A Rogue in Texas [Mass Market Paperback]

Lorraine Heath (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 6, 1999

A duke′s son, Grayson Rhodes was a maverick who had left London′s suffocating upper class world to earn his own fortune. So he seized the chance to work Abbie Westland′s land... and from the moment he first saw Abbie, he was determined to use his arms to work the farm by day and to soothe her through the nights in his strong embrace. Abbie, with her fiery determination, was different from the fragile beauties he′d known at home. In her Grayson found an honest passion he′d never experienced before. But could their growing love survive the surprising reminder of her past that comes to haunt them?

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Setting: Texas, 1865
Sensuality: 7

The bastard son of an English duke, Grayson Rhodes agrees to travel to America with a group of young rakes and rogues to make his fortune. Although he's surprised to learn that their leader's get-rich scheme involves hiring them out as Texas cotton field workers to replace men lost in the Civil War, Grayson is determined to succeed. Assigned to widow Abbie Westland's homestead, it isn't long before Grayson is as attracted to her strength and beauty as he is to the Texas landscape. The hard manual labor makes Grayson stronger but he soon loses his heart to the widow and her lovable children. However, Abbie's past haunts her and threatens the hope of a happy future with Grayson.

A Rogue in Texas is rich in memorable characters, with a hero who is strong enough to survive and thrive in a new world and a heroine who finds in her man a depth of love she was unaware existed. The Texas landscape and 1860s farm life come alive in vibrant colors. Just when you think the ending is a foregone conclusion, Heath surprises you with a new twist in the plot, making this a historical treat on many levels. --Lois Faye Dyer

Review

Her powerfully moving love stories will touch your heart and soul. . .romance at its best. -- -- Jill Barnett

"Her powerfully moving love stories will touch your heart and soul. . .romance at its best." -- Jill Barnett

"It's characters that make a romance meaningful, and Ms. Heath has created some gems." -- Romantic Times

"She writes from the heart and is shows!" -- -- The Literary Times

She writes from the heart and is shows! -- The Literary Times

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Avon (April 6, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0380803291
• ISBN-13: 978-0380803293
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #225,108 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Lorraine Heath always dreamed of being a writer. After graduating from the University of Texas, she wrote training manuals, press releases for a publicist, articles, and computer code, but something was always missing. In 1990, she read a romance novel and became not only hooked on the genre, but quickly realized what her writing lacked: rebels, scoundrels, and rogues. She's been writing about them ever since, for both adult and young adult readers (as Rachel Hawthorne). Her work has been recognized with numerous industry awards including RWA's RITA(R), a HOLT medallion, a Romantic Times Career Achievement Award, three Romantic Times Reviewer's Choice Awards, and several Texas Gold Awards. Her novels have appeared on bestseller lists, including USA Today, Waldenbooks, and most recently, the New York Times.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Another Time, Another Place...?, August 22, 2005

By 

Jacelya Jones "Quantum Being" (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Rogue in Texas (Mass Market Paperback)

* Spoiler Alert* The central characters, Abbie Westland (`Abbie') and son of the duke, Grayson Rhodes (`Gray') want different things: Abbie wants to be self-sufficient and to be able to take care of her kids. Gray wants to be able to hold his head up, to earn respect and love. Abbie needs help to keep her cotton farm going, and Gray needs to escape England, the stigma of being labeled a "bastard" and end his life of debauchery. So, Abbie pays a man 300 dollars to hire workers from England to work her land, and furnishes the means of Gray's unwitting escape.

Abbie and Gray find themselves feeling things for each other that they would never have expected. The fulfill each other in ways they could not have imagined. And just when they think they have the love of their dreams within their grasp, their hopes are cruelly deflated by the unexpected. The question is, have they come so close to happiness for nothing?

And this brings us to the part that made me give A ROGUE IN TEXAS a rather low rating. .... Somehow, Abbie turns around and gives us the most unbelievable version of THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY (Clint Eastwood & Meryl Streep or Robert James Waller)--wife giving up true love, because she's been committed by vows--that I've ever had the displeasure of reading.

Author, Lorraine Heath, writes the following about Abbie's husband, John Westland (who is presumed dead): "The farm had always come first with John.... He had fed her body, but never her heart [though he certainly had `nudged up' her nightgown and rolled over on her, expressing his present `need'], never her soul...." (A ROGUE IN TEXAS). According to Abbie, it was her husband's behavior that had made her fear men's touch--he was never satisfied with her, he never expressing gratitude for her work, and he took from her sexually, as if her body were a vessel, as if it were owed to him. The man didn't even recognize her when he got back from the war--he was the one who had become gaunt and been changed so drastically--and when he did, the first thing he talked about was their farm. Oh, and the next words out of his mouth were: "See about getting supper on the table, woman." And yet, Heath expects us to believe that Abbie would turn around and welcome the man in any way other than `dutifully'?

Abbie is glad he is back--??--on what planet and for what reason? She certainly doesn't need him to put food in her belly anymore. By Abbie's own admission, Gray--a stranger-had given her beloved children "more attention than their own father ever had." Abbie's supposed to be a woman of simple desires, not a simpleton. However, I can find no other excuse for such a poorly-explained and inconsistent change-of-heart on Abbie's behalf. Or maybe, I just have to accept that this story takes place in another time, and women back then would have been DE-lighted to have a man like John back. Maybe, but I don't think so.

John's resurrection was a twist in the story that I could see coming, and yet hoped wouldn't. It kind of reminds me of the movie SOMMERSBY (with Richard Gere and Jodi Foster), but that was just so much more believable and developed: the entire movie was spent with the husband who hadn't been so lovable trying his darndest to make his wife be with him for more than duty--for love. In A ROGUE IN TEXAS, all this estranged husband had to do was take his estranged son fishing, and he was golden: "You were a good husband, John Westland, a good man." Abbie tearfully claims to LOVE the man who thought her name was `woman'--"not as powerful a love as [he] probably deserved, but love all the same." Search me.

And finding closure with the story--one of the most difficult thing for many, many writers to do--was a little clumsy and corny. Often an otherwise good story is ruined by an ending that doesn't match. Usually, I've found that it's too light-hearted for the rest of the book and its characters. Or it happens too quickly and is abrupt. But then, it is hard to wrap up a story and give readers the happy ending they're usually looking for....

The other cast of characters--Harry, Kit, Jessye, etc., were either in the book to much or too little: I say, either give them a story and develop them, so I care about what they're saying and want to know what happens to them, or keep them out, so they don't irritate me and slow the story down.

Overall, A ROGUE IN TEXAS was pretty okay. Heath obviously has talent. It had some great, sentimental lines and was based on a good idea. The character of Gray was a little too forgiving and the character of Abbie was a little too devoted to John; I could understand her choosing to stay with him, but falling in-love too? Farfetched, if you ask me. 3 ¼ stars.

Willing To Give It Another Go With Lorraine Heath.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tender and moving Texas historical, July 10, 2003

By 

"readinganddreaming" (Green Country, Oklahoma) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Rogue in Texas (Mass Market Paperback)

In Lorraine Heath, I have discovered a new author of gentle romances. A Rogue in Texas is a very tender story with very real characters and morals! The setting is historical Texas, after the Civil War, on a cotton farm. This is a time of endurance for widows (due to the war) with really hard work and families to raise and support. A group of women have hired some Englishmen to help them harvest their cotton. These men are, more correctly, English rogues whose fathers believed they needed a lesson in life and have been lured to America for great moneymaking opportunities. Never did these rogues imagine that those opportunities would have them picking cotton!

Grayson Rhodes is the very cool bastard son of an English nobleman. Grayson perceives that he has never received love in any form. His dissolute ways and numerous affairs with married women have earned him a reputation as a rogue. His ways have also convinced himself that he is of little value. He is, however, a man with very good friends and possesses a tender heart and a great sense of humor. Never, do we see Grayson as anything less than a wonderful hero. Upon reaching the cotton fields of Texas, Grayson is assigned to work with a widow, Abbie, who has three children.

Abbie Westland married, at sixteen, a man who needed a partner for his farm - certainly not a woman to love. She has never known love from a man and her children range in age from six to eight. Her husband died in the Civil War two years previously and she has worked non-stop in attempting to earn a living growing cotton with no help other than her children and neighbors. She is rather cynical at the beginning of the story. She doesn't see herself as the beautiful woman she is. She is extremely moved when this disreputable but very handsome man from England, who lives in her barn, begins giving her children very special attention. Grayson is touched by the Westland children and reaches out to them naturally. He definitely has a special way with children and this strongly draws Abbie to him. The children's own father never gave them any time or consideration. And we, as women, know that if a man sincerely cares for our children, he holds a place of great respect in our hearts.

Grayson is drawn to Abbie but does not plan to stay past the cotton-picking season. As she treats him with kindness and respect, Grayson begins to believe he may be worthy of a woman's love. Their gentle romance is very stirring. His humor, laced with his sincerity is an irresistible combination. Abbie's discovery of a man's love combined with her inhibitions concerning her sexuality draw a picture of precious vulnerability. The sensual scenes are few and rate about a 3.0 out of 5.0 (see More About Me for rating guidelines). They add tenderness and depth to the story but are just a very small part of this love relationship.

The children significantly enhance this story line. Heath has great talent in creating memorable characters. You will like both Grayson and Abbie. Then comes a plot twist - but not one you have probably read before. Since this is romance writing, I figured it would be all right in the end. However, along the way to that ending were some of the most poignant scenes I have read. I heartily recommend A Rogue in Texas. It is the first in a series followed by Never Love a Cowboy and Never Marry a Cowboy. Those two sequels portray the story of two of Grayson's English friends who accompanied him on his moneymaking trip to Texas. I have already purchased those books and am really looking forward to each adventure.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great romance,poignant and moving, March 24, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: A Rogue in Texas (Mass Market Paperback)

In 1865, a cunning American entices several English aristocrats to come to America where he informs them that fortune awaits them. Among the group is Grayson, the bastard son of a Duke, who raised him in his home, but left the lad feeling worthless. When they arrive in Fortune, Texas, they learn that they are to work in the cotton fields owned by women, whose males, for the most part, died in the war. Widow Abigail Westland, mother of three (Lydia, Johnny, and Micah), thinks these nobles are worthless, which leaves Grayson irate and wanting to prove her wrong. She draws him as her worker.

Grayson immediately shows his value when he suggests to Johnny that, as the man of the house, he sit in his deceased father's chair at the dinner table. A proud Johnny does this and Abigail begins reassessing Grayson. In turn, Grayson is overwhelmed by Abigail's zeal to survive. When his companions (Kit and Harry) suggest they immediately leave, he says no. He also observed Johnny's pride and it has touched his heart; he wants to feel the same pride. Grayson and Abigail begin to fall in love. However, can a lasting relationship be forged between an upper class English snob and a single American mom whose pride is in the dirt?

A ROGUE IN TEXAS is a warm blending of Victorian England and Post Civil War Texas. The story line is tender and poignant as the horrors of the Civil War are brought home via the families left behind to toil the soil. Grayson and Abigail make a beautiful couple, but their pasts seem like major deterrents to any future. Lorraine Heath writes a heart- wrenching historical romance that will receive much reader acclaim.

Harriet Klausner