Maggie's Dad by Diana Palmer ... QC #169

2 Stars ~~~ Sadly, I can’t give a good rating to a book solely because it’s well written.

Maggie’s Dad by Diana Palmer

Silhouette Special Edition # 991 ~ Nov 1991

Warning ... this review contains spoilers, you may not wish to read on.

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From the book cover ……

Hot-tempered rancher Powell Long had once stolen Antonia Haye’s heart. But small-town lies tore their young love apart, forcing Antonio to flee. Years later, she returned to find Powell raising a daughter alone. Fatherhood hadn't tempered with his wild side, or his desire for the one woman he'd always wanted--Antonia. Not even her pride could make her ignore the eager pull of her heartstrings. And taking a chance at a future family with Powell was simply too irresistible…

Before I begin, I want to mention this story is written in three POVs, Antonia’s, Powel’s, and Powel’s daughter Maggie’s. I picked this up at the UBS after Christa’s review earlier this year. I was curious to know how the hero could redeem himself after he’d spent years resenting his very young daughter, to the point that it bordered on neglect. Well, at least DP showed that Powel did talk to Maggie and was genuinely interested in her day, but I thought his coldness to her could be deemed as emotionally abusive and this was a harder lump to swallow. The whole Antonia issue was something else again. At first DP made Antonia almost a martyr with the constant mentioning of how she had to leave town, how she was wronged, how her family was ostracized because of lies … this was almost too much. And then her discovery that she is truly ill and may die … well okay. The scenes where Antonia first learns of her leukemia and the scenes where she battles her fears and then feels hopeless, well those were incredibly well written, so much so I cried. Having been in the room when my Mother was told she had invasive breast cancer (she’s now a four year survivor!) and then a few year’s later being the first family member to hear directly from the doctor that my Father was dying (he’d seemed perfectly fine three weeks before) … well, DP conveyed those feelings remarkably well. I felt Antonia’s anguish. I can buy Powel’s redemption only because of the way he steps up when he discovers Antonia may die. Now about Maggie … this poor child didn’t even need to be in this story for this story to be a good read. I would have preferred that Powel’s that the child who was the reason for him marrying Antonia’s best friend, would have died at birth than to have read about a child so unloved. That’s the only part of the story that doesn’t sit with me. The HEA for the child is unbelievable … not that she’s now loved but that she’s emotionally healthy after so many years of being the unloved resented child.

In short, this story is very well written and for the writing deserves at least a 4 star rating. Not having read many SSE’s written in the early 90’s, I can’t say what direction the line was taking. I’m sure emotional family stories were sought; however this one was over the top. Every conflict imaginable was used --- betrayal, wrongfully accused, infidelity, pregnancy, fatal illness, rebellious child, success driven alpha hero. My rating goes down simply because of Powel’s reactions and treatment of Maggie. I can buy that Powel didn’t believe she was his child so he had a hard time loving her, but she still deserved to be loved and not treated with such contempt. Sadly I can’t give a good rating to a book solely because it’s well written, I have to like the characters and believe in them. This story had too many dark moments to overcome.

Excellence: Okay ~ Steaminess: Romantic

My Totals = 62 ~ Harlequin Imprint = 58 ~ Other Publisher = 4

This review was a struggle for me to write ... both from a cognitive point of view and because of the book itself. I hope I've conveyed my thoughts with some amount of clarity.

~~ KatherineT ~~ I'm a Harlequin Addict, and I'm proud of it!
~~ Quiet Canadians ~ 2008 Book Challenge Blog