Two things I am absolutely suckers for single parent romance and cowboys. So when you combine those two you've got my creme de La Creme. Unfortunately it is combined with the thing I hate the most, poor communication skills. How do you even make it to adulthood without having that basic skill set? But I digress, this was a pretty fantastic read. Diana Palmer is a pretty fantastic author.

UNBRIDLED is Diana Palmer’s latest installment in the LONG, TALL TEXANS series, and it didn’t disappoint. Reuniting with characters we’ve met before in many of the books is always heartwarming. Many of them led totally different lives previously as mercenaries and military personnel. Now they are lawmen and women, and justice is usually served. The book is fast paced and captured my attention from the first page to the last.

The story is set mainly in San Antonio, Texas. Gang wars happening too often for not only the police and the Texas Rangers but also the citizens. A priest who has ties to a good gang (if there is such a thing) is helping to bring in Rado and his gang before more murders and injuries are committed. John Ruiz is a widowed Texas Ranger with an eleven year old son, Tonio. They don’t spend as much time together as they should due to John’s job. Unfortunately, Tonio acts out in ways that are dangerous.

Tonio befriends a nurse at the children’s hospital where he waits for his cousin to give him a ride home after school each day. Sunny is as her name implies and tries to guide Tonio when he confesses he can’t talk to his dad about things. She’s shy and innocent in the ways of the world but has connections to law enforcement (due to things that have happened to her and her family in the past.) John is attracted to Sunny when they meet briefly at a holiday party. None of the three know they have a connection to each other.

There are lots of twists and turns and some scary moments in this story. There is passion and joy between John and Sunny, as well as conflict. The characters all have a depth to them, and there are many layers to the crimes committed and their connections to other crimes and the gangs. A lack of communication between many of the characters leads to some unhappy conclusions, but when pieces fall in place, there is wonderful closure on many fronts.

The end is very sweet, but the story ended too abruptly for me. An epilogue would have been nice unless we’ll be meeting up with the characters again in another book in the series.

Ms. Palmer is one of my favorite authors of western romance because her stories always have many layers to them and keep me turning the pages far into the night.

As much as I like Diana Palmer and some of her books are worth revisiting, "Unbridled" did not make that cut for me. She's written some amazing books - Bennett Boys and even some in her Long, Texans series.

I missed the chemistry between John Ruiz and Sunny Wesley. Granted the story had mystery and intrigue, but if the characters don't click for me, and so does the story.

Unbridled is the 45th novel in Diana Palmer's Long, Tall Texans series, and if you're new to the series, let me suggest that this is not the place to start. Don't get me wrong, I've been a fan of Ms. Palmer's since I first read one of her books back in the mid-1980s, and her story lines rarely change--the heroine is always a shy, poor, pretty virgin, alone in the world, and they always have some secret shame that prevents them from from ever pursuing the hero, who is always at least a decade older than she--tall, dark and often Latino, with a heavy pelt of chest hair. He's also harsh, judgmental, possessive, jealous, quick to fly off the handle and think the worst of her, and he's usually a rancher, former military, former mercenary or in law enforcement in some way. All of the above are true of this novel as well, and because I thought I knew what to expect from this novel, I was delighted that there was a surprise character I didn't expect, Tonio, as well as a surprise issue brought to the forefront of this novel, and those are the reasons this novel earned a 3-star rating from this reader.

First, let's start with the main character, Suna (Sunny) Wesley, a caring and kind, blonde-haired nurse in a children's hospital in San Antonio, and she meets all the criteria mentioned in the preceding paragraph. She lost her mother and brother to random gang violence when she was just 17 years old, and she's now all alone in the world, she thinks she's plain rather than pretty, and she's harboring a secret that she believes will make her incapable of ever having a relationship with a man. You'll have to read the novel to find out what that reason is.

Next is the hero, John Ruiz, a dedicated police officer who is trying to bring an evil, murderous, violent gang leader, Rado, to justice, but the villain is slippery and has managed to elude law enforcement for some time, primarily because he leaves almost nothing in the way evidence, his gang members always give him fake alibis, and those he's harmed end up dead, striking fear into anyone who'd dare to either cross him or testify against him. John Ruiz is a widower, working long hours, which leaves his 11-year-old son, Tonio, in the care of a housekeeper. John's lack of time for his son causes his son to act out in school, get expelled, and then be relocated from his home in Jacobsville to an alternative school in San Antonio, where Rado and his gang members try to recruit him. The only friend he makes in this school is David, who is a member of the gang, a fact he most certainly doesn't reveal to his father, but when Sunny sees Tonio being hassled on the street by Rado, who has hassled her before, she comes to Tonio's aid, is threatened by Rado, but she soon becomes both Tonio's friend, confidante and protector, one more person he never mentions to his father. When John Ruiz first sees shy, wallflower Sunny at a hospital function, he is instantly attracted, but because of her nature, when she backs away, he wrongly assumes it's because he's Latino, and the two get off to a rocky start.

So, that's the central story in this romance, and while drug issues, law enforcement, and violence do usually crop up in her novels, the addition of gang violence is one I don't recall Ms. Palmer previously addressing. The big plus for me in this story was Tonio, the first time I recall Ms. Palmer making a child the central character around which her novel is written. He was a sweet, troubled yet goodhearted young boy and it was impossible not to fall in love with him.

However, as the story continues, the setting expands between John's police work in San Antonio and his wealthy, land-grant ranch in Jacobsville, Texas, where most of the other novels in Ms. Palmer's Long, Tall Texans series is set. Unfortunately, the plot loses momentum because for some reason I cannot fathom, Ms Palmer introduced so many secondary and tertiary characters who appeared in the previous 44 novels in this series, and the inter-relationships between them--I lost count at 35 of them, left this reader trying to recall who was who, what their part in this story was, why more than a few of them even merited mention, and if it boggled my mind, I can't imagine how a reader new to this series could begin to understand or keep track of the litany of names, branches of law enforcement, former mercenaries, former military, and their wives and children, let alone understand the complicated cases which were the core of her many previous novels.

While I enjoyed the central characters in this novel, the introduction of Tonio, and the fact that Ms. Palmer tackled the subject of gang violence, I think this would have been a far better novel had she self-edited and not included what seemed like half the law enforcement community in the state of Texas. Her depiction of Tonio, and his friendship with Sunny, did, in my opinion, save this novel.

I voluntarily read an advance reader copy of this novel. The opinions expressed are my own.

Diana Palmer likes to pair up strong macho guys with somewhat less obvious insecure girls. So it was no surprise when you crack open UNBRIDLED and meet Sunny and John Ruiz in a somewhat awkward position. You realize almost immediately that you’ve just been introduced to the main characters in UNBRIDLED. UNBRIDLED is Long, Tall Texans book #53 probably one of Diana Palmer’s longest and most prolific series. And I have admittedly read them all. Anyone that knows me or reads my reviews know that my topic of choice is often cowboys, ranchers and yes native Americans. Love them all.
UNBRIDLED once again brings us back to Jacobsville and Comanche Wells and the two lead actors are a nurse and a Texas Ranger – but of course – after all this is a story told by Diana Palmer. A new element in UNBRIDLED is the existence of a gang. Gangs are all around us and so even in small towns they seems to be popping up. Violent and bullying are their calling cards.
Sunny is a great nurse but she kind of buries herself in her work. She is one of those people that are most comfortable standing at the fringe of life. Her very brief moment with Ruiz had put her in a most uncomfortable situation and when she abruptly called an end to it Ruiz was left with the impression that Sunny had something against Latinos. Never further from the truth but actions speak louder than words and Sunnys were undeniable.
Sunny was deathly afraid of the local gang of thugs that had moved into her neighborhood. Even though her apartment was within walking distance of the hospital she invariably took a taxi.
Ruiz was now sole parent to an eleven year old son Antonio and having a difficult time of it.
Antonio’s school and Sunny’s hospital and apartment were smack in the middle of a gang area that now had two rival groups after the same territory. A disaster in the making. One Sunny personally knew all too well. One John Ruiz faced now almost daily. And one Antonio was being exposed to in his alternate school. Two gangs, one very small neighborhood and three people drawn into the drama. Not a recipe for happiness. In fact the danger is palatable and real. And as the story unfolds in UNBRIDLED we become first hand witnesses to these very dangerous situations.
Luckily there are fine people like Texas Ranger John Ruiz and nurse Sunny Wesley. These are the folk that work tirelessly to make a difference. The problem lies in the unvarnished truth that helping people often puts you in the crossfire. And standing toe to toe with these gang members is going to put these fine people in jeopardy.
So as most of Long Tall Texan’s are ranchers – UNBRIDLED is more centralized to a city atmosphere. Cities are home to these gangs. UNBRIDLED deftly puts two distinct societies – so to speak – together in this fight against the scourge of our time, gangs. Diana Palmer handles this difficult problem with respect and just the right amount of fear and angst. But of course ultimately UNBRIDLED is a romance and her couple of choice in this story are so different that they belie making them a couple. Diana Palmer has no such difficulty.

Diana is a personal favorite of mine. When you have a romance with a hot cowboy it can’t get any better. Thank you NetGalley for a wonderful read.

I loved this book! It's refreshing in a world that is so crazy. With just the right amount of suspense and sensuality to keep readers turning the page, Diana delivers this story artfully. It's just what I needed!

I enjoyed this book. I haven't read any Diana Palmer's books in awhile . This was a treat for me. The story is slow going at first. It took me a bit for it to really grab my attention. I devoured this book in 2 days. I couldn't put it down once it held my attention. Thank you Netgalley and Harlequin.

I love Diana Palmer's books and this one did not disappoint. She has a way of spinning Cowboy life into one I'd love to live. Her characters are always exciting to meet and stories are fun to see unfold.

Unbridled, written by Bestselling Author Diana Palmer, was a heartwarming story that will touch your heart. Sunny Wesley is now along in the world after the brutal slaying of her mother and baby brother. Now, the only family she knows is the relationship she forms with her patients. Until one day she comes to the rescue of a young boy.
Either I am finally learning Diana Palmer’s writing style, or I am outgrowing her stories. Either way, I didn’t hate the story, nor did I love the story. The parts I liked about Unbridled was overshadowed by the same plots that I am noticing Diana Palmer has been using for the last several of her books. A strong alpha male with a nondescript female, whose has low self-esteem that boggles the imagination. I could have enjoyed Unbridled more if she would have tried to strengthen Sunny as a person.
Where is Diana Palmer of the old? Where the heroine was meek but strong, able to handle the strong alpha type hero. Are those days gone? Are we just left with a shadow of the past?

Sunny is a nurse where she treats kids who have run afoul from rival gangs in San Antonio. John is a Texas Ranger with a young son who is friends with a gang member. When they meet, sparks fly. ARC from NetGalley.

John is a single father working as a Texas Ranger taking down tough criminals. Sunny is a nurse who has been pretty much spending her life helping out others. So when she sees a young boy come across the wrong crowd shes there to help out this child, there is way too many children that are falling into gangs and she wants to help this child stay away from that situation.

I don't find myself gravitating towards books that have gangs and stuff like that in it and honestly if I knew that beforehand I would've never picked up this book. I'm so glad I did though because I thought that this was a pretty good book. I liked the characters getting to see from both John and Sunny's point of view and getting to learn about Sunny's backstory in why the way she is. I loved how devoted John was towards his son and his job but it seemed that his son was falling towards the way side and it was interesting seeing how the boy and his fathers relationship was there was plenty of love there. It was tough seeing what the son was going through he was a nice kid and he was trying to stay away form a bad situation and still wanted friends and I loved seeing how Sunny played her part in making sure that he was safe. Overall this was a pretty good book I enjoyed it.

When I first discovered Diana Palmer, I devoured her Long, Tall Texas series, but it has been a while since I visited that world. I had the opportunity to do so in Unbridled, Long, Tall Texans #49. In it, we get the story of a single dad and the woman trying to help his son.

John Ruiz knows loss. He is now a widowed single father to his son, Tonio and a Texas Ranger. Life has not been easy for him or his son. He loves his son, but his job is very demanding. Feeling adrift, Tonio begins to get involved with a gang.

Sunny Marlowe has had a rough and sad life. After the death of loves ones, she is lonely, sad and working hard to survive. Even so, she is caring and very helpful. She wants to help Tonio in any way she can. When she meets John, there are sparks, even as they take things slowly.

John Ruiz was all kinds of sexy, protective and possessive, while Sunny was sweet, innocent and caring. Unbridled was a quick read that was sexy and had a bit of suspense!

Happy reading!

John hasn't lived his life outside of work since his wife died three years ago. His son is not dealing with her death very well. He loved her and now he feels like his whole world is spinning on his axis. He's lashing out and trying to get any attention he can from his dad.



Sunny loves her job, but her life is sad. She has no family left. She doesn't date and doesn't go out much. John makes her feel things she didn't think she could feel. She meets a young boy at work and she grows fond of him. He's dealing with a lot on his plate, he's tangled up with a gang. Now she's trying to find someone to help him.



John has to realize that at one point or another he has to start living and start communicating with his son for his life to become a real one again. Sunny doesn't believe that he can want to be with her, she's so plain compared to his good looks.



I love reading Diana Palmer's books. I've been reading them since I was a teenager. They're like going home. They are easy to read and there is always a happy ending.

I've been a huge fan of Diana Palmer's books for a long time. So I was so excited when I got this book because it was one that I wanted to read.

John Ruiz, a Texas Ranger isn't looking for a relationship because his son didn't like the thought of his dad dating after his mom passed away. His son, Tonio is a troubled kid with an attitude problem and John just didn't know how to react to his sons outbursts.

Sunny is a nurse with a tragic past. She's painfully shy and lives by herself. So when John shows her a little attention a couple of times, she doesn't know how to act but she knows she doesn't want to give him the wrong idea. She's not looking for a relationship.

Sunny and John go out to eat a few times as friends even though they are attracted to each other they don't act on it. They both have their reasons just to stay friends.

There are two gangs in the area that Sunny lives in and she helps a young boy from being bullied by one of the gang members not knowing that it's her friends son. Sunny finds the boy who was being bullied in the hospital cafeteria and they start to talk. Tonio has no idea that Sunny knows his dad and he confides in her when one of the gang members beats up a friend of his. Tonio agrees to talk with a cop friend of hers about a gang member. There's an investigation going on where they are tying to get enough evidence against one gang member to put him in prison but the investigation is slow going.

Meanwhile John and Sunny are getting closer until they have a misunderstanding and their relationship falls to the ground in shattered pieces. Things are said in anger that shouldn't have been said. It was a sad part of this book for me. What John said to her in anger coupled with the fact that he's a workaholic and never has anytime for his son, made me not like him a whole lot.

But John made up for it in big ways when Sunny finds herself in danger and this one had a great ending. I've always been a big fan of this author's books and this was no exception. If you like romance with a bit of danger thrown in then I would definitely pick this one up.

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars.

I received a free copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review but all opinions are my own.

Another great story from Diana Palmer! Very good storytelling and I found the characters very interesting. A little bit of action kept the story moving along. I was definitely rooting for John and Sunny. Highly recommended!

Probably would have given this book a 3.5 star, and iy was increased to a 4 star because of the author. This is a typical Diana Palmer romance. Older man with a younger, naive, damaged virgin female. While the romance was good there were so many inconsistencies in the book.

First of all Sunny is a nurse and she basically lives in a tenement infested with hostile gangs. She can't afford a car and can barely manage to pay for cabs to her apartment 2 blocks away (yes she needs a cab for 2 blocks, because she fears for her life walking in her neighborhood). Nurses make a decent wage, I purchased and maintained a house on my salary, and she is working double shifts and can barely afford food? I just don't get it.

Another glaring inconsistency is when (SPOILER ALERT) Sunny is attacked by one of the gang members and her life is in danger. Now, 2 other characters were placed into protective custody when they were threatened by this gang member, but, this girl is attacked and she gets nothing? Again I don't get it.

So, yes I will continue to read Ms. Palmer's book, I have since the 70's. I just wish she would write a little bit stronger female leads.

Received as an ARC from Netgalley for an honest review.

Interesting story of two lost souls who had high walls built around them from long-ago events. John and Sunny take the long, rough road to discover what can happen when you open your heart. The characters slowly develop over time while the world seems to explode with complications at every turn. But despite all this, there is a third character, Tonio, who really adds an additional and important role into the mix.

I loved this book so much. I've been a huge Diana Palmer fan for a long time. If you haven't read her book then you need too.

Palmer's Long, Tall Texans series has spanned more books than I can count and it is still going strong, still mentioning and including characters from books written years ago. Kudos!

Unbridled is the latest installment, a book about a Texas Ranger and a nurse who find themselves caught up in a gang war and in love with each other despite the obstacles. It is a bit disjointed, with the secrets needed to keep the plot running also preventing the cohesion I would have preferred. It's also not a mystery. We know the villain from the outset.

Against the backdrop of cold case murders and new murders, Ruiz (John Ruiz) and Sunny strike up an unlikely romance. Sunny's family was killed by the villain, but they are not the focus of the suspense part of this. Sunny is a typical Palmer heroine: naive, virginal, soft with a hidden backbone. Ruiz is rich as Croesus, a widower, and married to his job which causes problems with his son, Tonio.

Tonio is the glue that holds the entire book together: everything swirls around him and he is integral to the events. It's a shame then that as a character, Tonio isn't very realistic to me. It's also a case of way too much telling and not enough showing as to how Tonio feels. This is an unfortunate recent development in Palmer's style.

The ending of Unbridled is particularly abrupt, as if Palmer suddenly ran into a hard word count limit and voila, it's over. I liked the book well enough, but it didn't wow me or capture me and make me keep reading.