Up Close and Dangerous by Linda Howard
I was VERY wary of LH's newest release because her writing has gone downhill IMO since the Blair Mallory books and Cover of Night was so bad it was almost a joke but I was pleasantly surprised by Up Close and Dangerous. It's pretty good - still not quite the quality of some of her earlier books but a solid read that has made it to my 'keeper' shelf. The characters and the basic plot are interesting but it could have been better.
Here are my main issues with the book: first, it WAY too 'detailed' in the things that they do for survival - readers do not need that much information on exactly how everything is done and what everything that survived the crash is used for in minute detail. On the upside, if I ever survive a plane crash in the mountains where it's cold and I've over-packed because I'm obsessive and on my way to a rafting trip - I'll know EXACTLY what to do! LOL!
A slight problem with the book is the development of the relationship between the H/h. I have no problem with a quick forming relationship - especially under these circumstances - but there is absolutely NO indication that the two are even attracted to each other before the crash. They really appear to dislike each other so Cam deciding that Bailey is going to be his so abruptly is weird.
Finally, the time after their rescue should be have been WAY more developed. It was the most interesting part of the book! She could have taken out a good 1/2 of the time they spent 'surviving' (which was a bit boring in the detailed monotony anyway) and put it after they get off the mountain and the book would have been much better.
Another review (on Amazon, I think) mentioned that the title and the cover don't fit the book and, although I didn't notice it before it was mentioned, she is right. The cover and the title don't fit at all - it doesn't bother me but I thought it was interesting and true.
Overall, I am keeping this book and was fairly satisfied with it, despite the obvious problems. Though that may be because the quality of the last few have been so poor that I've lowered my expectations of LH books.
RATING: C when compared with romantic suspense genre books
B+ when compared with the last few LH books
2 comments:
I couldn't agree with you more about this book. Actually, the review I'm in the process of working on for it reads almost exactly like this.
I was seriously disappointed in the end of the book. It just..ended. Bam. Ugh.
But, as you said, it was still enjoyable and compared to the nightmare that was Cover of Night, it was very, very good. :P
I think Jane at DA said it read like a survivor's guide to the Idaho Wilderness. And she was so right. LOL
I didn't think it was weird about how abrubtly Cam changed his mind about Bailey. It reminded me of Kill and Tell when Marc changed his mind about Karen.
I agree with you though. While it was MUCH better than Cover of the Night, it wasn't all that.
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