Heart of Fire

Rating:
Summary: Listen Up! I've Struck Gold!
Review: If ever there was a solid five star romance then this is it. Heart of Fire is a passionate, sexy, funny and exciting novel that thrills from beginning to end. The plot is racy and pacy with plenty of interesting plot twists and the main characters have so much chemistry between them that the book is practically on fire.

From a physical perspective Ben Lewes is pretty much the ideal male hero; tall, dark, muscular, rough `n' ready...[I could go on all day... :-)]. He has the perfect blend of sex appeal and confident masculinity. He is the ultimate alpha - tough, strong and brave and a real bad ass when he wants to be (but never to Jillian). Often such men are paired off with some spineless little moaner with less personality than a lettuce leaf - you know the type, don't you? - the kind of heroine that forgets to eat all the time and spends her days pouting and fainting if anyone speaks above a whisper. Therefore it is definitely worth celebrating that Ben's true love is Jillian Sherwood, a kind-hearted, clever, feisty woman. Ben might be the super-alpha male but Jillian is more than able to match him. It was hilarious to read the passages where Ben was desperately trying to work out whether Jillian was into him or not.

My other favourite things are that there are plenty of chances in the book for Ben to defend Jillian or to do some charming protective gesture. The dialogue between them is snappy and fun. The other characters add a lot to the story and the ending is great too. I guess I should admit that a few things bothered me - Ben was a little too free and easy about sex before he met Jillian, and there's a scene near the end where Ben tracks Jillian down in her bedroom after a brief seperation which I find a bit cringe worthy.

Overall Heart of Fire is a lovely, sizzling romance that I highly recommend. In addition to this book, Dream Man by Linda Howard is also one of my personal favourites. Dane, the hero in that book, has certain similarities to Ben. And that, fellow readers, is a wonderful thing!

JoAnne

Rating:
Summary: A wonderful tale of adventure and romance!
Review: I've become a Linda Howard junkie. I discovered the author two weeks ago and have already read four of her novels: All the Queen's Men, After the Night, Dream Man, and now this latest, and best so far: Heart of Fire.

Most of her books are impossible to put down, and you never want to see them come to an end. Heart of Fire is no exception.

It's a cross between Romancing the Stone and Raiders of the Lost Ark, full of adventure, action, danger and, of course, romance, led by a spunky heroine and a sexy hero (who's a bit of a cad on the surface until he is touched by love.)

The novel's only weakness is in the character of Dutra, a murderous thug who's brought along to kill everyone and lead Kates back out of the jungle with the loot. As thugs go, his character is very clichéd, but more importantly, I couldn't understand why Ben (the hero) didn't object to Dutra being included on the trek. He probably wouldn't have succeeded in leaving him behind, and he still would have gone along with the plan to protect Jillian, but that he never voiced a complaint to Kates was out of character and came across as nothing more than a plot contrivance. But that was only a minor annoyance, which cost this review one star.

Overall, if you enjoy Linda Howard's style, and are in for a wonderful tale of adventure and romance, you won't regret buying this book.

Rating:
Summary: One word - Amazing
Review: What an amazing storyline with amazing characters by an amazing author. Heart of Fire was downright perfect in all aspects. It was definitely romantic with steamy scenes with a decent amount of humor added in.

Although the first few chapters were a little hard to get through, once the story came in it was so hard to put the book down. The way she ends chapters is taunting - you just have to keep reading for more, and more, until you're at the end of the book. And then you don't want it to end!

If you're thinking about picking this book up, PLEASE DO! It's a guaranteed winner. It really leaves you feeling, wonderful; excited; speechless.

Great job Linda Howard!

Rating:
Summary: Annoying Hero
Review: What finally did it for me with this book was the annoying hero. Every time he called Jillian "sweetcakes" I just wanted to punch him. I put it down when he was towelling himself off and asininely asks her, "Want to dry my back?" Yeah, with sandpaper!

I also thought the descriptive scenes were lacking. It just sounded like Howard read one (1) encyclopedia, and did no research to enliven or spice anything up with further detail. Another thing -- why didn't Ben just tell Kates "No, Dutra can't come with us"? Once he found out what a sleaze Kates planned on bringing, I don't see why he couldn't have done that.

I didn't find the purse scene humorous at all. I couldn't understand why she was assaulting her own guide, the guy she was paying money for. Maybe it just sounded like a cute idea on paper.

But now I see all these other glowing positive reviews! so maybe I will give it a second chance. The heroine is admirable and her motivation is sound and believable.

Rating:
Summary: One of Linda's Best!
Review: This is a classic Linda Howard novel. A strong heroine, who does not allow the hero to walk all over her. Jillian, an archeologist, continues the work of her father in locating a lost city of Amazon warrior women. Her father's work, however, was laughed at by most of his peers, and is not taken seriously. To fund the expedition to prove her father's work was correct, she enlists the help of her loser brother and the drug cartel he works for.

Ben Lewis has lived in Brazil for years, guiding people up and down the Amazon river. When he first meets Jillian, she's a challenge because she does not instantly respond to his "charms." After a second meeting, involving a very amusing scene with a purse, Ben decides to help with Jillian's expedition, but only for his own interest in bedding her.

The battle of the sexes between Jillian and Ben are very amusing. You are easily enthralled by their story, and route for them in the end. Don't miss the HEART OF FIRE.

Rating:
Summary: One of Howard's best!!!
Review: What is there not to love about this book? It had everything: an interesting and captivating plot, loveable lead characters, and well-written secondary characters. In too many of the romance novels I've read the lead male is strong, domineering, and constantly lording over the heroine and it's very refreshing to FINALLY find a heroine with some [you know what]. It's also great to finally have the woman win for once in a romance novel. Don't get me wrong Ben is still completely masculine and yeah he's arrogant, strong, and domineering, but Jillian she's more than a match for him and you love her for being a real woman who can hold her own. Heart of Fire is really a wonderful book and you fall in love with both Ben and Jillian. I had a smile on my face throughout the whole novel.