I was sadly disappointed in this book. The dialogue is very stiff and unwieldy to me and the hero doesn't make much sense. I thought the plot was a stretch most of the time. There seemed to be little of her ususal humor evident.
I am glad this was not the first of hers I read.

AFter reading all the 5* reviews, had to put my comments in. I've read most of JAK (& Amanda Quick & Jayne Castle), and re-read them. Including this one. The plot is good, I like all the stuff about books and old books, but the hero is just too obnoxious. I know they're all a little too macho, but this guy is rude and lacks some of the endearing qualities of her other heros. He does get better as the book goes on, but not soon enough for me. I would have dumped him way back. I actually prefer her newer work, where the heroes are a little less rude and the heroines more willing to stand up for themselves.

I am in the process of buying and reading everything Jayne Ann Krentz/Amanda Quick/Jayne Castle has written. I have not been disappointed yet! Hoping all of her out of print books will be reissued. I was late in finding Ms. Krentz but I'll not rest till I've read them all!

Most of Krentz' audio books I have heard were good. Because I did not like the reader on this one (Paula Parker), the story dragged toward the end.

Kyle Stockbridge wants Harmony Valley and especially wants to keep it out of Glen Ballard's hands. He finds the new heir, Rebecca Wade, before she has been notified, hiring her as his personal assistant. He never expected to fall for her. Once the truth comes out, Kyle must scramble to convince Becky that the land and their relationship are two separate issues.

Hardheaded male meets stubborn woman. This is the basis of many Krentz books, but each is subtly different and engrossing. A WOMAN'S TOUCH is no exception. Tight conflict and fast-paced action make this an exciting read. Another JAK sucess.

I have been dusting off some of my old series JAK's since they are being reprinted, and sad some are very dated. But this one stands the test of time. It is JAK all the way and she scores a ten with this one.

When Rebecca Wade inherits a strip of land from a distant relative, she steps right in the middle of generations long freud between the Stockbridges and the Ballards. The women of her family have always owned this piece of land and the men from both sides have always wanted and were not beneath trying to use her ancestors to get it. And it seems Rebecca finds the situation is repeating itself. It turns out she was given a job for Kyle Stockbridge as his personal assistant, with her not knowing he wants the lands and gives her the job for that reason. In short time, Kyle learns her wants Rebecca even more, but he is going to have a hard time proving to her.

It is JAK at her best and a wonderful read!!

I've read all of Jayne Ann Krentz' books. And this one definitely meets all my expectations. She creats an interesting set of characters, and I enjoyed watching them fall in love.

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys Romance.

This book showed up on my list of recommendations a few days ago, I semed to remember the title, and when looking on my book-shelf, it was there, I re-read it last night, and it was worth it!

The book is witty, funny and as we have begun to expect from JAK a story of the meeting of opposites.

The general storyline (dont worry I dont go past about page 8 in this!) is a woman marrying her boss and their way to a good relationship.

The funnies in this story is the semi-serious conversations about bad poetry.

There is suspence involved too, but this I will not tell about, you can read it yourself.

If you didn't get it last time it was published , it is worth your while. But do check your shelf first!

Jayne Ann Krentz is one of the best writers of our time. Her stories are fantastic and hard to put away. I have read everything that she has written and I still loof for any new ones. I loved this book. The characters were believable and strong. The settings were so incredibly written that I could almost picture myself there. I recommend this book and any other that she has written.

Plot Summary: Sarah Fleetwood has always gone with her instincts, and her gut instincts are telling her that Gideon Trace is her hero. Sarah wants to find the Fleetwood Flowers, gold and gem earrings owned (and buried) by her ancester Emelina. And Gideon, an expert on treasure hunting with whom Sarah has been corresponding, is just the man to help her find them. But Gideon isn't quite sure what to make of Sarah when she arrives on his doorstep and tells him just that!

Krentz used to write a lot of category romances, and if you read a number of them, you begin to notice similarities between all her heroes and heroines. "The Adventurer" is not an exception. It is, however, one of the best of Krentz's earlier work, with enough freshness to keep it above the pack.

Sarah is an immensely appealing character, impulsive, warm, and caring, and so forgiving of Gideon's defensiveness. Gideon is a wonderfully protective hero (even if he clueless about his own feelings). Their adventure -- to find the Fleetwood Flowers -- makes for an interesting plot surrounding their romance, and is intertwined enough in the development of that romance to make it intriguing.

This is, in my opinion, the best of this trilogy, and one of the best of Krentz's work from the 80's.

Enjoy!

This is book 2 in a series of Harlequin temptations reprint. It is typically JAK so great fun. If you missed them first time around and are a big fan of JAK, I am sure you will appreciate the reprint. If you are a fan of JAK and keep her stuff - CHECK YOU OLD TEMPTATIONS - they were the Pirate, The Adventurer and the Cowboy - in that order.
In this one, Emelina Fleetwood is the descendant of a lady gold hunters, a former schoolteacher than spent a summer in the 1800'hunting for god and found it. She used the gold to buy five pair of jewelled earrings, each in the shape of one of her favourite flowers. Before her death, she hide the treasure and created a map, which is now in the hands of Emeline Fleedwood. Most of the tale is now myth, but Emaline believes, enough to hire treasure hunter Gideon Trace to help her find them. Gideon is not so sure, but Emaline believes and believes he is some kind of hero, another thing Gideon does not believe, but if she does and it keeps her around, he is more than willing to let her live out her adventure.

It is wonderfully funny JAK and a good read.

Book two in the trilogy. Long ago Emelina Fleetwood made a geometric map to the location of where she hid her five pairs of gemstone earrings and pasted it down to the next generation of Fleetwood women. Now in present time, Sarah is using the map to find the jewels. She contacts Gideon Trace, the treasure hunter, to help her.

The problem is that someone else is hunting the treasure as well and has a deadly history with Trace. In addition, Sarah is convinced that Trace is the man for her and is determined to make him realize it.

***Treasure hunting is the fantasy of many people. This author made that fantasy into a very cute story. In my opinion, readers will find this story, as well as the entire trilogy, as time well spent!***

I am a librarian, and I like the *idea* of romance novels. Two people coming together, building a life, falling in love....I find it inspiring. What I dislike is the *execution* of the vast majority of romance novels out there. I have read hundreds at least in my lifetime. I would say that fewer than 30 were worth keeping.

This book epitomizes the problems with the romance genre. This series of essays is badly edited. For example, the "alpha male" is a popular convention in romance. The authors point out (repeatedly) that this convention is present at least partly because his strong personality makes for a more effective conquest when the woman wins his love. That was a mildly interesting point - the first time. But virtually every author made that point. By about the fifth time, I'd had it.

I was grateful that I was able to return this book and get my money back. This collection of essays, to me, although not terrible, reflects a lack of consideration of the reader's intelligence. I am not a Krentz-hater, by the way. She is one of the better authors out there in this field. But that does not excuse the in my opinion poor editing job she did here.

and no, I am not one of those people who thinks that only the "classics" are good. But please, don't insult my intelligence.

There were a few points discussed in this book that I had never really thought about before and appreciated reading about. For instance, I liked Laura Kinsale's essay "The Androgynous Reader: Point of View in the Romance". She argued that the reader of a romance novel doesn't neccessarily identify only with the heroine, but also with the hero, maybe even moreso with the hero. It made me reconsider why I was so unhappy with the books that never explained the hero's point of view very well. The essays in this book cover a lot of things, like virginal heroines and alpha males, and the "happily ever after" ending that's so important for romances. At least a couple of the writers made comparisons between the mystery genre and the romance genre, something that I thought was interesting. I didn't always agree with what the essays were saying, but, for the most part, I enjoyed reading them.

That said, it seemed that there wasn't a great deal of communication between the various authors in this book. If there had been, there would, hopefully, have been less repetition of ideas. There's a great deal of overlap between the essays, and the mystery vs. romance bit is only one example - most essays talk about the alpha male, the ways that romance writers were once asked to change their writing and how those changes would've hurt the genre, the type of feminism in romance, etc. Im just glad that the book was short, and a relatively quick read, or the repetition would've been much more aggravating than it was. Also, I'm not entirely sure that this book would reach the sort of audience that the introduction mentioned: people with biases against the romance genre. I was once a part of that group, and I don't think I would have picked up this book - it took reading a really good romance, recommended to me by a friend, to change my mind about romance.

I found this book very interesting reading. From each author, I gained new insight into why I like to read romance, and why it's written the way it is. Many of us readers do like the "alpha" hero, or even as in Anne Stuart's words--the vampire hero. Why the authors like them, write about them, and entertains us with these heroes, fascinates me. To read about the balance the adventurous heroine needs, entertains me. And, I love Laura Kinsale's place-holder heroine, her writing on point of view, as well as Jayne Krentz's defense of the genre, in general. Excellent book, worth reading and keeping.

Angie Townsend married Owen Sutherland out of love. On their wedding night, though, a phone call to her honeymoon suite and an envelope delivered to the door with a copy of a post-dated press release made her wonder if she had been played for a fool. After all, their courtship had been what the public would call a "whirlwind". And their families had been rivals in the hotel business for a long time. Had Owen married her only to con her family into merging companies? Angie decided the consummation of her new marriage would be put on hold until she found out!

**** The early works of author Jayne Ann Krentz has long been my favorites. I decided to pull out a few of them, during my short vacation, and escape for awhile. This novel (along with "Family Man") is one of the best, in my opinion. It is loaded with romance, suspense, danger, mystery, and a gothic flavor. Victoria Holt fans would especially love this one. If you have not read this story as yet, you are missing out on a terrific time! Pick up a copy! ****

I love all of Krentz books. The heroine in this book is spunky and can very much stand on her own. I love to read about strong women.

-Hotel magnate Owen Sutherland is marry Angie Townsend so their two hotel can merge. When Angie finds out about this is declared war...and the honeymoon is off until Owen can proved that he marries her for love.

Angie Townsend married Owen Sutherland out of love. On their wedding night, though, a phone call to her honeymoon suite and an envelope delivered to the door with a copy of a post-dated press release made her wonder if she had been played for a fool. After all, their courtship had been what the public would call a "whirlwind". And their families had been rivals in the hotel business for a long time. Had Owen married her only to con her family into merging companies? Angie decided the consummation of her new marriage would be put on hold until she found out!

***** The early works of author Jayne Ann Krentz has long been my favorites. I decided to pull out a few of them, during my short vacation, and escape for awhile. This novel (along with "Family Man") is one of the best, in my opinion. It is loaded with romance, suspense, danger, mystery, and a gothic flavor. Victoria Holt fans would especially love this one. If you have not read this story as yet, you are missing out on a terrific time! Pick up a copy!

In "The Devil to Pay", Jayne Ann Krentz clearly shows the foundations of her trademark style. Emmy Stratton and Julian Colter strike sparks from their first meeting (and we have to love Xerxes the dog). Written in the mid '80's, Jayne reaches a point where she allows her heroines to be feisty, opinionated and to take risks - some with the hero - there is much less surrendering here and much more mutual satisfaction. The dialogue is delightfully witty (another soon-to-be-Krentz trademark) and the plot is carefully crafted as always. If you are looking to spend some time watching two lovers stumble into their future together, this is the book for you.

This is an early Silhouette Desire of JAK writing as Stephanie James, and is JAK as her best. Rereleased at a promo price, which is in keeping with the small size of the book, it is a good find for JAK collectors.

Emelina Statton is about to break into a breach cottage when Julian Colter and his dog appear out of the night fog and stop her. She is aware that Julian is renting a cottage not far away. Rumours and gossip from the small, sleepy village says he is a gangster hiding out until his 'troubles' cool down. But someone with dubious ties is exactly what Emelina needs. Her brother is being blackmailed and she is there to find some means to put a stop to it before it ruins his career.

Julian has been watching her, and decides he will help her, but for a price. Emelina will do anything to save her brother, including making a pack with the Devil - or a mobster in this case.

It is good fun, start to finish!!

Emelina "Emmy" Stratton's brother, Keith, was being blackmailed by an old college friend, Eric Leighton. Keith wanted to turn the situation over to the police. Knowing Keith's career would be forfeited if he did so, she asked for time to find proof that Leighton was doing something illegal so Keith could blackmail the blackmailer into leaving him alone.

Julian Colter was vacationing on the beaches of Oregon. When he and his Doberman, Xerxes, found Emmy attempting to break into one of the beach cottages, he confronted her for answers.

Most believed Julian was connected to the mafia and was keeping a low profile for a bit. Emmy made a deal with the devil. If Julian helped her try to prove the owner of the cabin, Leighton, was doing something illegal at the cabin, he could name his reward. Julian intended for Emmy to be the reward he demanded!

**** Not this author's best work, but still wonderful! It kept my eyes glued to the book from page number one. Well worth your time and money! ****

Five authors contribute to this volume. I bought it intitally because I knew Jayne Anne Krentz, but her chapter is one of the weakest. Indeed, four of the five stories are pretty average, and definitely not keepers - but the fifth one...

Linda Howard's Lake of Dreams is a haunting, romantic, sexual tale which is definitely worth tracking down. I read the other stories once only, but I've reread Lake of Dreams many times and it is definitely a keeper... So buy all five, but you'll keep it for the one.

I purchased Everlasting Love after reading customer reviews praising Linda Howard's story, Lake of Dreams. Reading it reminded me of Remembrance (1994) by Jude Deveraux. It is a full length novel about soul mates struggling to "get it right this time". Remembrance is both poignant and unforgettable. I highly recommend it!

The stories in this book are all good. It was my first taste of Linda Howard, Kasey Michaels and Carla Neggers. I especially enjoyed Linda Howard's Lake of Dreams. I have since become a huge fan! Each of the stories is quite different and offers a different style of writing. What a great way to spend the day.....

I really enjoyed this book. It was really interesting to see how the ledends, the dreams, and Colby and Diana all came together to find something Diana never realized she wanted and needed. It is an easy to read well wrote story, just what I would expect from Jayne Ann Krentz.

Courtesy of A Romance Review

Chance of a Lifetime was published in August 1997 and was still out of print. It was another page-turner of Ms Krentz that you can easily finish reading within one day. In this book, Rachel and Chance had very similar characters - smart, independent, intelligent and very protective of their family. The whole story was simple, entertaining and full of love. The attraction between the hero and heroine was strong from the very beginning and you could just predict they would be together and perfect for each other. That's what romance is supposed to be. Don't you think?

Krentz (also known in the Historical Romance Genre as Amanda Quick) uses the plot device of mistaken identity to get this novel started. The heroine is a typical Krentz heroine--sassy, agressive, and determined to see "justice" done. Similarly, the hero fits the mold of the tough, sarcastic loner just waiting for the right woman to arrive and bring him the stability he (supposedly) craves. A couple of confusing subplots and some annoying behavior by the hero (frequently he bellows for his Scotch before dinner) prevent this from being a great book, although it is a good beach or airplane read. I've read better from Krentz/Quick.