Jenkins gang, she's managed to escape. But now she's been captured by Morgan Andrews who has his own agenda. His vendetta against Jenkins has found an opportunity with Casey - to use her as bait to lure Jenkins into the open. But a couple of bullets change the course of their lives, leaving Morgan to heal and Casey on the run. How can they ever make peace with God and nurture the love they think they've found in each other?



This first effort in the Texas Legacy Series is full of action and suspense. There were a couple of moments when the dialog took a sudden turn that I didn't quite understand, but otherwise, the story was top-notch! However, the romance leaves much to be desired. Morgan Andrews is not my vision of a hero. I found this character's inconsistent behavior annoying. In fact, I had to put the book down when I was only two-thirds of the way through because I'd had enough of him. I'm glad that I read and enjoyed the second book in the series, first. Perhaps I'll try to read the third. I'm not quite sure.