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katerina_a's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
geekydreamer's review against another edition
5.0
I read this book years ago. Linda Howard is one of my favourite authors, and this book is a favourite.
I'm listening to the audiobook now, and it's as good as I remembered.
I'm listening to the audiobook now, and it's as good as I remembered.
bethmorvant's review against another edition
4.0
This was such a fun read! As someone who reads mostly thrillers, I tend to seek romance when I need a palette cleanser, but this was like the best of both of those worlds. The thriller aspect was nice, I didn’t figure out the twist until the author gave us the info to do so. The romance part was cute (albeit there was a certain thing that was way too fast, but I guess if you know, you know.)
ayannaaries's review against another edition
2.0
i’m used to and even sometimes fond of linda howard’s typical over the top alpha jerk mmcs but this one was just too much for me.
for a romantic suspense it seemed to be lacking in both romance and suspense?? i found the romance between jaine and sam to be unbelievable and rushed. i mean the met and fell in love within like two weeks and planned to marry a few weeks after? it didn’t even seem like they liked each other before he dropped the love bomb.
i usually love howard’s romantic suspense books and love a lot of vintage (70s-90s) romance but this book really made me understand why so many people hate them.
for a romantic suspense it seemed to be lacking in both romance and suspense?? i found the romance between jaine and sam to be unbelievable and rushed. i mean the met and fell in love within like two weeks and planned to marry a few weeks after? it didn’t even seem like they liked each other before he dropped the love bomb.
i usually love howard’s romantic suspense books and love a lot of vintage (70s-90s) romance but this book really made me understand why so many people hate them.
hiheybye's review against another edition
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
katyanaish's review against another edition
5.0
Even though I thought Sam was a giant douche in the beginning (seriously, I was worried), I ended up really liking this.
The villain was pretty well-telegraphed - I don't know exactly when I began to suspect, but definitely before the 50% mark - but I didn't mind. It was still thrilling watching them all figure it out.
The romance happened insanely fast, but I didn't mind that much either. Maybe I was just in the perfect mood for this book, but honestly, I really enjoyed it.
****4.5****
The villain was pretty well-telegraphed - I don't know exactly when I began to suspect, but definitely before the 50% mark - but I didn't mind. It was still thrilling watching them all figure it out.
The romance happened insanely fast, but I didn't mind that much either. Maybe I was just in the perfect mood for this book, but honestly, I really enjoyed it.
****4.5****
kallistafoote12's review against another edition
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
rachelellyn's review against another edition
5.0
Too racy to be a cozy... and maybe a few too many deaths... but damn, it reads like one. It's fast paced, hilariously funny, and GOOD!
Now to buy another Linda Howard novel to read!
Now to buy another Linda Howard novel to read!
dewey007's review against another edition
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Ahhhhhhhh the banter 🫶. Really wished the romance would have progressed slower but the fast pace went with the characters so I get it. The mystery should have been more present, and more of a mystery, it was good.
The feminist in me had to turn away for some parts....
The feminist in me had to turn away for some parts....
jackiehorne's review against another edition
2.0
I picked this up from the library after hearing several folks mention it at the Popular Romance Author conference I attended this fall. I didn't realize it was romantic suspense until I got the book in hand. Jaine and three of her work friends jokingly compile a list of qualities that "Mr. Perfect" should have. The initial items on the list are pretty straightforward -- faithful, dependable, solvent, nice. But later items (which readers aren't privileged to read directly) focus on physical attributes, including penis size. Somehow the list gets circulated in the office, and shows up in the company newsletter, polarizing the workers along gender lines: men are angry, women cheer. I wasn't really clear why the men were so angry--because they felt objectified by the list? It was hard to say, since we never got to read the items that so ticked them off...
The list gets leaked to the public, and the four women have their ten minutes of fame when newspaper reporters and television interviewers come caling. Unfortunately, a colleague who was abused by a woman-hating mother as a child takes particular issue with the idea of women using the phrase "Mr. Perfect" (something the person's mother did), and decides to off these uppity women. Luckily for one of them, Jaine Bright, a cop has just moved in next door. Jaine initially thought the man a drug dealer or a wino, so disheveled was his dress and so irregular his hours, and engages in several verbal spats with him. Needless to say, the cop is nothing like the man described on the Mr. Perfect list (something the book doesn't ever come out and discuss, interestingly enough); he's an argumentative loudmouth, throwing insulting comments Jaine's way when he's not kissing her. But she does the same to him, so the two seem a quite perfect match.
The book is a very weird combination of woman-empowerment and woman denigration. Jaine as a character was great--seeing a loud-mouth woman, one not afraid to openly express her aggression and anger, was a nice change from the usual romance heroine. I know people who like to yell, and for whom yelling is not upsetting, but a way of life, a way of interacting with the world. On the other hand, Jaine and her friends diss unnamed "feminists" who protest against the shallowness of the "list." It's hard to evaluate whether these "feminists" have any valid argument for their protests, or if the male colleagues do, since we never get to read the upsetting parts of the list. The book also draws stark lines between men and women: guys are like this, women are like that. And
Ultimately, it gave me the heebie jeebies, even in spite of Howard's strong plotting, character construction, and humor.
The list gets leaked to the public, and the four women have their ten minutes of fame when newspaper reporters and television interviewers come caling. Unfortunately, a colleague who was abused by a woman-hating mother as a child takes particular issue with the idea of women using the phrase "Mr. Perfect" (something the person's mother did), and decides to off these uppity women. Luckily for one of them, Jaine Bright, a cop has just moved in next door. Jaine initially thought the man a drug dealer or a wino, so disheveled was his dress and so irregular his hours, and engages in several verbal spats with him. Needless to say, the cop is nothing like the man described on the Mr. Perfect list (something the book doesn't ever come out and discuss, interestingly enough); he's an argumentative loudmouth, throwing insulting comments Jaine's way when he's not kissing her. But she does the same to him, so the two seem a quite perfect match.
The book is a very weird combination of woman-empowerment and woman denigration. Jaine as a character was great--seeing a loud-mouth woman, one not afraid to openly express her aggression and anger, was a nice change from the usual romance heroine. I know people who like to yell, and for whom yelling is not upsetting, but a way of life, a way of interacting with the world. On the other hand, Jaine and her friends diss unnamed "feminists" who protest against the shallowness of the "list." It's hard to evaluate whether these "feminists" have any valid argument for their protests, or if the male colleagues do, since we never get to read the upsetting parts of the list. The book also draws stark lines between men and women: guys are like this, women are like that. And
Spoiler
that three of the women who make the list end up dead inadvertently sends the message that a woman who asserts that her desires about men are important deserves to die for her presumption. Unless, of course, she hooks up with a more masculine guy than Mr. Perfect of the list. And I'm really having a difficult time untangling the ideology behind the killer's backstory: a girl with a mother who abused her by insisting she act like a boy; that daughter then killing said mother during her teen years, after mom had an abysmal reaction to her daughter's puberty; and then that daughter going on to kill other women whom her mother would have found disgusting (a sort of Norman Bates situation, although with a daughter instead of a son).Spoiler
Ultimately, it gave me the heebie jeebies, even in spite of Howard's strong plotting, character construction, and humor.