Rating:  Summary: Mr. Perfect is a perfect read! Review: I was just browsing one day in the book store and this book caught my eye. After reading a little about it I decided to buy it. Now i'm glad I did. Mr. Perfect has the right amount of humor, romance, and mystery with a suprising shock in the end. It is a really good book to curl up with!
Rating:  Summary: The racy, scintillating prose never lets up. Review: If you delight in language and bright, rambunctious, unihibited people that you wish weren't fictional, Mr.Perfect is your rainy weekend R&R.The plot apparently was derived from/inspired by a similar incident in England that had, if not the whole world laughing, at least the US and UK. Seems a young woman and man had a great time together one night, and next morning at work, she sent an e-mail telling him, in detail, how much she enjoyed his prowess. Of course, he had to crow to his male friends and forwarded the message to them. They sent it to their friends, etc., etc., until the press picked it up. The only danger of the couple involved was being fired, but Mr. Perfect is suspense, right? The List of attributes of "The Perfect Man"--compiled by four friends at their regular TGIF supper--follows the same route but with devastating results and a surprising flourish at the end when the culprit is revealed. Of course there are flaws in both structure and plot--Howard has her characters say nothing is perfect--but who cares when there's love, grief, and growth for both women and men characters as well as fun. Jaine and Sam--not to forget Linda--have my vote. Enjoy.
Rating:  Summary: Enjoyable, but disappointing Review: Although I have read very little of Linda Howard's work, I picked up Mr. Perfect because I'd heard from so many other readers how funny it was. Since I count Janet Evanovich, Jennifer Crusie and Dave Barry among my favorite authors, I thought I'd give it a try. And on that level, Mr. Perfect met my expectations. . .but only some of the time. On the one hand, I enjoyed reading it (and I don't finish a book I don't like). Even though I found the premise a little flimsy -- I just didn't buy that The List would cause so much hoopla -- the dialogue between the protagonists, Jaine and Sam, was at times hilarious; I really liked Sam (even if I found him a little crude for my tastes at times); the pacing kept me turning pages; the twist at the end worked for me. The trouble was, I felt as if I was reading two or three different books that had been forced into one -- the writing seemed uneven, and while the various aspects of the story worked, put together, they bothered me. Usually, when humor is combined with a murder mystery, the author takes pains to somehow distance the murder victims from the protagonist -- and the reader, as well -- by killing them off before the reader gets to know them, by making them unlikeable to the point where the reader feels no sympathy for them, by making them only peripheral acquaintances of the protagonist. Even in cases in which the protagonist knows and likes the victims, most authors give the reader time to grieve and adjust to the deaths before reintroducing the humor. In this book, two women, close friends of the heroine, are brutally murdered. Yet, in both cases, even though we see the heroine and the remaining friends completely broken up over the deaths, within a few pages we're expected to laugh. . .or go with the flow when Sam and Jaine hit the sheets. Again. (I have no trouble with sexy books, or explicit sex, but this went a little over the top for me, mainly because the sex wasn't shown in such a way as to show the characters' growth.) Few authors can juxtapose laugh out loud funny with horrible and sinister without jarring the reader. Unfortunately, in this book, Ms. Howard doesn't quite pull it off, even though I could see how hard she tried -- the ladies telling jokes and laughing at Marci's "wake", the "theraputic" sex, was supposed to help the ladies deal with their grief. Unfortunately, instead of achieving the brilliant dark humor of Crusie or Evanovich or Barry, it just didn't work. I had other problems with the story as well. Even though I understand this isn't a romance per se, so much time was spent on the developing relationship between Jaine and Sam that one couldn't call it a subplot. Yet, without much, if any, real conflict between them -- it seemed a pretty straight line from hate to hots to marriage proposal -- that aspect, especially in light of how many pages were devoted to sex scenes, left me feeling a little gypped. I liked this couple, yes, and loved their banter. . .but I wanted to see them struggle more for their happily ever after. And while the humor between the hero and heroine really did sparkle, I didn't feel the same way about the scenes with the four women. There, I got the feeling Ms. Howard didn't trust the reader to find the dialogue funny without telling us how funny it was. The result was like reading scenes with a laugh track. Not a horrible book by any means. Just not the caliber I expect from someone at this level.
Rating:  Summary: Linda Howard at her best! Review: This book held my interest from beginning to end! A little risque, but I enjoyed every minute of it. It was funny, yet romantic. This is one of my favorite books written by a romance writer. I highly recommend it.
Rating:  Summary: Formula fiction Review: Smart, sassy, single female meets grouchy neighbor who could or could not be a criminal....a list of characteristics for the perfect man is made public, unleashing a psychopath with a penchant for murder...female and neighbor team up (he's actually a very good cop) to solve the mystery and save her life. Fiction doesn't get much more boring than this.
Rating:  Summary: Sexy, sexy, sexy!!! Review: This is a one sitter. Once you start, you won't be able to stop. I hated to reach the end. A fun, rollercoster, sparks fly and sizzel on every page. I enjoyed every word.
Rating:  Summary: Mr. Perfect is wonderful! Review: I have been reading Linda Howard's novels for many, many years. This book was the best one yet. It was laugh out loud funny! This book reminded me a little of Jennifer Cruisie's style. I hope that Linda will continue to write humerous novels. Many of her earlier works were dark, with the hero or heroine having some sort of emotional problem. I like this type much better!
Rating:  Summary: A page turner but.................. Review: Four friends make a list of what qualities they think "Mr. Perfect" should have. Someone takes umbrage and the murders begin. This book was a very easy read and a page turner, but I found the rapid romance between one of the heroines and her next-door-neighbor cop with the "let's jump into bed every chance we get" to be a bit much. I also figured out who did it almost from the beginning, but the ending was still a thriller!
Rating:  Summary: Fatal Friendship Review: This was a good story. For me, different than what I normally read. The characters were very well written. The intense relationship between Jaine and Sam was awesome. Being a woman myself, I know some of the topic's a group of girl's can get on. I loved "The List" these four friends came up with. It happens all the time when you have a group of out spoken girls discussing their relationships and sex lives. This novel added a twisted plot of their conversations, that turned a work environment upside down and made national news, all because 4 ladies decide what their version of Mr. Perfect would be, I loved it. I have to admit, the killer in this story really surprised me. I think Linda Howard did a great job on this one. This novel will keep you turning the pages, and you will never suspect the true killer until the end. Hold onto your seat as you twist and turn with this one, especially with Jaine and Sam. I absoulutely loved Jaine Bright's character.
Rating:  Summary: Steamy thriller? Review: I hate romances, and the concept of Romantic Mystery / Thriller is a yuck one. However, I read this one (mistakenly thinking it was just a plain ole Mystery/Thriller) and LOVED IT. If this is ever made into a movie, I bet it gets an 18 certificate. Great, witty dialogue (steamy scenes), coupla murders and a guy to die for... What else can a gal ask for?
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