Retro Reads Book Review: No Quarter Asked

Author: Janet Dailey
Title: No Quarter Asked
Publisher: Open Road
Publish Date: April 1, 2014
Buy: Amazon

Review Copy Provided By: Net Galley
Book Blurb: 

Janet Dailey wrote her first novel, No Quarter Asked in 1974 after her husband, Bill, urged her to back up her claim that she could write a better romance novel than the ones she had read. The book was accepted by Harlequin, which made her the category romance giant's first American author. She eventually wrote a total of 57 novels for Harlequin, including one set in every state of the Union. These later became known as "The Janet Dailey Americana Series." The Daileys were instrumental in forming the Silhouette romance fiction line, for which Janet wrote 12 more titles before entering the mass market field in 1979 with Touch the Wind, which marked her debut on the New York Times best seller list.

No Quarter Asked is the first of the Cord & Stacy Series which includes No Quarter Asked (1974), Fiesta San Antonio (1977) and For Bitter or Worse (1978).

Review: Janet Dailey is one of those authors every romance reader has heard about and probably read. I know I've read one or two or ten of her books. She was always good with the cowboy romances.

No Quarter Asked is her very first book for the Presents line. It was originally published in 1974. This story is 40 years old! Yikes! And reading it, makes me wonder if women were as stupid as the heroine, Stacy back then? Surely not?

I couldn't wrap my head around a heroine who lets a guy bully her the way Cord does, and then decide she's in love with him.

Seriously, I was team Carter!

And she never really talked to Cord, she just let him, ride roughshod over her. (Pun intended)

I know the Presents line is all about the alpha male, but Cord takes things to extreme. He's nothing but a jerk, and that's the nicest thing you can say about him.

There really is no relationship between the two characters romantically. So the ending just doesn't fit. At least not for me.

I've read a lot of vintage Harlequins but none of them had characters this unlikeable for me.

Rating: 2 flowers (and that's pushing it)