Rating: 
Summary: I just knew John would be this good!
Review: This one is definitely a keeper. Excellent romance, suspense, and total action & adventure. LH has done some excellent writing in this one. (Just a note to those it matters to: The romance is somewhat 2nd place in this one.) All of the characters are somewhat complex - but she doesn't take it so far that I couldn't get to know them.
When I read about John Medina in 'Kill And Tell', I just knew that his would be an excellent story..... it is! Although some of his decisions seemed quite cold, I just couldn't help but be glad that there is 'someone' out there to make those kinds of decisions. Although John doesn't really have a clue how to handle personal relationships, he does know how to act towards people with respect.... that's a real biggy in my opinion.
I really, really enjoyed Niema, our heroine... she is definitely heroine material. This was one of those scarce books that gives me a good reason for the changes that Niema made in her life 5 yrs ago.... & justifies the fear she has of falling for John..... didn't blame her a bit on either one. She was incredibly smart, had loads of common sense, & Did Not allow her past to be an excuse for blaming others nor for acting like a royal witch.... inspite of everything she was a very likable person.
The villian in this book, Louis Rosnard, is unlike any other I have read about. His is a very interesting twist. Yes, I had to condemn him for his actions...... however...... hmmm... can't go there or I'll give anyway part of the story. Anyway, it's a very interesting twist on a villan & I really wonder if we'll see him again in future books.
Really enjoyed it, if you like action & suspense with your romance, I think you will also.
Rating: 
Summary: Solid romantic thriller, made fun to listen to by Gallagher
Review: I enjoyed this book as an abridged audiocassette. This was quite good - and the reading voice of Megan Gallagher certainly did it justice. The storyline is pretty straightforward at first: a bug electronics expert, Niema Burdock, loses her husband on assignment as a field agent specialist during a mission that goes horribly wrong.
Now, much later, the man in charge of the mission which killed her husband needs her again - to plant a bug into the home of an arms dealer who has a new explosive on the market that can go undiscovered until the target exploded, a sort of stealth explosive.
So, partnered with this man, whom she suddenly feels a terrible attraction to, Niema goes undercover, and finds the man she is trying to bug just as interesting (and with more secrets, and sides, than she had thought).
The entanglements get more and more twisted, and Gallagher lends enough of her voice to the performance that the tension moves upward at a solid pace.
The frenetic pace sure didn't slack off in the last tape, and the story didn't quite end where I thought it would. Well done on all fronts - though some day I want to learn the secret of these heros from romance novels: How does a man fight a bodyguard, cold-clock a guy unconscious, run for an hour, hotwire a car, drive all night, and sometime the next afternoon proceed to win a gold medal in the lovemaking competition on a yacht, all, of course, with no sleep?
Better yet, where can I find me a man like that?
'Nathan
Rating:
Summary: Howard's best suspense tale
Review: Romance Suspense is a category in romance writing that is becoming more and more popular. I have been a reluctant reader of romance suspense because the action pages usually surpass the romance pages. I often find that this romance suspense writing lacks over true suspense writing outside of the romance arena and have therefore been critical of it. But I also decided to look at this increasingly popular category and read these books expecting the romance to be secondary to the action and determine if I could see the book in a better light. And I picked All the Queen's Men with this new attitude. This book has little romance and the leads spend at most one-third of the book alone together. But it was a very good CIA type story regardless, full of dangerous thrills and tension, and I did not find it at all boring or lacking. I knew from reviews that it was not as sensual a book as most Howard books. I also had been introduced to the hero in the book Kill and Tell. This is its sequel. I knew I would like a story about John Medina. Plus, after reading this book, I can safely say that this is the best Howard suspense book yet. In my mind, All the Queen's Men is superior to Dying to Please and Mr. Perfect, two of Howard's other romance suspense books. There have been many Howard books that I loved more than All the Queen's Men but those were considered contemporary romance and were primarily romance stories.John Medina and Niemi Burdock first meet when they begin a joint mission five years earlier that included Niemi's husband, Dallas. Dallas was killed on that mission and John was the one that got Niemi out of Iran safely and soothed her through the rough days that followed her husband's death. For the past five years, Niemi has lived a secluded life and works at a technical job with the CIA. She has not seen John during those five years but John has kept track of her - his CIA boss makes sure that all goes well for her at John's request. He has always cared for her and finally decides she has had five years to find someone else to marry and since she hasn't, he is going to be the only man in her life from now on. He believes she blames him for her husband's death and is greatly relieved when he finds out during their first visit after all these years that she does not blame him at all. She actually blames herself. John Medina does everything well - he is so well trained and is just so cool. But he doesn't know much about personal relationships. He has operated in the black for so many years with so many identities that he is unable to form long-term relationships. Niemi has given up her sense of adventure after losing her husband and is a very sensible and serious person now. She has kept physically fit and is a very capable woman. She was always intimidated by John and doesn't believe he thinks all that much of her. Both Niemi and John are very likable characters - possibly some of my favorites - especially Niemi. She is a great heroine. Of course, as usual, they are both very attractive people and that is important in this story since part of their future mission will rely on others noticing this attraction as well. The first days that John and Niemi spend together when he is training her for their mission are precious but there is nothing overtly romantic between them. I state that as a complaint. The romantic possibilities were so great and the chemistry could have rocked the pages had the romance been given more exposure. We are given so little time with just the two of them and even most of that time is concentrated within the pages prior to their realization of their mutual caring. There are two or three sensual scenes that come close to the end and they rate about a 3.0 out of 5.0 (see More About Me for rating guidelines). See - I still had to mourn to loss of the romance for the suspense. The villain is certainly the most different one I have ever read. No wonder it got the AAR's Favorite Villain Award the year it was published. You actually like this villain and don't want him to get hurt. Most of the villain's scenes show a man that is kind, respectful, and at times extremely touching when those scenes are about or include his daughter. The villain is actually a reason that I enjoyed this story as much as I did. I really did enjoy All the Queen's Men despite its lack of romance. What romance there is - is very powerful! The story never dragged and I really liked all of the characters. Howard was able to create some sort of magical element that made it a really good read just as it is.
Rating:
Summary: Intrigue and Secrecy
Review: The story starts out on a CIA mission that goes wrong. Neima and her husband are contract workers for the CIA deep inside of enemy territory. John Medina the legendary Black Ops leader, whom many think is a myth, blames himself for tragedy of that mission and has always felt a pull to Neima. LH pulls the reader quickly into the life of intrigue and secrecy. She also shows how people who live this life may yearn for normal lives but there are some things that they think are more important. She does a good job of pulling the reader/listener into the story and pulling for the heroes. If you have liked her other stories or those of JD Robb or Julie Garwood you will like this one.
Rating:
Summary: One of the Best
Review: This book was so good to me that I read it over and over and wished for another book to be written just like it. I LOVE John Medina, he was just so cool and collected. There is nothing sexier in my opinion. Niema was a beautiful woman but the way she got to the male characters in the book was lost on me. I personally didn't see the fascination. For a fireball, as she was described, she was only mildly hot to me. This book had so much intrigue and so much excitement that I wanted to be a special ops agent after I read it!
The sex scenes were great, and so to the point that you actually felt the rush yourself. I highly recommend this novel, especially if you like romances with a solid story line behind them. I finished it in less than 24hrs, because I ABSOLUTELY REFUSED to put it down.
Rating:
Summary: Loved it!
Review: Linda Howard is probably my all time favorite. I have never read a book by her I didn't just love. This is John Medina's story and it couldn't be better. Black Ops tough guy who knows all the angles. John and Niema's relationship is wonderfully told and develops out of a previous encounter when Niema's husband is killed during an Operation with John. I even had a soft spot for the bad guy in this one. I would like to hear more from him as I think he will change his ways. Great story, Great read, Great characters. Thanks again Linda!
Rating:
Summary: Dormant love exploded
Review: I enjoyed the tension and chemistry between John and Niema right from the beginning. There is something very tender about a man holding back, wishing the best for the woman he loves and finally any restraint is just too much for the intense feelings. John unhurriedly proceeded to make Niema aware of him but still exercised extreme control of himself. So when he was touched to the extent to express his feelings for her, it became so intense and powerful that just took my breath away: when he allowed himself to look at her with all the love in his eyes, when he impulsively wished to kiss her when she sweetly felt sorry about him needing to kill his wife, when he eventually told her of his pent-up love for her, and the need to abstain from seeing her at the hospital. All these just touched something in you and contrasted much with the man the author tried to portray as in total control of himself with punishing discipline. The story is more of a romance set in a thriller setting than a thriller with a romantic twist. But I'm not complaining about it, in fact, rather pleasantly surprised by it.
Rating:
Summary: A Little James Bond in Your Romance....
Review: This was packed with action and spy intrique! It was literally like watching a James Bond movie, except much better if I do say so myself ;)
This 'James Bond' was none other than mysterious John Medina from Ms Howard's previous title 'Kill and Tell', the CIA agent and computer wizard. Never knowing what to expect next was all the fun! It was edge of your seat excitement that I haven't read in a long, long time, expecially of this genre!
Chases scenes that will leave your heart hammering, gunplay that will leave you gasping and the neverending disguises that will make you smirk when the badguys are fooled. And last but definately not least, a female lead that kicks butt! John Medina is a CIA agent, Black Ops specialist. He works in the shadows of the government's deadliest missions. This time John is up against a diabolical terrorist and needs the help of communications expert Niema Burdock.
Only five years ago, Niema and her husband Dallas worked with John on a mission in Iran that got him killed. She has healed slowly, but hasn't seen Medina since that time and never plans to see him again until he shows up and wants her to help him, this time in Paris.
Stopping a French arms dealer will be tricky, but all Niema has to do is plant undetectable bugs (that she invented) needed to crack the ring. Against what her head is telling her, she infiltrates the ring by helping John and staying under cover. When their strategy begins to crack, they run for their lives into a maze of trouble and a strange land. They also find themselves powerfully attracted to one another. Can he heal the wounds around her heart for good? Can she trust him enough to let him? Does she have the strength to anymore?
In the tricky and deceptive world of spy games and terrorism, John Medina must keep Niema this time or he will lose his heart... EXCELLENT!!!! Definately worth the money and time!!!! Don't miss this wild ride!!! Tracy Talley~@
Rating:
Summary: James Bond gone monogomous
Review: This is out there, i.e., with undercover CIA agents, arms dealers, etc. However, it's an exciting read and, in usual Howard fashion, will leave you wishing you had a fan nearby to cool off from hot sex scenes. In fact, the scene where John and Neima are first intimate is so sexy that it almost borders on kinky. It's a unique scene to say the least. The only thing I have to complain about is the near-perfect hero. That sounds strange, but the hero didn't seem real. I know that all romance novel heroes are unrealistic, but this one was even more so. He didn't exhibit ANY loss of control over his emotions. He almost seemed robotic in his perfection (I was surprised that he let go during sex, which he really didn't except at one point--which of course is vital to the act).
Rating:
Summary: One of my Favorites
Review: This one is a keeper! I was so glad to FINALLY read a story where the female is as tough as the guys and can hold her own in any situation. Even though most of us won't find ourselves in Niema & John's line of work, I found the characters and their relationship very realistic. I loved everything about this book!
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