All the Queen's Men

Rating:
Summary: wonderfully entertaining
Review: After I read " Heart of fire ", I bought a few books by Linda Howard. And I found they were good in average. I find every reader has diffterent taste , so has different point of view on the books. In my taste, "All the queen's man" is quite entertaining in every way. Speedy, exciting and very romantic. I like John Medina character. He is cold, controlled and he is a superman. When you read the scene describing his test for SEAL training, you couldn't call him otherwise. He is a kind of man who can exist only in fictional world. But it's no harm just enjoying his super power for a few hours fun reading. Capable and strong heroin is another good thing on this book. Story is not so plain and not so dirty . Love scene is quite convincing. Their relationship is well developed along with their job. For five years John has pressed his feeling for Niema , but finally he claims his love for her. Desprite his cold, controlled character, he couldn't resist her and lost control. It's very typical romance plot, but author's ability makes difference. When author is good enough to give us pleasure to read her/his book , it doen't matter whether the plot is typical. Linda Howard is one of that kind romance author. And I really enjoyed this book. I'm looking forward reading another Howard book.

Rating:
Summary: Another LInda Howard gem
Review: I resisted reading ALL THE QUEEN'S MEN for a long time due to reviews that implied that John Medina was neither as interesting nor as well-developed a character as Louis Ronsard. While Ronsard is certainly a complex, fascinating "villain," Linda Howard in no way skimped on the characterization of her black ops hero, Medina. Coupled with a strong, feisty heroine in Niema Burdock, Medina is introduced to the reader in wonderful scenes -- escaping from Iran following a mission gone wrong, training with Niema for a mission to bring down arms dealer Ronsard, pursuing her with single-minded intensity at Ronsard's villa. It's a fascinating world of shadows Medina lives in and Howard's gift is showing us the importance of Niema to him, how her spirit and love of adventure provides the light and warmth this strong man needs. I have read just about everything Linda Howard has written and in my estimation, she has successfully moved from romance to romantic suspense without losing the ability to pair terrific men and women. She also writes some of the best sex in the business, and if there's less of it in her more recent works, well, trust me, what she does write is guaranteed to scorch!

Rating:
Summary: It's more like 4 1/2 stars....
Review: I've recently become a big fan of Linda Howards and have been buying up most of her books. I had read "Kill and Tell" a few months ago and became very intrigued with one of it's characters, John Medina, a CIA operative. This book is actually Johns story.

The first part of the book starts off in Iran, 5 years earlier. John is on assignment with several other people, including Niema and her husband Dallas Burdock (a Navy SEAL). During the operation Dallas is killed and John helps Niema escape. Now to the present. John has always had a thing for Niema but had stayed away because he wanted her to find happiness. Now they are sent on a mission together and he decides he doesn't want to give her up. The rest of the story is about their mission which I won't spoil.

Now some reviewers had a problem with the first time John and Niema make love. Some even said it bordered on rape. I didn't see it like that. Niema's reluctance to make love to John had nothing to do with her being unwilling. She just didn't like the location of where it happened and I don't blame her.

Some reviewers felt that at times John was too cold. Again I didn't see that. He was controlled and in his line of work you would have to be. There were times, like when he was bandaging her feet, that I felt he was very sweet.

There were only two things I didn't like about the story. One was John is always portrayed as "wanting" Niema but I would have like to have heard him say he loved her. The second was the sightseeing trip toward the end of the book. I'm sorry but if your being chased by a bunch of goons your not going to go off sightseeing. Other than that it was a pretty good read.

Rating:
Summary: I liked it!
Review: I'd never read Linda Howard before, but decided to try this book after reading a few reviews. I very much enjoyed it. I really didn't know what to expect so reading a romantic thriller was a pleasant surprise.

I must admit, it doesn't seem as if "thriller" writing is this author's strong point, but that's only because the book lacked the "hard edge" that a lot of thrillers have. But that's not to say it doesn't work. It does. However, the author's strength is in her romance writing. She created a romantic tension between John and Niemi that just about had me swooning. And to top it off, I was pleasantly surprised (okay, shocked) at the sensuality of some of the romantic scenes. The two genres together made for an entertaining good read.

The characters were great too -- John Medina is strength personified. He's all man and he's strictly business, with one exception -- Niemi. Not only that, he has some very creative ways to get them out of a jam. Niemi, on the other hand, loves the excitement of undercover work, but she's not too sure about her feelings for John, or any man for that matter. She'll soon find out.

The plot is good, the setting is varied, and the pace is fast. Bottom line, I enjoyed the book and would recommend it.

Rating:
Summary: ALL THE QUEEN'S MEN
Review: I actually would want to give this book a 5 star rating, but I was a tad disappointed w/ the ending of the story. Looks like the end of the story was written too fast, and there was no mention of our hero's plans when the story ended, like what kind of a future is in store for them after this mission. I think an epilogue or another chapter should have been added to give the readers a knowledge of what has happened after this.

Rating:
Summary: For those looking for something different...
Review: Linda Howard continues to write an exciting story you can't put down. This novel, like her most recent books in the last 5 years, continues to be unusual for the following reasons: 1) She has taken a big step away from the romance genre with this one. 2) This is an espionage novel for people sick of standard espionage novels. E.g. Chapter after chapter of boring descriptions of the technology and weapons the spy is using. This is a purely character driven novel and they're characters larger than the plot! 3) The female characters are outstanding in the strength and pragmatism department and were refreshing to read. Professional women with all the complexities of personality that being excited and dedicated to your work, (instead of family), can often entail. Without a doubt, the main character of Niema Burdock earns the description of "gutsy heroine" without a problem. Likewise, Ms. Howard still knows how to write the description of a hero that makes your blood boil from the heat of his masculinity and her physical description boarders on breath taking. (Where can I get me one of those!) John Medina, (aka Tucker, aka Temple) is the quintessential man on a mission to get the job done *and* get his woman. Mortal peril, sensual obsession, undercover agents, a charismatic yet compelling bad guy, and an amazing escape scene all make this book a pretty wild ride and one you don't want to get off of any time soon. That said, I'm thinking there are some readers that are going to have a serious problem with a sex scene that in most states would be categorized as rape. (I guess the context of it being "in the line of duty" makes it interesting but definitely puts it squarely on the kinky side of sex.) Likewise, the first sex scene between Niema and John can only be called raw, bordering on disturbing. This is not a book for people uncomfortable with adventurous sex. Lastly, I found the ending weak in comparison to the rest of the book but didn't feel cheated because it definitely feels as if there's one final novel lurking in this character series. I consider this work another fine novel from Linda Howard (and recommend Son of the Morning as her all time best.)

Rating:
Summary: A Good Read!
Review: I must say, that I totally enjoyed this novel. It was a great escape. I actually could not put it down!

I have never read a Linda Howard novel before, and I am pleasantly surprised. This book has it all. Romance, action, suspense and adventure. The characters are totally believable, and their chemistry together sizzled.

The novel was extremely fast paced. There were no boring scenic descriptions or mundane musings that make a person want to skip the whole thing and say to "heck" with it.

I found the heroine, Neima, to be bright and funny. You find yourself feeling for her. And what can we say about the hero, John Medina, except - Love Him! He is the perfect guy. Strong, yet sensitive, tough, yet gentle, hard, yet vunerable. Plus, his looks are not too bad either.

I found the CIA field agent angle to be refreshing in a romantic novel. It was interesting, not to read the same old story once again. The so called "bad" guy, was no such thing. I wonder if there will be a story involving him in the near future.

The only thing I did not enjoy about this book was the ending. It was left too open. We do not know what is the outcome for the future of Neima and John. What role will they continue to play for the CIA? There are some steamy parts to the end, (which were a little to "high octane" for me) but what do you expect in a romance novel? All in all, I truly recommend this book. It was an extremely well written, fast paced read.

Rating:
Summary: It's more like 4 1/2 stars....
Review: I've recently become a big fan of Linda Howards and have been buying up most of her books. I had read "Kill and Tell" a few months ago and became very intrigued with one of it's characters, John Medina, a CIA operative. This book is actually Johns story.

The first part of the book starts off in Iran, 5 years earlier. John is on assignment with several other people, including Niema and her husband Dallas Burdock (a Navy SEAL). During the operation Dallas is killed and John helps Niema escape. Now to the present. John has always had a thing for Niema but had stayed away because he wanted her to find happiness. Now they are sent on a mission together and he decides he doesn't want to give her up. The rest of the story is about their mission which I won't spoil.

Now some reviewers had a problem with the first time John and Niema make love. Some even said it bordered on rape. I didn't see it like that. Niema's reluctance to make love to John had nothing to do with her being unwilling. She just didn't like the location of where it happened and I don't blame her.

Some reviewers felt that at times John was too cold. Again I didn't see that. He was controlled and in his line of work you would have to be. There were times, like when he was bandaging her feet, that I felt he was very sweet.

There were only two things I didn't like about the story. One was John is always portrayed as "wanting" Niema but I would have like to have heard him say he loved her. The second was the sightseeing trip toward the end of the book. I'm sorry but if your being chased by a bunch of goons your not going to go off sightseeing. Other than that it was a pretty good read.

Rating:
Summary: Page turning romatic suspense!
Review: I am a new comer to reading Linda Howard and I absolutly loved this book! I also read 'Kill & Tell' prior. In that book, I loved how she introduced us to the characters that would star in her next book! The book had me staying up late, reading during lunch, I just could not put it down! A job well done! Keep those novels coming!

Rating:
Summary: Great Book
Review: I absolutely love this book. Niema Jamison loses her CIA operative husband, Dallas, on a mission in Iran. She's shattered and has to rely on an operative named Tucker to get her home safely. Tucker who is really John Medina, is a high level offical and agent for the company. For the next five years John keeps an eye on Niema albeit from a distance. She continues working for the company in electronics and one day Medina decides the time has come to reintroduce Niema to field work. He convinces a reluctant Niema to go undercover in France to help capture an arms dealer. Everything is going well until Medina comes on the scene to play Niema's lover. Things get a little too believable after an incident in the office of the arms dealer. The arms dealer discovers their true identities and Niema and John must run for their lives.