Rating: 
Summary: Enjoyable, but disappointing
Review: Although I have read very little of Linda Howard's work, I picked up Mr. Perfect because I'd heard from so many other readers how funny it was. Since I count Janet Evanovich, Jennifer Crusie and Dave Barry among my favorite authors, I thought I'd give it a try. And on that level, Mr. Perfect met my expectations. . .but only some of the time. On the one hand, I enjoyed reading it (and I don't finish a book I don't like). Even though I found the premise a little flimsy -- I just didn't buy that The List would cause so much hoopla -- the dialogue between the protagonists, Jaine and Sam, was at times hilarious; I really liked Sam (even if I found him a little crude for my tastes at times); the pacing kept me turning pages; the twist at the end worked for me. The trouble was, I felt as if I was reading two or three different books that had been forced into one -- the writing seemed uneven, and while the various aspects of the story worked, put together, they bothered me. Usually, when humor is combined with a murder mystery, the author takes pains to somehow distance the murder victims from the protagonist -- and the reader, as well -- by killing them off before the reader gets to know them, by making them unlikeable to the point where the reader feels no sympathy for them, by making them only peripheral acquaintances of the protagonist. Even in cases in which the protagonist knows and likes the victims, most authors give the reader time to grieve and adjust to the deaths before reintroducing the humor. In this book, two women, close friends of the heroine, are brutally murdered. Yet, in both cases, even though we see the heroine and the remaining friends completely broken up over the deaths, within a few pages we're expected to laugh. . .or go with the flow when Sam and Jaine hit the sheets. Again. (I have no trouble with sexy books, or explicit sex, but this went a little over the top for me, mainly because the sex wasn't shown in such a way as to show the characters' growth.) Few authors can juxtapose laugh out loud funny with horrible and sinister without jarring the reader. Unfortunately, in this book, Ms. Howard doesn't quite pull it off, even though I could see how hard she tried -- the ladies telling jokes and laughing at Marci's "wake", the "theraputic" sex, was supposed to help the ladies deal with their grief. Unfortunately, instead of achieving the brilliant dark humor of Crusie or Evanovich or Barry, it just didn't work. I had other problems with the story as well. Even though I understand this isn't a romance per se, so much time was spent on the developing relationship between Jaine and Sam that one couldn't call it a subplot. Yet, without much, if any, real conflict between them -- it seemed a pretty straight line from hate to hots to marriage proposal -- that aspect, especially in light of how many pages were devoted to sex scenes, left me feeling a little gypped. I liked this couple, yes, and loved their banter. . .but I wanted to see them struggle more for their happily ever after. And while the humor between the hero and heroine really did sparkle, I didn't feel the same way about the scenes with the four women. There, I got the feeling Ms. Howard didn't trust the reader to find the dialogue funny without telling us how funny it was. The result was like reading scenes with a laugh track. Not a horrible book by any means. Just not the caliber I expect from someone at this level.
Rating: 
Summary: New Linda Howard Fan
Review: I picked up Linda Howard's Mr. Perfect, because the title of the book caught my eye. Having been a fan of the mystery genre for quite some time now, I was looking for a new author to discover. Mr. Perfect combines the three elements that I like in a novel: comedy, suspense and a love interest. I had never read any of Ms. Howard's novels before but I intend to go back and discover this author. I liked the chemistry between Sam and Jaine. I particularly liked Sam's character: roughneck but very caring and sensitive. Jaine reminds me a lot of myself. I often have to put a quarter in the cuss can at work for swearing. As for the plot of the story I couldn't decide whether I wanted to read more about Sam and Jaine or find out who the killer was. I found myself taking Mr. Perfect to the bathroom, to the kitchen and even got caught reading it while I was supposed to be working. I couldn't put the book down. I hope to see more of Sam and Jaine in the future and look forward to reading more Linda Howard.
Rating: 
Summary: Better be REALLY open-minded for this one......
Review: This is the first attempt at reading Linda Howard that I have ever made. I wish I had not started with this book. She writes well, but the plot is over the top dumb. A few friends in a bar decide what qualities make the perfect man, and all of a sudden they are overnight celebrities?!? Yeah, because women in bars don't talk about what they would like from a man every single day. And the 'villian' in the story is painfully obvious from the first few chapters, before the crime even takes place. This book was so dumb that I couldn't finish it. I just skipped ahead to see if everything that I thought would happen did, and I was right. I might be willing to give this author another try, but if I do, it's gonna be a library book!
Rating: 
Summary: A Great Ride
Review: Mr. Perfect is quite a departure from Ms. Howard's earlier books such as Kiss & Tell, Now You See Her, etc. - and for me, a huge improvement. While it still is technically a romantic mystery, her flair for comedy is wonderful! The story revolves around The List, created by 4 female co-workers about what constitutes The Perfect Guy. Somehow the list falls into the wrong hands and spreads like wildfire on email and the Internet - the 4 ladies even find themselves being interviewed on TV by Good Morning America. All harmless fun - until one of the 4 women is murdered. The main character, Jaine Bright (one of the infamous 4, of couse) lives next door to a police detective, Sam Donovan. Soon they are trying to find out who the killer is and keep Jaine from becoming the next victim. While the story is lightweight, the sharp and witty dialogue and deftly drawn characters and relationships are what held my interest. Jaine and Sam's burgeoning romance is laugh out loud funny and I found them immensely likeable characters. I only hope Ms. Howard's next book, Open Season, follows this latest trend.
Rating:
Summary: WOW.....Linda Howard is back.....
Review: Mr. Perfect may not be the perfect book, but it comes close. After being disappointed with John Medina's character in All The Queen's Men (after falling hard for him in Kill And Tell), I wasn't too sure about this book. But Detective Sam Donovan is definitely my idea of a yummy neighbor to have, especially when you're being stalked because you and your friends compiled a silly little list about the perfect man. I loved the interaction (verbal and sexual) between Sam and Jaine - they are one great couple! And you know you're reading a great book when you mourn a character who's been murdered! I loved Jaine's friends and her sister, Shelly, is a hoot! Even Corin, an incredibly creepy individual, generates equal parts horror and sympathy. Bravo for a job well done! Ms. Howard has redeemed herself in my eyes and I hope this style of writing is a trend. Can't wait for the next book. Also out this month is A Game Of Chance and it's not too early to start begging for Margreta's story to be told.
Rating:
Summary: Great Romantic comedy !!!
Review: This story grabs you and keeps hold of you and I think every woman should read it especially if you are looking to laugh and looking for something to relate to everyday REAL life
Rating:
Summary: masterpiece
Review: Mr.Perfect is a wonderful book. i particularly enjoyed linda howard's sense of humour and the unexpected twist in the story. she has probably created one of the most endearing couples in romantic fiction.
Rating:
Summary: One of the worst books I have ever read
Review: I had to write a review of this book because I am so mad that I wasted my time. Never have a read a book with a more ridiculous plot. It starts with four women getting together on a Friday night, they write up a list of characteristics of what would make the perfect man. The author wants us to believe so badly that this is hilarious fun, she goes on and on how they were laughing so hard they were falling out of their chairs, tears are streaming down their faces and on and on....(and it's not funny.) The "List" somehow becomes a national media sensation, which is where this book goes from silly to stupid. The women are hounded by reporters wanting to do interviews, eventually a psychopath enters the picture and wants to kill these women for writing this list. Dumb, dumb, dumb. The main character, Jaine Bright falls for her next door neighbor who happens to be a cop and gets involved in the murder investigation. They have a very brief flirtation, fall into bed and decide to get married, this all happens within a weeks time I think. Save your money and your time and skip this one.
Rating:
Summary: Not One of My Favorite Linda Howard Books
Review: I am a major Linda Howard fan and have almost all of her novels. This book I actually found to be very monotonous. The various characters did not "click" for me like they usually do in a Linda Howard book. I found the characters tedious and one-dimensional, the story line absurd and I knew who the killer was immediately. Would I recommend this book? If you are a Linda Howard fan and have come to expect a certain quality in her stories, I would say skip this one. But overall Linda Howard is still my favorite author contemporary romance author.
Rating:
Summary: should be 4.5...oh wat the heck, ill give it a 5
Review: This is my very first Linda Howard Book, and I made a mistake of opening it on a sunday midnight, I underestimated Howard and I stupidly assumed that it will put me to sleep in a second. I mean, there's nothing wrong with staying up all night to finish a book, but staying up all night AND then having a midterm the next day, that just sucked big time. I found myself still wide-eyed and almost halfway through it when I mistakenly glanced at the clock and wat do u know...it's already 3:00...Believe me, if I said it almost killed me to put it down...
So u might be wondering...wat is it with this book that is "unstoppably un-puttable" --if there's such a word--(assuming u read the synopsis above)It may sound like a typical chic mystery with a little bit of romance..well, it is NOT...The chemistry, or should I say boiling chemistry between Jaine and Sam was just all PEAKS through out the novel, yep, that's right, I guarantee u, that there's no downhill...this book had made me laugh the most times while other novels have their one big nuclear comic relief, this one is like having dozens of firecrackers strewn around the chapters. It also achieved sincere affections not only from the main characters, Jaine and Sam, but also from the secondary characters--that's not usual, I say.
It is also capable of invoking suspense even if the mystery is really out and naked--which beats the mystery part, if u know wat I mean--but STILL, there is that feeling of dread and anticipation as the psychotic loser hunts each woman.
Ok, there's humor, romance, suspense...wat else did I miss? oh yah, there is drama, with all that crying and grieving, OF COURSE there is DRAMA. But it's not straight out solid DRAMA. There's enough humor to keep the novel on its right course.
I still have some misgivings about the plot and the murder outline. DO NOT EXPECT a Thomas-Harris-Red-Dragon type of serial killing. It is not. As for me, I don't care. It is worth a couple of percentage off my midterm exam.
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