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Someone to Watch Over Me : A Novel

Someone to Watch Over Me : A Novel

List Price: $25.00
Your Price: $17.00
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Okay, but not one of her best
Review: I am a huge Judith McNaught fan, as many of the reviewers here have been. I enjoy both her contemporary and historical romance novels and have been anticipating "Someone to Watch Over Me" for quite some time. However, I was really disappointed when I finished reading this book. I don't think she was meant to write contemporary romantic suspense.But, in her previous novel, Night Whispers, she did a much better job of it.
What I did like about Someone to Watch Over Me was the protagonist, Leigh's romantic interest Michael. He was what kept me reading on. His character wasn't developed enough for me though. Whereas in previous Judith McNaught novels, the heriones are strong, funny, smart, and interesting, I felt that Leigh was lacking somehow. As she desperately tries to find out what has happened to her husband, you start to wonder how could she be so oblivious to her husband's activities. Secondly,Michael and Leigh seem to get "together" quite quickly. From the beginning of the book, she's madly in love with her husband, and then all of a sudden, through uncovering information about her husband, she just realizes she's in love with another man. It seemed way too rushed. Furthermore, the "suspense" to the whole story begins to be quite predictable long before the end of the book.
For me, the intrigue part, whether it be about business mergers/corporate take overs, and so on, in Judith McNaught's previous books such as Remember When and Paradise have always detracted from the rest of her writing. I love the romantic interaction, and the quality of character development which she usually achieves so well. In Someone to Watch Over Me, I feel like these things have taken the back burner, and the intrigue/suspense has become the main focus of her writing.
Personally, I did not enjoy the secondary romantic story of the investigators, and thought it wasn't very relevant. I usually enjoy when secondary characters also have a storyline, but it didn't work for me. The appearance of certain characters from Ms. McNaught's previous novels just seemed to be kind of thrown in so that she could link the book to her other ones.
I do really enjoy Judith McNaught's writing, and I hope that her next novel will be a better effort and that she sticks to romance writing. If it wasn't a book written her, I probably wouldn't have finished it all the way through.
Contemporary romantic suspense authors I would recommend instead of Judith McNaught would be Linda Howard or Karen Robards. They tend to be more realistic, less romantic and sweet, but definitely more suspenseful.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Intruigue at its Best
Review: SOMEONE TO WATCH OVER ME is filled with all the plot elements readers love. Intruigue, romance, suspense, wit, etc. grab this for all elements.

The hero is one of my favorites to date. He is enigmatic to the hilt and you will keep turning the pages to find out what happens next. Don't miss this one.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Mediocre effort
Review: This is a mediocre work by JM's standards. The first part of the book narrated the accident and flashback of the loving time between Leigh Kendall and Logan Manning. The flashback broke the story momentum and suspense. It make the search for Logan appeared longer and more draggy than it should be. The flashback also made the reader skeptical of how loving the couple really were. It came across that JM was trying hard to persuade the readers to believe in something which she would shatter later.

When Michael Valente, Samatha Littleton and Mack entered the scene, then the story started to look more exciting. That also meant that Leigh Kendall was such an uninspiring character to hold much of the readers' interest in the first part of the book. I was much more hooked on the chemistry and attraction between Sam and Mack than between Michael and Leigh. Unfortunately, JM did not spare much ink on Sam and Mack. Sam and Mack had the more interesting and clever dialogue too. I found Leigh's falling in love with Michael too unconvincing and abrupt, though Michael's devotion towards Leigh was touching and endearing. And for a romance novel, the (very) few love scenes were very anti-climax. The love scene between Sam and Mack could have so much more potential, more explosive than the effort JM put in.

In addition, there were plenty of loopholes in the book. The final revelation about Logan, the murderer and Logan's source of unexplained income were presented very sloppily - all dumped at us at once without much logic and explanation. It left the readers with more questions than answers. In short, this is a readable novel with some interesting characters and pockets of good moments, but fall short of a good novel, especially of one by JM.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great Modern Fairy Tale
Review: There was a long wait after Night Whispers for a new McNaught novel, but after reading this book, I find that it was worth waiting for. The main characters are so vividly written that they seem like people you know. This book will not be easy to put down, you get caught up in the story right away - a perfect blend of mystery, suspense and romance. My favorite character was Michael Valente, who isthe ultimate fairy tale prince charming.
It was great to finally have a romance book where there wasn't an overblown misunderstanding between the hero and heroine that tears them apart, so that the heroine has to swallow her pride and beg for forgivness.
It was also fabulous to revisit characters from previous novels... Courtney Maitland and Joe O'Hare.

Judith McNaught is one of the few authors who excels at writing both historical and modern day romances. Read this book, you'll really enjoy it.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Not up to the caliber of her earlier works
Review: Judith excels at the poignant, classic love stories, and has written some of my all time favorite historical and contemporary romances.

Following the current trend, in this book she has continued her transition to romantic suspense. I like romantic suspense, but not when Judith McNaught writes it. Without looking at her other novels, this was an okay book. The secondary characters were a lot of fun, and they were my favorite part of the book. Unfortunately, I just didn't like Leigh as a character and I found Leigh's plotline to be unbelievable. I've read Judith's arguements as to why the plot should be believeable, but they all come down to "the story wouldn't have worked any other way." That says to me that the story should have been scrapped. Compared to her other books this is a huge disappointment.

If you've never read JM before, try Perfect, Paradise or Something Wonderful for examples of divinely wonderful romance. If you liked this book, you'll adore her others.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A great story. I loved it!
Review: Someone to Watch Over Me is a very good book by a great writer. The characters are written well and the story has so many twists and turns that it becomes hard to put down.

The leading man is one of my favorite heroes to date in a Judith McNaught novel, he was a great package. The leading lady was confident and endearing. I was really guessing from start to finish.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Okay, but not one of her best
Review: I am a huge Judith McNaught fan, as many of the reviewers here have been. I enjoy both her contemporary and historical romance novels and have been anticipating "Someone to Watch Over Me" for quite some time. However, I was really disappointed when I finished reading this book. I don't think she was meant to write contemporary romantic suspense.But, in her previous novel, Night Whispers, she did a much better job of it.
What I did like about Someone to Watch Over Me was the protagonist, Leigh's romantic interest Michael. He was what kept me reading on. His character wasn't developed enough for me though. Whereas in previous Judith McNaught novels, the heriones are strong, funny, smart, and interesting, I felt that Leigh was lacking somehow. As she desperately tries to find out what has happened to her husband, you start to wonder how could she be so oblivious to her husband's activities. Secondly,Michael and Leigh seem to get "together" quite quickly. From the beginning of the book, she's madly in love with her husband, and then all of a sudden, through uncovering information about her husband, she just realizes she's in love with another man. It seemed way too rushed. Furthermore, the "suspense" to the whole story begins to be quite predictable long before the end of the book.
For me, the intrigue part, whether it be about business mergers/corporate take overs, and so on, in Judith McNaught's previous books such as Remember When and Paradise have always detracted from the rest of her writing. I love the romantic interaction, and the quality of character development which she usually achieves so well. In Someone to Watch Over Me, I feel like these things have taken the back burner, and the intrigue/suspense has become the main focus of her writing.
Personally, I did not enjoy the secondary romantic story of the investigators, and thought it wasn't very relevant. I usually enjoy when secondary characters also have a storyline, but it didn't work for me. The appearance of certain characters from Ms. McNaught's previous novels just seemed to be kind of thrown in so that she could link the book to her other ones.
I do really enjoy Judith McNaught's writing, and I hope that her next novel will be a better effort and that she sticks to romance writing. If it wasn't a book written her, I probably wouldn't have finished it all the way through.
Contemporary romantic suspense authors I would recommend instead of Judith McNaught would be Linda Howard or Karen Robards. They tend to be more realistic, less romantic and sweet, but definitely more suspenseful.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: One word - WOW!
Review: Someone to Watch Over Me is undoubtedly one of the best among Judith's novels - and a highlight for me as a fan of more than 12 years.. Leigh Kendall is a heroine who will remind you of other "innately good" female JM characters - think Elizabeth Cameron and Meredith Bancroft. It's much more of a traditional mystery than some other novels by JM we've read, which really surprised me... but she *is* Judith McNaught after all and she does NOT skimp on the romance. In fact, there are not one but two men in this book who you will definitely want to curl up with during this snowy winter we're having...
I have to say it was worth every day of the long wait - For those who have been a little disappointed in more recent JM efforts, such as Night Whispers and Remember When, because they were much shorter than some of her earlier works, don't worry - this one is a nice, long well-rounded yarn you won't want to put down. Enjoy it.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: More similar books in the future
Review: I have all her books and I read them all. I would like to read some more similar in the NEAREST FUTURE. Thamk you for unforgetable moments.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: I want more
Review: I loved this book, as I have enjoyed all of her books. When are we going to get a new one it's been way over a year.


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