Rating: 
Summary: A nice try- but Not. Quite. Good. Enough.
Review: While he is chasing down a van carrying three robbery suspects, Roan Benedict fires on a woman who rolls out of the open door back door of the van, wounding her seriously. Half out of guilt and half out of interest for her safety, Roan ends up removing the woman, whom he has dubbed Donna Doe, from the Turn-Coupe hospital and taking her to his southern mansion, Dog Trot, where he places her under house arrest. Meanwhile, his captive, socialite beauty Victoria, is constantly planning escape from the sprawling house. The two quickly find that they share more than just a casual interest- until Victoria is forced to answer for the lies she has spun and the words she has failed to say. Victoria was a well written character, but nothing spectacular: she has a number of insecurities which mesh nicely with her strengths, but she tends to be obsessive and put too much emphasis on remaining aloof. I also felt that the way she held herself out of the initial stages of their courtship was annoying, to say the least. She seemed slightly- well, calculating, I guess. Roan was also portrayed with sympathy, but I felt more like I was reading about a hasty sketch of a man than about a flesh and blood person. This seems to be a frequent problem with Blake's characters: they tend to lack thought processeses that run below what is conveyed in the book, and thus lack that elusive third dimension of realism. Still, Blake captured the beauties of Deep South life, as well as a few of it's trials. And if her descriptions of bayous (hardly suitable for romance at any time of year- especially during the summer) and the creatures therein lacks the careful, detailed power of confidence- confidence gained from experience or research, per-se- well, no one is perfect. On the whole, Roan is a wonderful bit of mind candy, above most Amanda Quick novels, almost on par with Julie Garwood, and lacking the subtle character shadings of Lowell. She does, however, have a distinctive style. And I love the recipes.
Rating:
Summary: A nice try- but Not. Quite. Good. Enough.
Review: While he is chasing down a van carrying three robbery suspects, Roan Benedict fires on a woman who rolls out of the open door back door of the van, wounding her seriously. Half out of guilt and half out of interest for her safety, Roan ends up removing the woman, whom he has dubbed Donna Doe, from the Turn-Coupe hospital and taking her to his southern mansion, Dog Trot, where he places her under house arrest. Meanwhile, his captive, socialite beauty Victoria, is constantly planning escape from the sprawling house. The two quickly find that they share more than just a casual interest- until Victoria is forced to answer for the lies she has spun and the words she has failed to say. Victoria was a well written character, but nothing spectacular: she has a number of insecurities which mesh nicely with her strengths, but she tends to be obsessive and put too much emphasis on remaining aloof. I also felt that the way she held herself out of the initial stages of their courtship was annoying, to say the least. She seemed slightly- well, calculating, I guess. Roan was also portrayed with sympathy, but I felt more like I was reading about a hasty sketch of a man than about a flesh and blood person. This seems to be a frequent problem with Blake's characters: they tend to lack thought processeses that run below what is conveyed in the book, and thus lack that elusive third dimension of realism. Still, Blake captured the beauties of Deep South life, as well as a few of it's trials. And if her descriptions of bayous (hardly suitable for romance at any time of year- especially during the summer) and the creatures therein lacks the careful, detailed power of confidence- confidence gained from experience or research, per-se- well, no one is perfect. On the whole, Roan is a wonderful bit of mind candy, above most Amanda Quick novels, almost on par with Julie Garwood, and lacking the subtle character shadings of Lowell. She does, however, have a distinctive style. And I love the recipes.
Rating: 
Summary: Roan
Review: WOW, this is a wonderful book. It kept me turning pages well into the night. I couldn't wait to see how it ended, yet hated when it did. These two characters will have you coming back for more from this author. (I read this one first then realized that there were two before this one. I AM DEFINETELY GETTING KANE AND LUKE TO READ NEXT.)
Rating:
Summary: Roan
Review: WOW, this is a wonderful book. It kept me turning pages well into the night. I couldn't wait to see how it ended, yet hated when it did. These two characters will have you coming back for more from this author. (I read this one first then realized that there were two before this one. I AM DEFINETELY GETTING KANE AND LUKE TO READ NEXT.)
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