Rating: 
Summary: Even if you haven't read it, you've read it before
Review: Standoff is such a thin, formulaic ripoff that I can write out a recipe:1 semi-glamorous, shallow heroine 1 tall, dark and handsome hero with a Tragic Past 1 froth-at-the-mouth villian, complete with rifle 1 pair foxy grandma and grandpa 1 large gratuitous sex scene 2 surly foreigners 2 confused teenagers Pour into convenience store, sprinkle with cops and TV cameras. Shake, and serve. The resulting froth tastes like its cardboard characters, and will remind you of every TV suspense-movie-of-the-week ever made. There is absolutely nothing original, interesting, or memorable here: a complete waste of time.
Rating: 
Summary: Good Book
Review: I just finished this book and it was a very exciting read. It only took me 2 sittings to finish it off, but that is because I could not put it down. Don't let the fact that this book does not have a huge plot with many twists and turns turn you away. No one is mistaking this for a literary masterpiece that high schoolers will be required to read 50 years from now, but it is still a really fun and exciting book.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Suspense
Review: I very rarely give a book a 5 star review, if ever, but this book deserves it. It is not a classic or thought provoking book but it acheives the goal all authors shoudl strive for. It is fast paced, exciting and intense. I read this book in two sittings, was never bored. If you are looking for some light escapism this is the book.
Rating:
Summary: A terrifc story - one of her best books yet.
Review: Standoff has an unusual premise and yet it's so well written so well woven that a great deal happens to make the characters come alive even though the story mostly spans over 6-7 hours. The writing is vivid, realistic, with a great deal of suspense and some underlying romantic attraction thrown in. I enjoy this story very much and highly recommend it. It's a great summer read-quick moving and hard to put down. Only her work "Exclusive" was better--
Rating: 
Summary: Not Much Of A Standout
Review: Sandra Brown's latest paperback novel, Standoff, is a far cry from her usual suspense/romance novels fans have come to expect. Teil McCoy, a news reporter is headed for her vacation destination when the radio announces that Russell Dendy's (a local wealthy powerful man)daughter has been kidnapped from school. Teil immediately calls off her vacation so she can scoop the story. How convienent for Teil that when she stops at a store for refreshments who should come in to rob the place? None other than......you guessed it, Russell Dendy's very pregnant daughter, Sabra, and her "kidnapper" boyfriend, Ronnie. While in the store holding it up, Sabra goes into labor. A mysterious handsome stranger named "Doc" is able to help Sabra, along with Teil's assistance. To make a long story short, the whole book revolves around the holdup and Sabra's labor, placing the whole setting in the convience store in one nights time. Of course Doc and Teil become attracted to you, which is very hard to believe. Who has time for romance in between being hostages and delivering a baby? Standoff is hard to believe and not one of Sandra's best attempts at a novel.
Rating:
Summary: Absolute Garbage
Review: I've read a couple of other Sandra Brown books (Alibi was particularly good), and was severaly disappointed by this. This book would not even be a decent effort by a novice attempting to break into the field, let alone an experienced professional. The plotline is absurd, requiring the reader to set aside *any* sense of reality. The character development is sub-par and one-dimensional. The people the central character dislikes (The FBI, the Father of the girl) are wooden and artificially evil and/or stupid. This is just one badly written book. Don't even waste your time. Maybe Sandra Brown will get back to being a decent writer, but if this is the best she can do, it's time to explore other career options.
Rating: 
Summary: Harlequin romance pretends to be a thriller
Review: This book was an easy read, and that's about the best thing I can say about it. The plot was too predictable, and the sex scene was way too contrived. Sorry, I wanted a thriller, not a smut novel. The cover looked good, however (don't judge a book ...).
Rating:
Summary: Don't waste your time
Review: I bought this book based on the description on the back cover. That was the most interesting page in the book. This is an amatuer writing job. Predictable would be a improvement. It had an interesting premise to begin with, however, the "standoff" did not have the plot twists and turns described. It was really all about two misguided teens who ran off to be together and save their baby from the girl's domineering father. They were both selflish and unlikable for their irresponsible actions, however it was clear that the author wanted us to see them in a Romeo and Juliet kind of way. The adults were not much better, by being supportive of these two teens rather than showing adult wisdom (i.e., Doc returning the gun to the boy as a show of support). The romance between "Doc" and Tiel McCoy was even more contrived. I could see where that was going the minute the "Marlboro Man" met the "slender blonde" in the convenience store. Boring, badly written book. Save your time and money.
Rating:
Summary: Whatever happened to Sandra Brown?
Review: Once a while back I wrote Sandra Brown and complained about authors who invent diseases to fit a plot. The medical aspects of this book are bang on. It's a pity the rest of the book is so bad. Two adolescents on the run to escape the girl's father who plans to have their imminently due child removed from their custody. They drop in to visit the boy's father, presumably to borrow money to finance their escape. Instead of waiting when he's not there, the young couple, who have previously been straight arrows, suddenly decide to rob a convenience store, and the robbery suddenly becomes a hostage taking standoff. Meanwhile, the young lady goes into labour.First delivery with breech presentation is definitely high risk. Can someone give me the logic: Two teens who were so desperate to keep their baby are suddenly willing to risk the infant's life or possible brain damage? A young man able to ignore the pain and ultimate delivery of his child and keep his attention focused on seven hostages over a lenghthy period of time? A father who is able to involve the FBI within 12 hours when there is no evidence of any kidnapping? OK, he's rich and influential. Another issue I have is with "Doc", who seems to have run his Cancer Clinic without any interference from such nuisances as ethics committees. Ethics committees protect the rights of patients. Otherwise any megalomanic can start doing "research". Witness the atrocities practised in the Jewish prisons during the 2nd world war. Also what drugs was he using? Was he doing his own R&D? You'd have to be Bill Gates to produce one or two drugs on your own. Also, no researcher is respected unless he's peer reviewed. But I digress. Anyway, awful book, poorly written. I didn't even get to the ending before I turfed it. I stopped buying SB hardcovers some time ago, thank goodness. To pay the price of a hardcover for a poorly written novella is irritating. Sandra Brown has written some incredible, terrific books. Did she write this when she was 18 and update it? Do she and her publisher have such little respect fot her readers that they would dump this trite little piece of nonsense on them on the strength of her name?
Rating:
Summary: A gripping suspense
Review: There is one problem with listening to an unusually good audio version of an unusually good book. I found myself sitting in the car in the garage or in the parking lot of the market just to finish a passage. This was one special story: suspenseful from beginning to end, well-structured, and easy to follow over a long period of driving to and from work. There was just the right touch of romantic tension in the story to not be distracting from the main story line. And Enid Graham, the reader, is to be commended. Her talent for reading different characters added so much to the story. An absolutely superior story. An absolutely superior audio.
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