Customer Reviews

Taming the Texan (Harlequin Historical)

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

 

 

If you don't want to know the pluses or drawbacks to a story do not read reviews. Read the book and form your own opinion first then write your own review. With that said--RT rated this story with 3 stars out of 4 ½. Typical so-so rating most Harlequin Historicals fluff stories deserve, which isn't saying a lot. That means Harlequin authors need to step it up or Harlequin needs to replace their editors. I found the writing nor the story to be exceptional. The characters all felt like cardboard cutouts. The mystery was not terribly well thought out or surprising. In the 1880s a respectable woman would've worn a corset. There was no explanation as to why Tess didn't. Maybe the author didn't want to take the time to understand how they actually worked. The title is so cliches. I can't tell you how many TAMING the somebody's are out there. Sounds like someone needs to take a whip to someone, or chain and cage them. Clint and Tess reminded me of every other Harlequin hero and heroine. Honestly, I didn't think much of him. I didn't find the story to be lighthearted as the RT reviewer said, either. Just another head-shaking eye-roller with corny, unrealistic love scenes best skipped over. But hey, if you like these kind of stories, by all means, go for it. I believe I'll go clean the dust bunnies out from beneath my couch.

Sands had all the necessary requirements Halequin usually has for its books, which is one of the reasons I don't read a lot of Harlequin novels: hero, heroine, sexual tension, barely passable plot. The story seems a bit contrived and the "mystery" to be solved, so to speak, on the ranch was a disappointment when finally revealed. The whole reasoning behind the "plot to sabotage the ranch" made me purse my lips and say, "Oh, come on!" Personally, I thought the 'hero' was an ass and I questioned the heroine's interest in a man who degraded her so much and yet she still kept going back for more. Sands is a better writer than this, so the poor quality of the tale could have more to do with her editor than her.

Charlene Sands sure knows how to create sexy and dynamic male heros. Clint Hayworth is an alpha male--the type of man women hate to love and his appealing character drives the story, keeping your interest for all 288 pages! The heroine, Tess Hayworth--his father's young widow--has a deep sense of compassion that shows through in all her efforts to help the town's women. Though different, the two make an incredibly compelling pair. I enjoyed this book from start to finish.