Texas Glory by Lorraine Heath

Title: Texas Glory

Author: Lorraine Heath
Series: Texas Trilogy (book #2)
Next in series: Texas Splendor

Previous in series: Texas Destiny

My rating: 4.5 Stars

Synopsis: Shamelessly traded for land and water rights by her father, Cordelia McQueen is thrust into an unfamiliar world as the bride of Dallas Leigh, a hard man who cares about nothing but having a son. As she learns the ropes of her new life, Cordelia comes to love and trust Dallas, but will he ever feel the same way about her?

Review: The characterization is excellent and the story is heartwarming and heart wrenching in equal measure.

To be honest, Dallas rubbed me the wrong way in Texas Destiny, and I wasn’t so keen on reading his book but I’m glad that I did because he redeems himself completely. Dallas is one of the loneliest heroes I’ve ever encountered and he hides his emotional isolation behind an authoritarian façade that makes everyone fear him. Nevertheless, he has an amazing gentle side that is slowly revealed throughout the book.

Dee is also an endearing character. Even though my preference is for strong willed heroines with a more defined backbone, Dee has an appealing strength of spirit, and it is wonderful seeing her come of out her shell and become more confident and self-assured.

Another highlight is the recurring characters from the first book, Houston, Amelia and Austin, each of whom have their own parallel stories, which contribute to the engaging atmosphere of the book. Even though the suspense subplot is predictable, the villains are suitably evil and obnoxious.

In sum, this is a wonderfully sweet romance and even though Texas Glory is not a tearjerker, it had me crying in places, especially the last ¾ of the story.