Rating: 
Summary: I really loved this book!
Review: Karen Robards really keeps the reader guessing as to what will happen next. I look forward to reading many more of her books very soon.
Rating: 
Summary: I Expected Something That Sizzled, Not Stank
Review: Not knowing what genre Ms. Robards writes, I had assumed by the title and flap copy that this was a love romance and a political potboiler. What I found was a badly written novel where the two main characters, Ronnie and Tom, were one-dimensional. Their feelings for each other were very primal and basic, and yet for people who discovered that the other was his/her true love I just couldn't shake the feeling that the characters just didn't give a darn about the other. I felt no sympathy for either of them. As for the "political scandal" where Tom and Ronnie are photographed in the act, in light of the Clinton impeachment I just didn't find this to be all that earth-shattering. In fact, their stupidity in not bothering to close the drapes and acting like teenagers rather than adults with a conscience irritated me. Then there's the ultra corny subplot of Ronnie's husband being murdered and the reasoning for it. For most of the book I felt that there was no point to this, and in the end when the person behind it wasn't at all who I thought it would be but a character that barely had more than five pages devoted to him I felt cheated. I sensed that Ms. Robards couldn't decide between a traditional romance or a Baldacci-style political thriller, and her end result was far from perfect. How her editor and agent let this get through without a serious rewrite is beyond me.
Rating: 
Summary: Superficial character, unimpressive plot
Review: Ronnie must be the most unlikeable character of all the Karen Robards books that I have read. The author kept highlighting how incredibly beautiful and sexy Ronnie was that all men were drawn to her like bees to honey. However, beyond the surface, she was selfish, vain, snobbish, materialistic and displayed a questionable level of intelligence and common sense. There was little character development of how she attracted Tom, except through dressing up sexily and flirting shamelessly. All I could see was that Ronnie was irresistible to the organ on the lower part of Tom's body. She found herself pitiful that there was no love in her marriage, that her husband was sleeping around from the first day of their marriage. Come on! Ronnie did not marry the Senator for love in the first place! She tried to believe that her husband loved her so that it would be less unpalatable to marry him for money. So there was nothing to lament about, she got what she wanted. But Ronnie wanted more from the bargain, she wanted good sex and love but still wanted to enjoy the glamorous lifestyle and money of being the Senator's wife. I really despised her so much that I didn't think she deserved to get what she had in the end.Tom had the potential to be a real intelligent, magnetic and sexy character. But the author failed to demonstrate how good he was as a political consultant, worse, he appeared to just fall for Ronnie for her looks and body, not to mention his double standard with his wife's adultery and his partner's fling. All the unmoral and irresponsible actions were almost justified because the characters fell in love with each other. I failed to see love between them other than lust. All I could say that perhaps they really deserved each other, very superficially. For a relationship which lust formed the basis, the sex scenes were unimaginative and stale. If the author decided to write a trashy book, at least make it hot and erotic. The plot was very amateurish, especially coming from Karen Robards. The sub plot of the murder on board the ship was distracting and converged with the main story too late and too weakly. I always love her books but this one was too disappointing. My advice is: give this book a miss.
Rating:
Summary: Superficial character, unimpressive plot
Review: Ronnie must be the most unlikeable character of all the Karen Robards books that I have read. The author kept highlighting how incredibly beautiful and sexy Ronnie was that all men were drawn to her like bees to honey. However, beyond the surface, she was selfish, vain, snobbish, materialistic and displayed a questionable level of intelligence and common sense. There was little character development of how she attracted Tom, except through dressing up sexily and flirting shamelessly. All I could see was that Ronnie was irresistible to the organ on the lower part of Tom's body. She found herself pitiful that there was no love in her marriage, that her husband was sleeping around from the first day of their marriage. Come on! Ronnie did not marry the Senator for love in the first place! She tried to believe that her husband loved her so that it would be less unpalatable to marry him for money. So there was nothing to lament about, she got what she wanted. But Ronnie wanted more from the bargain, she wanted good sex and love but still wanted to enjoy the glamorous lifestyle and money of being the Senator's wife. I really despised her so much that I didn't think she deserved to get what she had in the end. Tom had the potential to be a real intelligent, magnetic and sexy character. But the author failed to demonstrate how good he was as a political consultant, worse, he appeared to just fall for Ronnie for her looks and body, not to mention his double standard with his wife's adultery and his partner's fling. All the unmoral and irresponsible actions were almost justified because the characters fell in love with each other. I failed to see love between them other than lust. All I could say that perhaps they really deserved each other, very superficially. For a relationship which lust formed the basis, the sex scenes were unimaginative and stale. If the author decided to write a trashy book, at least make it hot and erotic. The plot was very amateurish, especially coming from Karen Robards. The sub plot of the murder on board the ship was distracting and converged with the main story too late and too weakly. I always love her books but this one was too disappointing. My advice is: give this book a miss.
Rating:
Summary: Karen Robards gets better with each book she writes
Review: THE SENATOR'S WIFE, Ronnie Honneker, is young, beautiful, and oozes considerable sexual appeal. The Mississippian is also three decades younger than her spouse. Voters see her as an ornament. Ronnie knows what people think of her and does not care at all. However, she does not want to lose the accompanying power and prestige associated with being the spouse of a national lawmaker. She is her husband's biggest liability in his campaign to be reelected because she is considered to be a home wrecker who destroyed his previous marriage to the revered Eleanor. To counteract the negative polls, The Committee To Reelect Senator Honneker hires political consultant Tom Quinlan to make her more palatable to the voters. At first, it is all business between the two of them. However, soon they become lovers, unable to deny their deep feelings for each other. The relationship becomes so intense that Tom issues Ronnie an ultimatum: choose now between Tom and her husband. Before Ronnie can decide on what to do, her spouse is murdered and it appears that she will be arrested for the crime. Fans of suspense, political thrillers, and mainstream relationship dramas will relish Karen Robards' latest offering, THE SENATOR'S WIFE. Initially, the characters are not very appealing, but as the story line unfolds, reader empathy will be fully engaged. Political intrigue and scandal propel the plot forward, while a secondary sub-tale offers a unique twist to this complex novel. Great reading experience Harriet Klausner
Rating: 
Summary: This book could have been a good mystery.
Review: The story started out as a pretty good murder mystery with some interesting characters, but by the middle of the book, she get too involved in household furnishing, rugs, wallpaper etc. She has the 2 main characters obsessively fantasizing about one another. As a result, I thought the story line and the plot turned boring and predicatable.
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Summary: Good premise but vague.
Review: The tension between Tom, the political consultant, and Ronnie, the Senator's wife was well explored. I liked Tom's Mother and enjoyed the description of her home. The political references were sometimes unbelievable, however. For instance, naming the dog "Jefferson Davis" felt uncomfortable to me, i.e. offensive to some while others might think it cute. I can't imagine a modern political consultant ever coming up with that idea. At the end, I felt I was left hanging in regard to Tom's career. Also, the story did not give any insight into what motivated Tom's partner to stay in the business or to make the kind of choices he made. It was a cute but confusing read.
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Summary: This would not be my favorite Karen Robards.....
Review: This is one book by Karen Robards that I cannot whole heartedly recommend. I just could not get past the fact that the "heroine" has an affair and then tries to justify that fact (to the son of her lover) by saying she has not slept with her husband in over a year. If the marriage is that bad, you move on. Ronnie doesn't because she is so materialistic and doesn't want to give up all those millions. Oh, eventually she decides that she is so in love with her lover that she will divorce, but for me that decision came to late. I just did not have a lot of empathy for these characters. Ronnie was supposed to be an intelligent and educated person, so I did not see the need to make her so dependent on her louse of a husband to "keep" her. If you have never read a Karen Robards book, please do not read this one first! Find one of her earlier books and you will see how capable she is of writing, strong, intelligent characters who are worth reading about. I will get off my soapbox now.
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Rating:
Summary: This would not be my favorite Karen Robards.....
Review: This is one book by Karen Robards that I cannot whole heartedly recommend. I just could not get past the fact that the "heroine" has an affair and then tries to justify that fact (to the son of her lover) by saying she has not slept with her husband in over a year. If the marriage is that bad, you move on. Ronnie doesn't because she is so materialistic and doesn't want to give up all those millions. Oh, eventually she decides that she is so in love with her lover that she will divorce, but for me that decision came to late. I just did not have a lot of empathy for these characters. Ronnie was supposed to be an intelligent and educated person, so I did not see the need to make her so dependent on her louse of a husband to "keep" her. If you have never read a Karen Robards book, please do not read this one first! Find one of her earlier books and you will see how capable she is of writing, strong, intelligent characters who are worth reading about. I will get off my soapbox now.
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Rating:
Summary: This is one AWFUL book!
Review: This is the first book I have ever read by this particular author and the LAST! The characters are so superficial that you don't care one wit what happens to them. I also have to say that I think the writing was amaturish. She uses the same words to describe certain things over and over. Has the author ever heard of a nifty little item called a thesaurus. Maybe she should invest in one. WHATEVER YOU DO PLEASE DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME READING THIS STUPID BOOK! I had to force myself to finish it.
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