Monday, May 13, 2013

Designs on the Cowboy - Roxann Delaney (HAR #1455 - June 2013)

Series: Hearts of Desperation (Book 8)

A Cowboy Fixer-Upper

Loner Dylan Walker has spent the past fifteen years pushing other people away. His family's century-old ranch house, once a showpiece of Desperation, Oklahoma, has fallen into disrepair since his parents passed. Still, Dylan thinks his sister went too far in hiring a renovation expert to invade his home and his life.

Peppy former prom queen Glory Andrews has her work cut out building a reputation as the town's premier interior designer. The Walker job is the first big step toward reinventing herself after an ugly divorce. She can't fail-and she won't. Even if Dylan seems dead set against change.

But Glory is doing much more than redecorating a home-she's determined to show Dylan that he can let go of the past and they can have a future together. If only the stubborn cowboy will let her!


Very good book.  Dylan has kept to himself since the accident that killed his parents.  The house they lived in is showing the wear of time and Dylan's resistance to any change.  His sister has had enough and hired Glory to come in and fix things up, telling Dylan he can either deal with it or leave.  This is Glory's first job as an interior designer and she is determined to make it wonderful.  Dylan resists the changes at first.  Both Dylan and Glory have things from their pasts that they have to overcome to get their happy ending.

Dylan has been in so much pain since his parents' deaths that he refuses to get close to anyone else.  He feels guilty about their deaths, blaming himself, and has sworn that keeping the ranch going is his only desire for his future.  When his sister tells him she's tired of the way he's let things go and has hired someone to fix the place up he is not happy.  When he finds out that it's Glory, the one he'd had a crush on in high school he's even less happy.  All he can remember is how far out of her league he had felt.  Now he is attracted to her but determined nothing will come of it.  I loved the way that he tried so hard to stay away from her but that she kept drawing him back like a moth to a flame.  He learned that there was more to her than the empty headed cheerleader he had remembered.  I loved the way that he was so impressed with the work she did even as he was fighting the changes.  He also found that the more time he spent with her the more she had him remembering the good times with his parents rather than his guilty feelings.  His pain at the end when she challenged him to let go of the past was intense.

Glory had come back to Desperation to start her business.  She was recovering from her divorce and determined to make a go of her new venture and not get involved with another man.  She was also still trying to find the real Glory after being forced to play a part by her abusive father.  She was excited to be working on the Walker house as her first job.  She remembered Dylan from school when she had also had a bit of a crush on him though she wasn't able to do anything about it.  She is disturbed by how withdrawn he is and his apparent lack of interest in what she does with the house.  I loved the way that she just kept chipping away at his walls by keeping him informed about what she was doing.  She also found herself opening up to him about her father and ex-husband, something she hadn't done with anyone else.  I loved the way that she had the strength to let Dylan know how she felt and to help him face his feelings.  



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