Texas Destiny

by Lorraine Heath

Book Overview

He's fallen for a woman... Anxious to meet her soon-to-be-husband, Dallas Leigh for the first time, mail-order bride Amelia Carson is en route to Fort Worth, Texas. When she steps off the train and... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0451407520
• ISBN13: 9780451407528
• Release Date: June 1997
• Publisher: Berkley Books
• Length: 384 Pages
• Weight: 0.46 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 4.2" x 6.9"

Customer Reviews

Emotional and Touching Romance

How do I begin to describe such a beautiful story as TEXAS DESTINY? I could talk about the post civil war Texas setting and describe the mail order bride plot but that doesn't even begin to touch on the emotional impact of Ms. Heath's newest work. This book touched me from beginning to end and is a book I'll always treasure. It's also the first of a trilogy. Woo-hoo! Houston Leigh's brother Dallas has broken his leg and is unable to make the trip to pick up his mail order bride-to-be Amelia Carson. Houston has hideous facial scarring on one side of his handsome face and has lived his adult life hiding in shadows and covering his face with his hat. He has shunned human contact and feels most content in the company of his horses. Because of his scars and less than charming personality Dallas feels it's safe to assume his new bride won't fall for his brother during the three week trek. Amelia is disappointed that she has to spend three weeks with her fiancé's grouchy brother but tries to make the best out of her situation by trying to engage him in conversation. She bugs him with irritating questions he doesn't want to answer and eventually she gets under his skin. Although it scares him he slowly opens up to her and they form a hesitant friendship which gets stronger as the days pass and they reveal bits of themselves to each other. Both of their lives have been shattered by the war and they've both dealt with it differently. He has given up on his dreams and withdrawn from the world while she is the eternal optimist finding something to be grateful for in every situation. She looks at her future with joy anxiously biding her time when she can turn her dreams into reality. She even manages to find a dream for Houston to believe in but they despair because she is promised to his brother . . . The hurting and lovable characters are what make this story so memorable. In the majority of romances I've read one character usually really comes alive while the other gets the short shrift. That's so not so in this case! I loved the heroine as much as the hero in TEXAS DESTINY. She's a woman who has seen the worst life has to offer but hasn't been beaten down by it. Her optimism and willingness to embrace life is refreshing and believable. And Houston . . . he's my favorite kind of hero. He's a wounded soul, with lots of integrity, he's serious, heroic, and best of all he's sensitive. He's been dealt a raw deal by life and really needs a hug. This story is extremely realistic for instance there is no witty banter during their first few days together but instead there are lots of awkward attempts at conversation and long silences. Houston's makes several desperate attempts to come up with words to charm Amelia but always ends fails. These little touches are what make the couple so endearing. I know many readers avoid the Civil War period but this book is less about the war and more about the healing of two people who as children had to bear witness to h

This is a MUST READ if there ever was one!

This is the first book by Ms. Heath that I have read. I bought all three books in the trilogy because of the reviews it received. I was a little skeptical at first that a book could receive a rating of "5 stars" from everyone who read it. I would give it a perfect 10 if I could. The mixture of Amelia's pure nature and the lonely ruggedness of Houston make a perfect match. She's a mail-order-bride innocent of what is to become of her. And he is a wounded man inside and out sent to escort her back to his brothers ranch for his brother to wed. And with a long wagon ride they are bound to fall in love, but what becomes of that love. I read this book in less then 2 days, because I couldn't put it down. This is the kind of book that gives you that satisfied glow at the end. I can't wait till I get them all read. I have already started on the second one. Do yourself a favor and read this(these) books.I look forward to reading more books by this great author.

Absolutely Wonderful!

I read "Texas Splendor" and "Texas Glory" before I read about Houston. I think at the time I read them, "Texas Destiny" was very hard to find and, let me tell you, I am so glad I found it.Houston's brother, Dallas, sends him to pick up his mail order bride from Fort Worth because his leg is hurt. Not in so many words, but it's understood, Dallas feels nothing can transpire between Houston and Amelia because the left side of Houston's face had been disfigured by the war, as well as the fact that he is a loner and carries so much emotional baggage because of it, he is basically uncommunicative. But we discover that it takes a special person to draw him out and we get a glimpse into his wonderful heart. We travel with Houston and Amelia on their journey, during which they form an emotional attachment to each other as well as to the reader and fall in love despite Houston's disfigurement. Lorraine Heath has a way of peeling away the layers like no one else. Since we get a glimpse into Houston's soul, his disfigurement becomes moot and he becomes more desirable in our eyes as as well as Amelia's. The part where they ride into the herd of horses in order to capture them is told so intimately that it could have been a scene where the couple made love.I'm going to have to go back and re-read "Texas Splendor" and "Texas Glory" because I don't want to leave these brothers behind yet. A few other books by other authors have made me feel that way, but Lorraine Heath is by far, on the top of the list.

Fantastic Trilogy

This was the best trilogy I have ever read. Texas Destiny needs to be reprinted. I have praised this to many, many friends and they all want this book to keep for themselves. Lorraine Heath is a wonderful author who keeps you want to continue to read more and more!

Emotional and Touching Romance

How do I begin to describe such a beautiful story as TEXAS DESTINY? I could say it's set in post civil war Texas and is a mail order bride story, and part road romance and it could even be classified as a beauty and the beast tale but that doesn't even begin to touch on the emotional impact of Ms. Heath's newest work. This book touched me from beginning to end and is a book I'll always treasure. It's also the first of a trilogy - Yayyy! Houston Leigh's brother Dallas has broken his leg so he's unable make the trip to pick up his mail order bride-to-be Amelia Carson. Houston has hideous facial scarring on one side of his handsome face and has lived his adult life hiding in shadows and covering his face with his hat. He has shunned human contact and feels most content in the company of his horses. Because of his scars and less than charming personality Dallas feels it's safe to assume his new bride won't fall for his brother during the three week trek. Amelia is disappointed that she has to spend three weeks with her fiance's grouchy brother but tries to make the best out of her situation by trying to engage him in conversation by bugging him with irritating questions he doesn't want to answer. Eventually she gets under his skin and although it scares him he slowly opens up to her and they form a hesitant friendship which gets stronger as the days pass and they reveal bits of themselves to each other. Both of their lives have been shattered by the war and they've both dealt with it differently. He has given up on his dreams and withdrawn from the world while she is the eternal optimist finding something to be grateful for in every situation, she looks at her future with joy waiting to make her dreams a reality. She even manages to find a dream for Houston to believe in but they despair because she is promised to his brother . . . The hurting and lovable characters make this story so memorable. I've found in the majority of romances I've read that one character usually really comes alive while another is not as well drawn. Well, I loved the heroine as much as the hero in TEXAS DESTINY. She's a woman who has seen the worst life can do to a person but hasn't been beaten down by it. Her optimism and willingness to embrace life is refreshing _and_ believable. And Houston . . . he's my favorite kind of hero. He's a wounded soul, he's got lots of integrity, he's serious, heroic, and best of all is sensitive. He's been dealt a raw deal by life and really needs a hug. This book is so realistic: there is no witty banter during their first few days together but there are lots of awkward attempts at conversation and long silences, and Houston's trying to desperately come up with words to charm Amelia but always coming up empty was so endearing. I know many readers avoid the Civil War period but this book is less about the war and more about the healing of two people who as children had to bear witness to human nature's darkest side. Bu