Sandy M’s review of Santa in a Stetson by Janet Dailey
Contemporary Romance published by Zebra 1 Oct 09
I haven’t read Janet Dailey in years. I loved her Calder saga when it began back in 1999. (I actually thought it was later than that, but that’s what the websites I checked say.) I read the first four books of that series because that’s all there was at that time. I’ve yet to start the second half of it, but they are in the TBR pile. After reading this book, I’m all the more curious to start the Calders at the beginning just to see if they have the same punch as they did all those years ago. I’m having my doubts, however. Santa in a Stetson is hopefully not vintage Dailey after so much time. I’m hoping she’s better than what I just experienced or remember.
The biggest nitpick with this book is Ms. Dailey doesn’t seem to have grown with the years as far love/sex scenes in romance. Yes, there’s the sweet and sensual for readers who don’t care to get totally nekkid when reading, but this book barely skims sweet or sensual. You have to keep up to date even when you’re old fashioned, and Ms. Dailey just plain misses the mark with this story. There’s not even the smallest beginnings of a sizzle between this couple.
And if you’re looking for a Christmas read, this ain’t it. Whoever titled this book also missed the mark. Big time. Christmas doesn’t even come into the story until very, very late in the book, and though Lije receives a Stetson as a gift, that’s just not what I had pictured in my head of what could conceivably happen in this book. And he doesn’t even play Santa.
Lije and Diana meet while she’s on a photo shoot on a Texas ranch where a local rodeo is going on, Lije being a participant, and they have a whirlwind of a time with each other. They both fall hard for the other very quickly. It’s Lije who does the hard part and says goodbye for them to go their separate ways when the time comes. But it’s Diana who takes the first step toward love, giving up her modeling career to tell Lije she loves him and she wants a future with him.
They marry just as quickly, and just as quickly Diana has doubts about what she’s done the very second she steps onto Lije’s ranch. This was a huge stumbling block for me. She didn’t even give the man a minute’s worth of confidence, worried only that she’s a city girl, the ranch is run down, she’s used to nicer things, maybe she’s made a mistake. I’d have to say it was Lije who made the mistake, seems he got the short end of the stick. More happens, of course, to cause discord between them. Diana eventually in another short period of time can’t stand the loneliness on the ranch when Lije is out working all day long trying to make a go of the place. She just irritated me something fierce from this point on out.
That’s not to say that Lije doesn’t have his moment of errors in judgment. He jumps to the wrong conclusion when he arrives home after being gone a week to see Diana in the barn with a man Lije doesn’t care for, in somewhat of a compromising position. Things hurl south even faster after this, divorce is thrown around, and Diana begins to pack her bags. On top of it all, the dialogue between them is awkward and just doesn’t sound right at this point in the relationship.
I’m very disappointed in this book. The characters are likeble and that’s pretty much all there is to like about the whole story. What’s been done to them just isn’t worth the read. I’m still determined, though, to pull out my Calder books. I have to see if they and my nostalgia surrounding them have survived the years.
Oh, and, Ms. Dailey, please update your website. Santa in a Stetson isn’t even listed there. The most recent book showing is 2007. It’s very frustrating roaming through a site that doesn’t have the information you’re looking for.
Grade: D
Summary:
During a photo shoot on a Texas ranch, fashion model Diana Palmer is so entranced by sexy cowboy Lije Masters that within days she decides to give up her life and career to marry him. The whirlwind love affair is slowed by long cerebral conversations about their life histories, making supposedly cautious Diana’s sudden decision seem ditzy and reducing the reader’s sympathy for her difficult transition from career girl to rancher housewife. When Lije catches Diana with another man, Lije’s stereotypical Native American sidekick, Jim Two Pony, brings words of wisdom that persuade the couple to reconcile.
Read an excerpt.
The original four (?) Calder books were published in the early 80’s. I *think* the first was 1981. The 1999 must be a reprint date because I remember sneaking those out of my mom’s room and in 1999 I’d been married six years. After the dust settled from her plagiarism and she was inexplicable allowed to return to her publishing career, she wrote more in the Calder series.
The Calder series was definitely in the early 80’s as I read the first couple of books while at high school. IIRC the reading order is not the publication order – I think the 2nd or 3rd book was published first, but the earlier books were more stand-alone stories than I think the series is now. I’m waiting to see if the series will be released in eBook before I try to catch up on reading it.
Santa in a Stetson must be a reissue of Land of Enchantment, originally published in the mid 70’s
It’s been quite a while since I read Land of Enchantment and while I did enjoy it way back then, I’m not too sure that the story would really hold up after all those years. I don’t recall it having too much to do with Christmas either so possibly there have been changes to the original story in order for the publishers to try to market it as a Christmas-time story.
Thanks for tweaking my memory on the Calder series. I felt that it was much earlier than the couple of sites I happened on which told me it was 1999.
And now I’m really ticked off learning this book is definitely a reissue of Land of Enchantment, which was published in 1975. Hell, no wonder I didn’t care for the darned love scenes in the book. Actually, this is not just a reissue – Ms. Dailey did add several chapters to it to try to make it a holiday book. And that did not work, did not help the book at all. I feel mislead on the entire thing, especially when I did check three different sites to see if it was a reissue. It wasn’t until I happened to glance at a review on Amazon.com that I found it is a “reissue” of Land of Enchantment.
Shame on Zebra and Ms. Dailey for doing that. It didn’t do either Ms. Dailey or anyone who happens to pick up Santa in a Stetson any good. Just pisses readers off and makes Ms. Dailey look bad, which she definitely doesn’t need, and we all know why.