Customer Reviews

Alias Mommy (Secret Identity) (Intrigue, 592)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I helped my daughter do her Christmas shopping on Amazon, which included this book for me. The 2 star review here troubled me, but because I've enjoyed Linda O. Johnston's other books, we ordered it anyway.

And I'm so glad I did. Reeve and Polly were quintessential soulmates to me. They weren't actively looking for love, didn't experience electric shocks upon meeting, nor have the commonly-seen adversarial feelings towards each other. The power of their relationship unfolded as they got to know each other, both becoming suddenly and painfully aware of what their lives have been lacking. Only together could find completeness and serenity.

The intrigue gets very exciting, too, and I couldn't wait to find out how it was going to end. Thanks to Ms. Johnston for another great read.

Linda O. Johnston's weaving of the story line of this charmer was captivating. Couldn't put this one down. Minor characters play an important part in this story and keep the hero and heroine on the right track.

I disagree with Penny Griffin's analysis almost word-for-word. It is apparent she didn't read the same book I read. The hero and heroine and the baby are all critical to each other. The heat that built between Reeve and Polly was very real and believeable. The doubts they both had that held them back were eventually satisfied and the true nature of their deep commitment to each other could not be denied in the end. I thought the author's resolution was clever and unpredictable. But no fair reading the last chapter first!

I'd like to recommend this book even to younger romance readers. It teaches the power of trust.

This book offers both mystery and romance. I was surprised at how much I actually liked this book. Polly is a very delicate woman who would do anything for her child. Reeve is a man that has lost so much and is willing to do whatever it takes to help Polly and her baby. Some books have either romance or mystery and rarely both. This book has both and so much more. I enjoyed this book and can not wait to read more by Linda Johnston.

The story is about a young woman who has a baby alone and is running away from her horrible family. She finds comfort in Dr Snyder. I would like to know a man like Reeve! Lots of twist and turns. Just when you think its over, a new issue comes to the surface!

When Polly Black, pregnant and on the run, is involved in a terrible accident she finds herself in the tender care of Dr. Reeve Snyder. With a mound of hospital bills and no way to pay, Polly makes arrangements with the hospital of Selborn Peak to work off her debt by taking a job at the hospital. Selborn Peak is a small town far away from the city of her past. She should be safe there...at least for a while. But as her relationship with Dr. Reeve Snyder grows beyond that of the normal doctor/patient acquaintance and the threat of her past begins to catch up with her, safety threatens to become merely a dream.

Dr. Reeve Snyder is instantly taken aback by the black curly haired new mother he had rescued from the car accident. Memories of his own past flashing back with each glance at Polly and her newborn daughter, he vows to only be a friend to this woman in need. In return for his help and kindness he doesn't expect anything in return except for the one thing she refuses to give him-the truth. Still, despite his vow to himself, he finds his heart falling deeper and deeper in love with the newest resident of Selborn Peak. He's fallen for her so much to the point that all he can see in the future is a life filled with her and her newborn baby girl. But when danger creeps closer the reality that he could loose them both forever takes control of all.

This book much reminded me of the type of story you would see in a Lifetime movie. ALIAS MOMMY is a riveting romantic suspense that keeps you guessing to the very last page. With so many twists and turns in the mystery plot as well as the romance that develops between Polly and Reeve it's almost impossible to put the book down. Linda O. Johnston has done a magnificent job of weaving doctors, attorneys, politicians, private investigators, reporters, and much more into a single storyline sure to leave one heck of a lasting impression in your reader's mind.

Three years ago, Harlequin Intrigue's Hidden Identity series brought us Adrianne Lee's "Alias Daddy." Now Intrigue's Secret Identity series brings us Linda O. Johnston's "Alias Mommy." The only difference is how inferior this book is to that one. The pregnant heroine, Polly Black, runs off the road in a storm and is saved by Dr. Reeve Snyder. Reeve delivers her baby and can't help but notice the young mother's fear. Can Polly hope the young doctor can protect her from the danger she's fleeing?

I can't say I disliked "Alias Mommy." I've also given three stars to books which were better written and which I enjoyed more, so I can't give this one more than two. There were so many problems with the story that I can't even call it acceptable. Like most books built around a plot hook, the gimmick, the baby, isn't integrated into the story and comes off as unnecessary. Polly's motherhood serves no purpose in this tale. It could have been left out and it would have changed nothing. Polly could have been a regular woman on the run. She drives off the road, the doctor saves her, the story continues unaltered. Other than the forced climax, nothing would have had to change. The baby has no point in this story. Why is it even here?

It was annoying enough to see a book sold on a hook that is insignificant in its pages. Then I realized the HERO was unnecessary to the story. Reeve is barely developed past a tragic back story that is pushed too hard and then discarded too soon once it's finally explained. He has no personality and no distinguishing characteristics. The two-dimensional secondary characters are as fleshed out as Reeve. Less than a quarter of the story is told in his point of view and nearly all of that is him reacting to other people's actions. He seldom takes any action of his own and what he does is inconsequential. Except for the minor bit about calling other doctors, one part in Chapter Fourteen and his role in the ending, Reeve could have been taken out of the story too and nothing would have changed. A plot hook that isn't integrated well is a minor problem. A hero who plays almost no role in the story is a big one. Polly is only slightly better, and only because we see so much of the story through her eyes.

If the hero is underdeveloped, the romance is nonexistent. I must have missed the falling-in-love part; I guess it took place in all those lunches Reeve and Polly have that aren't shown. They move from not trusting each other to having sex with no transition. After that it is taken for granted that they are in love. The romance disappears and except for when they were having sex I honestly couldn't tell the difference in the way they acted toward one another before the consummation and after.

There are also problems in the storytelling. Johnston repeats the same notes too many times. Reeve asks Polly not to run. She can't make him any promises. That one has to be repeated at least ten times. The scene where Polly listens to a news report about her and gets scared is repeated so often it starts to seem ridiculous. Johnston also explains what happened to Polly early on in the narrative, which sucks the impact out of the moment where Polly finally explains it all to Reeve later. She has to have Polly tell Reeve later. Why not wait to tell us then too? The revelation scene falls flat and lacks any drama because we know all of this. It's just repetitious. "Alias Mommy" is also hindered by a lack of mystery. Books where the killers are known from the start can work, but not like this. Like "Hers to Remember" earlier this year, this is a book where we are left waiting for the villains to show up. Every reader knows what part of the story this will happen in (the beginning? The middle? The end?) and though the author offers more than that earlier book did to hold up the sagging middle it still drags. The story is predictable, with too little done to change that.

Anyone looking for a good read should check out "Alias Daddy." "Alias Mommy" is not worth the time.

because the hero uses a condom, and she uses her initiative not only in the bedroom but for the trouble she gets in. Linda O. Johnston is a very able and natural writer. Ms. Johnston writes in the best of Harlequin tradition. The young heroine is running away from terrifying circumstance and finds hope in a small town as well as how much she can be through her own initiative. I can love the thought of whom she falls in love with just terrifically fine. Thank you, Ms. Johnston.

Starts with a fast plot and picks up speed, then twists at the end. The main characters are likeable as well--good reading.

I am baffled after reading the reviews about this book. I must have read a different book than the other reviewers because I didn't see any mystery in this book. Alias Mommy is a story where you know everything from the beginning and there is no mystery to figure out. Polly is running from men who want to kill her. We find out why a little ways into the book. That's it. There's no mystery, no trying to figure out who the bad guys are. We know all of that. I don't know what all the other reviewers are talking about. The ending was also very predictable. Everything about the story was! I wish I could ask some of the other reviewers what the mystery was because I don't see it.