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Rating: 
Summary: A Real Page-Turner
Review: A Bride in a bloody wedding dress who can't remember who she is or where the blood came from. Why is no one searching for her? What about her fiance? What? She has TWO? You will keep turning pages as the bride and her ex-cop friend try to bring back her memories. But our ex-cop finds himself falling in love with her--does he want to discover her past or start a new future with her? I could not put this book down because bits and pieces of her memory kept surfacing. Very well written and very believable. One of Ms. Steward's best.
Rating:
Summary: A Real Page-Turner
Review: A Bride in a bloody wedding dress who can't remember who she is or where the blood came from. Why is no one searching for her? What about her fiance? What? She has TWO? You will keep turning pages as the bride and her ex-cop friend try to bring back her memories. But our ex-cop finds himself falling in love with her--does he want to discover her past or start a new future with her? I could not put this book down because bits and pieces of her memory kept surfacing. Very well written and very believable. One of Ms. Steward's best.
Rating: 
Summary: Fabulous Edge-of-your-seat Reading!
Review: A woman with no memory of who she is or where she came from in a wedding dress stained with blood. A retired cop turned PI with issues of his own. Who or what is "Mary" running from? Where did the blood on her dress come from? And who are the men claiming to be her fiance?This is one of those rare finds. A book you can't put down once you pick it up. You'll give up a night of sleep for this one, but it's well worth it. Sally Steward delivers romance and suspense on a grand scale in Private Vows! Another Sally Steward/Sally Carleen for my keeper shelf. Don't miss this one!
Rating:
Summary: Fabulous Edge-of-your-seat Reading!
Review: A woman with no memory of who she is or where she came from in a wedding dress stained with blood. A retired cop turned PI with issues of his own. Who or what is "Mary" running from? Where did the blood on her dress come from? And who are the men claiming to be her fiance? This is one of those rare finds. A book you can't put down once you pick it up. You'll give up a night of sleep for this one, but it's well worth it. Sally Steward delivers romance and suspense on a grand scale in Private Vows! Another Sally Steward/Sally Carleen for my keeper shelf. Don't miss this one!
Rating:
Summary: Romantic Times Review
Review: Private Vows (Harlequin Intrigue, No. 603) by Sally Steward Just as a wary investigator is questioning his life, he encounters a lady wearing a bloodstained wedding gown who has no memory of past events. As he helps her to recover her life, feelings grow between them. But what happens to their newfound love when her memory returns and she goes back to her own world? Giving a fresh spin to a classic plot, Sally Steward peppers PRIVATE VOWS with multi-dimensional characters, good pacing and a few surprises.
Rating: 
Summary: Private Vows
Review: Sally Steward's "Private Vows" is the story of a former cop who runs over a woman in a blood-covered wedding dress when she runs in front of his car. Hitting her with his car gives her amnesia (what else?). "Mary" is in danger (of course). Can you guess who will protect her from what she can't remember? "Private Vows" is one of those stories where strong writing pulls in the reader, helping to disguise the weaknesses in the plot for a while. The strongest part of "Private Vows" is Steward's smooth story-telling style. Unfortunately, the story she's chosen to tell is thin and full of problems. Steward is able to cast a spell with her words and strong characterizations. Deep down though, she's not saying too much. Is "Private Vows" suspenseful? Occasionally. Is it pretty stupid? Definitely. Where to start? The premise is ridiculous, another book where all it takes is a bump on the head for the heroine to get amnesia. Worse, Mary's amnesia is so contrived that it just seems dumb. Mary remembers plenty of things when it's needed to develop her character. She just doesn't remember anything that might show who she is or what happened to her. (For instance, she remembers everything about her parents, but not their names.) Everything she remembers and when is conveniently dictated by the requirements of the story. Amnesia books seldom give an accurate depiction of what amnesia victims go through but this one had me laughing at how contrived it was. Poor Mary. She remembers everything except what she can't to keep the plot going. Give me a break. Other than Cole, Mary and Cole's cop friend, there are only two characters in the book. I looked at the cast of characters in the front of the book before I started reading and I automatically picked out the killer. (Once again, two suspect mysteries are bad mysteries). The mystery element is also poorly plotted. Mary and Cole's investigation spends too much time going nowhere. Too much of this book feels like they--and the reader--are treading water, waiting for a killer any smart reader has already picked out to make a move. Looking back after I finished the book, I couldn't figure out what took this person so long. How nice of the villain to stay out of the way long enough for Cole and Mary to fall in love. Any patience I might have had left with this book was destroyed by the last fifty pages. Then there's the final confrontation, which never would have taken place if the characters were using their heads. Their actions made no sense. The scene that sets this up had me shaking my head and saying, "Stupid. Stupid. Stupid." A real wallbanger moment. The book continues with too much romantic hand wringing after the mystery is over that only pads the length of the story. We know these two are meant to be together. We know they will be together (romance novel, right?). Delaying the obvious for no good reason is dull and pointless. Worse, there is an unresolved feeling to the ending that undermines the essential happy ending romance novels require. I was uncomfortable with it. Steward sprinkles some chilling scenes throughout her book but the contrived and manipulative plotting and poor mystery weaken it overall. It's easy to enjoy Steward's storytelling if you don't think about the story and expect it to make much sense. The best part of "Private Vows?" If Intrigue keeps publishing amnesia books this bad, people will eventually stop buying them and they'll stop publishing them. That's a day we can all look forward to.
Rating:
Summary: Private Vows
Review: Sally Steward's "Private Vows" is the story of a former cop who runs over a woman in a blood-covered wedding dress when she runs in front of his car. Hitting her with his car gives her amnesia (what else?). "Mary" is in danger (of course). Can you guess who will protect her from what she can't remember? "Private Vows" is one of those stories where strong writing pulls in the reader, helping to disguise the weaknesses in the plot for a while. The strongest part of "Private Vows" is Steward's smooth story-telling style. Unfortunately, the story she's chosen to tell is thin and full of problems. Steward is able to cast a spell with her words and strong characterizations. Deep down though, she's not saying too much. Is "Private Vows" suspenseful? Occasionally. Is it pretty stupid? Definitely. Where to start? The premise is ridiculous, another book where all it takes is a bump on the head for the heroine to get amnesia. Worse, Mary's amnesia is so contrived that it just seems dumb. Mary remembers plenty of things when it's needed to develop her character. She just doesn't remember anything that might show who she is or what happened to her. (For instance, she remembers everything about her parents, but not their names.) Everything she remembers and when is conveniently dictated by the requirements of the story. Amnesia books seldom give an accurate depiction of what amnesia victims go through but this one had me laughing at how contrived it was. Poor Mary. She remembers everything except what she can't to keep the plot going. Give me a break. Other than Cole, Mary and Cole's cop friend, there are only two characters in the book. I looked at the cast of characters in the front of the book before I started reading and I automatically picked out the killer. (Once again, two suspect mysteries are bad mysteries). The mystery element is also poorly plotted. Mary and Cole's investigation spends too much time going nowhere. Too much of this book feels like they--and the reader--are treading water, waiting for a killer any smart reader has already picked out to make a move. Looking back after I finished the book, I couldn't figure out what took this person so long. How nice of the villain to stay out of the way long enough for Cole and Mary to fall in love. Any patience I might have had left with this book was destroyed by the last fifty pages. Then there's the final confrontation, which never would have taken place if the characters were using their heads. Their actions made no sense. The scene that sets this up had me shaking my head and saying, "Stupid. Stupid. Stupid." A real wallbanger moment. The book continues with too much romantic hand wringing after the mystery is over that only pads the length of the story. We know these two are meant to be together. We know they will be together (romance novel, right?). Delaying the obvious for no good reason is dull and pointless. Worse, there is an unresolved feeling to the ending that undermines the essential happy ending romance novels require. I was uncomfortable with it. Steward sprinkles some chilling scenes throughout her book but the contrived and manipulative plotting and poor mystery weaken it overall. It's easy to enjoy Steward's storytelling if you don't think about the story and expect it to make much sense. The best part of "Private Vows?" If Intrigue keeps publishing amnesia books this bad, people will eventually stop buying them and they'll stop publishing them. That's a day we can all look forward to.
Rating:
Summary: Private Vows
Review: Sally Steward's "Private Vows" is the story of a former cop who runs over a woman in a blood-covered wedding dress when she runs in front of his car. Hitting her with his car gives her amnesia (what else?). "Mary" is in danger (of course). Can you guess who will protect her from what she can't remember? "Private Vows" is one of those stories where strong writing pulls in the reader, helping to disguise the weaknesses in the plot for a while. The strongest part of "Private Vows" is Steward's smooth story-telling style. Unfortunately, the story she's chosen to tell is thin and full of problems. Steward is able to cast a spell with her words and strong characterizations. Deep down though, she's not saying too much. Is "Private Vows" suspenseful? Occasionally. Is it pretty stupid? Definitely. Where to start? The premise is ridiculous, another book where all it takes is a bump on the head for the heroine to get amnesia. Worse, Mary's amnesia is so contrived that it just seems dumb. Mary remembers plenty of things when it's needed to develop her character. She just doesn't remember anything that might show who she is or what happened to her. (For instance, she remembers everything about her parents, but not their names.) Everything she remembers and when is conveniently dictated by the requirements of the story. Amnesia books seldom give an accurate depiction of what amnesia victims go through but this one had me laughing at how contrived it was. Poor Mary. She remembers everything except what she can't to keep the plot going. Give me a break. Other than Cole, Mary and Cole's cop friend, there are only two characters in the book. I looked at the cast of characters in the front of the book before I started reading and I automatically picked out the killer. (Once again, two suspect mysteries are bad mysteries). The mystery element is also poorly plotted. Mary and Cole's investigation spends too much time going nowhere. Too much of this book feels like they--and the reader--are treading water, waiting for a killer any smart reader has already picked out to make a move. Looking back after I finished the book, I couldn't figure out what took this person so long. How nice of the villain to stay out of the way long enough for Cole and Mary to fall in love. Any patience I might have had left with this book was destroyed by the last fifty pages. Then there's the final confrontation, which never would have taken place if the characters were using their heads. Their actions made no sense. The scene that sets this up had me shaking my head and saying, "Stupid. Stupid. Stupid." A real wallbanger moment. The book continues with too much romantic hand wringing after the mystery is over that only pads the length of the story. We know these two are meant to be together. We know they will be together (romance novel, right?). Delaying the obvious for no good reason is dull and pointless. Worse, there is an unresolved feeling to the ending that undermines the essential happy ending romance novels require. I was uncomfortable with it. Steward sprinkles some chilling scenes throughout her book but the contrived and manipulative plotting and poor mystery weaken it overall. It's easy to enjoy Steward's storytelling if you don't think about the story and expect it to make much sense. The best part of "Private Vows?" If Intrigue keeps publishing amnesia books this bad, people will eventually stop buying them and they'll stop publishing them. That's a day we can all look forward to.
Rating:
Summary: "Private Vows": A Surprising good read!
Review: Well, this book does start off a bit slow. However, by Chapter 3 (page 40) things start to pick of steam! After Cole Grayson accedentally ran into Mary Jackson who ran into the middle of the street, she lost her memory. However, there was blood on her Wedding dress. Where did that blood come from and who was she marring? She doesn't remember her past. After a few days, Cole finds himself fiercly attracted to Mary. He soon discovers Mary feels the same strong desire. Afterwards, many secrets are reveled! What stunning secrets are reveled? Why is no one looking for her? Is there violence? Does Cole and Mary's heated attraction blossom into a full-ledged love affair? You will have to get this book and read it to find out the rising action, climax and exciting ending to this breathtaking romantic suspense novel! "Private Vows" quickly becomes an exciting page-turner that will leave you satisfied, in more ways than one, believe me!
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