Thursday, January 29, 2009

Year of the Category - January: The Horseman's Son by Delores Fossen

The Horseman's Son by Delores FossenBlurb: From the moment he first saw his son, ranchman Dylan Greer knew the baby he'd adopted was his in every way that mattered. And no one--not even the beautiful, strong-willed cop who claimed she was the child's mother--was going to change that. Collena Drake swore a criminal ring had stolen her baby and that someone was crossing every line to keep the illegal adoption secret. Now, in order to protect one innocent child, Collena made him a tempting offer: get married and share custody. As a businessman, Dylan thought the plan brilliant. But as a man...resisting his "bride," especially as the danger mounted, would be damn near impossible.
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While I still read a lot of Harlequins, I tend not to buy a lot of Intrigues. One of the things that I love about the Intrigue line is also one of the things that I find makes it so unbelievable as well. The stories take place in a very quick, fast, blink-of-an-eye time frame. This one is no exception. Within less than a week's time, Collena and Dylan have met, squared off over their son, Adam, gotten married, are insanely attracted to one another, have sex, and fall in love - all while fighting off attempts on Collena's life. Pretty unbelievable.

Yet there is something tremendously enjoyable about the Intrigue line anyway. I enjoyed Collena's smarts. Her desire to find her son and be a mother to him. She's no victim.

Dylan is not a cookie cutter hero, either. He was a guy with doubts - all the way. Doubts about the right path to take in order to protect his son, doubts about being with Collena, doubts about his past.

This book fits in with the Intrigue model - high on suspense and action; low on the angst and emotion. We never really get a good glimpse into who these people truly are. That's more a product of the length of this book, I think, than anything else. Fossen makes a really good start, especially on Dylan and his past - all his loves have ended up either dead or attacked in some way. The impact on him has been severe. Unfortunately, the length prevents a fully in-depth exploration of this, and the mixup of the danger plots - the attempts on Collena's life are two-fold - make it nearly impossible to delve into any of the issues that either Dylan or Collena have - and Fossen makes it plain that they have many.

I feel about this book the way I do so many of te Intrigue line... I so wish that it could have been another 150 pages long. It could have been a great book. Instead, it was a quick, skimmy read that never completely engaged me. Which is a shame, because I think that Fossen is a terrific author. I enjoyed it, but not as much as I enjoy other books in other lines.

6 comments:

  1. This is exactly the reason why I don't read category romances. They are just way too short for my tastes. The thing is I like a fast paced book that is quick to get to the good stuff. I guess it just has to be done right and that is easier said than done.

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  2. Yes the category romance is short but sometimes that's why I like them. Yes, suspension of belief is needed but most of them are enjoyable. I think I've told you before I have a ton of these Intrigues that I got at a rummage sale over a year ago - haven't touched a one! lol

    Good review! :)

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  3. Jill, I still do read category. Quite a lot, actually. But I tend more towards the Super Romance (they're a little longer, and a little... deeper) and the Harlequin Historicals. OK, I read Blaze, too every now and again. Yeah. I can be bought for the sex, LMAO.

    Tracy, don't try to pawn those Intrigues off on me next weekend, LOL!

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  4. Ya know...categories and YA...I am being realistic about what I really want to read--given how little I've been reading this past few months (year)...and I just don't want to read either of them. *shrugging*

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  5. You know, I haven't ever read a super romance. I have read the historical's though and I think they are okay. I haven't really been wowed by any, though. I might have to try a super romance at some point. I hear Harlequin is giving a way 16 different ebooks. Maybe one of them is a super romance. I'll look into it.

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  6. Great review, Lori! I agree with Tracey that the short length can be a plus, but I see what you mean too about the week's length making the story unbelievable as well. The little time it takes to read one is an enormous plus for me, I'm finding, with limited time and all.

    I'll be trying out an Intrigue or two as well later in the year, so I'm looking forward to seeing the characteristics of them that you mention.

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Have you read it? What do you think?

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