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Category Romance Review: Show Me by Janet Dailey

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Show Me by Janet Dailey
Rating: two-stars
Published: 1977
Illustrator: TBD
Imprint or Line: Harlequin Presents #200
Book Series: Americana #25
Published by: Harlequin, Mills & Boon
Genres: Category Romance, Contemporary Romance
Pages: 188
Format: Paperback, eBook
Buy on: AmazonAbeBooks
Reviewed by: Introvert Reader


Category Romance Review: Show Me by Janet Dailey

MILD SPOILERS 😉

The Book

Janet Dailey‘s Harlequin Presents #200 Show Me takes place in the “Show Me” state of Missouri. The hero, Jake, spouts lines like this over and over again: “I’m from Missouri. You have to show me to believe.”

As the first American author of Harlequin Presents, Janet Dailey set her novels in all 50 states. I suppose this was to show foreign readers how diverse and exotic the USA can be.

Although her books never inspired me to jet-set across the country, I, too, have traveled around the States and found myself in various oh-so-glamorous US cities like

  • Providence, Rhode Island
  • Charlotte, North Carolina
  • Tampa, Florida
  • Bridgeport, Connecticut
  • South Bend, Indiana
  • Newark, New Jersey

Talk about exotic!

The Plot

In Show Me, Jake is a bitter man who’s returned home after being away for more than half a decade.

He’s sour because he was forced to marry Tanya, the mother of his son, John. The child was a result of a drunken one-night stand Jake can’t recall.

The “hero” is a deadbeat dad, as he’s lived in Africa for 7 years and made no effort to get to know his son. Plus, he’s contemptuously open about not having been a faithful husband.

There is a Harley dramatic revelation at the end, which the heroine had to do if she expected to engage in makeup sex with her husband.

So the big twist is… Tanya isn’t really John’s mom, and Jake isn’t his dad. Their dead siblings were the real parents, and their shotgun marriage was due to a big lie/misunderstanding.

Jake didn’t have to stay away from his family for so many years if Tanya had talked to him back when the kid was born.

Final Analysis of Show Me

But what kind of story would exist if the protagonists acted like adults and engaged in conversation? It would make for a dull romance. Almost as dull as this one.

Show Me was a slow, ponderous read. I swear Janet Dailey could take a decent plot and make it as fun as reading furniture instruction manuals.

2 Stars

Rating Report Card
Plot
2
Characters
2
Writing
2.5
Chemistry
2
Fun Factor
1.5
Cover
3.5
Overall: 2.3

Synopsis

I don’t blame you for hating me at first,” Jake said. “After all, I forced you to marry me. But you do see why I had to tell you all this, don’t you? You’ve been so honest with me that I had to be the same with you.

Tanya’s heart sank. Honest! Honest! The word kept haunting her. Her supposed honesty was the one thing he admired about her.

She couldn’t possibly tell him the truth now. If she did his love for her would be shattered forever!

Show Me by Janet Dailey
beware of the stranger dailey

Category Romance Review: Beware of the Stranger by Janet Dailey

category romance
Beware of the Stranger by Janet Dailey
Rating: two-half-stars
Published: 1978
Illustrator: TBD
Imprint or Line: Harlequin Presents #256
Book Series: Americana #32
Published by: Harlequin
Genres: Category Romance, Contemporary Romance
Pages: 192
Format: eBook, Paperback
Buy on: AmazonAbeBooks
Reviewed by: Introvert Reader


Category Romance Review: Beware of the Stranger by Janet Dailey

MILD SPOILERS 😉

The Book

Beware of the Stranger by Janet Dailey was a real meh book. This is the 32nd entry in her “Americana Series” where each book takes place in one particular State.

The best part of Beware of the Stranger was the 1970s kitsch. The hero is introduced wearing a forest green blazer and plaid pants. The heroine’s wardrobe is full of plaid blouses and light-blue bell bottoms. Plenty of smoking, tossing those cigarettes down, and then engaging in passionate make-out sessions.

The Plot

As for the plot of Beware of the Stranger

Samantha is an heiress to a fortune. Our plaid-wearing hero shows up at the heroine’s newspaper job with important news. He claims to work for her wealthy father who needs to see her immediately.

The hero takes Samantha hundreds of miles away to a secluded island in the St. Lawrence River. He never lets her off the island, and never lets her use the phone. He swears her father will get in touch with her.

Samantha is a cunning journalist with sharply-honed instincts… So it only takes her 100 pages of this 190+ page book to realize that she’s been kidnapped!

The hero’s a shady guy hiding the truth from her. His name changes every 42 pages or so. Not joking.

  • First, he’s Owen
  • Then he says he’s Chris
  • Then he reveals he’s Jonas

And then…

It was like a Scooby-Doo mystery with a face reveal under the first face reveal loop that never ended!

Oh, and this was Janet Dailey’s Harlequin Presents dedicated to the State of New York? As a lifetime New Yorker, I’m offended this one was so boring.

Final Analysis of Beware of the Stranger

Beware of the Stranger was underwhelming. I’ve read quite a few Janet Dailey books, including another mediocre read, Show Me. I recall she said that she finished her manuscripts in only 4-6 weeks max, many times she could write a book in just over one weekend.

It shows.

2.5 Stars

Rating Report Card
Plot
2.5
Characters
2
Writing
2.5
Chemistry
2
Fun Factor
2.5
Cover
3.5
Overall: 2.5

Synopsis

Samantha’s experience with men as the daughter of tycoon Reuben Gentry had been disillusioning.

But she’d gone willingly to Chris Andrews’s home miles from anywhere on an island in the St. Lawrence, expecting her father to join her there. Suddenly she realized she was subtly, but surely, being held prisoner there. Were Chris’s calls to her father about ransom? Was he really Chris Andrews?

Samantha knew she had to escape. But the thought of never seeing Chris–or whoever he was–again, filled her with desolation…

BEWARE OF THE STRANGER by JANET DAILEY