Dying to Please

Rating:
Summary: Wow!!! Linda Howard never fails to Please!!
Review: Make sure you start reading this book on a weekend or have some sick time at work, because you won't want to put it down! The chemistry between these characters will make you ache to see if they can overcome their obstacles and make their relationship work, and the suspense will keep you turning the pages with vigor!

Sarah is a butler extraordinaire for a retired federal judge. The judge is very sweet and he and Sarah have forged a tight bond during the three years she has worked for him. Sarah is also trained in martial arts and, along with her butler duties, she also serves as a bodyguard for the judge.

After foiling a robbery attempt at the judge's house, Sarah is solicited to do a human interest spot on the evening news, outlining her butler duties. Little did she know the publicity would lure a madman and change the course of her life forever.

Detective Cahill is an investigator on the case, and the chemistry between he and Sarah is too hot to ignore. He has been burned in a recent divorce, and is wary of trusting a woman again. I was anxious to see if he could overcome his she-demons and let himself love and trust Sarah.

Once again, Linda Howard delivers with steamy love scenes, raw emotion, and bittersweet betrayals. I highly, highly recommend "Dying to Please"!

Rating:
Summary: Linda Howard Does It Again
Review: I loved this book. Linda Howard is just great at character development. The heroine, Sarah, is both strong and likeable. And her interaction with Cahill is just the best. Highly recommend this story!!

Rating:
Summary: DYING TO PLEASE by Linda Howard
Review: Right off the bat I say buy this book since you can't put it down once you start it. It's so Linda Howard with her fabulous Alpha heroes to die for too.

Sarah Stevens is a butler for a wealthy retired judge in the small town of Mountain Brook, Alabama. She is also trained as a bodyguard and hired by the judge's family to watch over him as he's had some death threats in the past. Sarah has worked for Judge Roberts for three years and is almost a member of the family. One night she interrupts a robbery and is in the news and on TV. Unbeknownst to Sarah she has attracted the attention of a stalker who thinks she is perfect for him and a chain of events is set into motion that will have dire consequences for Sarah.

At short time later Sarah walks in to the judge's house one evening and discovers he has been brutally murdered. Linda Howard knows how to build ... tension so well you can feel the steam heat. Whew!...

Rating:
Summary: NOT HER BEST!!
Review: THIS WAS NOT EVEN AN AVERAGE BOOK. THE PLOT OF THE BOOK SUCKED REALLY BAD. THE BAD GUY IS AN OLD GEEZER WHO IS A BIG PERVERT AND COMES TOTALLY OUT OF LEFT FIELD. THE ONLY REASON I AM EVEN GIVING THIS BOOK 2 STARS ARE BECAUSE OF THE LOVE SCENES WERE VERY SPICY AND KINKY. OTHER THAN THAT THIS BOOK HAD NOTHING ELSE. I TYPICALLY READ LINDA HOWARD'S BOOKS WITHIN DAYS (GOTTA EAT, SLEEP AND GO TO WORK) BUT FOR SOME REASON I HAD A VERY HARD TIME TRYING TO FINISH THIS ONE. IT TOOK ME ALMOST A WHOLE WEEK TO FINISH IT. I JUST WAS NOT INTO IT AND THANK GOD I ONLY PAID 50 CENTS AT A DISCOUNT BOOK STORE.

Rating:
Summary: Lots of Sex...Sprinkled with Murder
Review: This was the first book I've read by Linda Howard, a present to me from my mother-in-law.

First off, a warning: gratuitous sex abounds in this book. In fact, I would say the storyline focuses more along the quickly-developing relationship between a butler and a cop than it revolves around a murder mystery. But...it worked okay in this book.

Second, the idea of this book and others similar to it -- people with way too much money being murdered and other super-people fighting crime (six-figure butler bodyguards, for instance). HOWEVER, the characters in this book were down-to-earth. And the super-rich didn't become the focal point of the story. In summary, I was sucked into the storyline despite the money issue.

Finally, I thought the plot twists were great, and the developing relationship was great, too, even though I'm not a big romance reader in general.

I do have a few problems with the book, though: the whole idea of the strong woman is great but of course she has to become the typical submissive woman in the end (that's my interpretation, but yours might differ); some of the sex was pretty unrealistic (but maybe this made it more fun to read...so maybe this isn't really a flaw per se); and one sexual scene in particular really bothered me (the "I-will-force-you-to-make-up-with-me" scene)...that was disturbing and made me shudder.

Other than those remarks, I think this book was pretty enjoyable, and I am eager to find out if her other books are as good.

Rating:
Summary: Almost perfect!
Review: I loved this latest by Linda Howard. I would actually give it a 4.5 as it is close to perfect. Sarah and Cahill are two of the most likeable characters around. And leave it to Howard to provide moments of hilarity and lots of truly hot sex! The mystery develops logically and ends appropriately. I have a whole new respect for 'butlers'! I only have a problem with two scenes: the nude wrestling and Sarah with the lamp. I don't object due to modesty - far from it. I do however, think both scenes are ludicrous! I keep seeing things sagging and swinging! It's not supposed to be THAT funny! Overall, a great romantic thriller with a grand ending. Nifty story. Well worth your time and $. Enjoy!

Rating:
Summary: If you like audio this one will keep you listening!
Review: This mystery has the listener hanging on the edge of her/his seat. The characters are tough but very likeable. The main character, Sarah, is a kick butt kind of girl that takes very little but often shows her feminine side. You will enjoy the audio as much as reading the book!

Rating:
Summary: A Stay-Up-All-Nighter, if Ever There was One
Review: When Sarah Stevens, who is sort of a butler/bodyguard for Judge Lowell Roberts, wakes in the middle of the night because her ceiling fan, she is curious about the electricity not working. When she sees her phone is dead, she knows something isn't right. She gets up and foils a burglary in progress and all of a sudden finds herself in the media spotlight. Kind of a celebrity now, she gets several job offers, but she's loyal to the judge and turns them all down.

However, she has a secret and very deadly admirer who is mucho angry because she won't leave the Judge, so he kills him.

Detective Thompson Cahill met Sarah during the bungled burglary, when she was the heroine and now she's the numero uno suspect in the Judge's murder and all Sarah wants to do is just get on with her life, but her stalker has other ideas.

There is gobs of tension in this excellent thriller by Ms. Howard. It's a stay-up-all-nighter if ever there was one. I just loved it.

Rating:
Summary: NOT HER BEST!!
Review: THIS WAS NOT EVEN AN AVERAGE BOOK. THE PLOT OF THE BOOK SUCKED REALLY BAD. THE BAD GUY IS AN OLD GEEZER WHO IS A BIG PERVERT AND COMES TOTALLY OUT OF LEFT FIELD. THE ONLY REASON I AM EVEN GIVING THIS BOOK 2 STARS ARE BECAUSE OF THE LOVE SCENES WERE VERY SPICY AND KINKY. OTHER THAN THAT THIS BOOK HAD NOTHING ELSE. I TYPICALLY READ LINDA HOWARD'S BOOKS WITHIN DAYS (GOTTA EAT, SLEEP AND GO TO WORK) BUT FOR SOME REASON I HAD A VERY HARD TIME TRYING TO FINISH THIS ONE. IT TOOK ME ALMOST A WHOLE WEEK TO FINISH IT. I JUST WAS NOT INTO IT AND THANK GOD I ONLY PAID 50 CENTS AT A DISCOUNT BOOK STORE.

Rating:
Summary: Terrific
Review: Sarah and Cahill are a match in combat, marksmanship, wit and passion. There is a lot of chemistry between them that you could feel the charged atmostphere when both of them are in the scene. The plot is reasonably convincing to support the romance (this is a romance novel first of all). Judge Roberts is such a dear that I am sorry he has to die in the story. I like that the author allows Sarah and Cahill to date a bit before falling into bed, well, not really a bed but an exercise mat. Their first sex scene is hot! The part of how the murderer keeps Sarah captive is a little chilling but a great built-up to the climax. We only hear about the family of Sarah and Cahill indirectly, I would prefer that some of them actually appear on scene. Overall, an enjoyable, above-average romance from LH.