Readable, but not recommended. While reading, I wished it would be over.
The first chapter was the best part. A reporter was dancing on stage as a striReadable, but not recommended. While reading, I wished it would be over.
The first chapter was the best part. A reporter was dancing on stage as a stripper for a story. He met Jody a cop in the audience. After that, nothing was special or creative. I didn't smile at interesting conversation. The sex scenes had a bland effect on me. Nothing surprised or delighted me. A quote from page 224 follows. "It took them longer to convice Captain Williams they were doing the right thing, but Fallon had always been known for her skills of persuasion and it wasn't long before they were driving through the entrance of Andrea's apartment complex." I would have preferred to hear the details of an interesting conversation that "showed" Fallon's skills of persuasion rather than being "told" with the summarizing sentence written.
Sexual content: not evaluated. Setting: current day New Orleans. Copyright: 2005. Genre: contemporary romantic suspense....more
4 ½ stars. I liked the audiobook better than the physical book.
I read this several years ago and felt it was pretty good, but it was easy to put down 4 ½ stars. I liked the audiobook better than the physical book.
I read this several years ago and felt it was pretty good, but it was easy to put down when I needed to do other things. I didn’t feel as emotionally invested as I did with other books by this author. But I recently listened to the audiobook and felt very different. It was very enjoyable. So I upped my rating from 4 stars to 4 ½.
It is about an artist who paints psychic visions and a businessman in process of getting a divorce. They fall for each other. She has visions of a couple of murders.
AUDIOBOOK NARRATOR: Laurel Lefkow did a good job.
DATA: Narrative mode: 3rd person. Story length: 362 pages. Swearing language: s*** used once. Sexual language: f*** used once, otherwise mild language. Number of sex scenes: about 8. Setting: current day mostly New York City with a little Washington D.C. Copyright: 1998. Genre: contemporary romantic suspense....more
Excellent romantic suspense. Good thriller, interesting characters, good relationships, good plot and action.
Dexter was a Vietnam Vet who abandoned hiExcellent romantic suspense. Good thriller, interesting characters, good relationships, good plot and action.
Dexter was a Vietnam Vet who abandoned his wife and daughter after the war. He was murdered. His daughter Karen went to New Orleans to identify and bury him. She met detective Marc and a romance began. The killer started going after Karen. John Medina has a small part at the end of this book. He is the main character in the next book: "All The Queen's Men."
I loved the scene where Karen fights the killer in her apartment. She was smart and followed advice from her father the sniper.
I read the paperback a few years ago and recently listened to the audiobook. A few times during the audiobook I felt it a little slow in the middle, maybe too much time pondering their feelings and relationship. I wanted to get back to the main plot. But I didn’t notice slowness when I read the paperback. Still, I want to keep it at 5 stars.
AUDIOBOOK NARRATOR: Natalie Ross did an excellent job. (And I was pleased that her breath noises were edited out.)
DATA: Narrative mode: 3rd person. Story length: 305 pages. Swearing language: strong including religious swear words but rarely used. Sexual language: moderate to strong. Number of sex scenes: about 5. Setting: current day mostly Columbus, Ohio and New Orleans, Louisiana. Copyright: 1998. Genre: contemporary romantic suspense....more
Exciting. Hard to put down. Great fun. Neat characters. I loved the part Joe the dog played.
I suggest reading the physical book. Don’t buy the audioboExciting. Hard to put down. Great fun. Neat characters. I loved the part Joe the dog played.
I suggest reading the physical book. Don’t buy the audiobook unless they redo it with a different narrator.
AUDIOBOOK NARRATOR: I hated the narrator. Brenda Sweeney sounded like a little old lady prudish retired school teacher. The way she interpreted phrases was soooo off. Normal adult conversation would not sound that way. For example, one guy asks Jane if she will stay at the hospital to watch over the patient. A normal adult answer would be to say “of course” in a matter of fact way. The narrator said it using a high pitched voice - long and drawn out - southern style like it’s so obvious don’t even ask. Another example: Kell asks Rachel how she lifted him onto the bed. She said “the vet” meaning the vet helped her. But this narrator said “the vet” in a very high pitched voice and long and drawn out - like it’s obvious, you should know the answer, why are you asking me? I don’t know if I’m explaining this well, but it was ICK. It did not sound normal or natural for 30-year-old adults. The narrator made the hero sound like a school teacher, not the alpha male. Same goes for sex scenes. This little old lady narrator does not fit.
THE STORY: The plot involved CIA type agents and a woman who used to work as an investigative reporter. Feel good ending.
DATA: Narrative mode: 3rd person. Story length: 244 pages. Swearing language: mild. Sexual language: moderate. Number of sex scenes: eight. Setting: current day Gainesville, Florida. Copyright: 1987. Genre: contemporary romantic suspense....more
Wonderful story. A good mystery. A killer. Great romantic tension.
Faith is a young girl, whose father and older brothers are drunks and trouble makersWonderful story. A good mystery. A killer. Great romantic tension.
Faith is a young girl, whose father and older brothers are drunks and trouble makers. Her mother has a loose reputation and is mistress to a wealthy man. Faith’s family is run out of town. Faith is humiliated, ends up in a foster home, studies hard, makes something of herself, and returns to Prescott. Gray is the rich man's son who is drawn to Faith yet hates her because of her mother's affair with his father. When Faith returns to town, Gray and others want her to leave and make her life difficult.
I loved Faith’s character. She was so impressive. I loved the love/lust that Faith and Gray had for each other and at the same time distaste for each other. I loved the antagonism and reasons they fought and tried to stay apart. It was great romantic tension through most of the story. The ending was wonderful and very feel good.
AUDIOBOOK NARRATOR: Natalie Ross did an excellent job. (And you don’t hear her breaths - yay!)
DATA: Narrative mode: 3rd person. Swearing language: none that I recall. Sexual language: mild plus the f-word. Number of sex scenes: about 3 plus a couple referred to not shown. Setting: mostly Prescott, Louisiana. Copyright: 1995. Genre: contemporary romantic suspense....more
**spoiler alert** Not one of my favorite Linda Howard books, but still a good story. Characters were good.
The plot is a long slow build up of two peop**spoiler alert** Not one of my favorite Linda Howard books, but still a good story. Characters were good.
The plot is a long slow build up of two people going undercover to get information from an arms dealer in France. Some parts were a little slow, but other parts were good.
(view spoiler)[ I did not like the part where the two main characters made a stupid decision. They had been fleeing from bad guys and finally got away. After a short while being safe, they decided to treat themselves to a tourist-style walk in a nearby town. This was stupid because the bad guys were still searching for them in that area As a result, they got caught and hurt by the bad guys. (hide spoiler)]
AUDIOBOOK NARRATOR: Kate Forbes did a good job.
DATA: Narrative mode: 3rd person. Story length: 374 pages. Swearing language: strong but not often used. Sexual language: moderate. Number of sex scenes: about 5. Setting: current day mostly Iran and Europe. Copyright: 1999. Genre: contemporary romantic suspense....more
This book contains reprints of three stories which were first published in the 1990s.
5 stars for WHITE 5 stars, 4 stars and 2 stars for three stories.
This book contains reprints of three stories which were first published in the 1990s.
5 stars for WHITE OUT. Loved it. Nice plot twists. Some suspense. Intriguing sex scenes. Hope runs a lake resort in Idaho. During a blizzard, a nearly frozen man knocks on her door and collapses. She drags him inside, removes his frozen clothes and gets inside a blanket with him to give him her body heat.
(view spoiler)[CAUTION SPOILERS: After awhile, with his body warmed up, the first sex scene occurs. He was half awake and half asleep and probably didn’t know what he was doing. It was unexpected and very sensual. He tells her he is a lawman, but she starts having doubts when she hears that a dangerous escaped convict is in the area. (hide spoiler)]
Sexual language: moderate. Number of sex scenes: three. Setting: current day Idaho lake resort. Copyright: 1997. Genre: romantic suspense.
4 stars for BLUE MOON. My feeling at the end was awwww, that’s lovely. I loved Jackson’s passion. The story had wonderful sensuality. Lilah lives on the river with no electricity. Because Lilah sees auras, local people go to her when they are sick. She tells them to see a doctor when needed, or she sells them her medical herbs and poultices. That is how she makes a living. One local man is afraid of her and plans to shoot her. The sheriff, Jackson, is notified and heads out to stop the man. Jackson ends up being stranded at her place during a storm which is how they meet and fall for each other.
Sexual language: moderate. Number of sex scenes: three. Setting: current day small south Alabama county. Copyright: 1999. Genre: contemporary romance with a little suspense.
2 stars for LAKE OF DREAMS. Just ok. Thea has been having erotic dreams about Richard, but she doesn’t know his name. She goes to a lake cottage for a few weeks to get some rest and hopefully stop the dreams. When she arrives, she meets Richard who is renting the cottage next door. He has been having the same dreams about her. They have known each other in past lives. I did not like the lack of normal communication on Richard’s part. He knew more about their past lives and reasons for being together than Thea did. When she asked him if he killed her in the past, he said yes, but he didn’t explain the circumstances. If he would have explained the past and been more open with her, there would have been no major conflict. I also did not care to read about Thea being weak, helpless, frightened, and hysterical. Sometimes weak characters are ok, but this time it didn't work for me.
Sexual language: mild. Number of sex scenes: four. Setting: current day White Plains and a house on a country lake. Copyright: 1995. Genre: reincarnation, contemporary romance....more
4 stars to MACKENZIE'S PLEASURE. Nice story. I liked it. I plan to read most of Linda Howard's books. SThis book contains two stories, described below.
4 stars to MACKENZIE'S PLEASURE. Nice story. I liked it. I plan to read most of Linda Howard's books. She is an excellent author. Although this was not one of her best, it was still worth reading. Story brief: Ambassador's daughter Barrie is kidnapped. Navy SEAL Zane rescues her. She falls in love with him. She continues to be in danger.
Sexual language: moderate. Number of sex scenes: seven or more. Setting: current day Libya and a few places in USA. Copyright: 1996. Genre: contemporary romantic suspense.
3 stars to A GAME OF CHANCE. Pretty good. Not great, but I'm glad I read it because I plan to read most of Linda Howard's books. She is an excellent author, although this was not one of her best. The story and characters were reasonably interesting. She wrapped it up a little too quickly and easily at the end.
CAUTION SPOILERS: Chance lied to Sunny through most of the book. When she learned the truth, he didn't try to soften it, justify it or make her feel better. He acted like he couldn't care less how she felt. At that point, she appeared to hate him, and I didn't blame her. A couple of weeks later, in one short conversation, he said he loved her, he got her back, and they married. It seemed too easy. I would have liked to have seen him suffer a little more. Story brief: Terrorist's daughter is on the run, hiding from her father for most of her life. US government agent discovers her and uses her as bait to draw her father to be captured.
Sexual language: moderate. Number of sex scenes: four. Setting: current day, various locations in USA. Copyright: 2000. Genre: contemporary romance with mild suspense at the end....more
Fun, clever, witty, intelligent style. Breast cancer survivor gets caught up with criminals and a hunky government agent.
STORY BRIEF: Sabrina spent herFun, clever, witty, intelligent style. Breast cancer survivor gets caught up with criminals and a hunky government agent.
STORY BRIEF: Sabrina spent her thirty-ninth birthday undergoing chemotherapy and had part of a breast removed. It is one year later. She’s been living with Scott for six years. He won’t commit to a wedding date or give her a ring. Sabrina has low self esteem, partly due to Scott’s reluctance to look at her scarred body. While Scott is away, an armed burglar breaks into her home. Sabrina fights him. Evan (her personal trainer) surprisingly shows up and helps her. Sabrina ends up fleeing, evading and creatively outthinking Mexican mob bad guys and U.S. government agents.
REVIEWER’S OPINION: I love this author’s clever, witty, intelligent style. I had a smile on my face and was chuckling many, many times. It’s not snarky; it’s better than snarky. I was intrigued with the heroine’s attitude and brave creativity. She made up some on-the-spot-lies (to get out of tough situations) that were really good. The author spent a little less time developing the romantic relationship than most romance novels, but the relationship was good and fulfilling. The sex scenes were warmly touching.
MINOR FLAW: I did not care for the book cover. Also Evan’s tattoos described on page 202 were different from the tattoos on the cover. I was just informed that a later edition has a different cover - much better.
DATA: Story length: 272 pages. Swearing language: strong (including religious swear words). Sexual language: mild. Number of sex scenes: 2. Total number of sex scene pages: 7. Setting: current day Baltimore, Maryland area. Copyright: 2008. Genre: contemporary romantic suspense....more
Story brief: Ambassador's daughter Barrie is kidnapped. Navy SEAL Zane rescues her. She falls in love with him. She continues tNice story. I liked it.
Story brief: Ambassador's daughter Barrie is kidnapped. Navy SEAL Zane rescues her. She falls in love with him. She continues to be in danger.
AUDIOBOOK NARRATOR: Dennis Boutsikaris was ok.
DATA: Narrative mode: 3rd person. Story length: 239 pages. Swearing language: none that I recall. Sexual language: moderate. Number of sex scenes: seven or more. Setting: current day Libya and a few places in USA. Copyright: 1996. Genre: contemporary romantic suspense....more
I love this author, but I don't recommend this book. Roanna lost her parents at age 7.
She then lived with an evil cousin Jessie who bullied and tormenI love this author, but I don't recommend this book. Roanna lost her parents at age 7.
She then lived with an evil cousin Jessie who bullied and tormented her constantly for 10 years. Jessie was killed and the relatives at first believed Roanna did it, then later believed Webb did it so he left town for 10 years. He made erroneous assumptions about Roanna and acted like he hated her as he left. He was the only one who cared for her and raised her from age 7, and she felt abandoned. Other relatives came to live in the house with Roanna and treated her badly for the next 10 years. I have four problems with this book. First, Roanna was too much of a victim and everyone else contributed to it. The grandmother should have done more to protect and help Roanna, especially when Roanna was initially accused of the murder by the relatives. I did not enjoy having the majority of the story dealing with the sadness, grief and helplessness of this victim. My second complaint is that Roanna and Webb both lusted for and loved each other but they stayed away from each other due to making wrong assumptions. He felt like he forced sex on her, and said it wouldn't happen again. She thought he didn't like sex with her and didn't want her anymore so she said she understood and that she would leave him alone. He said you don't understand anything, but he didn't clarify. She thought he didn't want her. I don't know why he continued to stay away from her. This went on for most of the book. She was honest in her communication, but he was not. Finally when they did get together he said "I've tried to stay away from you." She said "Why." He said "God knows." Later he said "I thought I was being noble by not taking advantage of you." I never did understand his reasons. He should not have stayed away from her like that and should have been more direct in his communication with her. Third, the author spent too much time inside Roanna's head, thinking and worrying about things. Many of these worries were based on erroneous assumptions or could have been solved. Some of this bored me. Fourth, I was confused about cousins who shared the same grandmother being able to marry and produce offspring with genetic safety. This sounded like they were too closedly related to me, but I'm not familiar enough with genetics to know. Sexual language: moderate. Number of sex scenes: nine. Setting: 1990s Alabama. Copyright: 1996. Genre: contemporary romantic suspense....more
REVIEWER’S OPINION: Great character development for Jenner. She didn’t have an advanced education, but I loved her iFun escape. Good mix of characters.
REVIEWER’S OPINION: Great character development for Jenner. She didn’t have an advanced education, but I loved her intuitive smartness which guided her actions and helped her make smart decisions about a number of things. Great plot development. Great emotional pull. Romantically there’s anticipation and clever dialogue. I was laughing and chuckling many times – sometimes at the clever banter, other times because I was surprised at something unexpected happening. The suspense is well done. At the end, on the last page, I felt great! I read the physical book a few years ago and recently did the audiobook.
REVIEWER’S COMMENTS ABOUT OTHER REVIEWS: A couple of reviewers felt there wasn’t enough romance. I agree that there was not a lot of romance, but there was definitely enough to be able to call this a romance novel. It was a good story which too many romance novels don’t achieve. Someone did not like that there was no secret about what was going to happen to the ship and its occupants. I didn’t mind that. The mystery was “how and when” the good guys would discover the problem and “what” they would do about it. A lot of good stories work this way. Someone complained that the “elaborate kidnap scheme seemed contrived.” I had no problem with it. In fact, one of the reasons I liked this book was that the kidnap scheme was believable, at least to me. One reviewer wanted more character development concerning Cael and the bad guy. Ok, there could have been more, but I was fine without it. I didn’t notice the lack of it until I read that reviewer’s opinion.
STORY BRIEF: Jenner is a blue collar worker who wins a $295 million lottery. She is street smart from watching her father who was a con man. I think her mother died early. Jenner saw her best friend and coworkers change after she won the lottery. They were jealous and resented her. Jenner moves to Palm Beach and becomes a close friend with Syd, a shy kind-hearted heiress. Syd invites Jenner on a luxury liner charity cruise for two weeks. Aboard the ship, Jenner is taken hostage by a stranger and must cooperate in a mysterious cloak-and-dagger scheme, which involves pretending to be his lover.
AUDIOBOOK NARRATOR: I’ve enjoyed the narrator Joyce Bean in some books but not all books. She has a problem doing men. She sounds weird or loses emotion when she tries to lower her voice to do men. She had the same problem in two other audiobooks: Blue Smoke and Angels Fall by Nora Roberts. In this book her voice for Cael (romantic hero) was wooden with no emotional interpretation.
DATA: Narrative mode: 3rd person. Story length: 365 pages. Swearing language: strong. Sexual language: moderate. Number of sex scenes: 3. Total number of sex scene pages: 5. Setting: 7 years earlier Chicago, IL and current day Palm Beach, Fl, San Diego, CA, Hawaii and aboard the Silver Mist luxury liner in the Pacific. Copyright: 2009. Genre: contemporary romantic suspense....more
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