One hot Texan [Paperback]

Ms. Sullivan took the standard plot of town bad boy and invisible girl and gave it a nice twist. Her portrayal of a small town as one full of unforgiving people with long memories was more realistic than some other authors' versions. This wasn't a town full of nice friendly people just waiting to give someone a second chance.

Cole McCallum and Ginny White began the story at opposite ends of the spectrum - he's a ladies man from way back and a black sheep with an arson exoneration hanging over him, and she is a lonely, friendless, untouched (literally and figuratively) woman. They marry in haste for financial reasons, and slowly learn to value and love each other. The shell he's built around himself slowly begins to dissolve and his real personality is revealed as he comes to terms with his childhood scars. She grows as a person - losing her fears brought on by her mother's clinging overprotectiveness and religious narrow-mindedness, becoming more self-confident, and also comfortable with her own sexuality.

Acutally, all of that sounds rather boring, but it wasn't. The characters' personal fears were believable. There were a lot of scenes in the book that just bring a smile to your face. Ms. Sullivan handled their personal growth and their growing sexual awareness/love nicely. The troubles in their relationship were realistic. She made them into human beings that the reader would care about, and resolved the storyline nicely. This is definitly a book worth reading.

I'm not a huge fan of a lot of suffering in romance novels, which I read to lighten up my life, but the writing was very good in this one, so I'm giving it four stars, because those you who do like suffering stories will probably enjoy the book. The hero is very dark, and the heroine starts out very wimpy, but she gets stronger, and he gets kinder as time passes. The heroine and hero also go from having no friends to connecting with other people for the first time, which was nice to see. The small Texas town of the story seemed authentic, too.

And this book tugs at the heart. I was carrying One Hot Texan with me when I arrived early to an appointment. I decided to finish up the last few chapters in my car while I waited. I had to fight to keep from ruining my makeup because I was absolutely misty. So be warned: don't read it when your appearance matters!

Jane Sullivan also has small town Texas nailed. Her descriptions placed me right in the middle of the story.

I thorougly enjoyed this book and know you will, too.