Heartbreaker

Rating:
Summary: A GREAT SUCCESS!!
Review: All of us have watched our favourites (Judith McNaught, Sandra Brown, Linda Howard, Mary Jo Putney, etc.) move into the realm of contemporary suspense and fail miserably in the attempt. I am happy to report, contrary to the dismal statistics, Julie Garwood emerges Victorious!! She has succeeded admirably with her new book Heartbreaker. So many wonderful "Julie-isms" are still to be found here. Take this for example:"Tommy heard all the commotion and came running, Noah hot on his trail. As soon as Nick had told her brother what she'd done, Tommy joined in the shouting match, but she held her own and stood up to them. Pete and Noah came to her assistance, flanking her sides like protective guardians." How many times haven't we seen Julie's heroines walk through a castle bailey boxed in by her protective knights? All of Garwood's familiar, loved elements are here. Laurant and Nick, the main characters have lots of sizzle; the plot is very exciting and the action swift. The ending is left wide open for Noah's story, the other hunky FBI agent. So, as far as I'm concerned, her next novel can be historical or contemporary - I think we can trust Julie to DO IT RIGHT!

Rating:
Summary: Mistaken Identity
Review: I love Julie Garwood and have read every book she has written, several times. Heartbreaker was a major let down. The setting is small town Iowa, the plot involves an FBI agent sent to protect his best friend's gorgeous and single sister from a crazed psychopath. The hero, Nick Buchanan (FBI) has some appeal, but his character is not well developed. In romantic fiction, the hero has to be so well defined that the reader can get to know him and fall in love with him. The author has done a better job with Laurent Madden, the spirited heroine, but the character the most fully developed is that of the third party killer. A considerable amount of time is spent delving into his macabre thoughts and feelings. So much, that one would seriously question whether this book belongs in the romance section or the horror/thriller section of Amazon. Then there is a lot of attention spent on leading the reader away from the real killer to a likely suspect. Again, this trivial character is given too much time and emphasis, and his character, again, is revolting. This contemporary novel (from an author who has always written historical romance) seems to have an identity crisis. Is it romance, or is it Hannibal Lechter horror remininscent of Silence of the Lambs? I look forward to more contemporary novels by Julie Garwood, but I would hope to see more of the romantic characters and less of the "extras" and a better definition of the unique conflicts between the leading lady and her man. It would be interesting to see what Ms. Garwood does with the very sexy FBI agent Noah Clayborne, if she writes a sequel to this story.

Rating:
Summary: The Best Book I have ever read!!
Review: Julie Garwood is now one of my favorite Authors. The first time I read Heartbreaker i was astounded and speechless. This book was extremely good. the characters in this book are so passionate and nick and laurent's relationship is on another level. I recommend this book to anyone intrested in reading a great book. You will stay up all night reading this book and you wont want to put it down! This is literally on my top 2 books of all time list.
thank you, Jamaica

Rating:
Summary: Heartbreaker won't break JG's fans' hearts....
Review: Julie Garwood's first contemporary chiller is a must read for any Garwood fan. Like many, I was sceptical and wondered if I would like this "new" type of book.

It's wonderful. Ms. Garwood stays true to her writing style with real life hero and heroine characters, along with her always perfect secondary characters. The suspense and tension is believable and scary, but there's humor, too. Nick's reactions when Laurent agrees with him after he tries to explain to her that she couldn't possibly love him, that it's just the situation they're in is hilarious - "Of course you don't love me.....what do you mean, you don't love me?". Vintage Garwood bantering and I just put the book down and laughed.

I also know I'm not alone in falling for Father Tom and Noah Clayborne (yes, Clayborne) and am hoping (demanding?) that Noah get his own book as soon as possible.

It's been rumored that each of the so-called FBI "Apostles", Noah among them, will be getting their own books, but for now, one of Nick's brothers is the next to get his own book. Theo? Please, please let Noah be next.

Anyway, run, do not walk to your bookstore / internet site to get this book. You WON'T be disappointed.

Rating:
Summary: A great first time read into Garwood!
Review: This is my very first Garwood book and I must say...WOW are the only words that can describe this well written book. I am in awe of her talent. I am normally not a fan of contemporary romance, but this book definately changed my views on that. This is a perfect mix of romance and suspense, my two favortites types of books all rolled into one masterpiece! This will have you guessing who the "Heartbreaker" is until the very end! Nick Bucchanan, (the lead male)the FBI agent that is summoned to protect the lead female, Laurant and her brother a priest, from a madman bent on stalking and killing Laurant. Father Tom is listening to confessions one afternoon when a deranged man threatens his sister's life and then leaves without a trace. Tom calls on his best friend and FBI agent Nick to help. Soon Nick realizes they are not dealing with a simple case of obsession, but a serial killer who wants to stalk and mutilate Laurant. Things soon heat up as Nick is to be with her 24 hrs a day in a little town in Iowa called Holy Oaks, where everyone knows one another and their business, but is the killer amoung them? They soon find they are falling in love with one another as they are forced to spend more and more time together to keep Laurant safe, but IS she really safer in Nick's arms than if she wasn't? Its a fast-paced thriller/romance that keeps you guessing who-dunnit until you think you've figured it out and to find that you've no idea! The tension between Nick and Laurant is real and you feel for them and find yourself hoping they survive. Heartbreaker is a sure pleaser and I highly recommend it! The follow-up story to this is Mercy...

Rating:
Summary: Garwood takes the high road and travels it with flash & dash
Review: What? Julie Garwood's "Heartbreaker" is a contemporary romance/mystery? My words when I discovered my favorite writer was stepping out of the mold I associated with her of dark, brooding Earls and fair, fancy Ladies! My next sentence was a half-hearted....."Okay, I'll lay down my money and give it a shot". Thank goodness I did or I'd have missed out on my favorite Garwood book to date!

Her characters, Nick and Laurant jump at your from the pages...and fill your imagination with fanciful thoughts of actually knowing them along with Laurant's brother, Father Tom and the exciting Noah Clayborne (please let there be a book on Noah...please, please, please?).

Oh, did I mention the psycho that has designs on Larant....as his next victim? The plot is so intricatly woven by Garwood you'll drive yourself nuts trying to figure out who the "Heartbreaker" is. Great read! Can't wait for her next book....I'm betting it's a sequel to this one.

Rating:
Summary: Stark Raving Mad
Review: You're a romance writer, but you want to do a "genre shift," kind of like going from baseball to football. What do you do? You write a romance and then plop down right on top of the romance "a crazy person," a control freak who is strong and intelligent but more than a little sick: his name is Stark, but he's masquerading as Justin Brady, a simpleton. No matter, he can't fool Mr. Hero, that is, Nick the FBI Guy. Nick is all-around alpha-male what-every-woman wants, so how can he lose? You see the problem here? We all know what's going to happen: Down goes Stark, up goes Nick, he gets the girl (whoops, woman) in the end. Ever heard that one before?

On the good side, the book will keep you occupied and the paperback copy has a nice type font with space between the lines, making it easy to read. Lots of conversation. But way too much "kitchen and bedroom" talk, for me, but for romance lovers, of course not.

Jules Wesson is the only character who doesn't follow a formula: Jules, the unliked FBI Guy in Charge ("jerk"), does a good deed at the end and never gets his comeuppance, at least not in this book.

Which brings to mind another problem: Where did Stark come from? Obviously, he has a past history, but it's only alluded to in this book and never really explained. Something about Nick shooting Stark's wife, who was trying to kidnap a child? Wow! There must be a prequel, but the book cover never mentioned it.

Well, you don't absolutely need the prequel, but I still say Stark was a little too crazy to be believable. But, as a good writer should, Garwood offers something for everybody: Noah's cool. Diximus.