Margot Dalton

***** A Christmas Marriage by Dallas Schulze.

An excellent example of why I enjoy Dallas's books so much. She writes straightforward romance, takes the cliches and tilts them, just a bit, to make them fresh. A reunion story, one of my favorite types. A divorced couple reunites. She'd asked for the divorce because she was afraid of losing her identity, and has to learn to balance a relationship with being her own person.

****½ Dear Santa by Margaret St. George.

Perfect example of "never say show more never". I still maintain that in general, kids do not belong in romance novels. But this one works. A separated couple with two kids and one on the way, with seemingly irreconcilable differences. He's a workaholic investment banker, and so was she, until they had children. Now they have plenty of money, and she wants to move back to her hometown to give the kids a more relaxed life. He wants things to stay the same in Los Angeles. He takes a long-overdue vacation and comes to stay with them in hopes of a reconciliation, while she's fallen into the workaholic trap in her new job. The role reversal causes both of them to reevaluate. The characters are very, very real.

**** Three Waifs and a Daddy by Margot Dalton.

This one gets docked a bit because I kept being concerned about the legality--I'm not sure how plausible the scenario was. Also, the title made me cringe. But aside from that, it's another excellent story. A scientist (I love brainy heroines!) wants a baby and has chosen the perfect father--an ex-football player. They have a one-night stand on a night when she's determined her chances for conception were greatest, and on the way back from the motel, they're mugged by a kid who's trying to take care of his younger siblings. She wants to avoid further involvement with him, fearing he &/or his family will try to claim her baby, but can't resist the kids who he's taken under his wing. Lots about family dynamics and loneliness. show less

I've read this book several times. The heroine has been injured and has amnesia. Her husband takes her home to heal and it doesn't take her long to realize that he despises her. As she begins to learn about herself she learns that she was not a very nice person. This is not always an easy book to read as we find out this stuff as the heroine does and you're about as appalled as she is. The tension is pretty high and you'll be racing to the end. Don't read the other review here about this show more book as it has a very big spoiler in it! show less

rabck from LaveggioCoffee; part of a series, but except for a snippet in the front, it really did stand alone. Kim is 3rd generation Japanese-American, and needs a fellow artist to share her studio space. Todd is a famous artist, white and close to her age...and a very different temperment than her, but the grow close. Both of their grandmother's are prejudiced. Todd's grandmother hates the Japanese because her husband was captured and killed in WWII. And Kim's grandmother doesn't believe in show more interracial marriages. The grandmother's put aside their mutual hatred for each other's cultures to break up Todd and Kim, then after it happens, realize what they did was wrong, and conspire to get them back together. show less

Set in Alberta, and involving a rodeo, which is unusual for a romance. Lila finds out that her old flame, Tom, has been severely injured in a rodeo accident. She broke up with him because of his travel-lust ways, and can't believe 15 years later he's still traveling - and this time with 2 kids in tow. He needs time to mend, and his kids need looking after, so she brings them home, where she lives with her depressed, widowed father. And amazingly, Tom's daughter and son manage to connect with show more her Dad, and give him something to live for. And Tom's story is not what Lila thinks at all. Until his wife's death a year ago, he didn't wander with the rodeo. She's got if all wrong! show less