Texas Splendor

This is the last book in the Texas Trilogy books, I am so disappointed! I hate having to leave West Texas and the three wonderful men who have found great love in the women they marry. Poor Austin's story starts off sadly but winds up wonderful. I loved all three books but loved, loved this one. Lorraine Heath is one of my favorite authors.

Having read all three stories about Dallas, Houston & Austin, I only wish there had been six brothers, so there could be more stories about this family. I loved their characters. Although they are all flawed in some way, they have quality that shines from them.With Austin, you get to see how he matures throughout the books until he he gets his own story in the third. I must admit to irritation & frustration at his reasoning which proved to be detrimental to himself and annoyed with the young lady he was protecting. (No spoilers) But it made for a good story and when I had to put it down at times, my thoughts kept returning to the story. If a reader can interact with a book there must be something worthwhile to read. Well done Lorraine Heath

What a great ending to an absolutely fabulous trilogy. I actually hunted down these books used because of the rave reviews and am I ever glad I did. This series will definitely be getting a reread. Lorraine Heath sure knows how to tell a story, flawlessly capturing the emotions of her characters and never giving them an easy route to love. I always enjoy how our couples fall in love slowly, almost like it's a surprise to them while they struggle through numerous hardships. And her heroes... jeez. Big, tough, damaged cowboys, willing to do anything for their women and usually causing this reader to tear up once or twice in the process.Here we get youngest Leigh Brother Austin's story which is made all the sweeter because we've watched him grow up throughout the previous books. When we left him last (5 years ago) he had just gone to prison for a murder he didn't commit, all in the name of protecting his sweetheart.Upon his release from prison Austin is devastated to learn that Becky hasn't waited for him, in fact she's married his best friend. I really appreciated how lost he was during this time; life had moved on during his incarceration, children had been born and grown, he didn't know anyone including himself and no longer felt like he had a place in the world. I was also moved by the loss of Austin's music as he gives up his violin because he can no longer hear the songs in his head. Heartbreaking.Setting off for the capital to find the real killer and clear his name Austin gets delayed when his horse goes lame. Finding his way to a rundown farm he comes across a shy, innocent (and often barefoot) young woman with a sweet smile who is living in seclusion and has secrets and nightmares of her own. Of course romance blooms and these two damaged souls seek comfort in each other. Never one to shirk his responsibilities Austin marries Loree when he learns she's with child (whoopsie) returning to the Leigh homestead to build a future together and presumably purchase a lot of sugar.Austin and Loree are a fantastic couple who are virtual strangers when they marry and watching them grow and and ultimately love each other is just beautiful. Much like in book 1 (Texas Destiny) it's also a story of two wounded souls finding and healing each other however here we also have big a secret hanging over their ultimate HEA. I didn't figure out this mystery until I was right on top of it and was surprised and pleased with the outcome.In the background of Loree and Austin's romance we also spend considerable time with the other brothers and their wives and while it was fun catching up with Dallas and Huston I did get a bit tired of all the children and babies being born and felt that the book kind of stalled out for a while with all the family stuff going on in the middle (over Christmas) The series concludes with a fantastic epilogue taking us 10 years into the future which I loved -it wasn't the future I'd expected but it was so satisfying.As others have mentioned Rawley Cooper really shines in this story and I can only hope Heath has given him a story of his own as he definitely deserves a HEA. 5 star series 332jb4TEXAS TRILOGY:Book 1 - Texas Destiny Houston Leigh and Amelia CarsonBook 2 - Texas Glory Dallas Leigh and Cordelia (Dee) McQueenBook 3 - Texas Splendor, Austin Leigh and Loree Grant

"As smoothly as the dawn pushed back the night, the song grew deeper, stronger. The chords echoed around them, thundering against the falls, filling the night until chills swept through her and her heart felt immense gladness. The song rang of destiny and glory and splendor."Book hangover, party of one, your table is ready.I've spent the last couple of weeks with the Leigh brothers, and now I'm done and I'm sad. I've absolutely loved this series.I fell in love with Austin Leigh the instant he came on page in Texas Destiny. In that book, he was a teenage boy who wanted his brothers to see him as the man he was becoming. And over the course of this series, I saw him become that man and become an even fiercer protector than his brothers.After the events of Texas Splendor, my heart broke for Austin and I just couldn't wait to see what Lorraine Heath had in store for him.And she certainly didn't disappoint. Ms. Heath gave Austin the heroine that he deserved. Loree was the perfect woman to reawaken the music in Austin's heart.However, I had a hard time connecting with how quickly Austin and Loree developed feelings for each other. While my head understood they were immediately drawn to the loneliness they saw mirrored in each other's eyes, my heart took longer to get on board.But even with my heart riding in the slow lane, I was completely absorbed by the story and this family that I've grown to love.There are twists and turns, heartache and loss, laughter and lightness, and definitely passion and love. This final book in the series delivers every emotion.And that epilogue brought the biggest smile to my face.So I may be saying good-bye, but it's definitely only for now, because I know I'll be rereading these books in the future.

The story started well, but if you compare writing to painting erc., for me it turned into linol printing when I'd hoped for an oil painting or at least an acquarell.