Customer Reviews

True Colors

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

 

 

I knew this book would be good because it was written by Diana Palmer(okay, maybe I'm being a bit biased)Yet I didn't expect to not be able to put down the book and that my heart was pounding with each turn of the page.
"True Colors" is filled with a lot of emotion. You read as Meredith Ashe grows from a naive girl to a strong women. Unfortunatley her strength is geared towards revenge on Cy Harden, the father of her child. She plans to punish him for the past by taking over his company.
Cy, who had no idea he had fathered a child, too late realizes how he had been manipulated by his mother into thinking that Meredith had betrayed him. And seeing her after all these years, Cy still has a need for her, but is it just a physical need or a need born of love?
Yet when everyones true color is out in the open would it be enough to save the love between Cy and Meredith?
You won't want to put down this book till the very end, even then, you'll want to go back to read it again. I hope you get a copy of this and enjoy.

If I hadn't read the terrible reviews here first, I might have given this a 4 star on face value. But because I was prepared for a relatively poor book, and was so pleasantly surprised, I'm giving this one an extra point. I admit upfront that I am a HUGE Diana Palmer fan. I am attracted to, rather than offended by, her alpha males who make many mistakes on their way to happiness with an ultra-patient heroine. Her books are fantasy - they don't make real men like her heroes, so I have more sense than to expect them to act like the men I meet everyday. As much as Cy is an extreme alpha stereotype, so Meredith is smarter, tougher and more forgiving than the average romance heroine. If you want realistic people in your romance novels, there are plenty out there, but those bore me beyond words. Palmer's stories, and this one is among the best, entertain because they are so different from anything I have ever, or will ever, experience. As formulaic as they are, the formula works for many of us, and that's what keeps us reading her. True Colors is a great Palmer tale, as long as you aren't trying to make it into a Nora Roberts book.

Six years ago, pregnant teenager Meredith Ashe is run out of Billings, Montana by Myrna, the mother of her lover Cy Harden. Myrna paid Tony Tanksley to rob her family safe and accuse his lover Meredith as his accomplice. Cy believed his mother and Tony over his girlfriend. Meredith refused to take any money from the Hardens and returned Cy's gifts to Myrna.

Multi-millionaire businessman Henry Tennison meets a distraught Meredith wandering Chicago and takes her under his wings. The lonely older man eventually marries Meredith and raises her son Blake as his own. He taught her how to wisely invest, but not too long ago Henry died.

Needing mineral rights that Cy `s firm owns and to sell her recently deceased aunt's home, Meredith returns to Billings. The attraction between her and Cy remains heated and guilt racked Myrna knows she did wrong. However, Meredith is not a frightened teen, but is a confident woman who informs Myrna her price to leave town is the truth. As she works a hostile takeover, her brother-in-law Don spins a double cross and Cy realizes something is not right between the two women he loves. All comes to a head when Myrna faints upon seeing Blake.

Though having a Falcon Crest and Dallas feel to the plot, fans will appreciate this fine boardroom romance as the lead couple remains in love yet neither trust the other because Cy chose his mother's "truth" over his beloved's contention. Though Don seems foolish in his power grab to eliminate his highly regarded by the board sister-in-law that could cost his company millions, fans of second chance at love soap opera romances will enjoy this fine tale of revenge.

Harriet Klausner

Meredith Ashe returned to Billings, Montana, a great deal wiser and much richer than the scared, pregnant teenager she had been six years before. She was now "Kip" Tennison, the sophisticated savvy widow of millionaire Henry Tennison and heir to his multi-national corporation. Meredith intended to keep her past, and her her future plans - a secret. Cy Hardin, the man who had taught her passion but left her without love, was never to know that they had had a child. Nor was he to know that Meredith was buying out his company until it was too late. What Meredith could't predict was the way she would fall for Cy all over again. And how she would discover the true colors of vengeance and love... This is an excellently written book of love, and teaches us a lot of the motivations of people's hearts, and what a beautiful outcome. Diana Palmer/Susan Kyle at her best.

There is absolutely nothing likeable about the hero! At first, I was just disappointed with the characterization, but the more I thought about it, the madder I got. I cannot find one reason why Meredith loved Cy. It's one thing to be stupid at 18, but for her to be such a smart businesswoman and still accept insulting, mentally abusive behavior from anyone, let alone her "love" certainly sends the wrong message to women. In the author's own words, Cy treated her like a "Saturday night pickup without tenderness or respect" and was always "rough" with her sexually (even when she was a virgin), they never talked so they didn't really know each other, he never really took her anywhere, he always insulted her and thought she was beneath him, so WHY did she love Cy? Why should it be acceptable behavior to constantly insult and belittle any human being, let alone someone you're supposed to "love"? Why should someone want to read about a hero that blames everyone but himself for his bad behavior? Everyone should be accountable for his/her own actions and I'd rather read about a hero/heroine that rises above their background, not find excuses for it! I hope that someone with poor self-confidence or young women don't read this and think that it's okay to be treated like Meredith.... mentally abused.

I thought this book started out well. The plot set up is terrific The heroine is strong, likeable, and smart, and her back story is great. When the hero is introduced he smokes, wears conservative 3 piece suits, and a cream stetson. Ick. At least put him in jeans and a stetson. At least that's sexy. Nonetheless, I thought perhaps he had promise and was going to be misunderstood. He is clearly sexually obsessed with the heroine and hates himself for it. But his obsession never gets much past sex and he soon shows himself to be a pretty despicable, stupid, uninteresting, sexist boor. He cruelly insults the heroine at every opportunity and after awhile you can't believe someone of her caliber could feel anything for this man. He's certainly no catch. In fact, almost any other male in the book (her late-husband, or Mr. Smith) is 100x more likeable than him. I know other reviewers said the author sets up well the reasons he is like this, but I found him so unlikeable, 1-dimensional and disrespectful of the heroine that I didn't care one wit about him at all and found myself hoping the heroine wouldn't end up with him.

Also about 3/4 of the way through the book, when the hero is recovering from an accident, it really starts to drag. However, the boardroom scenes are great, especially when she reveals herself to be the CEO of the company that just took his down. Loved that.

This is just a case where you have a greaat plot, a good set-up, and an intriguing heroine, but the hero is beneath her and rather yucky, so it sort of ruins the fun.

The premise of Meredith's revenge was intriguing and unlike other Diana Palmer books. I found her character strong, smart and entirely too forgiving of Cy and his mother, Myrna. The boardroom scenes were great even though the plot did drag quite a bit at times. The only real fly in the ointment was that oaf of a hero, Cy Harden. What a sexist pig! He insults Meredith at every turn and yet she practically pants whenever he touches her. I couldn't figure out why someone like her would want him. He was definitely beneath her. In fact, my mind kept wandering to her late husband, Henry Tennison. Too bad he died. Even the bodyguard, Mr. Smith, had lots of promise. Both of these characters were more manly than the juvenile Cy Harden. I guess Diana Palmer likes her heroes flawed. This man certainly was. I have a hard time picturing a truly happily ever after for this couple.

This book was originally written in 1991, and I recall reading that Ms. Palmer had re-worked some sections to bring them more up to date. Huh? Here's one of my favorites. Following a sexual encounter with Meredith, Cy stated that he didn't use condoms because "These days, women are more liberated then men." and he continues "I don't have to worry about precautions, as a rule." Apparently, Ms. Palmer's characters come from a world without AIDS and other STDs.

I had great difficulty in believing that a 23-year old woman with a high school education could be the powerful head of a multinational company. Otherwise, the book followed the SPF (Standard Palmer Formula): abusive male, virginal-type woman, transparent plot twists, and they live happily ever after (after the reader slogs through 400 pages).

This book should never have been re-released. It is that bad. Save your time, money, and vision. None of the characters are believable or likeable. Meredith's story might have worked if she made her vengeful return to Billings after 10 or 15 years instead of 6. I have been in the boardroom of a national corporation and 22 year old mothers do not have the depth and experience to head a domestic division even with an MBA. Not to mention her unfamiliarity with society and lack of professional allies in this rags to riches story.

Cy is totally appalling. Why would anyone trust him in business or in bed? And yet our heroine falls for him over and over again. How stupid. How could he live with his mother for 30 some years and never ask about his grandmother or his relatives? How could everyone in town have forgotten who she was if she grew up there? And what about the mysterious Mr. Smith? Although called a bodyguard, he acted only as a babysitter. He could have been interesting. Wasn't he worth a story line? He did not even rate a first name. Unbelievable. This book was too, painfully long with characters I never cared about. It was torture to read. Even the sex was bad. For people whose attraction was based on mutual passion it just came across as horny sex. Put this one back in mothballs. And Diana, do not be afraid to write about a mature woman. Love and sexual satisfaction can still be a discovery for women over 35.

This is the first book by Diana palmer that I have read. I liked it. It was deep and full of emotion, secrets and lots of feeling. I was not sure what to expect. Cy was an interesting hero. I thought he was really kinda mean at first, but its more that you have to get to know him and then you see why he is the way he is. Meridith was a strong heroine. She held her own and did not take Cy's stuff. She gave as good as she got. I liked it. The plot was good and considering that it was a board room book it kept you on the edge of your seat wondering what was going to happen at Tennison International, what Don is up to and with all the secrets between Cy, Meridith and Myrna, well, they all come out. You get to follow along and go for the same ride that all the characters go on. Mr. Smith was also very likeable. I liked him. I once read that Diana Palmer writes about "hard" men. That she does. Normally that is how I like them. Cy was just a little harder then I liked at times, but he was just as charming.