*The Loner* by Diana Palmer is a classic romance novel set in a small, tight-knit community where secrets, desire, and past wounds shape the characters' lives. The story centers around Jonah, a brooding, solitary man who has spent years keeping to himself, and the woman who slowly breaks down his walls. While Palmer's writing is engaging and emotionally charged, the story can feel somewhat formulaic, with its predictable plot and character archetypes. The romance develops slowly, building on tension and misunderstandings. Fans of Diana Palmer’s work will appreciate *The Loner*, but those looking for more complex, unconventional romance may find it lacking.

Another fantastic book by Diana Palmer. I highly recommend this book especially if you are a fan of her work. We got to visit quite a quite a few old friends and make new. I hope that there are stories for Tanner's siblings. If you haven't read Heather's song before I would recommend reading that 1st because this book in the children of those characters. I absolutely loved visiting with them again.

Thanks Diana Palmer, the publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.


I've always loved Diana Palmer, honestly I remember reading the Long, Tall Texans books that my mom had.

BUT this book fell a little flat and I struggled with it. I am going to be honest I ended up skimming it because I felt like it was similar to the last few books. I will be re-reading it an hopefully can give a better review but as of right now I sadly have to give 2 stars

This is a straightforward and a sweet story. Plus, these characters are so adorable making them memorable enough for me. Plus, it was nice, light and an easy read. i enjoyed it!

This is a good book. The two main characters are Stasia and Tanner. They live on neighboring ranches. Stasia has loved the next door neighbor playboy Tanner for a long time. Her father wants to link their ranches together by matrimony. Tanner starts to see Stasia in a different light. They each have issues but together they work them out and fall in love.

It is a very sweet romance novel, and well worth the time spent to read it. There is a reason that Harlequin novels would never go out of style, and this book is one of the many reasons!! Loved it.

Lots of sass, steamy scenes, huge cast of characters and of course laden with traditions, faith, and country. ONE HOT COWBOY WEDDING is vintage Carolyn Brown with an updated twist bringing the tale into current times.
A fast Las Vegas wedding sounds so cliché but in the case of Ace Riley and Jasmine King it fulfilled a rather desperate need. Keeping his grandfather’s ranch was on the line and there was no one Ace trusted more than his best friend Jazzy to keep an exceptionally large secret. And so the fun begins.
Jasmine and Ace have led widely different lives. Ace comes from a large family; Jasmine is an only child. Jasmine left behind a career to take over her grandmother’s café. It really suited her better. Ace has spent lots of time on the road but is now growing his ranch. Neither looking to truly settle down. Candidly Ace has enjoyed being free to play the field.
So to obey his grandfathers will, Ace needs a wife. Jasmine as a good friend volunteers to fill that role for a year. Meaning this was to be a temporary arrangement. Both were happy with the idea. But both planned to keep this between the two of them. You know what they say about the best of plans.
In true Carolyn Brown fashion we are treated to a bird’s eye view of just how chaotic these two characters’ lives become. Interfering, well-meaning parents. Rather intrusive friends and neighbors. And certainly top of the list undeniable attraction that seems almost impossible to rein in.
Looking for fun, ONE HOT COWBOY WEDDING by Carolyn Brown keeps its promise to entertain. Just might be one of the best written by decidedly a favorite author of mine, and that is saying something. ONE HOT COWBOY WEDDING in written by Carolyn Brown who has her hand on the pulse of romantic comedy readers. Absolute fun from start to finish. Wonderful choice of a beach read.

Let me start out by saying I am a huge fan of Diana Palmer's books. And relatively I really enjoy her writing and storytelling but this one was just ok for me, it fell a little flat. So I am not going to have a lot to say for a review. I just didn't and I couldn't get past the idea that she should have refused to have anything to do with him after how terribly he treats her. I didn't care much for the main characters except for John, and I just felt bad for him all the way through the book. Other than that it just okay.



And as Always Happy Reading!!

Another great book from Diana Palmer. I’ve read other books by this author this one was just as good as those. I really enjoyed the story and the characters were well thought out.

I'd heard the name Diana Palmer, I'd even heard that she wrote romance, but somehow, this is the first time I've read one of her books. I find myself a little on the fence with The Loner. I like the trope, and I love a redeemable alpha male - this one is quite the jerk, and it takes him a good while to even start changing my feelings toward him, which had me wondering if he was going to be redeemable. There were some interesting twists, and I like the storyline. I suppose the romance is what has me on that earlier-mentioned fence. I struggled with this couple and had a hard time rooting for them, which makes it difficult to immerse myself in the romance. As far as the story as a whole, I liked many things about it. There were some times that things were repetitive, but overall, it's an entertaining story. As I understand it, this is part of a series, but as far as I could tell, it worked fine as a standalone. I think this book was maybe the wrong one for me. I do think it has its audience, and it was certainly worth the read.

THE LONER takes author Diana Palmer's fans back to her world of long-running Long, Tall Texans series.

Reviewed for Fresh Fiction by Annetta Sweetko

https://freshfiction.com/review.php?id=82030

The Loner is the 54th book in prolific author Diana Palmer’s Long, Tall Texans series. Nineteen year old Stasia Bolton was left in a precarious position when her 50 something father, Glenn, succumbed to heart disease. The ranch was mortgaged to the hilt. His will specified that the ranch be sold to an amusement park company if Stasia and neighbor’s son Tanner Everett did not marry and combine the land with the neighboring ranch. This odd instruction was meant to offer Stasia protection and a way to hold on to the ranch that had been in the family more than 100 years. It was also meant to offer his dear daughter the man she had been in love with for most of her young life.

However, Tanner was a jet setting playboy unlikely to give up his globe trotting ways. But when tragedy strikes as a result of his lack of control and reckless ways, life will change for them all.

Five years later, Tanner is back in Stasia’s life under mysterious circumstances, putting her and his family in danger. As Tanner’s undercover life is revealed, a cast of interesting players assembles leading to a very satisfying conclusion.

This is a multi faceted tale with unexpected twists. I very much enjoyed the story and do recommend this book.

I really wanted to love this as I have so many other of Ms. Palmer's books, but there was a lot of repeated information that should have been cut by an editor and I just could not believe in a HEA after everything the hero did to the heroine and that she kept going back for more.

Tanner is a jerk. Gosh, I really started off disliking this guy a lot. He showed a few soft moments like when Stasie's mother died and he came to comfort her. But when Stasie's father changes his will so that she and Tanner have to marry in order for Stasie's ranch not to get sold to a developer who could build something right next door to Tanner's ranch which would ruin his ranch and cause havoc to his cattle, he's just mad he's been backed into a corner. But Tanner is used to jet setting around the world, having a woman who is not naïve and unsophisticated so he's really mad he has to marry Stasie even though he knows she loves him.

He treats her badly, making her think that they might get along after their marriage night and then he leaves to be with his mistress. He was a total jerk. So I totally understood why his family cut him off after a tragic event happens and Stasie decides to find a way out of the marriage and divorce him. He has to find a way to make it on his own and grow up.

Fast forward a few years and Stasie and Tanner meet again and neither of them are the same people they were. Watching these two have a second chance with each other was nice but I'm not sure I would have been able to forgive him like she did. But of course she still loved him and probably always would.

You always know what you're going to get with a Diana Palmer cowboy romance and I love that about this author. When I want a story like this, she is the author I always come back to because I know what kind of story I'm going to get and I almost always like them.

Disclosure: I was given an e-ARC copy of this book via NetGalley but all thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Loner by Diana Palmer is part of her Long, Tall Texas world, but can be read as a standalone. Tanner Everett is a man used to living his life as he pleases with who he pleases. Stasia has always loved Tanner, but knows she has no chance with him. Suddenly Stasia may get just what she has always wanted, Tanner. But Tanner has other plans. But in the end, they are forced to marry. Is this the beginning of all her dreams or the start of her nightmares?

Tanner is drawn to Stasia, but he is not ready to commit to her. When tragedy strikes, they are driven apart. Years later they are face-to-face again. Is this finally their time? Stasia gave her heart freely and fiercely. She was strong, even when seen as weak. Tanner was strong, determined and maybe a little young at first. As time went by, he grew and knew what he wanted. Their journey was not easy and a bit suspenseful, but it was sweet and charming as well.

Happy reading!
3-5-stars!

I’ve never read anything by Diana Palmer before, but I figured it was about time. THE LONER is the only book I’ve ever read where I wanted the heroine to pick The Other Guy. In other books, the hero does some dumb things, but you still always root for him to get the girl. But in THE LONER, the hero more often than not made it tough to like him, and The Other Guy made it really hard not to cheer for him. Stasie has been in love with Tanner for most of her life. He doesn’t love her but knows how she feels. Poor John has always loved Stasie, but she thinks of him as more of a brother.

Stasie lives next to the Everetts. In THE LONER, Stasie’s father dies and one of the stipulations of the will, is that Stasie and Tanner get married so the two ranch properties become linked. What a crazy story! Tanner does not want any part of this, but feels obligated to make the deal happen for his family. He leaves after the wedding and doesn’t return until five years later. Stasie and Tanner are still married and even though Stasie tries to move on with her life, she still loves Tanner. I really wanted to knock some sense into her!

Overall, THE LONER is a story that I really enjoyed. There is so much heart in Diana’s writing that I was left with a huge smile on my face and my heart, very happy. All of the characters are very interesting and believable, so much so that I felt as if I’ve known them for a long time. I look forward to reading Ms. Palmer’s previous books that I haven’t gotten to yet as well as her future ones. There is so much going on in this story, but Diana Palmer does a wonderful job of weaving all the pieces together. All of the characters will have you feeling sad and then smiling on the same page. Once you finish devouring this story, you are going to want to tell everyone you know about this awesome book.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Harlequin through Netgalley. All opinions expressed are my own and were voluntarily given.

I have read all of Ms Palmers books, and will continue to do so. Her books are very formulaic. While that can be very frustrating, it can also be comforting. You always know what to expect. This book is no different. At the beginning of the book, the lead female character - Stasia - is 19 and a naïve virgin in love with the boy next door. This boy is a 25 year old male who could care less for the ranching life, and even more so Stasia. Tanner is a self centered brat of a man who lives for jet-setting, and easy woman. Why Stasia would be interested in this narcissistic idiot I have no clue.

Once Stasia's father dies she and Tanner are forced into a sham marriage. This does not go well at all. The book then jumps ahead 5 years and Stasia is living a very exclusive high life in New York City. Tanner meets up with her - and of course they end up falling madly in love. This book would of been a lot more believable if Tanner had been a bit more of a decent human being. He really had no redeeming qualities.

That being said, I do feel this book is better than a few of the books most recently written by Diana Palmer.

I received this as an ARC from Netgalley and Harlequin. Thank you.

I am a fan of Diana Palmer stories. This one was just ok for me so I am not going to have a lot to say for a review. I didn't care that much for the main characters except for John and I just felt bad for him all the way through the book.

In The Loner (Long Tall Texans #53), Diana Palmer returns to her familiar format, her heroine, Anastasia (Stasia) Bolton , a young virgin, living next door to a huge ranch and falling hopelessly in love with the eldest son, Tanner Everett, who was spoiled and over-indulged by his mother from birth. Tanner wants nothing to do with the family ranch, and instead spends his life traveling the world's exotic locations with a variety of snobby, obnoxious, self-centered women, as shallow and narcissistic as himself.

When Stasia's father dies suddenly, his will stipulates that unless Stasia marries Tanner and stays married to her for one year, their ranch will be sold to a buyer who intends to build a large amusement park there, and Stasia will be left homeles and penniless, since their ranch is mortgaged to the hilt and deeply in debt. After loads of arguments and looking for loopholes in the will, and finding none, Tanner and Stastia marry, and after their sultry wedding night, Tanner leaves for Europe with his rude, obnoxious, current bed partner. How could Stasia, a seemingly intelligent woman, be pining her life away on this louse of a man? I spent so much time shaking my head while reading this that I'm surprised I didn't suffer brain damage.

What Tanner didn't expect was that his wedding night produced a pregnancy, and I won't get into details as to what happens when he and his flavor of the month return to the ranch, but it's ugly and awful, and once again, I had to ask myself how could Stasia possibly still love this man? Tanner ends up banned from his parents' ranch, and 5 years later, Stasia is now a well-known and well-paid portrait artist and art restorer in New York, and Tanner is now working as an operative for a secret government agency. This turn of event, of course, means that we now get to learn all about Eb Scott and the cast of characters from Ms. Palmer's previous novels about the Jacobsville, Texas mercenaries. If you've not read her novels before, I'm guessing you will be totally befuddled as they are briefly introduced, and connections made. I've read all of Ms. Palmer's novels, and I found myself still trying to remember who was who.

Yes, of course, there's an HEA ending eventually, but I just couldn't buy into Ms. Palmer's main character, Tanner Everett, having a complete personality change, suddenly claiming to want the ranch he hated before, and I found his sudden romantic feelings towards Stasia completely one-sided and unbelieveable. Read at your own risk.

I voluntarily read an advance reader copy of this novel. The opinions stated are my own.

Needs some editing and imagination. Very jumpy. Repetitive but decent.
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I have to say I am actually a little surprised at this book. As I mentioned, I have never read a Palmer story before, so I was really not sure what to expect.

The theme is engaging and offers an interesting story with a few good twists. What I did not anticipate was the clear need for better editing in this book. We run into a lot of repetitive conversations, sequences with conversations that don’t fit right, and this story is missing the spark and the fire that a good romance should lead us into.

There are parts of this book I truly enjoyed but some of it was just pure editing issues that would’ve made the flow a lot smoother. Thankfully, the second half of the book picked up, flowed better, and became easier to enjoy. The main and secondary characters offer a good dynamic to the book and set up additional areas for more stories to come.

Unfortunately, I did not really feel a connection between the two main characters until close to the end which is sad as overall it was a good story. I just need more of the emotional connection and imagination to draw me into the book.