Texas Sunrise

What a stunning conclusion to the Coleman saga. Fern Michaels is so very good at telling her stories. The whole series was such an emotional read. I was so attached to all the characters, but I knew before starting the book that since it all started with Billie, it would likely end with Billie. I had to keep more than a couple kleenex handy.

I really enjoyed this book. Fern Michaels does an excellent job of keeping one interested in the story line. The whole Texas series, Las Vegas series, and Kentucky series are all intertwined stories about the same extended family. I couldn't stop until I had read all ten books.

Granted, Texas is my adopted state so I have good reason to be drawn to this series by Fern Michaels. However, do believe I would have been caught up in it no matter where I lived. Voice performer Laural Merlington hooked me with her reading of the first in the series, Texas Heat. Then she reeled me in when she delivered Texas Rich, and I couldn't wait for Texas Fury. Texas Sunrise, as read by Merlington, is a more than satisfactory conclusion to her previous performances of the Coleman family saga. Hearing her reminds me a bit of seeing a really, really good play - you applaud but also wish for more. Matriarch Billie Coleman Kingsley has lived a full and fruitful life - she has built an incredibly successful business and well understood the responsibilities of wealth and power. But now, sadly, she is nearing the end. Of course, her family gathers - daughters Maggie and Susan, grown grandchildren Cole and Sawyer. Each of these individuals has proven to be less than Billie had hoped, but now with her impending death they must take another look at who they are and what they are. Will they be able to live up to her standards or will the family dynasty die with her? Sorry to see this series end, but it's been great listening all the way. Enjoy! - Gail Cooke

All I can say is this was the best of her books that I have read and after reading the entire set I felt that I was reading about friends. Thanks to you and please keep them coming.

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it" could have been what a lot of readers of Fern Michaels' TEXAS series said about this "final" novel in her outstanding Coleman family saga. Admittedly, I was a bit skeptical, as I thought the events at the end of TEXAS FURY seemed like an appropriate capper to the whole saga. But Michaels' found a way to draw me back into the lives of the Colemans and their extended family by bringing the series full circle -- with Billie Ames Coleman Kingsley's journey through life slowly coming to an end. From the first teary-eyed moments when the diagnosis is revealed to a resigned and oddly serene Billie, to her beloved husband Thad's steel will in ensuring her last few months are tranquil and peaceful, to her children's resolve to overcome their own obstacles and rally around Billie, this is a novel that could have been summed up in a brief epilogue as a fellow reviewer stated. But consider this -- would we really want something so short, so sketchy? Michaels has invested time and research in fleshing out these characters to where we feel as though they're a part of our family (or us as a part of the Colemans) -- how could we settle for a simple, "Billie died and the Colemans moved on"? Simple -- nobody who is a fan of this series would! Hence TEXAS SUNRISE -- a moving, hopeful and thoroughly entertaining final chapter in the Colemans of Texas.