Customer Reviews

Man of the West (Signet Eclipse)

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

 

 

Unlike the others who have posted reviews here, I liked this book. It wasn't your typical romance novel, but that was fine with me. I'm just plain tired of the same old, same old stuff that shows up in romance novels. The obligatory love scene on page 167, followed by a phony crisis on page 246, followed by an unbelievable resolution on page 320. I was glad to see something different in this book. I thought reading about a relationship between three different couples of different ages and what resulted from the choices they made was interesting. Whether you liked the plot or not, it was written well and the characters were all sympathetic.

I enjoyed the story. I agree with another "reviewer" that it wasn't your usual romance/love story. The story had more heart and true to life feelings. I like how the others from the first book "Lone Star Woman" were involved, if not continued. I thought the capture of the ex-husband was a little quick and silly. I was also not satisfied with the quick ending. I also agree with others that the relationship with the two main characters happened rather quickly esp. her coming from a horrible marriage and him not wanting a marriage. The HEAT was an added bonus in the other character story lines. Since I've invested my time in these two books, I hope another about the third cousin comes out so I can have closure with the Strayhorn's.

The best part about this book is the cover model. I was extremely disappointed and have read all of this author's previous love stories. This one had sub-plots going around and around with very little emphasis on the main character (the Man of the West) and his love interest. It was unrealistic and very unbelievable. Please, we need a SWEET RETURN of Anna Jeffrey's writing style. Don't bother with this one.

Awful. I gave up after 100 pages and got my money back. Isn't the rule of thumb for romances that the hero and heroine should meet within the first 30 pages? Not only did they not meet until well into the book, they only had 2 encounters in the first hundred pages. And those didn't generate any sparks. There was too much boring detail about things not related to the main "romance" and crude language used for secondary romances in the book. How did this get published?

First of all, I DESPERATELY wanted to LOVE this book. I pre-ordered it the minute I read the synopsis. It had everything I love in a romance: cowboys, lawmen, and did I mention cowboys and lawmen? Unfortunately there wasn't a whole lot of romance between Jolie and Jake. It was more that she had a girlish crush on him and he kept yammering on about wanting to protect her. In Chapter 27 of a 30 chapter book she "thinks" he likes her. Umm, if she don't know at that point, forget it. Another thing is their conversations were just boring. One was like, "Nice apartment. You keep it clean." There was no sexual tension between the two of them, Jake didn't spend his time sexually fantasizing about her, just about how she brought out the protective instincts in him. *Yawn*

This book is way too convoluted. There are storylines with four different couples going on! I don't feel Maise and J.D.'s relationship was really settled, she just moved on. Also, from the cover you were led to believe that Jake had no idea what Jolie was running from. In the book, near the very beginning, he states that her cousin told him Jolie was running from an abusive ex, so he does know. Even with all of that, I can't give the book a high rating because Callahan committed the one cardinal sin of romance: Jolie actually uttered the words "is it always that good?" after sex. UGH! Has she been channeling Diana Palmer?

Another problem I had with the book was the constant mention of the return of Jolie's ex. The foreshadowing began almost from the beginning of the book, and we knew Billy would be back. Yeah, he came back, got hit over the head with some groceries and was arrested. Whoopee! Danni, the child of a supposedly abusive environment had no trouble making friends and everybody loved her. I don't know how realistic that is. And it annoyed the chaw out of me that EVERYBODY LOVED Jolie's cooking. Why I bet she could make a delicious, family sized casserole out of rice and a copy of Cosmo! I did get a huge laugh out of the fact that Jolie described her bleach blonde hair as looking like a "haystack". How attractive. I did like one couple, and that was Pat and Suzanne, and I liked the fact that there was a romance between older folks in their 60's. I started out liking Maise and J.D., but she manipulated him and that ruined it for me. Callahan needs to stop writing characters that are instantly loved by all. It's not realistic and it's incredibly boring.

I agree with previous reviewer. I have thoroughly enjoyed all of this author's previous books, this one fell flat for me. There was very little really centered around the two supposed main characters. Too much other storyline devoted to other characters in the book. Jolie was supposed to be on the run from an abusive husband but the story was not very believable. At times she was secretive yet at other times she was very open about her past life. It took too long for the relationship between Jolie and Jake to develop and then was not very smoldering. The back cover was deceiving. I was so looking forward to the release of this book and was really disappointed.