Notorious: A Novel

Diana Palmer

Jun 2021 · Long, Tall Texans Book 53 · Sold by HQN Books

About this ebook

Trusting him is dangerous.

But resisting him is almost impossible.

New York Times bestselling author Diana Palmer’s Long, Tall Texans series returns with secrets…and dangerous seduction.

Gaby Dupont knows some men shouldn’t be trusted. Ever. Especially not high-profile lawyer Nicholas Chandler. How can she trust the man who might be helping her greedy relatives steal her family fortune? To get the inside scoop on Nicholas’s dealings—and protect herself and her beloved grandmère—Gaby must take a job with the devil himself. Of course, she can’t tell him who she really is…

Nicholas Chandler knows there’s more to Gaby Dupont than delicate beauty. She’s sweet and clever—but just too young and secretive. Yet even as they clash, Gaby gets under his skin as no other woman ever has. When Gaby comes under fire, Nicholas risks his career and reputation to keep her safe. But can he protect Gaby without losing his heart?

Ratings and reviews

Notorious by Diana Palmer Long, Tall Texans #51 A heroine helping her grandmother stoops to fibbing and infiltrating the home of a high-powered lawyer. Gaby and Nicholas will fall for one another eventually and his niece, Jackie, ends up playing a part in the story as do both of their families. This is a book I started and immediately found myself disliking both main lead characters and not warming to them by page fifty decided to skimmed ahead to see if I might find them more likable later. Sadly, I did not and couldn’t relate to the storyline. Thank you to NetGalley and HQN for the ARC – This is my honest review. 2-3 Stars

There were a few things that I liked about this book but so much more that were issues. The book starts out with a grown woman mocking a teenager for how she dressed and looked. This was neither smart or endearing, and really made me dislike our supposed heroine from the start. Then there was the constant character dumps, and I mean every other page take a page to explain who was who and how they were connected, and then it was all explained again, and then again, and then again. Of course, by the time that ended, there were new characters to have explained in pages long connections, and at least twice, if not three times. For someone who supposedly had no family, there was a lot of explanations of the family she did have. So why not one star? Well, I did like the teenager, she was a real character and pretty normal amidst the high and mighty preachy adults. I also thought our hero was okay, even if he was mostly two-dimensional. Like I said, there were a few things I liked but mostly this was a chore to read and had very little meat to the story or the characters

I ended up with very complicated feelings about this book. To start I want to say that I am a huge fan of this author and this series in particular. Her books are like comfort food for me. I know what to expect and I generally love it. That being said, I am shocked to admit how much I struggled with this book and honestly I feel that mainly that is because of the heroine, Gaby. A more unlikable female lead I have never had the misfortune to come across. Even my fierce dislike wasn't simple because I felt that I should feel sympathetic towards this character but couldn't manage to do so. Honestly, this left me mad and sad and feeling flat out bad about myself for not being a kinder person and that was so not what I was looking for or wanted. Sadly this was mostly a miss as far as I was concerned. This is my candid review that I am posting of my own accord.

About the author

The prolific author of more than one hundred books, Diana Palmer got her start as a newspaper reporter. A New York Times bestselling author and voted one of the top ten romance writers in America, she has a gift for telling the most sensual tales with charm and humor. Diana lives with her family in Cornelia, Georgia.