Roan (Louisiana Gentlemen) [Mass Market Paperback]

Jennifer Blake (Author)

Book Description

Series: Louisiana Gentlemen | Publication Date: July 1, 2000

Trish Molina-Vandergraff is caught in the middle of a deadly game of greed. But now she finally feels safe -- with Roan Benedict, the sheriff determined to get to the bottom of Trish's mysterious situation. Roan doesn't quite buy Trish's story of amnesia...but after an attempt on her life, he decides only he can keep her safe. How can he trust a woman who has lied from the beginning? More importantly, can he stop loving her?

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The third installment in Blake's lighthearted Louisiana Gentleman series (after Kane and Luke) introduces small-town Sheriff Roan Benedict. The sheriff is chasing down a speeding van whose occupants have robbed the local grocery store when one of the van's occupants leaps out and rolls down a hill. Roan shoots and hits the person in the shoulder; an old-fashioned Southern gentleman, he is distressed to find that he's shot a woman, so he tenderly administers first aid while waiting for the ambulance. Tory insists that she was kidnapped and doesn't know the names of the two men with her, but Roan is skeptical. After the two men try to get into the hospital where she is staying, Roan takes Tory to his house to continue her recuperation. Slowly, her story unfolds: she's trying to outrun her ex-fianc and her stepfather, both of whom want access to her fortune. Roan, while fighting his attraction to Tory, still isn't convinced she's being truthful, though he starts to believe her when the nasty former boyfriend shows up. Blake, author of more than 38 romances and historicals, knows that playful dialogue and sexy teasing will keep readers turning the pages despite lightweight emotional content. (July)

Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Review

"Treachery, blackmail, and greed lace a plot that is made all the more intriguing by Blake's trademark overlay of sultry, deep-South charm".

-- Library Journal on Kane

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 379 pages
• Publisher: Mira (July 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1551666308
• ISBN-13: 978-1551666303
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #738,109 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jennifer Blake has been called "the steel magnolia of women's fiction" for her enduring career as an author. She has also been lauded as a "pioneer of the romance genre" and an "icon of the romance industry." A New York Times and international best selling author from the publication of "Love's Wild Desire" in 1977, she is a charter member of Romance Writers of America, member of the RWA and Affaire de Coeur Halls of Fame, and recipient of the RWA Lifetime Achievement Rita. She holds numerous other honors, including two Maggies, two Holt Medallions, multiple Reviewer's Choice awards, the Career Achievement Award from Romantic Times BookReviews Magazine, and the Frank Waters Award for literary excellence. She has written 65 books with translations in 20 languages and more than 30 million copies in print. Jennifer and her husband live on a lake in northern Louisiana.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Roan, June 28, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Roan (Louisiana Gentlemen) (Mass Market Paperback)

Jennifer Blake has always written wonderful romance stories, and her Benedict series is some of her best contemporary romance. The entire Benedict family is delightful to read about, especially the ever sexy, but mannerly men, Kane, Luke and now Roan. The stories and plot lines never let you down. Even when the reader feels the match will never make, Blake pulls the hero and heroine together with steamy romance and love. Please keep going on this wonderful family....can't get enough of the Benedicts!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Roan, October 26, 2000

By 

Barbara (Lake Charles, Louisiana) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Roan (Louisiana Gentlemen) (Mass Market Paperback)

WOW, this is a wonderful book. It kept me turning pages well into the night. I couldn't wait to see how it ended, yet hated when it did. These two characters will have you coming back for more from this author. (I read this one first then realized that there were two before this one. I AM DEFINETELY GETTING KANE AND LUKE TO READ NEXT.)

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A nice try- but Not. Quite. Good. Enough., October 2, 2000

By 

Tamsin Green - See all my reviews

This review is from: Roan (Louisiana Gentlemen) (Mass Market Paperback)

While he is chasing down a van carrying three robbery suspects, Roan Benedict fires on a woman who rolls out of the open door back door of the van, wounding her seriously. Half out of guilt and half out of interest for her safety, Roan ends up removing the woman, whom he has dubbed Donna Doe, from the Turn-Coupe hospital and taking her to his southern mansion, Dog Trot, where he places her under house arrest. Meanwhile, his captive, socialite beauty Victoria, is constantly planning escape from the sprawling house. The two quickly find that they share more than just a casual interest- until Victoria is forced to answer for the lies she has spun and the words she has failed to say.

Victoria was a well written character, but nothing spectacular: she has a number of insecurities which mesh nicely with her strengths, but she tends to be obsessive and put too much emphasis on remaining aloof. I also felt that the way she held herself out of the initial stages of their courtship was annoying, to say the least. She seemed slightly- well, calculating, I guess.

Roan was also portrayed with sympathy, but I felt more like I was reading about a hasty sketch of a man than about a flesh and blood person. This seems to be a frequent problem with Blake's characters: they tend to lack thought processeses that run below what is conveyed in the book, and thus lack that elusive third dimension of realism. Still, Blake captured the beauties of Deep South life, as well as a few of it's trials. And if her descriptions of bayous (hardly suitable for romance at any time of year- especially during the summer) and the creatures therein lacks the careful, detailed power of confidence- confidence gained from experience or research, per-se- well, no one is perfect.

On the whole, Roan is a wonderful bit of mind candy, above most Amanda Quick novels, almost on par with Julie Garwood, and lacking the subtle character shadings of Lowell. She does, however, have a distinctive style.

And I love the recipes.