The Ballad of Dixon Bell

by Lynnette Kent

"This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A."--T.p. verso.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0373711182
• ISBN13: 9780373711185
• Release Date: March 2003
• Publisher: Harlequin
• Length: 299 Pages
• Weight: 0.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 4.2" x 6.8"

Customer Reviews

great story

This book was a great story. It tied in with several books by the same author and made it interesting. I enjoyed reading it in one sitting

Well it's about time...

I love romance novels but I prefer the novels where the characters aren't constantly trying to figure out whether or not the one they love, loves them back. Dixon Bell has loved Kate Bowdry from afar ever since high school. Over a decade later, he is back in town and her marriage is over- leaving her to care for two teenage children that aren't even hers (they are her husbands that he left with her). He becomes her friend even though she never paid him much attention when they were younger. But eventually he tells her he has been in love with her for years. She has to come to terms with her growing feelings for him as well as close the book on the marriage between her and L.T. LaRue (*someone had already reviewed this book calling him J.T. but his name was really L.T.) I loved this book because the main focus on this book was not sex and desire and lust. It was love, friendship and marriage and that is what makes this book stand out. Usually in a romance, the characters sleep together at least twice before falling in love but these characters didn't sleep together...until they were MARRIED.

Lyrical and poetic -- Highly recommended

Lovely Kate Bowdrey never really noticed the quiet, unassuming boy in high school. Nor did she suspect Dixon Bell's depth of emotion. So when he quietly disappeared from the small town of New Skye, North Carolina, Kate did not really notice. Dixon returns years later for the girl he left behind when he learns of her divorce from J.T. Larue. Kate had adopted J.T.'s son and daughter, loving them as her own. J.T. seemed to have no compunction about leaving his family to go live with a sexy bimbo.Divorces are not final for a year after separation in North Carolina, and Kate has no intentions of dating again. But Dixon's quiet perusal awakens needs and desires she has almost forgotten. Too bad living in a small town means living under a microscope of gossip and innuendo. Worse, real estate developer J.T. has set sight on Dixon's ancestral home Magnolia House as the sight of his next project, and will stop at nothing to take the property or bring trouble to Dixon those people he cares for. Author Lynnette Kent pens a richly lyrical novel in THE BALLAD OF DIXON BELL. This second novel in the At the Carolina Diner series continues savoring the ambiance of a small town, even as a family finds healing and love finds a second chance. Kate struggles with family obligations and the scrutiny of a small town while Dixon gently courts her heart. Readers might recall her son's prank of setting of fireworks in public in the previous novel, and will chuckle at his return. But teens are not ideal characters and seem to find a way to land themselves in a passel of trouble as they struggle with relationships and growing up. Kent handles racial challenges with grace and power, lending the secondary plot unexpected punch. In additon, Miss Daisy, Dixon's grandmother, adds lovely sparkling energy with her part-I want a grandmother like her. A memorable read, THE BALLAD OF DIXON BELL comes highly recommended.