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** spoiler alert ** Garon and Grace. Thank goodness I got this from the library for free. What an excruciatingly angsty read with not nearly enough grovelling at the end! I try to find those few Diana Palmer books where the hero is redeemable by the end and imho, this wasn't one of them. Poor Grace. She just has the worst luck!
Grace had a very sad scary childhood and the people of the small town she lives in may not know all about it, but what they do know makes them very protective of her. They also keep her secrets from newcomers like Garon. Garon is her new neighbour, an FBI agent and wannabe rancher. He is dismissive of his frumpy little neighbour and her mean grandma from day one. But things happen to bring them together and he decides he's got the hots for her for a couple days. Then promptly kicks her to the curb... and is seriously despicable about it. Meanwhile he starts working on the case of a serial child killer. A killer that he finds out, didn't manage to kill one of his earliest victims. You can see where this is going I'm sure, so I won't spell it out. But Grace is a woman of many layers and secrets. Not just the obvious ones. I did like her character even if she was a bit of doormat.
Now Garon on the other hand... Like another reviewer said, if he's indicative of the FBI's intelligence level, well that's just plain worrying! Grace exhibits all the signs of a woman who's been abused, but somehow Garon fails to notice til about 3/4 into the story. I do wonder if it was willful ignorance? You know, because he wanted to get into her pants with no strings attached. He truly does spend most of the book being a complete jerk to her. Even after he marries her, he was unforgivable. The book is pure harlequin 70's style with an evil OW, an OM who pines unrequitedly, an OTT villain, a jerky Hero whose been hurt in the past, heartwarming townsfolk and a heroine whose practically a martyr. What's not to like right?
Well, I guess that would be the ending. (view spoiler)[ I had hoped that the townspeople giving Garon the cold shoulder would help smooth my angst ruffled feathers, but he is like teflon and it just makes him feel more put upon. Doesn't even occur to him that he's in the wrong. Not til Grace is at death's door while 8 months pregnant with his child. Then all of a sudden he's full of remorse. But while he is remorseful, I really didn't get to see any grovelling because Grace forgives him immediately. I felt like smacking some sense into her despite her being in the hospital. There is an epilogue, but It's still Grace doing all the work. I would have liked to have a scene where Garon is tender and considerate with her in public... something he never is at any point of the story. OK I'm done ranting now. (hide spoiler)] Honestly I have a headache now.

Upon reflection, I think if DP had pulled Garon's head out of his ass earlier and less abruptly, it might have been salvagable. Maybe if DP had dribbled some of the revelations about Grace throughout the story so it doesn't seem like she just tacked that on at the end to redeem Grace's character from utter patheticness...

...and *jaqui* WTF? Safety is NOT good.