It is a sad thing when a writer creates an estimable character like Doug in Roping His Filly and has him step aside for another hero. What is a writer to do? Leave a good guy in the trash bin with the rest of the edits? Or take advantage of the fact that you've got a fully rounded character, plus a boatload of readers who are mailing you in protest, demanding to know what happens next with him?

Okay, I admit, I haven't checked with Ms. Gabriel to find out exactly how many readers were nagging her for more of Jilly's ex--but I know it happened. If you were one of those readers, you're in luck, because for those of you who loved Roping His Filly and want to know what is going on with Doug and the protagonists of that book–Jake and Jilly–Reese Gabriel revisits their world in A Filly for Doug. Of course, since this is a sequel, they don't stand center stage, but function as "directors" since the sequel's hero and heroine are the object of Jake's matchmaking machinations.

Helene is a honky-tonk waitress who has sworn off men because of a history of abuse; and Doug is the guy in Jilly's past who stepped aside for Jake. Both of our protagonists are somewhat gun shy, and we just have to wait to find out whether or not these particular opposites attract.

There are problems inherent in squeezing the development of an entire relationship into too few pages. A Filly for Doug struck me more as a romance than as a BDSM romance. Helene's ex, Chuck had been the last bully in a lifetime of bullies. I know she swore off men because I was told so in the story, but I never saw it the way I could have if there had been more room for development. And as for Doug, he struck me as more of a banker than the cowboy he was supposed to be; and his dominant streak was softened by tentative politeness so that his moments of command seemed contrived.

Intellectually, this approach to courting a flighty woman makes sense, but chemistry-wise, he lost me. In fact, his inner Dom is so buried that "Until Doug had talked with Jake about his fantasies, it hadn't seemed possible..." Something in me balks at a guy losing his girl to another guy, and then going to him for intimate dating advice.

I'm sad to say the chemistry never quite jelled for me, in spite of the author's noteworthy writing skills. I don't know if I'd blame it on a weak editor, too few rewrites or an abbreviation of the story format. But I still look forward to reading Reese Gabriel's future projects.

Reviewed by Maîtresse
© March 2008