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Exclusive (Thorndike Large Print Basic Series)

Exclusive (Thorndike Large Print Basic Series)

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Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Speedy,sexy and sassy !!
Review: As usual with a Sandra Brown book, I was hooked after only a couple of pages. Barrie, a reporter with a small time tv station,recieves a call from the wife of the President of the United States, inviting her to meet for coffee. The Presidents wife is still in mourning for her baby son who died from S.I.D.S.A web begins to unravel involving wife beating, murder,drugs and the abuse of power.Barrie becomes involved with Gray, a former presidential aide (gorgeous of course ) and together they form a partnership which threatens to bring down the government. It's thrills a second with "Exclusive" and a very satisfying,pacy read.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Abysmal Mystery, Lackluster Romance
Review: Brown fails on both counts with this one. The mystery was far-fetched, but I won't go into it because I don't want to spoil it for those who'll read this despite my review. Let's just skip to the so-called romance. As another reviewer noted, there wasn't any romance. There was one fast, furious sex scene about five minutes after the hero & heroine first meet (I'm not kidding). There's only one word for what occurred, and it's 4 letters and begins with "f." I know that romance novel readers are supposed to accept a lot unrealistic scenarios, but I just couldn't buy into this one.

Skip this one and pick up SLOW HEAT IN HEAVEN or BREATH OF SCANDAL if you're interested in reading something Brown wrote that actually might be worth your time.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Good suspense, not-so-hot romance
Review: Brown's "Witness" is the best romantic suspense novel I have ever read. Because of that, I picked up this one, but it's not up to par. The suspense aspect was gripping, but at the end there were a couple twists which were so far-fetched I felt like I'd been tricked. But I don't want to be overly harsh - the thriller aspect did hold my attention and keep me turning pages, even with its flaws.

The romance, however, was bleh. Her heroine, Barrie, is annoying and not too bright sometimes. When she meets the hero, Gray (who I kept transposing in my mind as Gary throughout the book) [WARNING: This could be considered a mild spoiler] she wanders into his house to take a nap while he's away!! Then, when he gets back, it goes basically like this: G: "What are you doing here?" B: "I've come to see you." G:"Oh, yeah?" - takes off clothes - "Well, how do you like me naked?" - pounces on Barrie- they proceed to have sex. Of course, that's a paraphrase. It actually took four pages. In the fictional time frame of the novel, I'd estimate it took five minutes. SERIOUSLY.

Maybe Brown just threw that in because she knew we wouldn't get another real sex scene. But hey, I'd rather have nothing than that! Better to set up the romance than throw in sex for sex's sake! Don't get me wrong, I like steam, but this was just too bizarre. It really turned me off.

In the last chapter, of course, the "I love you"s are exchanged. We don't see how or why Gray comes to the conclusion that he loves Barrie, though. Yeah, he obviously thinks she's hot, and they throw in how much he admires her courage....but love? Barrie isn't much better. I'm not really sure why she loves Gray. Because he believes in her?

As for character development, you get about a paragraph for poor Gray, and it's pretty standard: [paraphrase] "My parents died...my sister doesn't want to see me...my friends betrayed me...therefore, I don't pursue relationships and instead became a cold-blooded special forces agent." Barrie's professional insecurities are made clear, but her personal ones don't get much deeper than Gray's. Barrie: [paraphrase]"My daddy cheated on my mom so I shy away from men." Thanks, Freud.

In Brown's defense, these types of novels are hard to write. It's hard to mix a believable love story into a believable suspense thriller. Who has time to examine their feelings when being shot at? Still, Brown managed it in "Witness." I'll read more of her books in the hopes that she does it again.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Abysmal Mystery, Lackluster Romance
Review: Exclusive is in my opinion one of Sandra Brown's best books. It gets to you from the start and has you turning the pages automatically.

It's exhilararating, funny and extremely potent. The writer comes up with twists just when you think you had it all figured out. The ending will shock the hell out of you.

Barrie is one of my favorite heroines in a book. She very funny, smart and sexy. And yes, she has flaws like we all do.
Gray was a sweetheart and also very human. He's also one of my fav heroes.

One advice: don't pick up this book if you're at work, cause you're not going to get any work done.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Wonderful Story
Review: I loved every page of the book. There were times when Barrie, the main character, acted a little dingie but that's ok. There were several surprises that I did not expect. The areas of suspense were intriging. I was able to get to know the different characters as though I was watching a film. Just loved everything about the story and the author's writing.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Unbelievable!
Review: My suspicions were confirmed that Sandra Brown has written romance novels in the past. That was my assumption when I read this book. The characters were shallow, the surprise ending was predicted, and nothing about this book was believable. It was fast-paced, and I finished it, but it is one of the least favorite books I've read in a while. We selected this book at my book club, and nobody seemed to enjoy it very much. Overall, it was just ridiculous!

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: I agree- good suspense, but romance is lacking...
Review: SB's EXCLUSIVE is a good suspense but the romance I question (though the kiss scene was a good one). The plot is a good one and I really liked the characters.

Barrie Travis, a low budget journalist, receives a call from the First Lady of the White House for an interview. How often does that happen? The President and First Lady has just recently gone through the death of the infant baby boy to SIDS. Or was it SIDS? The interview causes Barrie to want to do a little digging. After coming across several dead-ends, she ends up in Wyoming at the home of former Presidential Assistant Ex-Marine Gray Bondurant. And boy, is he tough. Someone is afraid Gray is going to give out information to Barrie that might be detrimental to the President so there is an attempt on his life. This brings him into the investigation- Who is They? What are They trying to cover up? It is fast reading and will keep you guessing.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: chilling political mystery with a hint of romance
Review: This book portrays a fictional First Family with seemingly unlimitedpower who covers up one murder after another. When the President and First Lady'snew baby dies of SIDS, a local reporter believes the child was actually murdered by someone within the walls of the White House. Sandra Brown weaves a tale so intricate that the reader will remain glued to this book until the last page has been read. I enjoyed this mystery/romance book because Sandra Brown's writing can keep anyone spellbound. In addition, the "Exclusive" story is one that can be easily believed in this day and age. If you read and enjoy this book, I can also recommend Sandra Brown's "The Witness". Brown started her course of mystery/romance with "Witness" and continued into "Exclusive".

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: OUTSTANDING
Review: This is the first novel by Sandra Brown I read and I enjoyed it very much. At first, I said to myself, "oh no, another book about scandals at the White House (as if we don't have enough already)..." But this novel was quite different than many others, a real page-turner. I finished it in two days and am looking forward to reading the rest of her books. READ EXCLUSIVE, you won't regret it.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: never disappointing!
Review: This lady has a wonderful gift in her ability to write wonderful books. How she manages to think up all of her stories amazes me. This book keeps you on your toes till the end. Barrie is a reporter who has made a few mistakes in her previous reporting experiences and is struggling to improve her reputation in her occupation. The president's wife, who lost her baby recently, asks to meet with her on an off the record meeting, much to her amazement. From the meeting, Barrie sees a story on SIDs as the baby belonging to the president and his wife died of it. As she looks into the story, it starts looking like murder instead, and then the story really heats up and doesn't let up until the last page. Just when you think you have it solved another twist shows up and takes you in another direction. Great book!


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