Dying to Please

Rating:
Summary: Linda Howard knows her stuff!!!!
Review: First Mr. Perfect and now this wow I am hooked I love how Linda ties romance, comedy, and mystery all together in one book and also uses things that could REALLY happen !!!

Rating:
Summary: Dying To Please Is Death By Boredom!!
Review: I am a big Linda Howard fan, but this book is definitely not one of her best efforts. A first time reader might find it hard to believe, with this novel as an example, that Ms. Howard has written many excellent romance thrillers in the past. She could have done so much more with her unusual heroine, Sarah Stevens, who has a career as a butler. I don't think she used this unique vehicle to enhance her story, or her character. It is a shame - the idea of a woman butler is an excellent one.

Sarah has been both butler and bodyguard to an elderly gentleman, a retired judge, for three years when the story opens. They have a wonderful relationship, and she is extremely fond of him. The judge's home is burgled one night, and Sarah catches the two thieves before they escape - with her karate chops & kicks. BAM! Wham! Gotcha - me, women, against two guys! Although she is a top marksman, she fortunately does not use her gun to stop the robbers. Sarah is a stereotypical tough gal, who spends much of her time honing her bodyguard skills, but she is also sensitive woman with a tender heart - and beautiful to boot! What else? Couldn't get less complex than that. But wait! The handsome, macho-man detective, who comes to investigate the robbery, is less complex than that. Embittered by a bad marriage and subsequent divorce, he doesn't care for women very much, except as one night stands. He is attracted to Sarah, however. And surprise(!), she is attracted back. So the novel goes. Nothing new, exciting, or suspenseful here.

Anyway, the media is alerted by the thwarted crime. A local TV news producer comes up with the idea of an interesting feature spot starring the female butler. Sarah is interviewed, and a pathological murderer, watching the tube at the time, becomes obsessed with her. He will do anything to have her butler for him. And he does.

The characters in "Dying To Please" are so shallow and flat, they could almost be cartoons. The dull narrative lacks Ms. Howard's usual flair, and there is little intelligent dialogue between Sarah and Cahill, (the detective). They mostly bicker, or he bosses her around. They do have terrific sex - but this has always been a Linda Howard strong point. However, it is difficult to appreciate the eroticism, if the participating characters are not vivid and lifelike. All in all, this book is a disappointment. I highly recommend many other of the author's novels, but not this one. Save your money!

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: Not Linda Howard's best book
Review: I picked up this book a few days after finishing Cry No More, a Linda Howard novel that is very emotionally draining. I wanted to reread Dying to Please because I remembered that it was equally passionate but much more light-hearted. Although the issues it deals with are serious it is definitely not as harrowing as the aforementioned Cry No More. For me, this is a good thing, I like romance best when it is relatively angst-free and the characters aren't tortured beings searching for salvation. However Dying to Please is not Linda Howard's best.

The characters in this book, Sarah Stevens and Thompson Cahill, are likeable and fun but not classics. Cahill is sexy, ripped and outrageous, but for me he lacks the x-factor that made Dane Hollister (Dream Man) and Ben Lewis (Heart of Fire) stand out. His messy divorce and cheating ex-wife have damaged him and made him question his trust in women (a little too much sometimes, if you ask me) and this makes him wary of a relationship with Sarah at first. Suddenly though he changes his mind and the relationship rushes into full swing - it all happens very fast after a fairly small amount of interaction in the first quarter of the book. Sarah is clever and driven and keeps Cahill on his toes and finds herself slightly bemused by how fast their relationship moves, rather as I was.

Overall this was a good book, the chemistry between the couple was white hot. I thought that for a first love scene that the wrestling / handcuffs / drainpipe thing (not as weird as it sounds when you read the book!) was probably a bit too kinky, but it was also passionate and sexy. Linda Howard even managed to pull off a `betrayal' without making me want to poke things in my eyes (I've read far too many romances where the betrayals committed by the hero against the heroine are unforgivable and incredibly cruel. At least this one is explainable due to Cahill's flighty ex-wife, and he pays emotionally for what he does).

If you're reading this from a crime-reader perspective then you'll probably be disappointed as the murders and sleuthing are secondary to the romance by a long way and the reason behind the murders is fairly outlandish. I would recommend this to Linda Howard fans, but to those new to her I would recommend starting elsewhere as this one isn't her best, try Dream Man / Heart of Fire first.

JoAnne

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: 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: 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.

Rating:
Summary: You'll be pleased if you buy this
Review: This is a sensational book which is five stars for most of the journey but a little bit too quick simple ending to a major tension building situation results in it having to drop a star. I would still highly recommend purchasing this book, it has a great female character as the main heroine and is a great fast paced read.

Sarah Stevens is the perfect butler and her job is to look after retired Judge Roberts, keep him healthy and safe and iron his newspapers. The usual butler stuff but unbeknownst to the outside world she is also his bodyguard. Upon thwarting two burglars Judge Roberts decides the reluctant Sarah should get fifteen minutes of fame and arranges the media to do a story on her. Unfortunately she makes herself an obsessed fan who will stop at nothing to make her his butler.

If you like books with strong female characters who can take care of themselves and others try Christopher Nicole's novels with the Jessica Jones character such as The Search, The Quest, The Voyage to name a few.

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: 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.