Rating: 
Summary: My first Lowell book
Review: I enjoyed it - I found the characters to be interesting and likeable. I thought the plot could have been more suspenseful.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing
Review: No suspense, no tension and not much sizzle. Not really up to the other "Donovan" books, Amber Beach, Jade Island and Pearl Cove. Owen Walker steals the story. He is the best thing in the book. However Faith is lacking in so many ways. She just doesn't light up the pages like all the other Donovan's. There is not much of the Donovan family in this book. Like most series, after the first 3 or so the plot gets weak and the characters start to fade.
Rating:
Summary: Could have been better.
Review: It took me a week to finish this book. Usually it takes me three days max. The ending was boring, alot of questions were left unanswered and no loose ends were tie. I got the feeling that Ms. Lowell realized that she wrote 300 pgs. of nothing and she had a page cutoff and rushed to the ending. I could have done a better job and I'm no writer.
Rating: 
Summary: Good Read
Review: I thought this was the best of the whole series. When I finished this one, I wanted more. It keeps you on the edge of your seat waiting to find out what could possibly happen next.
Rating:
Summary: Great Lowell Read
Review: Midnight in Ruby Bayou continues the saga of the Donovan family, presented in Amber Beach (1997) and Jade Island (1998). Faith Donovan, jewelry designer, has created a necklace containing $1 million in rubies which, it turns out have dubious ownership. Her plan is to exhibit the necklace at a jewelry show in Savannah, Georgia, before turning it over to the owners, the Montegeau family, at the wedding of Jeff Montegeau, family son, and Faith's pregnant pal, Mel. Owen Walker, ruby expert employed by Faith's brother, Archer Donovan, is called upon to guard the necklace when Archer insures the rubies in transit. Mysterious accidents begin shadowing the designer as bloodthirsty Russian Mafia and local mobster thugs, attempt to steal the jewels. Walker, recovering from injures suffered in Afghanistan while seeking rubies for the Donovan family, becomes Faith's capable bodyguard. Local FBI agents add their twists as they follow Walker and Faith. The plot thickens at Ruby Bayou, ancestral home of the Montegeau family, when Lowell introduces Jeff's father, Davis, a descendant of pirates and owner of a missing Blessing Chest reported to hold a fortune in gems, Davis' sister Tiga, and the family hound Boomer. Montegeaus dark secrets of the past and present begin unfolding and deranged fantasy world of Aunt Tiga offers clues to why the bad guys are after Faith and the secret of the long-lost Blessing Chest. Even CIA agent April Joy from the other books reappears to add spice to the tale. Through clever banter and the unmistakable sexual tension spiral that Lowell is so well known for, the romantic attraction between Walker and Faith merges into trust and commitment as each overcomes their fear of loving someone again. Lowell builds one of her best male characters in Owen Walker causing Faith Donovan's character, through well defined, to pale in comparison. The fascinating, informative descriptions of exquisite ruby qualities and lessons on the ruby trade skillfully blend through the story line. I'm a long time Elizabeth Lowell fan and I found Midnight in Ruby Bayou a completely entertaining read that kept me engrossed in both the relationships between the characters and the outcome of the plot. Reading the other books in the Donovan series probably adds to the enjoyment of this installment because you have all the previous Donovan family character background. However, for a completely entertaining read, this romantically spiced mystery is quite enjoyable on its own. If you haven't read the other books in the series, you probably will once you finish this one!
Rating: 
Summary: Rather disappointing
Review: I've read Amber Beach, Jade Island, Pearl Cove (in that order too) and recently I completed Ruby Bayou. I must say I am rather disappointed by the story. I wonder whether this is some sort of trend - coz the stories of Kyle and Archer (Jade Island and Pearl Cove, respectively) were so well-written I read it more than five times EVERY DAY. Amber Beach...rather bland, coz the focus was too much on the amber and less on the romance. Ironically, Ruby Bayou is also the same. The talk on rubies was too much I simply skipped the pages. It's ironic that the stories of Faith and Honor are more-or-less the same. The book is also rather overdone. Russian Mafia, US mob, US government, and family secrets intermingle together, vying for space and attention in the book. It's too much. Overcrowded. And furthermore, I was rather disappointed by the fact that Faith should get somebody who is shorter than Jake (her twin Honor's husband), smaller than Jake or the Donovan men, and with no education. Okay, not having an education doesn't necessarily mean Owen Walker is stupid, but still..... it puts him down a level from the intimidating Donovan men, and also Jake Mallory. Furthermore, Lowell didn't furnish the book with HOW the whole Donovan family would react to a match between Faith and Walker - employer's sister and employee. I was DYING to know their feelings on that and was vastly disappointed that Loweel didn't even put that in. In addition to that, so little of the other Donovans lives were put in. Example, in Jade Island, Kyle brought Lianne home to meet the family, and we were entertained with various family pranks and all that. In Pearl Cove, Archer brought Hannah home, and we were again presented with all the pleasures of the Donovan family life, with special note to the then new addition to the family, baby Summer, her cute antics, and the fact that Lianne was pregnant with twins. I din't see a similar thing in Ruby Bayou - well, a snippet of Summer and Robbie and Heather, but not much to satisfy the curiosity. All this time, I awaited the arrival of Ruby Bayou with bated breath, simply because I wanted to see how Faith turned out, yes, but also to see how Lianne and Kyle are faring with the twins, etc etc etc. We simply want to catch up on the family, but in Ruby Bayou, there was not enough of that. So, all in all, the book "Midnight in Ruby Bayou" is really disappointing. Too twisted, too crowded, too less of what we want more of. Okay, maybe one can argue that since this is about rubies, it SHOULD talk about rubies. But don't forget, this is a romance first and foremost. If I want to know more about rubies, I can always go to some other book totally dedicated on rubies and rubies only. So, Elizabeth, are you planning on writing about Jude and Lawe?
Rating:
Summary: A good read
Review: I enjoyed reading Faith and Walker's story, which was entwined with histories about rubies and mysteries, like all of the previous books in this series. I thought that Ms. Lowell brings in the characters from her previous books, makes its so much more interesting to read. Although you could read this as a stand alone; knowing Archer, Kyle, Honor, et al., brings life to the story. We know that the Donovan clan is a close knit family who looks out for each other, and it is good to see this follow through in all the books, and not just dropped or hinted at here and again. We see just enough of the family that it is not overpowering, but thorough enough to keep us informed about what is going on in the siblings' lives. I am not sure if it is because I am getting to know Ms. Lowell's style or it was "simplistically" written, but I thought the mystery was a little on the weak side. I figured it out pretty early on, but the writing is so well done, that the predictable plot did not bother me over much (but which kept this to a 4 star rating). I like the details Ms. Lowell put into her other books about Amber, Jade and Pearls, so the lessons on Rubies does not bother me in this book. Actually, there was a lot less about them, than the jewels in the previous books. The characters (both primary and secondary) are well defined and a pleasure to read about. We see and understand the leads weaknesses and how the other pulls their love towards a commitment. The Montegues were an interesting bunch, though I thought a little more depth to them would have been appreciated. They are the core of Ruby Bayou and we do not really get to see them until the last ½ to 1/3 of the book. All in all, this was a good read.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointed
Review: After reading books such as Pearl Cove and Jade Island I found this book to be dull and uninspiring. Elizabeth Lowell's books generally keep riveted for I connect with her characters so much that while I am reading one of her books I feel as if i am right there witnessing it. I found this book to be vastly annoying, contrite and utterly disappointing. After having heorines like Honor I could not understatnd how she could write a book in which her character fell flat. The storyline never stays consistent and keeps bringing in new characters that are unexplained and have no place in this story. She draws the book out with the tale of this ghost walking the shores and then ends it abruptly with some simpered tale of a stillborn child. Sorry Elizabeth, but definetly not your best work.
Rating:
Summary: not so bad yet not one of her better ones
Review: This book starts off really smoothly with an intro to the plot and all and we are able to seen and experience the chemistry all in all it was really captivating except for the rushed ending
Rating:
Summary: Not a 5+ like EL's usual, but good!
Review: I have to disagree with the critics of this one. I liked Faith and Walker both, despite their prickly personalities. There is enough "self talk" to understand why they are that way. I also liked Faith and Walker together and Walker's "Sugar" reminded me of EL's "Only You" of her Only series. I found it a little slow at the start, but by mid book didn't want to put it down. I think we all feel a bit lukewarm when the words "I love you" aren't spoken outright in our romances, but I think it was implied strongly enough for me. So I found this to be a good ending to the Donovan series. Maybe not vintage EL, but certainly a good read.
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