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Long, Tall Texans #21
Desperado
Tough and relentless, Cord Romero lives for the adrenaline rush that comes with being a mercenary for hire. But this time the job is personal. Having barely survived a murder attempt from an elusive enemy, Cord is determined to neutralize his foe—the head of a multinational corporation that fronts a child labor ring. In order to get closer to his target, Cord joins forces with the Lassiter Detective Agency, where he's reunited with his childhood friend Maggie Barton.
Maggie is no longer the impressionable young woman he once knew. She is now strong, independent and in charge of her own life—and, professionally, Cord's equal. She has one a tragic secret from her past that threatens her relationship with Cord…and sets her up as a pawn for his deadly enemy.
Cord cannot afford to be distracted during the most important case of his life. But Maggie plays an indispensable part in unraveling the links to his enemy's crimes. Forced to trust each other for their very survival, Cord and Maggie embark on a lethal game of cat and mouse that can leave only one winner standing.
Maggie is no longer the impressionable young woman he once knew. She is now strong, independent and in charge of her own life—and, professionally, Cord's equal. She has one a tragic secret from her past that threatens her relationship with Cord…and sets her up as a pawn for his deadly enemy.
Cord cannot afford to be distracted during the most important case of his life. But Maggie plays an indispensable part in unraveling the links to his enemy's crimes. Forced to trust each other for their very survival, Cord and Maggie embark on a lethal game of cat and mouse that can leave only one winner standing.
336 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2002
About the author
Diana Palmer
918 books3,013 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
Diana Palmer is a pseudonym for author Susan Kyle.
(1)romance author
Susan Eloise Spaeth was born on 11 December 1946 in Cuthbert, Georgia, USA. She was the eldest daughter of Maggie Eloise Cliatt, a nurse and also journalist, and William Olin Spaeth, a college professor. Her mother was part of the women's liberation movement many years before it became fashionable. Her best friends are her mother and her sister, Dannis Spaeth (Cole), who now has two daughters, Amanda Belle Hofstetter and Maggie and lives in Utah. Susan grew up reading Zane Grey and fell in love with cowboys. Susan is a former newspaper reporter, with sixteen years experience on both daily and weekly newspapers. Since 1972, she has been married to James Kyle and have since settled down in Cornelia, Georgia, where she started to write romance novels. Susan and her husband have one son, Blayne Edward, born in 1980.
She began selling romances in 1979 as Diana Palmer. She also used the pseudonyms Diana Blayne and Katy Currie, and her married name: Susan Kyle. Now, she has over 40 million copies of her books in print, which have been translated and published around the world. She is listed in numerous publications, including Contemporary Authors by Gale Research, Inc., Twentieth Century Romance and Historical Writers by St. James Press, The Writers Directory by St. James Press, the International Who's Who of Authors and Writers by Meirose Press, Ltd., and Love's Leading Ladies by Kathryn Falk. Her awards include seven Waldenbooks national sales awards, four B. Dalton national sales awards, two Bookrak national sales awards, a Lifetime Achievement Award for series storytelling from Romantic Times, several Affaire de Coeur awards, and two regional RWA awards.
Inspired by her husband, who quit a blue-collar manufacturing job to return to school and get his diploma in computer programming, Susan herself went back to college as a day student at the age of 45. In 1995, she graduated summa cum laude from Piedmont College, Demorest, GA, with a major in history and a double minor in archaeology and Spanish. She was named to two honor societies (the Torch Club and Alpha Chi), and was named to the National Dean's List. In addition to her writing projects, she is currently working on her master's degree in history at California State University. She hopes to specialize in Native American studies. She is a member of the Native American Rights Fund, the American Museum of Natural History, the National Cattlemen's Association, the Archaeological Institute of Amenca, the Planetary Society, The Georgia Conservancy, the Georgia Sheriff's Association, and numerous conservation and charitable organizations. Her hobbies include gardening, archaeology, anthropology, iguanas, astronomy and music.
In 1998, her husband retired from his own computer business and now pursues skeet shooting medals in local, state, national and international competition. They love riding around and looking at the countryside, watching sci-fi on TV and at the movies, just talking and eating out.
Diana Palmer is a pseudonym for author Susan Kyle.
(1)romance author
Susan Eloise Spaeth was born on 11 December 1946 in Cuthbert, Georgia, USA. She was the eldest daughter of Maggie Eloise Cliatt, a nurse and also journalist, and William Olin Spaeth, a college professor. Her mother was part of the women's liberation movement many years before it became fashionable. Her best friends are her mother and her sister, Dannis Spaeth (Cole), who now has two daughters, Amanda Belle Hofstetter and Maggie and lives in Utah. Susan grew up reading Zane Grey and fell in love with cowboys. Susan is a former newspaper reporter, with sixteen years experience on both daily and weekly newspapers. Since 1972, she has been married to James Kyle and have since settled down in Cornelia, Georgia, where she started to write romance novels. Susan and her husband have one son, Blayne Edward, born in 1980.
She began selling romances in 1979 as Diana Palmer. She also used the pseudonyms Diana Blayne and Katy Currie, and her married name: Susan Kyle. Now, she has over 40 million copies of her books in print, which have been translated and published around the world. She is listed in numerous publications, including Contemporary Authors by Gale Research, Inc., Twentieth Century Romance and Historical Writers by St. James Press, The Writers Directory by St. James Press, the International Who's Who of Authors and Writers by Meirose Press, Ltd., and Love's Leading Ladies by Kathryn Falk. Her awards include seven Waldenbooks national sales awards, four B. Dalton national sales awards, two Bookrak national sales awards, a Lifetime Achievement Award for series storytelling from Romantic Times, several Affaire de Coeur awards, and two regional RWA awards.
Inspired by her husband, who quit a blue-collar manufacturing job to return to school and get his diploma in computer programming, Susan herself went back to college as a day student at the age of 45. In 1995, she graduated summa cum laude from Piedmont College, Demorest, GA, with a major in history and a double minor in archaeology and Spanish. She was named to two honor societies (the Torch Club and Alpha Chi), and was named to the National Dean's List. In addition to her writing projects, she is currently working on her master's degree in history at California State University. She hopes to specialize in Native American studies. She is a member of the Native American Rights Fund, the American Museum of Natural History, the National Cattlemen's Association, the Archaeological Institute of Amenca, the Planetary Society, The Georgia Conservancy, the Georgia Sheriff's Association, and numerous conservation and charitable organizations. Her hobbies include gardening, archaeology, anthropology, iguanas, astronomy and music.
In 1998, her husband retired from his own computer business and now pursues skeet shooting medals in local, state, national and international competition. They love riding around and looking at the countryside, watching sci-fi on TV and at the movies, just talking and eating out.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 105 reviews
November 16, 2018
2.5 stars rounded up. Triggers: pedophilia, sex trafficking, children in danger, domestic violence.
Another LLT story that is imported from the Hutton&Co series.
The H/h were foster brother and sister. Heroine has been in love with the hero since she was 8 and hero was sixteen. Heroine was sexually abused as a child and doesn’t trust men. The hero lost his family in a fire and fears intimacy because he could feel that pain of loss again. That didn’t stop him from marrying a woman he didn’t love so he would stop obsessing about the heroine. His wife committed suicide and hero still feels guilty about it.
Hero is a mercenary who owns a ranch outside of Jacobsville. He was a cop and then FBI and I don’t know what else – he knows all of the other DP cop heroes. Heroine is a financial advisor and has just given up her job in Houston for a job in the Middle East because she realizes she needs to get away from the hero for good.
H/h had a one night stand the night of their foster mother’s funeral. Heroine was a virgin. Hero was so disgusted with himself for deflowering her that he was cruel and acted like *she* was disgusting, triggering heroine’s trauma from her childhood. Hero left for a mission somewhere. Heroine married an older man when she found out she was pregnant. Older man was an abusive alcoholic who beat her and caused her to miscarry. Then he wrapped his car around a tree and died. Heroine gave her inheritance to his two crippled ex-wives.
When the story opens heroine’s ex-fiance (hero of another book and married to someone else) calls to tell her that the hero was blinded while detonating a bomb and has been asking for the heroine. Heroine spends 36 hours in travel to rush back to Texas only to find he’s angry that she didn’t rush to his side four days ago when the accident happened. Oh, and he’s not blind. He kicks the heroine out. She starts walking down the long road to the main highway until she’s picked up by the foreman who takes her to Houston.
The foreman then tells the hero that the heroine had been in Morocco and hero realizes he was wrong. He tracks her down and says sorry, but they don’t resolve anything. Heroine is determined to get out of the hero’s life. Hero warns her that he is on the tail of a human trafficker and that she might be in danger.
She takes a job in Houston in the building that houses a private investigative firm owned by the H/h of yet another DP novel. The wife befriends the heroine and the heroine helps her get a photo of some bad guys – putting her in danger.
The hero swoops in and brings her to his ranch for protection. He shows her to her a room – a room he had decorated for her years ago but has never shown her?
Reviewers note: none of this made sense. He loves/hates her. She loves him. But they “don’t know each other,” because they each have dark secrets. Then they can read each other’s expressions because they know each other so well. The heroine is victim who dresses dowdily and shies from men, but she’s been married and engaged before, can shoot a gun and wants to go on adventures. The whiplash is intense in this one.
While living in his home for protection, the hero begins to put the moves on the heroine – talking to her about the beauty of sex, breasts, and hairy chests. The usual drill.
They decide to chase the bad guys – first to Spain and then to Holland - breaking so many laws and defying common sense that it made my head spin. How they got guns across borders, or how the hero disguised himself and went through passport control as an old man is beyond me. I won’t even go into the computer hacking, the bugging of offices, the tampering with evidence, the boneheaded moves of putting themselves and others in danger.
They manage to have sex several times in the middle of all of this – without benefit of clergy and with the H/h both hot to get pregnant. The times are changing in DPlandia.
The side characters, the adventures with bullets flying, the mystery, the tsking about human trafficking took up a lot of page space and I skimmed and skimmed and skimmed.
The H/h are married off page and there is the cutesy detail about the heroine going 85 mph in her excitement to tell the hero about her pregnancy. The cops let her go because they recognize her from the news after they captured the bad guys.
I won’t do a DP checklist because this didn’t really take place in Jacobsville.
But I just wanted to leave these direct quotes without comment so you can soak up the absurdity of this story:
*anti-terrorism school in Jacobsville.
* Later, Cord would explain that Rodrigo was adept at Plains Indian sign talk, and had taught Cord once on a surveillance mission.
*Cord, surprising Maggie, switched immediately to Dutch.
*Maggie turned in a novel about international espionage to an editor in New York who’d read the earlier draft and contracted to publish it.
LOL *slightly hysterically* My brain will NOT be broken by this extravaganza of implausibility. It is forged steel, hardening in the fires of crazy.
Another LLT story that is imported from the Hutton&Co series.
The H/h were foster brother and sister. Heroine has been in love with the hero since she was 8 and hero was sixteen. Heroine was sexually abused as a child and doesn’t trust men. The hero lost his family in a fire and fears intimacy because he could feel that pain of loss again. That didn’t stop him from marrying a woman he didn’t love so he would stop obsessing about the heroine. His wife committed suicide and hero still feels guilty about it.
Hero is a mercenary who owns a ranch outside of Jacobsville. He was a cop and then FBI and I don’t know what else – he knows all of the other DP cop heroes. Heroine is a financial advisor and has just given up her job in Houston for a job in the Middle East because she realizes she needs to get away from the hero for good.
H/h had a one night stand the night of their foster mother’s funeral. Heroine was a virgin. Hero was so disgusted with himself for deflowering her that he was cruel and acted like *she* was disgusting, triggering heroine’s trauma from her childhood. Hero left for a mission somewhere. Heroine married an older man when she found out she was pregnant. Older man was an abusive alcoholic who beat her and caused her to miscarry. Then he wrapped his car around a tree and died. Heroine gave her inheritance to his two crippled ex-wives.
When the story opens heroine’s ex-fiance (hero of another book and married to someone else) calls to tell her that the hero was blinded while detonating a bomb and has been asking for the heroine. Heroine spends 36 hours in travel to rush back to Texas only to find he’s angry that she didn’t rush to his side four days ago when the accident happened. Oh, and he’s not blind. He kicks the heroine out. She starts walking down the long road to the main highway until she’s picked up by the foreman who takes her to Houston.
The foreman then tells the hero that the heroine had been in Morocco and hero realizes he was wrong. He tracks her down and says sorry, but they don’t resolve anything. Heroine is determined to get out of the hero’s life. Hero warns her that he is on the tail of a human trafficker and that she might be in danger.
She takes a job in Houston in the building that houses a private investigative firm owned by the H/h of yet another DP novel. The wife befriends the heroine and the heroine helps her get a photo of some bad guys – putting her in danger.
The hero swoops in and brings her to his ranch for protection. He shows her to her a room – a room he had decorated for her years ago but has never shown her?
Reviewers note: none of this made sense. He loves/hates her. She loves him. But they “don’t know each other,” because they each have dark secrets. Then they can read each other’s expressions because they know each other so well. The heroine is victim who dresses dowdily and shies from men, but she’s been married and engaged before, can shoot a gun and wants to go on adventures. The whiplash is intense in this one.
While living in his home for protection, the hero begins to put the moves on the heroine – talking to her about the beauty of sex, breasts, and hairy chests. The usual drill.
They decide to chase the bad guys – first to Spain and then to Holland - breaking so many laws and defying common sense that it made my head spin. How they got guns across borders, or how the hero disguised himself and went through passport control as an old man is beyond me. I won’t even go into the computer hacking, the bugging of offices, the tampering with evidence, the boneheaded moves of putting themselves and others in danger.
They manage to have sex several times in the middle of all of this – without benefit of clergy and with the H/h both hot to get pregnant. The times are changing in DPlandia.
The side characters, the adventures with bullets flying, the mystery, the tsking about human trafficking took up a lot of page space and I skimmed and skimmed and skimmed.
The H/h are married off page and there is the cutesy detail about the heroine going 85 mph in her excitement to tell the hero about her pregnancy. The cops let her go because they recognize her from the news after they captured the bad guys.
I won’t do a DP checklist because this didn’t really take place in Jacobsville.
But I just wanted to leave these direct quotes without comment so you can soak up the absurdity of this story:
*anti-terrorism school in Jacobsville.
* Later, Cord would explain that Rodrigo was adept at Plains Indian sign talk, and had taught Cord once on a surveillance mission.
*Cord, surprising Maggie, switched immediately to Dutch.
*Maggie turned in a novel about international espionage to an editor in New York who’d read the earlier draft and contracted to publish it.
LOL *slightly hysterically* My brain will NOT be broken by this extravaganza of implausibility. It is forged steel, hardening in the fires of crazy.
Read
June 11, 2021Another DNF.
I tried. I really did, but the back and forth, the hot and cold, and the ickysex hot and bothering romancing was just too much for me. And let me just say that this hero is not only very unlikeable but a big tease.
You’d be better off just reading StMargarets’ review instead.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I tried. I really did, but the back and forth, the hot and cold, and the icky
You’d be better off just reading StMargarets’ review instead.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
February 17, 2017
This book, last in huttons and co- inspired a lot of mixed feelings.
But as I finish it it was an overall good experience.
Let me get the negatives out first
- I hated the way Cord behaved with Maggie in the past; however I did like that it was all before the story started and that made it easy to forgive him
- Maggie's emotions were a ping pong ball. They went through changes in blink of an eye.
- the things Maggie went through were painful to read
Now the positives,
- Though the first half of the book was boring, the second hand when Cord actively pursues both Maggie and the criminals is fun to read
- This book has more breeding and sex than any other DP
- A cute epilogue
It wasn't safe in technical terms but still a good read
3.75/5
But as I finish it it was an overall good experience.
Let me get the negatives out first
- I hated the way Cord behaved with Maggie in the past; however I did like that it was all before the story started and that made it easy to forgive him
- Maggie's emotions were a ping pong ball. They went through changes in blink of an eye.
- the things Maggie went through were painful to read
Now the positives,
- Though the first half of the book was boring, the second hand when Cord actively pursues both Maggie and the criminals is fun to read
- This book has more breeding and sex than any other DP
- A cute epilogue
It wasn't safe in technical terms but still a good read
3.75/5
August 3, 2021
Sorry but I just didn't enjoy it.
It was a mess of thematics often dealt with too much lack of depth.
I don't even understand why the heroine should go through all those tragedies in her life, and I don't undertsand how those tragedies are useful to the story, or what they can add to her relationship with the shallow and cold hero.
The heroine was an abused child, her stepfather sold her to a criminal who dealt in pedopornography, and she was subjected to all sort of criminal abuses, she was used in pedopornographic movies and raped, which is a very strong and sad theme to deal with, before being rescued and sent to a foster home to good lady where she met another foster boy, the hero.
-She loved the hero all her life, but he didn't want her.
- He married another woman, while the heroine lived freezed with her unrequited love for him
-He raped her- or seduced her, I don't know how to describe the shabby experience they had while he was drunk.
- He left to go on his secret missions to avoid her.
- she was pregnant and married to give her child a father (why????) but her husband was an abusive madman who beat her until she lost her baby
-when the hero was hurt in one of his missions she immediately run to him even giving up her new job
-the hero kept on treating her shabbily unti half the book
-Then he changes his mind but I didn't really feel he loved her. He was moved by his guilt, and that was not even enough.
I think that all those sufferings were only sad, they didn't really make the story more interesting.
I was a chore to finish.
Instead of being interesting and angsty I found it annoying.
The hero was a boring lout, without an ounce of compassion and behaved like a selfish child until it was too late too redeem himself, at least in my opinion.
The heroine was a doormat without a backbone, she should have gone away and started a new life with another job, another man, in another place.
The thematic of child abuse is very sensitive and I don't think that here the writer used a correct approach. It turned out as something of minor relevance, which is never.
I don't think I can recommend this reading.
It was a mess of thematics often dealt with too much lack of depth.
I don't even understand why the heroine should go through all those tragedies in her life, and I don't undertsand how those tragedies are useful to the story, or what they can add to her relationship with the shallow and cold hero.
The heroine was an abused child, her stepfather sold her to a criminal who dealt in pedopornography, and she was subjected to all sort of criminal abuses, she was used in pedopornographic movies and raped, which is a very strong and sad theme to deal with, before being rescued and sent to a foster home to good lady where she met another foster boy, the hero.
-She loved the hero all her life, but he didn't want her.
- He married another woman, while the heroine lived freezed with her unrequited love for him
-He raped her- or seduced her, I don't know how to describe the shabby experience they had while he was drunk.
- He left to go on his secret missions to avoid her.
- she was pregnant and married to give her child a father (why????) but her husband was an abusive madman who beat her until she lost her baby
-when the hero was hurt in one of his missions she immediately run to him even giving up her new job
-the hero kept on treating her shabbily unti half the book
-Then he changes his mind but I didn't really feel he loved her. He was moved by his guilt, and that was not even enough.
I think that all those sufferings were only sad, they didn't really make the story more interesting.
I was a chore to finish.
Instead of being interesting and angsty I found it annoying.
The hero was a boring lout, without an ounce of compassion and behaved like a selfish child until it was too late too redeem himself, at least in my opinion.
The heroine was a doormat without a backbone, she should have gone away and started a new life with another job, another man, in another place.
The thematic of child abuse is very sensitive and I don't think that here the writer used a correct approach. It turned out as something of minor relevance, which is never.
I don't think I can recommend this reading.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 6, 2014
Two-haiku review:
They were foster kids
He hasn't treated her well
But she still loves him
Both have hurtful pasts
Up and down relationship
He was an a-hole
They were foster kids
He hasn't treated her well
But she still loves him
Both have hurtful pasts
Up and down relationship
He was an a-hole
August 13, 2019
Great story! I really enjoyed this.
February 11, 2017
Maggie Barton sudah berulangkali patah hati terhadap Cord Romero. Kedua-duanya sudah sejak lama memendam rasa, tapi nasib belum berniat mempersatukan dua insan keras kepala ini. Hingga saat mereka bekerjasama utk menghancurkan penjahat yg memiliki jaringan perdagangan manusia dan pornografi anak-anak.
Kekurangan buku ini masih sama jg dgn buku-buku tante DP lainnya. Terlalu banyak repetisi narasi dan dialog yg kadang-kadang kelewat panjang, padahal intinya cuma satu kalimat doang. Kegalauan cinta mereka dan tarik ulurnya masih membosankan menurut saya. Terutama karakter Maggie terlalu banyak ambigu dan ketakutan yg kurang beralasan terhadap Cord, mengindikasikan kekurangpercayaan dirinya sendiri dan atau juga terkesan tidak percaya bhw Cord bisa mencintainya walaupun mengetahui rahasia terdalamnya yg kelam.
Utk ukuran Harlequin, buku ini lumayan dan lebih baik drpd buku-buku sebelumnya yg saya baca dr author yg sama (Padahal ekspektasi saya rendah krn pengalaman membaca buku2 author sebelumnya). Mungkin jg krn unsur suspense-nya yg lumayan terasa (surprise juga tante Diana Palmer bisa membuat buku dgn unsur suspense). Cara penceritaan juga jauh lebih baik drpd buku-buku Harlequin-nya yg lebih tipis. Cuma bagi saya, tante DP blm memberikan variasi H/H yg berbeda dr buku2nya sebelumnya. Masih hampir sejenis dan eksekusi cerita juga nyaris seragam solusinya. Maafkan jika saya kelewat blak-blakan bahwa "Membosankan" masih nama tengah buku-buku tante DP.
Kekurangan buku ini masih sama jg dgn buku-buku tante DP lainnya. Terlalu banyak repetisi narasi dan dialog yg kadang-kadang kelewat panjang, padahal intinya cuma satu kalimat doang. Kegalauan cinta mereka dan tarik ulurnya masih membosankan menurut saya. Terutama karakter Maggie terlalu banyak ambigu dan ketakutan yg kurang beralasan terhadap Cord, mengindikasikan kekurangpercayaan dirinya sendiri dan atau juga terkesan tidak percaya bhw Cord bisa mencintainya walaupun mengetahui rahasia terdalamnya yg kelam.
Utk ukuran Harlequin, buku ini lumayan dan lebih baik drpd buku-buku sebelumnya yg saya baca dr author yg sama (Padahal ekspektasi saya rendah krn pengalaman membaca buku2 author sebelumnya). Mungkin jg krn unsur suspense-nya yg lumayan terasa (surprise juga tante Diana Palmer bisa membuat buku dgn unsur suspense). Cara penceritaan juga jauh lebih baik drpd buku-buku Harlequin-nya yg lebih tipis. Cuma bagi saya, tante DP blm memberikan variasi H/H yg berbeda dr buku2nya sebelumnya. Masih hampir sejenis dan eksekusi cerita juga nyaris seragam solusinya. Maafkan jika saya kelewat blak-blakan bahwa "Membosankan" masih nama tengah buku-buku tante DP.
September 13, 2021
It was no secret how much I loved Diana Palmer's books. I always find comfort in her works no matter what. Although most of her works seemed similar, I still can't get enough of them.
I loved Maggie and Cord. They were perfect for each other. Both of them have pasts full of heartbreak and pain. They were messed up. But together, they were perfect. As they spent time together, they learned more about each other. And we get to see them open up more to each other, learn about each other, and grow closer. It was just quite beautiful. Although Cord didn't start as the most charming fellow, as the story progressed, his sweeter side peeked out more and more until it was basically his natural side. He's just such a sweet hero while also being deliciously dark and dangerous.
All in all, Desperado is such a delightful, enthralling, sweet romance read packed with lots of actions and adventures. And if you love a hero who grovels nicely, this one's for you!
I loved Maggie and Cord. They were perfect for each other. Both of them have pasts full of heartbreak and pain. They were messed up. But together, they were perfect. As they spent time together, they learned more about each other. And we get to see them open up more to each other, learn about each other, and grow closer. It was just quite beautiful. Although Cord didn't start as the most charming fellow, as the story progressed, his sweeter side peeked out more and more until it was basically his natural side. He's just such a sweet hero while also being deliciously dark and dangerous.
All in all, Desperado is such a delightful, enthralling, sweet romance read packed with lots of actions and adventures. And if you love a hero who grovels nicely, this one's for you!
July 6, 2013
Not exactly my favorite.
Maggie's been in love with Cord since she was just a kid. And now after her disaster marriage, she wants to get close to him. But he kept pushing her away. Cord's fond of Maggie, but he sees that Maggie's been keeping secrets from him, secrets that'd kills her if he found out. But what will happen if Maggie's life is on the line of fire?
Again, this one is moodkiller. I've been looking forward to reading about Cord's reaction towards Maggie's secrets. But it turns out.. Flat.
I need more. And this story's not that good. I found myself skipping lot of pages. Diana Palmer sure can do better than this.
Overall, similar plotline. Scarred heroine and egoistical Hero. Good to read, but if you're familiar with how Diana Palmer put the situations together, this book's just fell flat.
Maggie's been in love with Cord since she was just a kid. And now after her disaster marriage, she wants to get close to him. But he kept pushing her away. Cord's fond of Maggie, but he sees that Maggie's been keeping secrets from him, secrets that'd kills her if he found out. But what will happen if Maggie's life is on the line of fire?
Again, this one is moodkiller. I've been looking forward to reading about Cord's reaction towards Maggie's secrets. But it turns out.. Flat.
I need more. And this story's not that good. I found myself skipping lot of pages. Diana Palmer sure can do better than this.
Overall, similar plotline. Scarred heroine and egoistical Hero. Good to read, but if you're familiar with how Diana Palmer put the situations together, this book's just fell flat.
April 8, 2008
This was one more of action and intrigue with multiple locations even overseas. I really liked it alot. This story kept you riveted to the storyline and the characters
September 10, 2023
Both H and h loved each other since young but kept apart by misunderstanding and tragedy. This book was the process that they got to know each other again and gained back trust. But I almost lost patience when H constantly tried to force h reveal the truth of what happened to her in the past but got distracted by her body again and again.
October 27, 2008
I do enjoy this Author, she does keep your interest. But she does get kinda of racy in some parts and some love scenes. You know this may bother some people, but if you can get over that, she is a good writer.
April 11, 2020
No me gusto Cord, debió ser más valiente y arriesgarse con Maggie y no crear demasiados obstáculos que los dañaba muchísimo a ambos Maggie debió vivir alegremente y no intentar solo sobrevivir y estar solo esperando a Cord, que desesperante...
January 19, 2014
Didn't like this one. What the heroine went through....too depressing!
September 28, 2023
Well, I guess Diana Palmer is well and truly into the 'super spy mega action thriller' phase of her Long Tall Texan series. I'm wistfully thinking back to the early days when these books were about grumpy cowboys going to barn dances in Jacobsville.
I had a laugh though. I was in stitches over the heist scene with the hero in a black silk poloneck weaving his way through a laser field, to crack the safe, to get the mega evidence. Or the all action guns-a-blazing action scene on a tourist canal boat in Amsterdam. And how about the main baddy, CEO of evil enterprises, whose fortune 500 company specializes in that most lucrative of businesses, child slavery.
The h had a depressing 'dark past' involving child sexual abuse. This is becoming a recurring theme with DP, one I hope she doesn't continue.
More choo-choo train sets. This is like the fourth book I've read where the main characters are crazy about train sets. I'm guessing DP herself is a big fan of model railways and can't seem to let her characters shut up about how cool they are.
The sex scenes, as always, are steamy as hell and ridiculously over the top. Our H is a double dipper with super human levels of stamina and enough semen to rival one of his seed bulls.
There is also a weird moment when the author is getting all nostalgic over the good old days of bull fighting in Spain. For a woman who will spend books lecturing her readers about the care of wildlife, beef hormones, and organic chicken farming she sure has a soft spot for torturing bulls to death for entertainment.
What can I say, it's a DP book, it's a hoot and easy to read.
I had a laugh though. I was in stitches over the heist scene with the hero in a black silk poloneck weaving his way through a laser field, to crack the safe, to get the mega evidence. Or the all action guns-a-blazing action scene on a tourist canal boat in Amsterdam. And how about the main baddy, CEO of evil enterprises, whose fortune 500 company specializes in that most lucrative of businesses, child slavery.
The h had a depressing 'dark past' involving child sexual abuse. This is becoming a recurring theme with DP, one I hope she doesn't continue.
More choo-choo train sets. This is like the fourth book I've read where the main characters are crazy about train sets. I'm guessing DP herself is a big fan of model railways and can't seem to let her characters shut up about how cool they are.
The sex scenes, as always, are steamy as hell and ridiculously over the top. Our H is a double dipper with super human levels of stamina and enough semen to rival one of his seed bulls.
There is also a weird moment when the author is getting all nostalgic over the good old days of bull fighting in Spain. For a woman who will spend books lecturing her readers about the care of wildlife, beef hormones, and organic chicken farming she sure has a soft spot for torturing bulls to death for entertainment.
What can I say, it's a DP book, it's a hoot and easy to read.
August 12, 2017
È un mix di storie tormentate, spionaggio, romance e sesso. Shakerate tutti questi argomenti e ne esce “Prima della passione” (“Desperado” è il titolo originale). In tutta onestà, credo siano poco azzeccati entrambi i titoli. La trama di Diana è piuttosto prevedibile, ma la narrazione è coinvolgente quel tanto da far proseguire la lettura. L’interesse è stato altalenante. I dialoghi sono molto intensi e veri, mentre il contorno lascia un po’ a desiderare. Tutto sommato la lettura conviene. Ma se ne può anche fare a meno.
March 25, 2019
Maggie and Cord
I really enjoyed Maggie and Cord's story. They have both been through so much in their past .... After Cord is injured and temporarily blinded, Maggie leaves behind her chance to start a new life, in another country to be at his side. They both have a new opportunity to truly get to know each other and come to turn with their feeling. Maggie is a strong h, a warrior and survivor of a terrible childhood and the love she finds in Cord is well deserved. Highly recommended
I really enjoyed Maggie and Cord's story. They have both been through so much in their past .... After Cord is injured and temporarily blinded, Maggie leaves behind her chance to start a new life, in another country to be at his side. They both have a new opportunity to truly get to know each other and come to turn with their feeling. Maggie is a strong h, a warrior and survivor of a terrible childhood and the love she finds in Cord is well deserved. Highly recommended
January 30, 2024
This book has been sitting on my book shelf forever. I wanted to rate it three or less stars for a couple reasons and four stars for a couple other reasons. One thing I didn’t like was I couldn’t believe how many times Maggie, the female lead, said Cord, the male lead, couldn’t find out what happed to her early in her life because he would never want to be together with her after he found out. One thing I liked was the excitement of the espionage in a book I thought was going to be a western.
March 8, 2017
I would call this a "cheap romance novel". It is not my favorite genre. In fact, I try to stay away from books that are focused on sex just for the arousal. But, I read this book with plans to attend a local author's luncheon. I wanted to read something by the author prior to the luncheon. I gave it 3 stars because the story was readable and even entertaining. It was simple and a quick read with some replication. It's a happily ever after book.
September 1, 2018
It seems to be a common theme with Diana Palmer stories that the characters fight their feelings hardcore from the very beginning. granted I’ve only read two books and of the two I didn’t care for this one as much as Lawless. That being said, it was still a decent read. I did like the chemistry between the two, it was magnetic and, in my opinion, she did a great job bringing it to life in writing.
June 28, 2022
Questo libro mi è stato regalato dato che sono appassionata di romanzi ma posso dire che mi ha colpito molto di più dell'aspetto. Al di là del romanticismo ed erotismo, i personaggi vivono una storia d'amore unica che, però, viene posticipata a causa di una mancanza significativa di fiducia. Essendo una persona che fa fatica a fidarsi, questo libro mi ha insegnato. Mi ha insegnato che "se ami qualcuno devi fidarti". Una pillola difficile da ingoiare, ma che (prima o poi) deve essere presa!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 14, 2021
Not what I thought
I liked the book because I thought the characters were will wrote. And that it's in like her other were they didn't wait to get married to each other. They married other people weather it was a happy marriage or not. The story line had me wanting to stay up all night and finish it.
I liked the book because I thought the characters were will wrote. And that it's in like her other were they didn't wait to get married to each other. They married other people weather it was a happy marriage or not. The story line had me wanting to stay up all night and finish it.
February 2, 2021
I read this for my book club. I probably wouldn't have read it otherwise. I am not a huge fan of romance novels. However, there was enough danger and intrigue to keep me turning pages. The romantic interludes were... interesting. Some of the dialogue felt forced. The characters drove me insane. But I couldn't stop reading and I did enjoy the ending.
February 14, 2021
Typical Harlequin book, not enough storyline
I read this as part of a book club and made myself finish it. If you are into one sexual scene after another it might be for you, but wasn't my taste. I like a great plot with excellent character development. You won't find that here. Very disappointing.
I read this as part of a book club and made myself finish it. If you are into one sexual scene after another it might be for you, but wasn't my taste. I like a great plot with excellent character development. You won't find that here. Very disappointing.
August 10, 2018
This one I missed
I think I bought it in hardback but don't rember reading it usually I will get any of Diana Palmer books I can they have a great plot and the characters are so great with their fights and make UPS I enjoy them.
I think I bought it in hardback but don't rember reading it usually I will get any of Diana Palmer books I can they have a great plot and the characters are so great with their fights and make UPS I enjoy them.
February 26, 2019
Wow
Two really enjoyable and exciting stories.Mystery,thrills and suspense,with plenty of action thrown in.Some authors have the ability to keep you coming back for more,each time you pick up one of their books.Diana Palmer is one of them.
Two really enjoyable and exciting stories.Mystery,thrills and suspense,with plenty of action thrown in.Some authors have the ability to keep you coming back for more,each time you pick up one of their books.Diana Palmer is one of them.
May 6, 2018
Good
The story was very well written. It kept my attention throughout the story and I was hooked from page one.
The story was very well written. It kept my attention throughout the story and I was hooked from page one.
August 13, 2018
Otra sin argumento consistente. Esta saga fue deprimente.
August 15, 2018
Loved it...its one of my go to favs when I'm having Diana cravings
September 15, 2018
I do wish Maggie ended up pregnant with twins, a boy and a girl, but the ending was still good.
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