Rating: 
Summary: Another bomb
Review: I don't know why I keep reading Karen Robards' books. I guess I keep thinking of the few good novels I've read by her (One Summer, and a couple of others) and hoping that each successive one I read will be good. Unfortunately, this is another lousy read. It's just plain silly. The novel gives absolutely no reason why the hero and heroine fall in love, especially after knowing each other for less than a week. Other than the fact that they find each other attractive (which isn't surprising since he's your typical, hunky blonde male and she's literally a beauty queen), what is the basis for their relationship? They have hot sex, but what else do they have in common? Nothing, according to the way Robards writes it. Also, the focus on the dog got to be a bit much after a while. I'm an animal lover, but even I got tired of Josephine the poodle's antics. This was another one of Robards' ... attempts at humor in this novel (the other attempt has our hero dressed in drag). I didn't even bother to finish reading this and I certainly do not recommend it to others. I gave it 2 stars because it did have a couple of good moments and a romance novel has to be really terrible to get 1 star from me (e.g., Robards' novel Irresitible comes to mind).
Rating: 
Summary: Good Story
Review: I love Karen Robards' novels. The heroine is usually pretty lively even when life has dealt them a hard blow, and the men in her novels are all "definitely men". This is a very good story and I would highly recommend. Julie Carlson believes that her husband is having an affair on her. She decides to track him down and instead runs into a drag queen who is actually private investigator Mac McQuarry. Mac is interested in Julie, and he also has his own score to settle with Julie's husband who he believes set him up. Then someone tries to murder Julie, and now its up to Mac to figure out who the killer is before Julie winds up dead. Very good story!
Rating:
Summary: My favorite of Karen Robards
Review: To Trust a Stranger is my favorite Karen Robards book so far and I have enjoyed her other work as well. I just liked Mac so much from the beginning it added to my enjoyment of the book. A big, masculine guy who is comfortable enough in his own skin to dress in drag in order to spy on a cheating spouse for his client was so funny. He's got this attitude like "Yeah, so, I'm in a dress." Then Julie runs into him while out doing her own spying on her husband. She lets Mac help her simply because she's thinking of him as a "Girlfriend." Her assumption about Mac's sexual orientation gives her that impression that it's nice to have a man around who will be nothing more than a friend. Of course all that changes as things start coming out into the open. Julie's husband is doing more than cheating and Mac isn't who she thinks he is. Around every corner there is something unexpected popping up and it was an enjoyable read. I first heard the abridged audio of this book and it really didn't do the book justice. It leaned toward the humor and there is much more to the story than that, so I picked up the book and was glad I did. As others have mentioned it's pretty steamy so I like to add that in so you don't pick up this book and then are shocked that it's in there. This book has some definite HEAT coming off of it so be warned. Julie is kind of annoying but for me Mac made up for it by miles and miles. I really like this book and have read it several times now.
Rating:
Summary: TRUST THIS STRANGER!
Review: Karen Robards latest is a great escape. Think Linda Howard's MR. PERFECT or Janet Evanovich's series with Stephanie Plum. . . What do these books have in common with TO TRUST A STRANGER? Humor! Humor! I love it. Oh, don't worry. You'll get the handsome hero and the beautiful heroine in danger, the bad guys, the steamy sex, etc. But you also get a large does of humor. I love authors whose characters are funny as well as sexy. I'm not sure why this book didn't get a solid 5 stars in the ratings, but I for one urge you to give it a read. A keeper!
Rating: 
Summary: A Page Turner
Review: Julie Carlson decides to follow her husband one night, as he leaves their home. She believes he's been cheating on her. That night, Mac, dressed as a transvestite, will meet Julie, as her car crashes into his. Coincidentally, Mac is in an investigation business. And, he knows Julie's husband. As Julie has Mac investigate her husband, she will not know Mac's hidden agenda. That agenda will cause problems between them, as both Julie's and Mac's lives are threatened. TO TRUST A STRANGER has one of the best prologues I've ever read. And, the relationship between Julie and Mac is believable, and very tempestuous and sexy. There's some interesting secondary characters, and some really scary bad guys. The story moves very quickly, and made this book a real page-turner. Oh yes, and before I forget, there's a dog, Josephine, who is a real scene-stealer. There's only a couple of things that keep this book from being a 5-star read, for me. The book seemed a little too short, the romantic relationship between Julie and Mac, a little too quick. Still, it's very much worth reading, and maybe rereading.
Rating:
Summary: Refreshing and fun.
Review: I read this book in two days and had fun time reading it. Julie Carlson is afraid her husband is having an affair and hires Mac or (Debby) as she called him to spy on him to find out if her assumption is true. After this turn of events everything goes out of control for both of them. But to me my favorite character would have to be Josaphine, Mac's little Toy Poodle. I enjoyed her personality, and spunk,and at the end she jumps in and nearly saves both of their lives by attacking Bast one of the bad guys. I really enjoyed this book and will enjoy reading more of her books. I already have Beachcomber in my List at home waiting for me. I highly recommend this book. Read it and enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: Taut, exciting tale!
Review: This is a very taut well crafted thriller about Julie and Mac (a police detective) on the run from Julie's mobster husband and his connections. It's loaded with excitement and thrills. Amazon's editorial review does plenty to describe the plot. The reason I am writing this review is because there is just one cautionary note I would add here. There are some extremely graphic sensuous scenes -- one went on for three pages straight, never letting up. For those who enjoy these scenes, it's great reading, but for those who don't want to read the raw sensuality in part of this book, you may want to skip a few pages. Still well worth reading.
Rating:
Summary: One of Robards' best!
Review: I LOVED this book! I have enjoyed every KR book I have read, but this one is going on my keeper shelf beside "Paradise County". Both main characters were a hoot, both very likeable and easy to relate to. I especially like how KR establishes a friendship between them before the sex starts. That made it more satisfying for me (and for them ;) If you've read and liked Robards before you will enjoy this one, and if you've never read her this is a great book to start with. Then go read "Paradise County", too!
Rating:
Summary: Great premise - shame about the heroine
Review: I'm a big fan of romance novels and have greatly enjoyed Ms. Robards' books in the past. She's written some truly sexy, enjoyable romance novels. With this one, however, I was consistently bothered by the heroine, who was a truly unappealing person to say the least. The storyline is really fun. When Julie, our heroine, finds herself in a bad marriage and in apparent physical danger, she turns to an outrageous drag-queen she meets in a chance encounter. The hero, Mac, aka "Debbie the Drag-Queen," is a quick-witted private investigator who makes the most of his meeting with Julie to pursue Julie's nasty, soon-to-be ex-husband. They join forces, fall in love, and beat the bad guy, who is a really bad guy (at least by romance novel standards). The real problem is Julie herself. A former beauty queen, Julie is beautiful, thin, graceful, thin, charming, thin... did I mention thin? The author is merciless in reminding us how beautiful and skinny our heroine is - she's a size 6. But she used to be a size 2, which leads her mother and her ex to harp on about her food intake (which I guess is supposed to reinforce to readers that her mother is too critical and her ex is a jerk, but since Julie only ever ends up ostensibly agreeing with their criticisms that she's become fat, what was the point?). A couple bites of chocolate here (Julie's "secret flaw" is her love of chocolate), a slice of pizza there (a paragraph devoted to the "a moment on the lips is a lifetime on the hips" nonsense), and by the end of this book, I was disgusted with the whole enterprise. This was the most bulemia-inducing novel I've read in quite a while. It would have been fine if Julie found redemption and realized she doesn't have to still be a beauty queen to find love. Or if Mac told her he loved her "despite" her being "hippy" (at size 6? Could Ms. Robards be serious???). No such luck. I read romance novels because they remind me that chemistry between men and women still exists, and that men can fall in love with women, quirks and all (and vice versa). Such books make me feel good about myself. That's what reading these kinds of books should be all about. This book made me feel bad about myself. Quite frankly, it should come with a warning--Any woman who's ever been concerned about her weight, or worried that men won't love her unless she's thin and beautiful, need not bother. So I'm adding this warning myself--read at your own risk.
Rating: 
Summary: STUPID, PREDICTABLE, LOUSY STORY LINE, BORING
Review: We have had so many tough world events lately that I decided I would like to read a foolish "beach book". I can't believe this writer really has any fans - they really need to get a life. Give me a break - this author must laugh all the way to the bank writing such dribble that people actually pay to read. I picked this book up for free - thank god I didn't pay a penny for it. I always force myself to finish a book once I start it - this was a tough one and it ended just as I figured it would. There were no surprises.
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