Noelle

by Diana Palmer

Like most of the young ladies in Fort Worth, Noelle Brown was smitten by handsome, charming Andrew Paige. But when she challenged the steely-eyed gaze of his stepbrother Jared, something inside her felt a little wild, a little thrilled...a little afraid.

He was a big-city lawyer with a killer's stance -- a desperado turned lawman, disillusioned with life and haunted by a past he couldn't escape. But this tender, green girl, with her flashfire temper and her unconventional ways, tempted and tormented him with a sweet, maddening passion.

Rivalry would pit brother against brother and scandal would rock their lives. And Noelle would have to convince a man unwilling to believe in love that only he could still the anguish in her heart -- and fulfill the promise of their destiny together....

Genres: Romance, Historical Romance, Historical, Westerns, Historical Fiction, Harlequin, Audiobook

295 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published August 1, 1995

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.

Diana Palmer is a pseudonym for author Susan Kyle.

(1)romance author
Susan Eloise Spaeth was born on 11 December 1946 in Cuthbert, Georgia, USA. She was the eldest daughter of Maggie Eloise Cliatt, a nurse and also journalist, and William Olin Spaeth, a college professor. Her mother was part of the women's liberation movement many years before it became fashionable. Her best friends are her mother and her sister, Dannis Spaeth (Cole), who now has two daughters, Amanda Belle Hofstetter and Maggie and lives in Utah. Susan grew up reading Zane Grey and fell in love with cowboys. Susan is a former newspaper reporter, with sixteen years experience on both daily and weekly newspapers. Since 1972, she has been married to James Kyle and have since settled down in Cornelia, Georgia, where she started to write romance novels. Susan and her husband have one son, Blayne Edward, born in 1980.

She began selling romances in 1979 as Diana Palmer. She also used the pseudonyms Diana Blayne and Katy Currie, and her married name: Susan Kyle. Now, she has over 40 million copies of her books in print, which have been translated and published around the world. She is listed in numerous publications, including Contemporary Authors by Gale Research, Inc., Twentieth Century Romance and Historical Writers by St. James Press, The Writers Directory by St. James Press, the International Who's Who of Authors and Writers by Meirose Press, Ltd., and Love's Leading Ladies by Kathryn Falk. Her awards include seven Waldenbooks national sales awards, four B. Dalton national sales awards, two Bookrak national sales awards, a Lifetime Achievement Award for series storytelling from Romantic Times, several Affaire de Coeur awards, and two regional RWA awards.

Inspired by her husband, who quit a blue-collar manufacturing job to return to school and get his diploma in computer programming, Susan herself went back to college as a day student at the age of 45. In 1995, she graduated summa cum laude from Piedmont College, Demorest, GA, with a major in history and a double minor in archaeology and Spanish. She was named to two honor societies (the Torch Club and Alpha Chi), and was named to the National Dean's List. In addition to her writing projects, she is currently working on her master's degree in history at California State University. She hopes to specialize in Native American studies. She is a member of the Native American Rights Fund, the American Museum of Natural History, the National Cattlemen's Association, the Archaeological Institute of Amenca, the Planetary Society, The Georgia Conservancy, the Georgia Sheriff's Association, and numerous conservation and charitable organizations. Her hobbies include gardening, archaeology, anthropology, iguanas, astronomy and music.

In 1998, her husband retired from his own computer business and now pursues skeet shooting medals in local, state, national and international competition. They love riding around and looking at the countryside, watching sci-fi on TV and at the movies, just talking and eating out.

Reviews

[KatieV · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is my first Diana Palmer and I'm honestly torn. I know she's an extremely popular author and there were things I liked, but I also had issues. Perhaps I just picked the wrong novel? Or perhaps Palmer isn't for me.

IMHO this would have worked better as a Harlequin length novel (~200 pages). I wonder if she's ever written for one of the series lines?? hmmm...

The first 60% was sort of monotonous and could have been condensed and the point would still have been served.

Below is the "point" of the first 60% of the novel, condensed into a few mildly spoilerish paragraphs.

Noelle Brown (who I loved) lost her entire family in the flood that hit Galveston, TX in 1900 due to a hurricane. This was a true historical occurrence and very devastating to the area and there's a really gory History Channel documentary about it (I'm morbid). Anyway, Noelle is left in the care of an elderly uncle who wishes to move back to the rebuilt city and she's terrified of going. She meets Andrew Paige, step-brother of the hero and it is decided that she is probably a distant cousin of his since his mother had been a Brown from Galveston. Andrew asks her to come live with him and his grandmother (actually his step-grandmother) and since she's beyond terrified of going back to Galveston, she goes (I'm having a brain block as to where Andrew lived. It was another big Texas city, but farther West).

Noelle is a naive, 19-yr-old country girl who was raised working hard, making her own clothes and having one pair of shoes per year. She was, in my opinion, a lady in the true sense of the word but she didn't have the social graces and knowledge that would make her acceptable in the higher society circles her cousin ran in. Being raised in Appalachia by parents who were raised in poor families/areas then became educated and moved to a more industrialized area - I felt A LOT of sympathy for Noelle. It was kinda painful, because it reminded me of my mother, who is one of the nicest people you will ever meet, but she's extremely country and never could understand or fit in with the women who live in the town my father moved her to when he got his engineering job. She has never felt like she was good enough.

Andrew does not think Noelle is good enough. He is a snob, who thinks Noelle is pretty and wants to make her his mistress, but doesn't want to be embarrassed by her "shameful" behavior (she liked to work in the vegetable garden and wore overalls when she did, because she saw no common sense in getting a dress dirty). Noelle is besotted with Andrew and as a young sheltered woman she falls for all his posturing and BS about being a a war hero. She works hard to please him and mimic the manners she sees being used around her. She also becomes close to the grandmother and helps around the house in any way she can.

The hero of the novel, Jared Dunn, is an ex-gunfighter who eventually turned to the right side of the law and went to Harvard law school. He's very conflicted about his past and therefore, very secretive. Only his grandmother really knows much about him. He has been growing tired of his law practice in NY, mostly because he's just taking cases for rich people and helping them get richer. He doesn't see a lot of justice in the situation. When he gets a letter from his grandmother, talking about "cousin" Noelle, Jared decides it's time to leave NY and open a practice in TX. He owns the home his grandmother lives in and he's afraid that ne'er-do-well Andrew has moved a mistress in under his grandmother's nose and he's going to put a stop to it.

Jared is immediately attracted to Noelle, but at 36 he is 17 years older than she is and she, at first, sees him as an old man. I guess a 36 year old seemed old to me when I was 19 too. Some of the things she does and says about Jared "the poor old thing" are funny. Noelle is attracted to Jared to, but it kind of scares her because she's never felt a sexual charge before and Jared is intimidating with all his brooding and mood swings. 50% of the book takes place inside the house where Jared tries to seduce Noelle one minute, insults her the next, and is very kind and understanding in the next breath. SOOO many mixed signals. Andrew, on the other hand, resents his stepbrother's intrusion and is in the midst of finding a proper wife and hoping to seduce Noelle and keep her on the side. There was little change of scenery or action and everything above could have been shorted by 100 pages and the point would have been just as valid.


The last 40% of the book makes it worth it. Finally, Andrew makes a move on an unwilling Noelle, who gets caught in a compromising position in front of one of the biggest gossips in town. Even though it was no more than fondling/kissing she is still considered "ruined" and is bound to cause a scandal. Andrew refuses to marry Noelle, basically calls her a whore, and runs off. Jared then marries Noelle in his stead AND wow is he a dick! He's in love with Noelle and she's in love with him, but he thinks she loves Andrew. So, he's a jealous ass which can be fun and infuriating. He's also a sexist asshat with huge double standards, which is historically accurate, but ***grrrrr***. The HEA was nicely done, although I do wish Noelle had made it farther than the bus station before Jared hauled her back. I'd have liked to have seen him tortured a bit trying to track her down. *evil grin*

[Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

I couldn't put it down. I loved the moment heroine realized her one true love was not Andrew but his brooding brother Jared. I felt so sorry for Jared. He was in so much pain when he thought Noelle could never return his love cause she was still in lust with Andrew. He was a very jealous, possessive hero and the love triangle was very well written. I adored the angst!

[*CJ* · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Noelle" is the story of Noelle and Jared.

A typical Diana Palmer romance set in the 1900's, with a sweet, virginal, super naive but sassy and temperamental heroine, a scarred, crippled brooding hero, a supportive but conservative grandmother, a lecherous and lazy stepbrother, some competition for affection, loads of jealousy, false compromising, a hasty marriage, misunderstandings aplenty, drama, romance and HEA.

It wasn't the best she has ever written, but I certainly enjoyed the scenes when evil/shitty characters were shown the error of their ways by our hero and heroine. Either they had miscommunications and wallowed in self pity, or they gave a nice rebuttal, making the other person regret ever having wronged them- no in between.

Enjoyable in parts.

Safe
3.25/5

[Margo · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the best, possibly because the historical setting limited the opportunities for immense cruelty on the part of the H. The h was scrappy and a woman ahead of her time. The H was a concealed alpha, which is very appealing.

[Chantal ❤️ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well this is my favorite historical of hers. I did not like some parts like when the hero would not be honest about his past and the having sex with her without meaning was cruel. He was not cruel by nature and I think that is what saved the book for me. I loved when he taught Noelle to dance and how he wanted her to be happy. I had to read this book 2 times because I missed some issues. like the brother leaving her to face the music after he almost raped her. I was confused because of the Hero attitude towards her after this changed so much I thought he had seen something else. He was just obsessed with her he could not see the truth and the brother should be jail. Given half a chance he would rape any unwilling girl that took his fancy cause he is good looking??? wow not!

[Aou · Rating 3 out of 5]

He’d only given her up because he loved her and he wanted her to be happy! Didn’t she know, for God’s sake?
How could she? She was as dummy as you!

[Ash · Rating 2 out of 5]

I did not care for the writing style and there were so many scenes of the heroine taking a stand when their hero acts like a jerk, only to forget that a page late and throw herself at him! Hero did no grovel, didn’t apologize for the way he treated her, he only explained slower why his damaged past should excuse his actions. I hate that.

I bought a couple books by this author and this one was written 30 years ago. I’ll try a more recent book to see if her writing has improved.

[Laurie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Other than Catherine Anderson, I think I have found a new favorite author. Diana Palmer outdid herself when she wrote this book. The hero is amazing and he kept my interest throughout the book as a former desperado turned lawman who is surprisingly unconventional for the time he lives in. He isn't exactly a charmer and he has a dangerous edge to him which makes him especially appealing. He is an Alpha male posing as a Beta male. I later find out that he not only has a heart of gold, but has much more substance and honor than his arrogant step brother Andrew. Noelle was barley a woman when she was attracted to Jared, the hero, 18 years her senior. At first the age difference freaked me out, but then I realized that this book was written in the time of 1902, when women married well established and mature men that were wealthy. Jared and Noelle were painfully honest with each other, which was refreshing. Their arguments were very entertaining and only added to the charm of the book. This book is one of my favorites. A cowboy/lawman Alpha male. What's not to like?!

[**Sognatrice di libri** · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stelle scarse

Una lettura scorrevole e piacevole, l'ho trovata interessante anche se avrei preferito che la parte romantica fosse sviluppata meglio.

[Alexis-Morgan Roark]

I have promised myself to write a review for each book I finish from now on...starting with this one. I will, of course, have to comment on the preceding storylines in this series (I could have smacked both of the previous heroes...Cal and King). I am GLAD this book was not about Alan. I just can't get into Beta heroes. [shudder]

Ok. This book is about the lawyer from Nora. Who cares? Putting this one aside for now

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though I am not usually a fan of historical romance novels, the name of the main H character caught my attention (his descendent is featured in Lawless). The h was ahead of her times and I loved her rants and behaviors; the H had to thaw and acknowledge that he was capable of love. The usual Palmer miscommunications and misunderstandings only enhanced this story.

Enjoyable.

[GuisBell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Que locura de historia, muchos enredos, situaciones que no se aclaran apropiadamente y desencadenan decisiones que causan dolor.

[Tonya Warner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Noelle Brown was away from home, caring for her sick uncle, when Galveston was destroyed by a hurricane. Her entire family had been killed, leaving her with the tragic memories of identifying them, and still living in the city, fearing the next storm. When a distant cousin appears and invites her to leave and live with him and his grandmother, she works hard to fit in.

Andrew might be a dashing man, but he lacks true character. He is more than willing to have Noelle in his home, but she tends to be an embarrassment to him with her unsocial graces. But, she is pretty enough, he belives he can convince her to become his mistress.

Andrew's stepbrother, Jared Dunn is more than just cityfied lawyer he presents. Having a long history involving gunfights, the Rangers, and military service, Jared provides for his grandmother and frivolous stepbrother, Andrew. Finding the fiesty newcomer, Noelle in his home, sets in motion the fulfillment of his dreams, even before he knows he has them.

A very enjoyable story. A little thrown off by the time frame with the going back and forth between gunfights and horseback riding to the typewriter and telephone. It all seemed just a little weird.

[Monolog Literacki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zaskoczyło mnie że ciężko było mi się odciągnąć się od tej książki. Dziki zachód, tajemnica i miłość, tymi trzema słowami można by opisać tą książkę.
Postać Noelle w odróżnieniu od innych dam, nie bała się zakasać spódnicy i pokazać swojej osobowość była absolutnie ujmująca.
Andrew i Jared przedstawili dość powszechna rywalizacji braci, tyle tylko, że Andrew chciał wykorzystać Noelle, a Jared ją pokochał.
Sama postać Jared’a starszego adwokata, jaki wzbudza szacunek i respekt była ciekawa.
Może niektóre sceny były istnie nie wiadomo skąd, ale były w stylu jaki Diana Palmer od początku kierowała.

[amanda s. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book, definitely one of my favorite. Even though Noelle is a bit meek and Jared is annoying but overall this book is very refreshing.

I enjoyed this book but I was expecting something more from Andrew. Because I feel that he needs to apologize more and make a better closure with Jared.

But then again, I still liked it. :)

[Robyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

As always I love what Diana Palmer writes. I loved reading about Jared and Noelle the ancestors of Judd Dunn for Lawless.

[Caitlin Wyatt · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to re-read this I can't remember anything about it

[Maria · Rating 2 out of 5]

Siamo agli inizi del 1900 e la giovane Noelle Brown ha perso tutto dopo l'alluvione che ha devastato la città. Si trasferisce a casa dei Dunn, dove viene accolta dalla nonna di Jared e Andrew, due fratellastri.
I due uomini non potrebbero essere più diversi: Andrew è un uomo un po' frivolo e superficiale ma ben inserito in società, mentre Jared è un avvocato con un passato oscuro.
Noelle è attratta da Jared ma forse sarebbe meglio Andrew, peccato che dopo una situazione imbarazzante lui lasci la città lasciando Noelle ai pettegolezzi.
Jared è molto attratto da Noelle, è geloso del fratello, ma quando la ragazza viene abbandonata decide di sposarla per sottrarla alle malelingue. Peccato che continui a pensare il peggio di lei, solo che l'attrazione lo fa cadere più volte.
Noelle è una ragazza molto ingenua: non sa nulla dell'amore e di quello che avviene tra un uomo e una donna. Lei mi è piaciuta alla fine: è figlia della sua epoca, ingenua e facile ai raggiri.
Andrew fa un po' una figura misera, non è certo stato un gran signore.
Jared invece mi ha delusa: capisco che all'inizio puoi pensare male e non fidarti di questa donna che ti è piombata in casa, ma conoscendola avrebbe dovuto capire che era proprio sincera, invece continua a trattarla malissimo e lei come una scema lo perdona e si scioglie ai suoi piedi.
Una figura maschile forse adatta all'epoca ma che letta ai giorni nostri è davvero negativa.
Non una dei migliori libri della Palme che qui ha preso un granchio.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mary Ann is determined to shake up Christmas by appearing as Mrs Santa Claus with a message to children about giving back. A local family decides to divorce and Mary Ann tries to help the children deal with it. Mary Ann’s son moves back to town to work at dog shelter along with his girlfriend and they move in together. Mary Ann’s husband, George, is dealing with age related slow down and it is hard for him to take care of the farm. The last couple of chapters pull it all together.

[Laura Calderone · Rating 4 out of 5]

letto nel 2016 e riletto nel 2017 riconfermando il mio precedente giudizio!
Il libro, anche se non è riportato da alcuna parte, neanche dall'autrice è collegato ad una serie di libri pubblicati e non, in Italia, i protagonisti si conoscono tra loro per varie vicissitudini.
1 - Amelia (inedito)
2 - Passione selvaggia
3 - Il colore del fuoco
4 - Scandalo e attrazione
5 - Cuore selvaggio

[Gail A Ostrove · Rating 5 out of 5]

Noelle and Jared

It took them a while but they finally realized that they loved each other and would be lost without the other. He thought she loved Andrew and was willing to give her up if that would make her happy. She loved him but he was hiding his past from her thinking she wouldn't want him. They are now happily married with a child on the way.

[Claire Ulrich · Rating 4 out of 5]

The worst miscommunication trope I’ve ever read in my life. The guy is 36, acts like a man, but literally communicates like a five year old. And the girl, 19, who, I’m not really surprised because she’s 19, is ALSO communicating like a five year old. Hey guys? Maybe taLK about ur feelings like grownups. The fuckin book would’ve been so much shorter LOL. Still hooked me tho.

[Barbara H. Pierce · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good read.

I chose the rating because it was a very good read from beginning the end, with no long dead boring dragging places in the entire book. Truly enjoyed reading this book.

[CANDEN333 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful historical romance! I liked this book so much more than Diana Palmer’s other HRNs! It’s more accurate to the time period as far as conventions. The romance is a slow burn and it works! Everything works so well in this book! 5 stars!

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Second time around

I think I have read all of Diana's books in paperback and now in ebooks, of all of books that I have I keep going back to Diana Palmer I love the way she write.

[Barbara Collins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely love to read this author.. I got more and more into the book closer to chapter 11.. I couldn't stop until the end and still wanted more..

[Bibe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read Diana Palmer in my youth. Most of her books for me are 5 stars. Is not an objective rating, they are simply memory of the period they carry with them.

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good book!

[Zel Polev · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book definitely got better later in the story. I found the heroine to be grating in her naivete. I didn't really relish reading about a bratty heroine who disparaged the hero solely based on another person's lie. It was especially annoying because she excused the braggart's actions while villifying the hero. I thought the hero has a deep well of patience to deal with the dumb duo that was Noelle and Andrew. I thought she had a lot of growing up to do. I thought they had a lot of gall to not feel shame over their treatment of Jared. Andrew told lies about him, took advantage of his patience, and patronized Jared. Noelle followed along and was his little sidekick. She made fun of his age, villified him while praising Andrew. It was so annoying to read. It got better when Andrew threw her under the bus and she finally got a clue about his true character. Unfortunately for me, it was too late. I already dislike the story. It got better but it was pretty annoying to start with.

Anyways, I suppose Noelle was supposed to be victimized and the grovel scene was questionable to me. What else did she expect after two timing Jared? She made out with Andrew after her passionate encounter with Jared. I get that she didn't want to go as far as Andrew wanted but she acted as if she didn't understand why Jared would feel the way he did.

Anyways, I didn't like the heroine and I felt the grovel scene was too forced. She got better later in the book. I get that she felt hopeless because truly, there is nothing much she can do after she ruined her reputation. She did spend the majority of her time infatuated with Andrew so Jared wasn't totally unreasonably in his treatment.

Andrew was a pathetic excuse of a person. He talked himself up because he was so small. I don't think Jared should have given a reference to his character because he was such a poor one. I think the debutante deserved someone who premeditated cheating on a spouse.

Story brief, Jared comes back to his home and finds a stranger living there. Andrew brought in Noelle with the intention of dallying with her while marrying another. Noelle is devoted to Andrew and participates in his self-entitled treatment. Despite this, Jared teaches her manners and etiquette so she wouldn't feel so ashamed of herself when Andrew looks at her disapprovingly. You see, Andrew sees her as good enough to fool around with but not to marry. When the choice was presented, he threw her under the bus branding her as a slut. True to form, he leaves a mess behind in his wake and Jared is stuck cleaning it up. He married Noelle to avert scandal and he does so reluctantly believing that she is in love with Andrew. She finally figured out she loved Jared but he doesn't trust her anymore. He had an incident in his younger days in which he trusted a woman and killed a man for her. Unfortunately for him, she was duplicitous and was party to killing an innocent man. He felt remorse for it and supported his cynical outlook in life. Anyways, he gets involved in a black man's trial. There is a shoot out and he gets to show off. His mysterious and secretive nature is once again presented. Misunderstandings abound and they agree on divorce. Noelle planned to leave and Jared caught up with her. He convinced her to stay. They have a kid.

The end.

It was eh mainly because she was really annoying in the beginning. Don't get me wrong, she definitely got the short end of the stick but her infatuation was just a bit too much. I really disliked Andrew so she got caught in the crossfire. If she caught on at least on what a doormat she was, I wouldn't dislike her so much. I just didn't see how their marriage would have possibly worked. He was too jealous and she dug her hole.

[Pupottina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un romanzo storico semplice, ma intensamente romantico.
Diana Palmer con Il colore del fuoco ha saputo entrare, ancora una volta, nel cuore delle lettrici con una storia romanticissima fra la dolce e ingenua Noelle Brown e due fratellastri, completamente diversi.
Uno, il fratello maggiore, è un avvocato misterioso di nome Jared Dunn.
L’altro, Andrew, è un affascinante giovane alla moda, perfettamente inserito nell’ambiente sociale.
La vicenda si svolge del 1902 e per una ragazza la scoperta dell’amore è qualcosa che si vive diversamente. Le passioni risultano più intense e profonde e il corteggiamento e il meccanismo dell’attrazione scorrono con tempi molto più lenti.
Vivere l’amore nel 1902, o scoprire dove esso si nasconda, è un percorso denso di insidie. Per la giovane Noelle non è facile: si rivela ardua la scelta fra uno dei due fratelli, poiché la mente le consiglia uno dei fratelli, ma l’attrazione la porta verso l’altro. L’amore non soltanto si sceglie, ma si conquista e Diana Palmer riesce a descrivere la nascita di questo potente sentimento nel cuore della tenera Noelle.
È un romanzo dove non mancano la passione, il senso della giustizia e soprattutto tanto romanticismo. È scorrevole, pieno di tenerezza e di scene appassionate.

Mi sono immersa nella lettura e ho scoperto con disappunto soltanto che il romanzo è finito troppo presto.
Una storia romantica che merita di far parte della mia collezione di romance.