The Complete Omnibus Collection - The Outsider Series

Wonderful books, well written and very enjoyable. These were the type of books I stayed up till one and two O'clock reading, and did not want them to end. I recommend them highly, and can't wait for the next in the series to come out.

Then this is the book series for you. This box set is the story of 3 brothers and their male cousin and the women they "love." All the women are weak and whiny and without one ounce of self-respect. Even Diane who is a lawyer lets her husband, Jed, run roughshod over her. And she even let's him question her commitment to him right after she gives him her virginity! Come on! The women have no backbone! Every time the reader thinks one of the women will stand up for herself, the author has the male of the moment do or say some macho crap THAT the women does not disagree with! Again, come on! Oh, and the author has a real thing against pregnant women, using every negative, stereotype, old wives tale about pregnant women to make them look even more useless and stupid. The women where constantly doing things to endanger their unborn children. And the men...wow! How could you find such a single-minded group of uncaring idiots.? Everything about them is me, me, me! They want the wives to stay home and take care of the kids. One guy, Andy, even objects to his very young wife, Laura, going to school to complete her high school degree. And Neil, the one brother who you think doesn't have his head up his butt leaves Candy, his almost wife (wedding literally stops at the alter) in the hospital right after she has a miscarriage because he wants kids, his own kids. Adopted kids aren't good enough.

The women always take these guys back, no matter what, just amazes me. I don't want the women as friends or the men as lovers. What a poor comment about a romance series of stories. I want a story with conflict but I also want women who know what they want but are not willing to sacrifice their self-respect and sense of self-worth to achieve it. And I want strong men with strong convictions but who also try to understand the feelings of the women in their lives and help them meet and exceed their life goals. None of the characters in this series does that. What a shame that the author always teased the reader with that potential but never delivered.

WARNING: some strong language and sexually explicit situations.

I was delighted to pick up the next book in Eckhart's riveting Outsider Series. In Secrets we meet up again with Diana and Jed, two of my favorite Friessen characters. They captured me in the short story The Search and I was eager to read more of their life together. But in Secrets the young couple is faced with extraordinary challenges. Jed is the fiercely independent brother who insists that it is a man's responsibility to care for his family. He refuses help from his wealthy father and brothers and is happy when Diana, who happens to be a lawyer, is willing to stay at home with their infant son, Danny. But circumstances beyond his control severely test Jed's `go it alone' beliefs. Jed is hurt but the challenges he faces go well beyond his accident. If anything the accident is his saving grace. Jed and Diana are presented with choices no couple ever wants to make. In the heart wrenching process, we see how badly `secrets' can affect even the best of marriages and how much courage it takes to bring those `secrets' out in the open and deal with them. This is a loving story and a challenging one. Eckhart is a gifted writer. Her characters are real and you want them to succeed. Add to this a well-crafted story and you have a book I highly recommend. Secrets is but one excellent story in this blockbuster series.Snatch it up for hours of reading pleasure. You'll be glad you did.

Great series! Read each story individually. Glad to see its now been combined into a single collection. The stories were engaging and heartwarming. Lorhainne Eckhart is a good writer. This series is well worth the read.

Ms. Eckhart has a talent for sucking the reader into her books through her genius way of writing deep emotion and in this set of books she excels. For example - In Secrets, when Diana's adored and exhausted husband, Jed, falls from a ladder while working on the roof, she has a fight on her hands. His family flood to support them at the hospital but everyone has secrets. His doctors follow his instructions and they keep secrets. Worst of all, she finds their financial state is a mess and Jed had kept it all a secret. This emotional drama shows us how lives can be affected when families keep things from each other. I’ve read almost all of the books in this collection and am looking forward to the one’s still waiting. When a person finds an author who can keep her from turning off the light and getting the sleep she needs, then I’d say she’s a writer who deserves 5 stars.

I would have giving these books a 5 stars,until I read the last book(the wedding) it was sicken. I don't like Neil at all. Wish something would happen to him where he could not have " HIS OWN CHILDREN" . As for candy she never should have marred him. You made her weak and stupid. P.S. I would love to read a book where the woman walk away, something are not forgiving

I loved these strong women and their often clueless men who always had to be in control. Oh, control for all the "right" reasons but they had to learn that their women were more than a match. Sometimes simply fun to see how managed the men were. Stories that brought laughs, tears, exasperation and joy as the pages turned. Sorry to arrive at the final page. Looking forward to reading everything Lorhainne Eckhart has written!

Like all collections there are some really good stories and others that are just so-so. I liked the character development and some of the stories were engrossing. Well worth the price. If you are looking for something to read on the beach or while traveling, this one is for you.

I had a hard time putting the books down.. when I completed one I was jumping into the next one. One of the best series I have read in a long time. I fell in love with the Friessens. I hope that Lorhanne does not just let this be the end.
I also just finished The Deadline... it follows Andy and Laura on their new adventure..and what an adventure it was!
Keep them coming!

Great characters, great love stories. A lot of angst, drama, danger. I liked the flow of the books, the bridges of short stories, and the way each new book started where the last left off. Highly recommend it.

I really enjoyed reading this series. Each book had a great storyline. My issues were: (1) there wasn't a very clear flow between the books and (2) some sentences were tough to read. I remember when Andy's book started it took me a minute to comprehend that it was part of the same series. The previous book never seemed to have an ending that flowed to the beginning of the next book. I also had a hard time with the grammar. I had to read some sentences over again because it jumped around to much. But, I read the whole series and will read the next one because there is a good story in there.

I have just spent two rainy days reading the whole wonderful Outsider Series. Just stopped for food as I was so engrossed in this amazing family saga. So glad you are going to continue Andy and Laura's story in Montana, as there are so many questions yet to be answered. Also need to address the childless status of Neil and Candy.