Quinn's Woman

Hometown Heartbreakers #10

by Susan Mallery

¿Podría olvidar el pasado y entregarse al futuro junto a él?

La monitora de defensa personal D.J. Monroe quería estar bien preparada para no dejarse avasallar. Por eso le pidió al peligroso y atractivo Quinn Reynolds que la instruyera. D.J. no salía con hombres, no confiaba en ellos y no permitía que nadie entrara en su mundo. Sin embargo no tardó en darse cuenta de que se estaba enamorando de Quinn.
El duro Quinn cayó rendido, literalmente, a los pies de aquella preciosa mujer vestida de camuflaje. Un solo encuentro con ella y supo que tenía un gran problema. Su arriesgada profesión en las Fuerzas Especiales del Ejército le había enseñado a no acercarse a nadie, pero D.J. lo hacía desear poder olvidarse de toda precaución y tratar de conquistar su corazón...

Genres: Romance, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary, Fiction, Chick Lit, Military Fiction, Adult

256 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

#1 New York Times bestselling author Susan Mallery writes heartwarming and humorous novels about the relationships that define women's lives—family, friendship, romance. She's best known for putting nuanced characters into emotionally complex, real-life situations with twists that surprise readers to laughter. Because Susan is passionate about animal welfare, pets play a big role in her books. Beloved by millions of readers worldwide, her books have been translated into 28 languages.

Critics have dubbed Mallery "the new queen of romantic fiction." (Walmart) Booklist says, "Romance novels don't get much better than Mallery's expert blend of emotional nuance, humor, and superb storytelling," and RT Book Reviews puts her "in a class by herself!" It's no wonder that her books have spent more than 200 weeks on the USA Today bestsellers list.

Although Susan majored in Accounting, she never worked as an accountant because she was published straight out of college with two books the same month. Sixteen prolific years and seventy-four books later, she hit the New York Times bestsellers list for the first time with Accidentally Yours in 2008. She made many appearances in the Top 10 before (finally) hitting #1 in 2015 with Thrill Me, the twentieth book in her most popular series, the Fool's Gold romances, and the fourth of five books released that year.

Susan lives in Washington state with her husband, two ragdoll cats, and a small poodle with delusions of grandeur. Her heart for animals has led Susan to become an active supporter of the Seattle Humane Society. Visit Susan online at www.SusanMallery.com.

Reviews

[Shawna · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars – Contemporary Romance

Quinn’s Woman by Susan Mallery – 4 stars

But the five star rating is for Home for the Holidays by Sarah Mayberry.

I’m continually impressed by Sarah Mayberry’s level of character development and the realistic, honest drama that’s conveyed in her stories. And she wowed me once again with this sweet, emotive story of a hot, responsible widower with two kids trying to forge a tentative, yet hopeful friendship (and then inevitable relationship) with his sexy new neighbor.

After losing his wife 2 years ago, Joe Lawson never expected to find love and happiness again, especially with an independent younger woman who’s a bold spitfire like tomboy biker and mechanic Hannah Napier, but life is full of surprises and Hannah might be exactly what Joe and his family needs. I loved everything about this story. Joe makes such a swoon-worthy, wonderful hero, Hannah is a strong, yet vulnerable heroine, Joe’s troubled, grief-stricken 13-year-old son Ben and adorable, spirited 10-year-old daughter Ruby add depth to the story, the relationship progression between Joe and Hannah is realistically paced, and the romance is steamy, yet tender.

Home for the Holidays is a heartwarming contemporary romance that packs a real emotional wallop and had me shedding a few tears more than once. I highly recommend this engaging, touching quick read romance that’s a perfect story for the holiday season. 5 stars!

These are both available as single titles.

Quinn's Woman
Home for the Holidays

[Sibel Gandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Türkçe adı Aşk Esiri
Çekirdek gibi bu Beyaz Diziler. Bir başlayınca bırakması zor oluyor 😆

[Nightwitch · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some interesting ideas but really spoiled by the old-school mindset. The heroine suffered childhood trauma and has reacted by becoming super tough, but the size and expression of the chip on her shoulder just seems... unrealistic. The hero is very much an alpha hero and that doesn't really work with this heroine, I think. The book is very heroine-focused - she needs to learn to let go and fall in love - but the way that's expressed is often very uncomfortable, e.g. she has to dress "sexy" and get her hair and nails done. It's explicitly requested/demanded by the hero, and the overall impression one is left with is that D.J. would like to be a girly girl sometimes but is prevented by Her Trauma and that will be Healed By True Love. There are a billion and one other characters around - clearly this is part of an ongoing series - and all of them have very, very traditional relationships. The heroine's best friend used to run an orphanage but now only does it part-time because after all she has her own babies to take care of now; D.J. spends a lot of time being jealous of this friend and her femininity. It's all very discomfiting, because while D.J. is allowed by the narrative to be tough (and the hero explicitly likes her toughness), her toughness is a direct response to earlier trauma and, similarly, her clothes, her way of life, her everything, is ascribed to this trauma and needs to be "healed." I feel like this might have been exciting fifteen years ago - finally a Harlequin category heroine who is genuinely tough as nails! - but the stereotypes D.J. embodies are really uncomfortable in this day and age. Part of it, I think, is that she's coded aggressively tomboy (tough, aggressive, stern with men but secretly terrified of them, dresses mannishly) but is healed from all that by the love of a good man, which is bonkers and pretty insulting. Yes, she keeps being tough and has all her black belts, but deep down she wants to wear pretty dresses and learn to submit to a man who is strong enough to make her... but none of this is explicitly written in, the way it would be nowadays.

[Emily Higgins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quinn's Woman: Self defense instructor, D.J. Monroe, was outwitted by Quinn Reynolds during the war games. Determined to learn Quinn's secrets, she asked him to teach her his self-defense moves. Great characters with intense love scenes.

Home for the Holidays: Hannah is living with her mother after being jilted by her fiance. Joe and his children move into the house next door. Joe's wife had died in a car accident 2 years ago. Joe and Hannah are attracted to one another and begin to help one another heal. Touching story.

[HÜLYA · Rating 4 out of 5]

Çok severek okudum ama 512 sayfalık kitabın 112 sayfaya nasıl düştüğünü merak ediyorum..Kesintiler bariz belli oluyordu çok da severek okumuştum ama orjinalinin bu kadar sayfa olması düşündürücü..

[Gail · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cover copy explains the plot well. The heroine is so very guarded and mistrustful with most everyone, and the hero is so arrogant (without being an asshole) and appreciative of the heroine's tough girl persona. It is really fun watching them break through to each other. Loved this.

[Nici's Buchecke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mit seinem farbenfrohen und frischen Cover sprang mir dieses Buch direkt ins Auge. Dann habe ich den Klappentext gelesen und meine Neugier war geweckt. Ich habe auch gesehen, dass es der 11 Teil der Hometown Heartbreakers Reihe ist und da hatte ich schon ein wenig Bedenken. Aber jetzt kann ich sagen, dass man die vorherigen Teile nicht gelesen haben muss, denn dieser Roman ist in sich abgeschlossen. Wenn man die vorherigen gelesen hat kann man allerdings sicher die Namen besser auseinander halten, weil jeder Roman sich einer Person widmet, hier war es Quinn. Die Anzahl der Personen und alle ihre Namen sowie die dazugehörige Familie auseinander zu halten war für mich bei mancher Szene schon etwas zu viel. So ohne Vorkenntnisse fühlte ich mich da doch leicht überfordert. Ich konzentrierte mich also bei der Handlung mehr auf D. J. und Quinn, na gut ihre Freundin und seinen Bruder konnte ich mir dann auch noch merken. Ansonsten war der Familien- und Personenkreis doch recht groß und für mich etwas undurchschaubar. Aber diese Szenen hielten sich in Grenzen und fielen dadurch nicht so sehr ins Gewicht. Nun aber zu den beiden Hauptcharakteren. D. J. ist eine starke und selbstständige Persönlichkeit. Sie hat klar ihre Vorstellungen von ihrem Leben und ihrer Zukunft. Sie lässt Nähe gar nicht zu und wirkt ziemlich emotionslos, sicher sie hat ihre Gründe, aber das man sich so sehr verschließen kann war für mich unglaublich. Ich fand sie als Person schon sympathisch, aber in diesem Roman ist eindeutig Quinn mein Lieblingscharakter. Er war mir direkt sympathisch, denn er kommt mit viel Humor daher und bei dem ein oder anderen Satz von ihm musste ich schon laut loslachen. Aber auch er schleppt so einiges mit sich herum und ist daher ein Einzelgänger. Er ist der Inbegriff eines taffen, selbstsicheren, klugen und muskulösen Mannes. Aber im Verlauf des Romans lernt man auch die weichen Seiten von ihm kennen und die haben mir sehr gut gefallen. Ich habe zeitweise nicht gewusst, ob ich mit D. J. soviel Geduld gehabt hätte.
Insgesamt hat mir der Roman wirklich gut gefallen und bis auf die vielen Nebencharaktere habe ich an diesem Buch auch nichts zu meckern. Ich habe mitgelitten, mitgefiebert, mitgelacht und ich bin sicher, dass ich noch das ein oder andere Buch dieser Autorin lesen werde.

[D.G. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book only because the name of the hero - Quinn - was in the title, which I needed for a challenge. In general the book wasn't bad but I didn't see the need of parading most of the heroes of the previous books in the series with their women. And how many times did we need to hear the strange business of the hero's parentage? They discussed it 3 times - almost word for word. I got it the first time! The book would have been way better if there hadn't been so much nonsense.

This is the story of D.J., who has serious problems with men. A childhood trauma makes her think that most of them are maniacs in training that will jump out of the hedges to beat women. That she works rescuing and training abused women and children haven't help with that. Although her behavior was extreme at times, you can understand where she was coming from, specially because the hero was a Special Forces kind of dude who could kill people in his sleep.

Quinn himself has some issues with his job and is wondering whether he can live a normal life. This reminded me of another book by Susan Mallery I recently read and really liked - Surrender in Silk - but this wasn't as well handled here. If only there hadn't been all those unnecessary parades of past heroes and their HEA, this could have been really good.

[Dixie-Lee Campbell · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was diamond find that I wasn't looking for and didn't know it existed ! I loved this book from the beginnning to the end. This was an amazing story: Personal struggles of two people' with voids in their lives and haunting issues they were hiding ! They had friends and family encouraging and there for them, but really not know what their issues were. I will come back later to fill in a little more about D.J.and Quinn.... but just read this and enjoying this love story. thanks Susan Mallery for this great book.
I didn't want to give anything away.... Just read the book everyone. !

I just noticed it is an updated book of two stories written by Susan Mallery. I should have paid more attention to that also.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

THIS REVIEW IS JUST FOR THE BOOK QUINN'S WOMAN

D.J. Monroe is extremely fierce in her desire to never fall victim to a man like her mother did. Having herself bested by Quinn Reynolds in a war game, she vows she will convince him to train her so she can beat him.

Quinn might have spent his life as a professional killer for an elite military group, but he wants more than to simply best D.J.

i loved this book

[Jack Vasen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book concludes the Hometown Heartbreakers series. The most significant ties to previous books are to book 8. Otherwise, there isn't much else not fully explained in this volume.

This is the most powerful book in the series. It deals with a distressing topic which is D.J.'s backstory.. The heart of D.J.'s backstory is not revealed until later in the book. D.J.'s backstory involves physical abuse of herself and her mother by her father. When she was 11, he hurt her so badly her arm was crushed. Then her mother kills her father and herself leaving DJ abandoned in foster care. My problem is that I'm not sure that it deals with the topic realistically, especially with her emotional scars.

As in many, if not most, Romance books, this book operates under that assumption that Romantic Love conquers all. Unfortunately, also like may Romance books, it mixes and confuses Romantic love with Erotic love, or to my way of thinking, with lust and sex.

It is interesting that this books uses explicit sex as more than just something salacious and exploitative. Perhaps the descriptions could have been slightly less explicit, but the things described are important to the plot.

D.J.'s backstory is horrific. Even early in the story, it is clear that her background has resulted in deep wounds and she has erected huge barriers to protect those wounds. As a result her distrust of men is so great that she expresses it as a hatred of marriage. My problem with the story is that wounds this deep cannot be cured by a magic bullet in just a few weeks time. I also have grave doubts about the method that appears to have brought about that healing.

So I have mixed feelings about this story. I give it 5 stars because the story is so powerful and touching, but I am tempted to give it 0 or 1 star because I am so skeptical of means to the result. We all know that these stories cannot be taken as realistic at face value, but usually the HEA is not so closely related to this kind of trauma that is such a tragic topic in our society.

Quinn has his own Daddy issues which have had such a great impact on the course of his life and the resulting solitary lifestyle. A little lust goes a long way toward resolving these as well.

I hated Quinn because of his arrogant and cruel behavior toward D.J. His cruelty toward her continued even after he began to realize something of the nature of her emotional scars. I had doubts early on whether I could tolerate D.J. because of the huge chip she carried which gave her such a hard shell, but her backstory softened my dislike for her.

Mature themes: I have discussed these as related to sex scenes and as related to D.J.'s backstory. The reader also knows that Quinn is an assassin working for the government.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

i listened to the audio book version of this and in German. So a bit might have been "lost in translation".
Over all I enjoyed the characters. I loved the beginning of the book and would have liked to see more of that kind and not just work out routines.
I did not like D.J.'s mindset and how it all worekd out in the end. Far too easy for such a backstory.
After the first few chapters I kept hoping for them to go on a man hunt or something. That would ave been the better fitting storyline in my opinion. ;)

[Little · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh wow. That was a very pleasant surprise. This was my first book from Susan Mallory and it won't be my last. This is part of a series but it doesn't really matter if you haven't read any of the other books.
Now about the book. I loved the book and the characters. The main characters are sweet, strong, unexpected, there's a lot of tension between them but also fun, teasing, love and trust. This book is just wonderful and left me with a smile.
The only problem about this book is, that I didn't manage to finish my to do list for today because I just couldn't put the book out of my hand. 😁

[Gail · Rating 4 out of 5]

Have to say goodbye to the "Hometown Heartbreakers" families. It was a wild and wonderful ride, fortunately I have revisit the clan down the road.

I absolutely loved this series - hadn't read a Mallery in a long time before I started this series and I'd forgotten how wonderful a writer she is. Now I'm looking forward to starting her other series. Thank goodness there are a slew of them - lots of happy hours ahead of me.

xoxoxoxoxo Susan Mallery!!!

[Marcia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoy all of Susan Mallery's books and this one is no exception. Following DJ & Quinn's journey was great fun. It was interesting to read DJ's story as she came to accept that there was someone who just might be able to teach her some self defense moves better than her own, or that Quinn's size and strength might give him an advantage over her. Written with humor, as usual, to break some tension. I delve into Ms Mallery's backlist as I eagerly await her next release.

[Susannah Carleton · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars. An intriguing story about two people who don’t quite fit into the real world, but have found valuable ways to contribute. Both have baggage; D.J.’s is deeper and longer-lasting than Quinn’s. Both can’t imagine finding someone who understands and accepts them.

Have they accidentally done so? If that’s the case, will they be able to open up enough to have a relationship?

[Carrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This isn’t the best name for a book but whatever. Also, if I keep reading all these romance novels, I will have become my grandmother. That’s not a bad thing, though. I rather appreciate their mindlessness and guaranteed happy endings at this stage in my life.

[Marjorie · Rating 4 out of 5]

D. J. Monroe has many emotional childhood scars which she keeps carefully hidden behind her tough exterior. Quinn Reynolds has plenty of his own scars but he can see that DJ is the woman for him.

Great story!

[Carol Rankin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quinn's Woman

A terrific story with lots of surprises. Great action and love. The characters took a long time finding their truth.

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

SSE #1557 = 4+ stars

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

She just keeps adding more characters.

[Andrea Lujano · Rating 4 out of 5]

Protagonistas: D.J & Quinn.

Profesiones: Entrenadora Personal & Militar (SEALS)

Pais: USA

[Jeanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kind of a blah ending to the series. I'm not convinced the h/h will make it with all the issues and baggage. Also, some of the characters' dialogue rang false. Disappointed.

[Monica Bumann · Rating 5 out of 5]

👍

[Annika Savimägi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Loetav sopakas.

[Jennifer (lecturama) · Rating 2 out of 5]

2,5⭐

[Linda McElvenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very steamy romance novel. Easy read.

[Maria (Lectumari) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Es una historia muy buena y sencilla de leer. Los personajes tienen un pasado doloroso y juntos tratan de superarlo y darse la oportunidad de poder encontrarse con ellos mismos y poder darle la oportunidad al amor.

Susan mallery es una muy buena escritora ya me he leido varios libros de ella y son muy buenos👏

[Saly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quinn's Woman is the last in the Hometown Heart-breaker's series. Quinn was treated badly by his father and he never knew why, no matter how good he was in sports and academics he could never measure up, he joined the military and then Special Forces, so he has led a dark life and now he is questioning it's direction.
He comes to Glennwood to meet his brother Gage and finds out the reason for his father's behaviour and meets his other family the "Haynes".

DJ is a woman not everyone gets. She is tough, she rescues kids and women for a living , she teaches them self-defense and puts herself in dicey situations, she is not traditional. She is totally into control and self-defense and when Quinn beats her at her game she is intrigued and wants to better herself. DJ had a bad childhood, her father was abusive and her mother kept forgiving him, but when the violence became too much and landed DJ in the hospital, her mother killed her husband and herself, writing that she couldn't live without her love. So, DJ is determined never to fall for men and their lies and allow them to control her.

So, she walks up to Quinn and even offers him sex to get him to teach her, for her sex is also about control not that she is promiscuous. Quinn refuses the sex offer and through their lessons and family gatherings they are thrown together.

It is not often you find commitment phobic women but I really liked the book, DJ was not coarse just scared inside but she was totally kick-ass too. Quinn was pretty sweet.

A good read.

[Ange · Rating 2 out of 5]

This story had an interesting beginning but I found it a little slow and boring, to be honest.

Here we have two people who are quite similar. D.J is a security expert who teaches women and children self-defence techniques and specializes in "abducting" children from an unsafe environment for a fee. Tough and pragmatic, she runs into (i.e knocks out and ties up) our Hero, Quinn (government assassin), during the middle of a war game.

Much to her chagrin, Quinn manages to escape his bounds while she's asleep and recognizing his formidable skills, she offers him sex and cash in lieu of receiving some training from him.

I'll pause there for a minute. The way DJ's character reacted in certain situations was a little strange to me. She was deeply suspicious of men (understandable considering her background) yet, she was extremely competitive with Quinn and used sex as a means to stay in control. She refused to derive pleasure from her sexual relationships (have an orgasm) as it "weakened" a woman. -_- Why bother having sex at all?

And, that crying jag she goes on after letting down "her wall's" and enjoying a night of hot sex...really? From the start she's portrayed as someone who is conservative with her emotions and you're going to turn her into a weepy female and justify it with the cringe-worthy excuse that she'd been "holding herself together for too long". I call, b******t!