One Hot Texan (Temptation, 854)

Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: Bad boy Cole McCallum returns to the small town of Coldwater, Texas to seek a bride. It's Friday night, and he has until midnight Saturday to produce a bride. When he originally learned of the terms of his grandmother's will, he shrugged off the loss. Then an arson set by his partner destroyed his business, and without the capitol to begin again, he has nothing. Most of the women he knows couldn't live a week without Neiman Marcus, so hopefully he can find a bride in Coldwater at the local watering hole before closing time.

Years of fierce domination by her mother have left Ginny White without even her first kiss. A huge pile of bills and the funeral expenses were her mother's legacy, along with a generous portion of inhibition and guilt. Three beers can give a girl a lot of courage, though. When she asks Cole to dance, he only accepts to stop the other women's catty comments. A kiss on the dance floor is followed by Ginny's reaction to too much alcohol and her body's unfortunate response. Cole takes Ginny home, and the next morning, he proposes. So it's off to Vegas to fulfill his grandmother's conditions on the will. He should have thought ahead to the consequences of his actions.

First time author Jane Sullivan debuts with ONE HOT TEXAN. The feisty heroine sparkles from the pages, though her seriously inhibited background and lack of experience is a stretch in plausibility. Worse, the marriage of convenience plot fails to rise above cliché predictability: opposites fall together, marriage to gain property, fireworks during kisses, and heroine who refuses sex on her wedding night. While ONE HOT TEXAN will leave most Harlequin Temptation fans cold, the flaws are not uncommon for first time authors. However, with a titillating voice and a flair for characterizations, Sullivan definitely deserves another read with her next work.

Rating:
Summary: Sexy Texas man needs a wife
Review: Cole McCallum needs a wife--by tomorrow. If he can get married and stay married for six months, he'll inherit his grandmother's ranch and make enough money to get his development business back off the ground. Although Ginny White isn't the type of woman he's usually attracted to, she needs money and he's short on time. A six month business proposition looks like a win-win.

Ginny White has never kissed a man. Haunted by her late mother's condemnation of anything male or fun, Ginny is stepping out for the first time, actually visiting a bar for the first time when she sees Cole. She remembers him from high school but it takes three beers (her first ever) before she can summon the courage to talk to him. His business proposition solves a lot of problems for her and it isn't like she has any boyfriends to be disappointed in her.

The tacky Las Vegas wedding is a shock to Ginny. Even more of a shock is Cole's expectation that they have sex. Ginny might want to banish her mother's haunting voice, but that doesn't mean she didn't learn anything. She has too much respect for herself treat sex as a pure bodily function. To Cole's surprise, Ginny's refusal makes him see her in a new light. He wants her in a way he's never felt with another woman. It's going to be a rough six months.

Although both Cole and Ginny soon develop feelings for one another, each must deal with their own issues. Ginny must put her mother's voice and her self-effacing shyness behind her. Cole must learn to trust, to give up his fear of abandonment. Yet how can either meet their needs when each knows their marriage is a six-month affair?

Jane Sullivan switches from the the pure humor of her Harlequin Duets titles and the more sophisticated humor of I GOT YOU BABE (written as Jane Graves) to a more traditional Harlequin plot line (based on the 'Terms of the Will' device). Sullivan cranks up the sexual tension but retains the high-quality writing and traces of the whimsical humor that characterizes her works. ONE HOT TEXAN is a joy to read.

Rating:
Summary: I Wouldn't Call It A Tearjerker
Review: I was reading some of the other reviews, and I was wondering if I read the same book. I enjoyed this book but I sure didn't weep over it.

Ms. Sullivan took the standard plot of town bad boy and invisible girl and gave it a nice twist. Her portrayal of a small town as one full of unforgiving people with long memories was more realistic than some other authors' versions. This wasn't a town full of nice friendly people just waiting to give someone a second chance.

Cole McCallum and Ginny White began the story at opposite ends of the spectrum - he's a ladies man from way back and a black sheep with an arson exoneration hanging over him, and she is a lonely, friendless, untouched (literally and figuratively) woman. They marry in haste for financial reasons, and slowly learn to value and love each other. The shell he's built around himself slowly begins to dissolve and his real personality is revealed as he comes to terms with his childhood scars. She grows as a person - losing her fears brought on by her mother's clinging overprotectiveness and religious narrow-mindedness, becoming more self-confident, and also comfortable with her own sexuality.

Acutally, all of that sounds rather boring, but it wasn't. The characters' personal fears were believable. There were a lot of scenes in the book that just bring a smile to your face. Ms. Sullivan handled their personal growth and their growing sexual awareness/love nicely. The troubles in their relationship were realistic. She made them into human beings that the reader would care about, and resolved the storyline nicely. This is definitly a book worth reading.

Rating:
Summary: I Wouldn't Call It A Tearjerker
Review: I was reading some of the other reviews, and I was wondering if I read the same book. I enjoyed this book but I sure didn't weep over it.

Ms. Sullivan took the standard plot of town bad boy and invisible girl and gave it a nice twist. Her portrayal of a small town as one full of unforgiving people with long memories was more realistic than some other authors' versions. This wasn't a town full of nice friendly people just waiting to give someone a second chance.

Cole McCallum and Ginny White began the story at opposite ends of the spectrum - he's a ladies man from way back and a black sheep with an arson exoneration hanging over him, and she is a lonely, friendless, untouched (literally and figuratively) woman. They marry in haste for financial reasons, and slowly learn to value and love each other. The shell he's built around himself slowly begins to dissolve and his real personality is revealed as he comes to terms with his childhood scars. She grows as a person - losing her fears brought on by her mother's clinging overprotectiveness and religious narrow-mindedness, becoming more self-confident, and also comfortable with her own sexuality.

Acutally, all of that sounds rather boring, but it wasn't. The characters' personal fears were believable. There were a lot of scenes in the book that just bring a smile to your face. Ms. Sullivan handled their personal growth and their growing sexual awareness/love nicely. The troubles in their relationship were realistic. She made them into human beings that the reader would care about, and resolved the storyline nicely. This is definitly a book worth reading.

Rating:
Summary: The Hits Keep Coming
Review: I won't bother reiterating the plot line. What's important to me is how a book tugs at the heart and the use of words that pulls me into the story and makes me feel a part of it.

And this book tugs at the heart. I was carrying One Hot Texan with me when I arrived early to an appointment. I decided to finish up the last few chapters in my car while I waited. I had to fight to keep from ruining my makeup because I was absolutely misty. So be warned: don't read it when your appearance matters!

Jane Sullivan also has small town Texas nailed. Her descriptions placed me right in the middle of the story.

I thorougly enjoyed this book and know you will, too.

Rating:
Summary: A Real Tear Jerker
Review: If you like stories with a lot of drama that make you cry, this one is for you. Ginny White and Cole McCallum both had awful childhoods, and they are lonely adults who don't trust anyone. When they get involved in a marriage of convenience, they learn, the hard way (boy is it long and hard and suffering!) to trust each other.

I'm not a huge fan of a lot of suffering in romance novels, which I read to lighten up my life, but the writing was very good in this one, so I'm giving it four stars, because those you who do like suffering stories will probably enjoy the book. The hero is very dark, and the heroine starts out very wimpy, but she gets stronger, and he gets kinder as time passes. The heroine and hero also go from having no friends to connecting with other people for the first time, which was nice to see. The small Texas town of the story seemed authentic, too.