Watcha Readin' Wednesday

This week's review selection: Fearless by Diana Palmer. Harlequin, 2008

This hard back book was on the New Selections shelf of my library. I liked the title and the blurb sounded interesting, so I took a chance. Even though I’ve never read anything by this author who has apparently published around 100 titles.

On the positive side, Fearless was a fast read. No mechanical issues or misspellings to interrupt. And kudos to Palmer for giving us a less than perfect physically heroine who uses a cane.

As someone who writes and edits others’ work, however, I had a hard time staying involved with the story. Point of view shifted constantly, often mid-paragraph. The hero, Rodrigo — rich-boy-gone-DEA special operative undercover as a farm manager — believes he’s far better than the heroine, Gloryanne, who is an Assistant DA undercover as his farm cook. Neither knows the other’s true profession – a nice premise. Even though Rodrigo finds himself falling for Gloryanne, he repeatedly tells those around him what a lowlife she is. Unlike the tried and true romance plot where a heroine overhears a hero and misconstrues what he’s said, in this case Rodrigo really does think Gloryanne is unworthy of being his wife. Only after he learns she’s successful and connected to one of Texas’ wealthiest families does he have an about-face and suddenly love her. In today’s politically correct climate, Rodrigo’s attitude is backward, perhaps even reprehensible, and definitely uncool. I’m not sure most readers will forgive him, and really, how could Gloryanne?

Sadly, I’d give this read a Don’t Bother.

Piper Denna
Romance is sexy!

Our rating system:

Get Your Own Copy! A book you love so much, no way are you loaning it out. Worthy of high praise and frequent recommendations – but trust us, if you let someone borrow this one, they’ll “forget” to return it. Don’t miss the next title by this author.

Keeper. You won’t regret either time or money spent with this book. It has a permanent spot on your shelf. Recommend it freely and lend it carefully to that trustworthy “inner circle” of reader friends. Put the author on your To Be Read list.

Nice Bang for Your Entertainment Buck. Well worth your time and money, but not necessarily worth a re-read. Pass it on to someone who’ll enjoy it and keep the author on your radar.

Borrow It. An okay read, but try to borrow it from a friend or library. This author will likely improve with experience, so remember him/her.

Don’t Bother. We won’t sink into varying degrees of badness – one size fits all in our “not worthy” category. Do remember, this is just one opinion, so take us with a grain of salt.