Dying to Please

Rating:
Summary: Dying To Please Is Death By Boredom!!
Review: I am a big Linda Howard fan, but this book is definitely not one of her best efforts. A first time reader might find it hard to believe, with this novel as an example, that Ms. Howard has written many excellent romance thrillers in the past. She could have done so much more with her unusual heroine, Sarah Stevens, who has a career as a butler. I don't think she used this unique vehicle to enhance her story, or her character. It is a shame - the idea of a woman butler is an excellent one.

Sarah has been both butler and bodyguard to an elderly gentleman, a retired judge, for three years when the story opens. They have a wonderful relationship, and she is extremely fond of him. The judge's home is burgled one night, and Sarah catches the two thieves before they escape - with her karate chops & kicks. BAM! Wham! Gotcha - me, women, against two guys! Although she is a top marksman, she fortunately does not use her gun to stop the robbers. Sarah is a stereotypical tough gal, who spends much of her time honing her bodyguard skills, but she is also sensitive woman with a tender heart - and beautiful to boot! What else? Couldn't get less complex than that. But wait! The handsome, macho-man detective, who comes to investigate the robbery, is less complex than that. Embittered by a bad marriage and subsequent divorce, he doesn't care for women very much, except as one night stands. He is attracted to Sarah, however. And surprise(!), she is attracted back. So the novel goes. Nothing new, exciting, or suspenseful here.

Anyway, the media is alerted by the thwarted crime. A local TV news producer comes up with the idea of an interesting feature spot starring the female butler. Sarah is interviewed, and a pathological murderer, watching the tube at the time, becomes obsessed with her. He will do anything to have her butler for him. And he does.

The characters in "Dying To Please" are so shallow and flat, they could almost be cartoons. The dull narrative lacks Ms. Howard's usual flair, and there is little intelligent dialogue between Sarah and Cahill, (the detective). They mostly bicker, or he bosses her around. They do have terrific sex - but this has always been a Linda Howard strong point. However, it is difficult to appreciate the eroticism, if the participating characters are not vivid and lifelike. All in all, this book is a disappointment. I highly recommend many other of the author's novels, but not this one. Save your money!

Rating:
Summary: Wow!!! Linda Howard never fails to Please!!
Review: Make sure you start reading this book on a weekend or have some sick time at work, because you won't want to put it down! The chemistry between these characters will make you ache to see if they can overcome their obstacles and make their relationship work, and the suspense will keep you turning the pages with vigor!

Sarah is a butler extraordinaire for a retired federal judge. The judge is very sweet and he and Sarah have forged a tight bond during the three years she has worked for him. Sarah is also trained in martial arts and, along with her butler duties, she also serves as a bodyguard for the judge.

After foiling a robbery attempt at the judge's house, Sarah is solicited to do a human interest spot on the evening news, outlining her butler duties. Little did she know the publicity would lure a madman and change the course of her life forever.

Detective Cahill is an investigator on the case, and the chemistry between he and Sarah is too hot to ignore. He has been burned in a recent divorce, and is wary of trusting a woman again. I was anxious to see if he could overcome his she-demons and let himself love and trust Sarah.

Once again, Linda Howard delivers with steamy love scenes, raw emotion, and bittersweet betrayals. I highly, highly recommend "Dying to Please"!

Rating:
Summary: WooHoo! She's back!
Review: Okay, honestly, after reading OPEN SEASON and not enjoying it I wondered if I would ever pick up another Linda Howard hardcover. But I did. The summary on the inside cover of DYING TO PLEASE that is supposed to entice one to read the book did nothing but confuse me and turn me off. But, alas, a huge fan of Linda Howard, I decided to ignore that, too, and just read the book. I am so glad I did because SHE IS BACK.

The hero in this novel is a cop once again, sexy yes, but in the past where the hero dominated all the reader's attention, this time the heroine steals the show. Sarah Stevens does it so effortlessly that we do not realize how much we are rooting for her until until almost the end of the book. The woman kicks her way through the book with her wit, charm, and sexiness. Her relationship with the cop, Cahill, was great follow. The sex scenes were torch-hot. The attraction and emotions were intense and believable. And the suspense was intruiging without stealing the oomph out of the romance.

In my opinion, DYING TO PLEASE was well set up, well written, and an excellent read. Howard's characters were rich and colorful and human. And the suspense will make you tighten your hands on the cover more than a few times. SHE IS BACK.

Rating:
Summary: DYING TO PLEASE by Linda Howard
Review: Right off the bat I say buy this book since you can't put it down once you start it. It's so Linda Howard with her fabulous Alpha heroes to die for too.

Sarah Stevens is a butler for a wealthy retired judge in the small town of Mountain Brook, Alabama. She is also trained as a bodyguard and hired by the judge's family to watch over him as he's had some death threats in the past. Sarah has worked for Judge Roberts for three years and is almost a member of the family. One night she interrupts a robbery and is in the news and on TV. Unbeknownst to Sarah she has attracted the attention of a stalker who thinks she is perfect for him and a chain of events is set into motion that will have dire consequences for Sarah.

At short time later Sarah walks in to the judge's house one evening and discovers he has been brutally murdered. Linda Howard knows how to build ... tension so well you can feel the steam heat. Whew!...

Rating:
Summary: You'll be pleased if you buy this
Review: This is a sensational book which is five stars for most of the journey but a little bit too quick simple ending to a major tension building situation results in it having to drop a star. I would still highly recommend purchasing this book, it has a great female character as the main heroine and is a great fast paced read.

Sarah Stevens is the perfect butler and her job is to look after retired Judge Roberts, keep him healthy and safe and iron his newspapers. The usual butler stuff but unbeknownst to the outside world she is also his bodyguard. Upon thwarting two burglars Judge Roberts decides the reluctant Sarah should get fifteen minutes of fame and arranges the media to do a story on her. Unfortunately she makes herself an obsessed fan who will stop at nothing to make her his butler.

If you like books with strong female characters who can take care of themselves and others try Christopher Nicole's novels with the Jessica Jones character such as The Search, The Quest, The Voyage to name a few.

Rating:
Summary: NOT HER BEST!!
Review: THIS WAS NOT EVEN AN AVERAGE BOOK. THE PLOT OF THE BOOK SUCKED REALLY BAD. THE BAD GUY IS AN OLD GEEZER WHO IS A BIG PERVERT AND COMES TOTALLY OUT OF LEFT FIELD. THE ONLY REASON I AM EVEN GIVING THIS BOOK 2 STARS ARE BECAUSE OF THE LOVE SCENES WERE VERY SPICY AND KINKY. OTHER THAN THAT THIS BOOK HAD NOTHING ELSE. I TYPICALLY READ LINDA HOWARD'S BOOKS WITHIN DAYS (GOTTA EAT, SLEEP AND GO TO WORK) BUT FOR SOME REASON I HAD A VERY HARD TIME TRYING TO FINISH THIS ONE. IT TOOK ME ALMOST A WHOLE WEEK TO FINISH IT. I JUST WAS NOT INTO IT AND THANK GOD I ONLY PAID 50 CENTS AT A DISCOUNT BOOK STORE.

Rating:
Summary: Not the best...
Review: When I finished reading this book I had to double-check it was a new Linda Howard and not a 1980s reissue. The reason? It reads like a bad 1980s romantic thriller i.e. 'tough' heroine is as tough as jelly (especially were the hero is concerned), the hero is a macho jerk who spends 90 percent of the time distrusting the heroine and the other 10 percent having meningless sexual encounters with her and, as for the thriller element, there was no real plot or whodunnit element to the story. On finishing it one of my biggest questions was 'why?'. Why was it called a romantic thriller? It's neither romantic, in the true sense, or thrilling. An average book at best, and a poor example of Linda Howard's romantic thrillers, of which I am a fan. Please don't read this book first...instead try these LH books: Now You See Me, Kill and Tell, Mr Perfect and All the Queen's Men. Much, much, much better reads...