Dinca’s review of Taming the Texas Playboy by Crystal Green
Contemporary Romance published by Harlequin Special Edition 15 Feb 11
I am not sure what the title of this book has to do with the story. I find no evidence in the hero’s character to warrant his supposed bad reputation
Ally Gale has her life in order and it does not include a commitment-shy playboy with seduction on his mind. She has lived through enough scandal to last a life time. Now she looks forward to a quiet life with a child of her own.
Jeremiah Barron is stunned to discover he wants the one thing he cannot have – Allison Gale. He follows her to California and insinuates himself in her life. He is shocked when he realizes she is keeping a low profile because she’s trying to adopt a child. Her mind is made up and he is confounded to find he’s not turned off by her decision.
I do feel the author is working too hard with her thesaurus, coming up with new words and changing them from nouns to verbs and not making the sentences read well. It really takes away from the story line when you get distracted by the unrelenting creativity by the author’s attempt at demonstrating her vocabulary.
I find Crystal Green’s descriptions also weak and unrealistic. As an example:
“She ran her free hand over the back of his neck, around the front, where she rested her fingertips over his jaw line.”
I even had to stop reading to try it out on my husband. He asked me if I was trying to put him in a headlock. We were entertained a bit over that one.
The storyline’s an unusual one, although lacking and unrealistic. There is not enough interaction in the brief encounters between the hero and heroine to warrant such emotion on the short, infrequent times they are together. I would have enjoyed the story if it was a little longer with more interaction between the main characters.
Grade: C
Summary:
It was meant to be a game of seduction—a distraction from his epic family scandal. And devilish tycoon Jeremiah Barron was the ultimate player: cool, calculating and in control both in business and the bedroom. When sexy, reserved socialite Allison Gale breezed into his life with an exclusive property to sell, he was determined to acquire a lot more than her real estate. But what he didn’t expect was for one soul-touching kiss to knock his world completely off its axis!
Single mom Ally knew a commitment-shy playboy when she saw one. But beneath his Stetson beat the heart of a compassionate cowboy. A man worth loving—if she was willing to take the ultimate risk….
Read an excerpt.
