Book Review: Texas Glory by Lorraine Heath

At First Sight: Dallas Leigh is a man of big dreams. He dreamed of owning a large and successful business, of building a town and of passing his legacy to his son. And he succeed for the most part, but having a son is very complicated since women are scarce in the far reaches of West Texas, and not even the new town has managed to bring women out West.

Since his last attempt at a Mail-Order bride ended up badly (mostly because his bride-to-be Amelia fell in love with Dallas' brother Houston in Texas Destiny), Dallas is reluctant to try that again. So, when he finds out his nemesis, the McQueens, have a sister/daughter, Cordelia, he decides to marry her, not only to form a truce of sorts between the two families but because it saves him the trouble of looking for a mother of his would be child, elsewhere.

Dee isn't happy to find out about the marriage - she has heard her brothers and father talk trash about Dallas since they moved to West Texas, and she is a bit afraid of him. In fact, Dee is afraid of almost everything since she has spent the majority of her life hidden away at home (first taking care of her ailing mother and then just staying there since her father was convinced everything outside was dangerous for her). And she is crushed to learn that all she's worth to her family is a strip of land and access to the river on Dallas' ranch; but she knows her duty, so she marries him.

She's surprised when Dallas doesn't turn out to be anything like her family told her he was, surprised by how much freedom he gives her. And she starts to care for him little by little. Dallas, on the other hand, thinks that his last dream is within sight, but he starts to realize there might be more to life than crossing things off his To Do mental list.

Second Glance: Texas Glory is the second book in the Leigh Brothers trilogy and it opens five years after the end of Texas Destiny, and is both a good story on it's own and a good sequel - and you do get to see most of the characters from the first book (Houston, Amelia, Austin), as well as new characters. 

I really loved Dee, she's starts as someone so shy, so unsure of herself and grows into being someone confident. She's smart and caring and finds delight in even the smallest things. Her relationship with Dallas develops slowly, both of them slowly working through the misunderstandings and the things they don't know about each other.

Bottom Line: Definitely a hanky read, Texas Glory is a great American historical. It has engaging  characters and a slow-building romance and a story about family.

Favorite Quote: "Dreams. Gossamer images that most people carried with them into their sleep, but for Dallas Leigh, they were the incentive that woke him before dawn, the impetus that pushed him toward midnight. Dreams were the stepping stones to glory."

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