August 30, 2004
Palmer's new romance catches up with small-town Jacobsville, Tex., police chief Cash Grier and fashion model–turned– film star Tippy Moore, who crossed paths in the author's previous novel, Lawless
. Hardened, war-weary Cash, a former mercenary, swears he'll never trust another woman again after a crushing betrayal by his ex-wife ("They say bullets are dangerous. But the most dangerous thing on earth is love.'); red-headed Tippy's sunny exterior hides a horrific past of abuse and neglect, making her equally wary of men. An idyllic meeting in New York, where Tippy lives, segues quickly into a rather improbable series of events, including a miscarriage, a kidnapping and a daring rescue. When Cash whisks Tippy off to Jacobsville for her own safety, the pressures on the couple ease, but Palmer concocts some convoluted sideplots featuring local politicians trying to work outside the law and a state senator arrested for inebriation. Too many pages are wasted reiterating ad infinitum the trust issues that plague Cash and Tippy, but Palmer knows how to make the sparks fly between her protagonists. The ties binding Tippy and Rory, the nine-year-old half-brother she cares for, and the solid relationship Cash builds with both of them are heartwarming and endearing.
August 1, 2004
When the daily irritations of being a small-town sheriff finally catch up to him, former Texas Ranger Cash Grier decides to take a much-deserved few days off and heads to New York to visit model-turned-actress Tippy Moore and her young brother. Cash and Tippy quickly realize that there are sparks between them, but the course of true love does not run smoothly for the pair, given their difficult pasts. Although Palmer's name will be a definite draw, using a story that features characters from her "Long, Tall Texan" series seems an odd choice for the launch of Harlequin's new single-title line. Nevertheless, Palmer's many fans will definitely want this. She lives in northeast Georgia.
Copyright 2004 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
August 1, 2004
A young victim of repeated rapes by her apathetic mother's boyfriend, actress-model Tippy cringes whenever a man comes near her. Having literally bought her younger brother, Rory, from her drug-addict mother five years earlier, Tippy now centers her life around her nine-year-old sibling and her work. Cash Grier, sheriff of Jacobsville, Texas, formerly of special ops, also has a deep-seated distrust of the opposite sex. His father exiled Cash to military school when his duplicitous stepmother lied about him. Now these two damaged souls have found each other, but their respective childhood traumas keep their trust, and their ability to love, at bay. In a book loaded with emotions, the popular Palmer has penned a compelling tale of two separate but parallel journeys toward trust, healing, forgiveness, and, ultimately, self-acceptance. Readers who enjoy stories by authors who know how to pack an emotional wallop, such as Kathryn Shay, Dee Holmes, and Francis Ray, will add Palmer to their list of favorites.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2004, American Library Association.)