A Love Beyond Words (Silhoette Special Edition, No 1382)

Rating:
Summary: Love is where you find it.
Review: Back Cover description: LANGUAGE OF THE HEART...Rescuing Allie Matthews from the rubble of her home should have been all in a day's work for Ricky Wilder. But her quiet intensity sparked his protective instincts, and unexpectedly, the sexy Latino invited Allie to stay with him during her home's renovations. Soon the feisty beauty had Ricky rethinking his bachelor ways. Yet how could he prove his love when he couldn't find the words?
Vulnerable Allie preferred her life predictable and risk free--until Ricky stormed her heart and coaxed her out of her cautious world. Living with Ricky set Allie spinning in an emotional whirlwind...but could she trust her love to a man who lived his whole life on the edge?

The scene where she is in the rubble waiting to be rescued is tense and believable. If you go with the plot, he takes a complete stranger into his home, the rest of the story works. She is in the hospital being taken care of and has house insurance. Her parents are alive and more than able to give her a loan. This is where I had difficulty--not that she was deaf, or his job, just this part of the plot. Also, his real name is Enrique, why did they have to call him Ricky? If it wasn't for these glitches, I might have given it another star.

Rating:
Summary: I'll Read This One Again...
Review: I have just recently discovered Sherryl Woods books. Much to my delight!! I have not been disapointed yet. Both of the main characters were strong and all of the characters were likeable. I felt as if I was there and 'part of the family'. Too bad all of the sisters were married, this would have been a great series! I definately enjoyed this book and read it in one sitting.

Rating:
Summary: A unique love story
Review: When Hurricane Gwen mercilessly ripped through Allie Matthews's neighborhood, the deaf woman was buried beneath the rubble that had once been her home. She is brought back to safety by firefighter Ricky Wilder and the connection established at the time of the rescue begins a relationship that Allie feels compelled to explore after years of self-imposed seclusion due to her loss of hearing. For Ricky Wilder, life had been full of work and women until he rescued Allie whose strength of character and courage he found incredibly attractive. But after years of dodging matrimonial lectures from his mother and sisters, Ricky finds himself trying to resist taking the fall that his family believes will assure his happiness.

"A Love Beyond Words" is not exactly an appropriate title for this story. Although Allie is deaf, she is perfectly capable of speaking and communicating verbally with others since she was not born deaf. But Sherryl Woods has created two engaging characters in Ricky and Allie who are brought together because of a natural disaster. The story progresses at a moderate and comfortable pace for most of the book and I really enjoyed reading about the friendship that develops between these two characters who seem to have little in common but find that they admire what they learn about each other. Ricky is a laidback guy who is comfortable with his life and his choices. He enjoys a modicum of danger in his life to keep it from becoming dull but he is also deeply rooted in his family. Because of her loss of hearing, Allie is much more structured. She has had to give up one dream in order to find and pursue another. She clearly understands what it means to adjust because of this so I was surprised at her inflexibility when it came to her attitude towards Ricky's job especially since his skills save lives including hers. An only child, she finds Ricky's family both appealing and overwhelming. I really enjoyed how Woods integrated Ricky's family and friends into the story because it really enhanced his relationship with Allie whereas her opinion of the danger that comes with his job diminished some of the progress made in their relationship. Perhaps if Woods had integrated it a little earlier into the story, there might have been more time to work through it. Instead it disrupted an otherwise fluid story.

Rating:
Summary: Very highly recommended
Review: With no time to run, hurricane Gwen with her 130 mile-an-hour winds brings Alli Matthews' house crashing down around her. She lies trapped in the debris praying for help. When the search and rescue unit arrives, a neighbor describes Alli as angel--one of those genuinely good people. Rescuer Ricky Wilder's can't help wondering if today's rescue will bring him "face to face with an angel." When he sees her, Ricky can't resist her strength and resilience in the face of danger and pain.

Alli can't help wondering, once she's glimpsed Ricky, if "angels ever come with dancing eyes...and looking like sin." The bond between rescuer and victim is intense, and while it's usually broken by loved ones and friends, Alli's essentially alone. The hospital won't release her without a place to go and folks to look after her. Ricky's invitation to stay with him comes a total surprise, But Alli had been cautious, practical and self-protective for fifteen years. The hurricane had taught her that it's time to live again. Falling for Ricky may have a few drawbacks, however, given what he does for a living.

Ricky usually protects himself from commitment by simply not dating the marriageable type woman. But seeing Alli in the hospital with her faded hospital gown looking battered and bruised, Ricky couldn't walk away. And suddenly the thought of panties and hose drying on the shower rod holds an odd sort of appeal. Bringing Allie home breaks a fundamental rule in Ricky's life: never let a woman move in unless he plans to marry him.

Sherryl Woods has another keeper with A LOVE BEYOND WORDS. The fact that the heroine is deaf lends a strength and a challenge to the tale beyond what I expect from genre romance. Further, Woods has a talent for lending her narratives a sizzle and tension that keeps the pages turning. Very highly recommended.