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A Game of Chance

A Game of Chance

List Price: $6.99
Your Price: $6.99
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: This book just didn't have enough space to tell the story
Review: This shouldn't have been a slim paperback. The plot was obviously more complex and potentially much more entertaining than the small number of pages allowed.
I also believe that the main thing most readers have a problem with -- the fact that Chance put Sunny's life in danger after he found out she was innocent, and her subsequent shrugging off of same -- was the "quick and dirty" method that Howard had to use in order to end the story in the space alloted. I noticed that the farther along the book went, the more rushed it became, and the more implausible the plot details. If Howard had another hundred pages, this one would have most likely been as good as the others.
As for the other concern that most reviewers seemed to have, which is that the motivation of the villain to kill his daughter Sunny wasn't explained well enough, I don't agree. First of all, Sunny's father wasn't necessarily out to kill her in the beginning. Certainly, he wanted to use her to find her sister, but it wasn't certain for most of the book just what he would do with her once he found her. All Sunny knew was that he was so bad her mother was willing to die to keep her daughters away from him.
Secondly, in a plot device the most lax reader should have caught on to, Chance explicity says that he believes anyone who is a terrorist is either evil or crazy. Howard also makes the father a child molester, a wife abuser, a ruthless criminal, and a psychotic killer of the worst kind. On top of that, he had never even met Sunny before the events in the book. Howard made sure we knew that although Sunny is his daughter in name, emotionally she was like anyone else he might meet on the street: nobody. Howard also made it very clear that the daughter he "cared" about was Margreta, and he had been sexually abusing her! Don't look for well-explained, background-rich motivations for someone who is characterized as simply crazy and evil. Once again, this was a plot shortcut that Howard took, but it actually made much more sense than the one she took with Chance.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: a slap in the face
Review: To be honest, I felt like I was slapped in the face by Ms. Howard's introduction. I understand she doesn't want to kill off Wolf and Mary, but did she have to be so rude? I felt that she was saying "Fine, here's Chance's story, now get off my back" After reading the other books which I might add were much longer then this story, I was eagerly awaiting Chance's story. I hope she does a story about Sunny's sister as well, and she doesn't have to kill off Wolf and Mary to have Nick's story done. Last I heard, people were living a very healthy life in their 80's.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: hot, hot, hot
Review: I have read every book by linda howard and i can say that the family mackenzie is one of the best things to every happen to romance writing. every story is individual and complete. they also keep you informed about some of your favorite people.

i waited patiently for chance and i was not disappointed when he finally materialized. thanks ms. howard you just keep adding to my book collection.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Everything I Wanted It To Be
Review: A GAME OF CHANCE is a great book to showcase another MACKENZIE. The story was great, the review of the other wonderful MACKENZIES was just like catching up with old friends! Chance is everthing you could want him to be, especially after waiting for such a long time for him and his story. I loved all the books in this family and the last is more than worth the wait.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: My favorite of the Mackenzie's
Review: I absolutely loved the story of Chance Mackenzie. It is a very difficult book to put down. Ms. Howard only gets better. My second favorite was the first one, Mackenzie's Mountain then Mission, Pleasure and have to agree with other reviewer that while not bad, Magic was not as good as the others. I'd like to see a story on Nick. It would be great to see how her father, grandfather and uncles would deal with her love interest. With so many offsprings, the Mackenzie stories could go on forever which I would find delightful. A Game Of Chance is worth taking a chance on. Ten stars if it were possible!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: NOT A CHANCE OF MISSING THIS NEAT BOOK
Review: In A GAME OF CHANCE, LINDA HOWARD moulds her heroine and hero, Chance MacKenzie and Sunny Miller into a combustible fusion of sprite and fun, engaging readers to the spark of chemistry with the right mix of action and deceit to intrigue romance readers. Ms. Howard has rounded up her legacy of the MacKenzie story with Chance and it is always a delight to see our favourite characters Wolf, Mary, Joe and Zane living their happily ever after.

With A GAME OF CHANCE, Ms. Howard weaves fantasy with her magical pan again, with passion stamped over the plot - and it bolsters a feisty Sunny Miller who represents the steel women of the 90s. Ms. Howard knows how to make readers feel - since Sunny Miller is a gutsy woman who lives in the shadow of her father as a vitrolic terrorist and Chance believes himself to be a wild orphan never to be controlled by someone.

A GAME OF CHANCE is not the best out of MacKenzie series but the nostalgia evoked in loyal followers will push them to love this - it is implausible and certainly bewildering for Chance to risk Sunny into a web of deceit. Ms. Howard's trademark passionate scenes bolsters the emotional intensity as usual- and the SEX is incendiary - so for this, I think I will give it a chance and delve into this dose of delicious escapism.

Ms. Howard has fuelled dreams in many romance readers and with this popular Mackenzie series, it touches the heart of many readers that one day love fierce as the characters may come to their doorstep. It is infectious - and I thank Ms. Howard for rekindling this hope, always.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: I couldn't put it down...
Review: Chance Mackenzie drew me into this book only wanting more of Linda Howard's wonderful creation. He was an unwanted child who grew up too fast and too hard. With the love of Wolf and Mary Mackenzie, this man changed his colors and became one of a great slew of Mackenzie leading men. The story centers around Chance, an agent in an ultra covert agency, and Sunny, the woman he falls in love with at first sight. The only problem is... everything he has told her is a lie. His name, what he does for a living, the way they met. It was all created to help him get close to and find a way to capture her terrorist father. But all that changes after a few days with her stranded on a desert valley in Nevada. This is a great read. I couldn't put it down and neither will you!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A Game of Chance
Review: Undercover agent Chance MacKenzie is trying to capture a terrorist and uses the man's daughter as bait. Sounds cruel and heartless? Chance is neither of these. If you like romance, anticipation and sizzling sex, Linda Howard is the writer for you. This is the fifth and last (?) of the MacKenzie series. I, along with hundreds of other readers, waited years for Chance's story. I wasn't disappointed. Chance is as sexy and exciting as we all knew he would be and Sunny is his match. Sure, we all wanted all of the individual stories to be longer, but Ms. Howard was writing for the Silhouette series which is not known for its length. Linda Howard is an extremely gifted writer; she is my favorite and I read extensively in all genres. I loaned MacKenzie's Mountain (1st of the series)to my sister-in-law (who was not a reader). When she was finished, she would not let my tall, handsome brother cut his black hair. She wanted it long like Wolf's. Readers, give Linda Howard a break when she says the MacKenzie series is over...... On the other hand, please, please, please, Linda..

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Good, but not great
Review: I've been a big fan of Linda Howard for many years and have loved the MacKenzie family series most of all. I couldn't wait until she wrote Chance's story. I wish she had put more of any effort into his story. While I didn't find the story line plausible and thought the ending was really, really wimpy, I still enjoyed the book.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Thanks Linda
Review: I found this book to be everything I could ask for as the final McKenzie book. I have loved them all (except I thought that Maris was short-changed - she should have had a full book (not a short story). The only thing I would change in Chance's story was at the end I think it would have nice to Wolf and Mary in the room to hear the name Chance and Sunny chose. If the series has to end Linda did it well. I for one definitly do not want to see Mary and Wolf die off!!!


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