Customer Reviews

Almost Forever

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

This is a fairy tale contemporary romance novel. It is a story of a secretary who has a "dream man" enter her life demanding a relationship with her. It seems too good to believe and the heroine fights her attraction to this unlikely admirer. Her second sense turns out to be right - he does just use her - but he has fallen for her in the process and will not lose her.

Max Conroy is a striking, rich, very sexy, and handsome man with English nobility heritage living in the States. He works for a conglomerate, Spencer-Nyle, and his specialty is corporate takeovers. As the corporate giant plans it's next takeover, Bronson Alloys of Houston, Texas, they discuss possible hidden assets in Bronson that could impede the planned buyout. In an attempt to discover these possible assets, Spencer-Nyle sends Max Conroy to Houston for some undercover work. He is to meet Claire Westerbrook, the secretary to the president of Bronson Alloys, and charm her, date her, obtain her trust, and ascertain the inside knowledge needed to prepare the conglomerate for Bronson's buyout. You see - Claire is considered the weak link in the company.

Clair Westerbrook is a beautiful and very pleasant woman who doesn't see herself as such. Five years earlier, she had suffered through a painful divorce from her wealthy, handsome husband, Jeff. Jeff had not been faithful to Claire and left her for another woman. The past five years Claire has built walls of protection around her soul and heart. She has not dated and has schooled herself well in hiding her emotions. She carries a very cool look in her eyes now that gives away nothing - she becomes distant and icy should someone attempt to discover her inner thoughts. It is this woman that Max meets, within the first few pages of the book, at a party he discovered she would attend.

Max is the type of guy that ladies love and he has never failed at winning a woman he wants. He is convinced that he can easily strike up a relationship with Claire. After all - he believes she is kind and fairly naive. But she is not stupid. She knows Max's type - she was once married to a man like him - and wants nothing to do with Max. He quickly discovers that she will not warm to him. Her cool stare and his inability to read her really annoys him. But she has access to all Max Conroy wants to uncover and Max is determined to not fail in obtaining this information. He disregards her attempts to ignore and snub him and he begins to move in closer. Over the next few days, Max and Claire play a game in which Max pursues Claire and Claire attempts to refuse him. She just doesn't trust him. Why would such a handsome, classy guy relentlessly pursue her?

This is romance writing and therefore we know that Max and Claire eventually get together. Innocently and certainly unknowingly, Claire provides Max with the information he seeks. What follows afterwards is the meat of the book. Claire is broken hearted and immensely disillusioned as she discovers Max has used her. However, the joke is on Max. He has fallen for Claire and is determined to work out this little (hah!) problem between them.

Almost Forever is a story about a romance between Max and Claire. Max has certainly lived a charmed life. He has pretty much gotten what he wanted in life until Claire discovers his deception. She is much stronger than Max anticipated and he has some major groveling to do. There are only two or three sensual scenes but are true to Linda Howard's style and rate about a 4.0 out of 5.0 (see More About Me for rating guidelines). Even with Claire's protestations and Max's manipulations, the two shared some intense chemistry for one another throughout most of the book.

Although this is not the best Linda Howard book I have read, it certainly was enjoyable and satisfying. As is also typical of Howard?s writing, Max is a very alpha hero and Claire is a pleasant heroine who is not shy of confrontation. It is light reading and as mentioned before - has a fairy tale ending. Sometimes it is nice to just sit down and read a book that will delight you and make you wish there were a few more fairy tales in life.

I get so frustrated when I base my choice of purchase on Amazon's public reviews and it ends up completely the opposite of what the reviews reflected-especially when it comes to romance novels. Most of my orders on Amazon have been 80% romance novels and frankly I am starting to doubt if these reviewers know what constitutes as a bad, good, or an incredible romance story.

This was an incredible romance story and the best Linda Howard I have read so far (I have not read all of them but I have read a lot of her books).

I am an old-fashioned romance fan: I love a deep, heart-wrenching story that clings with you for a long time and makes you want to read the book again and again; I want deep, complex, and real characters with real human problems that plague the opposite sexes into heart stopping moments of intense emotions. I melt with hot and steamy sex scenes that add to the layers of complexity to the hero and heroine's turmoil and joy. And I feel Howard gave me that in Almost Forever and more.

Other than Judith Mcnaught's novels, I hardly ever get that heart-aching feeling every time the hero and heroine come into contact with each other- verbally, mentally, physically, or emotionally. However, Howard succeeded in doing exactly that in this novel and I really cannot ask for anything more.

I get so tired from these crazy so-called romances that are inundated by pathetic suspense story lines, laugh-out-loud antics that diminish the romance so completely you become more interested in the comedy, side characters that become more interesting than the main characters or become frustrated in reading these unimportant characters in the first place, gratuitous sex scenes to fill the pages or hardly enough sex scenes that leave you irritated; and most of all I am tired of dungeons and dragons, witches and warlocks, vampires and immortals, aliens and alien planets....you get my point.

If you share my opinion, pick up this book and do not bother with the paltry review this wonderful novel undeservedly received. The plot is pretty simple: Max is hired as an undercover "spy" from the company he works for in order to find out if the small business company they are interested in taking over is being threatened by a foreign take-over. Claire happens to be the boss's secretary in that small company and Max is assigned to get to know her in order to obtain valuable information. But do not be fooled by the premise, this novel is 90% character based and Claire was one of the most realistically portrayed heroine I have ever read with real insecurities and vulnerabilities that are reflected in so many women in real relationships that are not covered up by temper tantrums and ridiculous verbal abuse- like so many other heroines are portrayed these days.

Forget the reviews and PICK THIS UP TODAY!

YES, Sorry there is a But!
First, For the most part, I loved this story. Max was "just doing his job" but in doing it he devastates Claire. She (of course) is in love with him. He's lied to her and in the beginning she handles his presence (after finding out who he really is) with professional coolness. He deserves it and she
does it well.
BUT (yes, here's the But) when she moves, he MOVES right into her life again and SHE LETS HIM. Now You and I both know if a guy did what he did (unless you have very little self worth) there is no way you would go out with him OR to bed with him (at least so SOON after the initial hurt and without A LOT OF CONVERSATION). And he just figured he could get her to see that what he did was JUST HIS JOB. Ugh. This is the only aspect of this book that I had a problem with. Just my opinion.
I even liked how the story continues in England when you find out more about Max that was never mentioned before.
I know it may not sound like it but this is one of my favorite Linda Howard books (next to After the Night--this one will burn your fingers and Kill and Tell). Its worth reading.

This was by far one of the best books i've ever read. Claire is a representative character for all those shy, introvert, reserved girls out there with a low self-esteem. So its somewhat of a dream come true when she gets the prince charming to come after her. This story is a realistic fairy tale. linda howard's greatest quality is the way she intermingles fairy tales and reality. Almost Forever has a fairy tale story but it also depicts reality: there are women like Claire out there in the world who are not confident about their own individuality and who eventually, with some help, find true happiness in their private lives. I think this was a great book worth reading. Good job, howard!! I hope you write more books like this and Sarah's child. For those of you who haven't read Sarah's child and this book, i sincerely suggest that you go buy it!!

I love Linda Howard's books, especially After The Night and Dream Man, but this one is not as good as her other books. Granted it's good enough for a pasttime reading, but if you really mean to enjoy Linda Howard's you'll be disappointed. I wonder why LH made Claire so weak and dependent to Max. What ever happen to the strong female character? Is Claire supposed to be happy with Max rearranging her life to his mean without having her say over the matter? To me, Max Conroy is too dominant and Claire is too meek and agreeable, there is not enough give and take in this love story.

You met the gorgeous Max in "Sarah's Child." He is wonderful as usual. Clair is shy and unassuming (having a beautiful sister). But Max brings the beautiful, shy flower to full bloom. There is far more to Clair than even she believes herself. But our hero sees! Before Max can claim our heroine, he has to regain her confidence, which he has destroyed with his betrayal. Leave it to Max, however, to not give up! It is against his nature to not get whatever he wants. And he wants Clair! The world sees Max as debonair, jovial and not at all the real barbarian he is truly. But, Clair sees all this and more. Max and Clair are made for each other, but it takes all of Max's efforts to seduce, enthrall and coax Clair into again trusting him. The love scenes are great. You will meet some old friends in this book and it will keep you totally captivated from cover to cover.

ALMOST FOREVER is a much earlier contemporary novel by Linda Howard about two people who find love amidst a tangled web of corporate lies and deception.

Max Conroy is an executive at Spencer-Nyle, a corporate conglomerate who has set its sight on acquiring Bronson Alloys. Yet not having learnt anything about their latest acquisition target, Max's boss thinks that they may have found the small company's weak link in the form of the owner's secretary - Claire Westbrook. And so with his model looks and seductive charm, Max's boss decides to send him to Houston to befriend Claire.

Having avoided the Houston society for five years after her divorce from her husband, Claire finally relents and attends a huge party. Until she gets there and finds that it was a cruel joke. Hoping to salvage her dignity, she never thought that her knight in shining armor would come in the form of the handsomest man she has ever laid her eyes on. And when "Max Benedict" proves himself insistent on courting her, Claire's defences melt.

But what happens when she finds out the truth about Max? How will she cope after having just managed to turn her life around after losing her baby just shortly before her husband divorced her?

After reading Linda Howard's more recent novels, I was eager to read this book to see what her earlier work was like. Well let me say that regardless of the 3.5 stars, I enjoyed reading this book very much. While other thought that this was a mediocre book, then let me say that Linda Howard's mediocre job is better than other authors' good novels. I liked both Max and Claire. As typical Howard hero, he is an alpha-male, but despite his arrogance, I felt the sincerity in his guilt about hurting Claire and his desperation to repair the damage he has dealt her by his deception. We see him torn between his loyalty to his company and his growing feelings for her. As for Claire, some readers might find her weak because of her insecurities and self-doubt, but having read of what she has gone through, I couldn't help but empathize with her. And the fact that Max knows why Claire has built a wall around her as a form of self-preservation, and how he longs to break it and nourish her with love was the best part of the story. I really enjoyed this story and my only gripe is the rushed ending and just the overall fact that it isn't long enough.

I like Linda Howards writing and this book clearly has her style imprinted on it. Character development is great with the shy introverted Claire and the smooth skilled Max but something breaks down in the story after Max uses Claire and disappears for several weeks. Not only is this not very plausible but when they do get back together he becomes controlling and she falls in line following along willingly. He doesn't have a girlfriend anymore, she becomes his pet dog.

More than a decade has passed but the intensity of Linda Howard's classic romance has not declined one iota. The timelessness of her latest reissue Almost Forever is a testament to her mastery at blending heart-melting passion with searing poignancy. Claire Westbrook, an introverted recluse and secretary to the alloy-researcher wiz Sam Bronson falls prey to the charms of Max Conroy. He is sent by Spencer-Nyle's enterprises to tap for information pertinent to their acquisition bid for the Bronson's company. Max finds it hard to concentrate on his mission when he is distracted by Claire's self-decprecating nature and vulnerability. His protective streak is powered by Claire's miscarriage and defenses around men including him. The seething betrayal and Claire's inferior nature makes their romance all the more out of reach. Her insecurity makes Max a knight errant - and their passion soars with exquisite tenderness. Ms. Howard's trademark alpha male and damsel-in-distress romance mixes intricately fairy-tale charm and burning emotions that garners her work acclaimed popularity that seems to last almost forever.

Linda Howard is my favorite writer, but this is definitely not her best book. I couldn't believe that the main character Max would treat Claire with such little respect when he uses her to get information about a company! and then he expects her to just forget about that like it isn't important at all, when he knows that she doesn't open up to people easily. There was very little chemistry between the two characters also. They shared no romance or affection and then out of nowhere their is a steamy sex scene (which, in true Linda Howard form was very well written!). The sex scenes were great but other than that, their really isn't about this book that I would recommend.

If you are truly a Linda Howard fan, their are many amazing books she has written that I recommend, Some of my favorites include:
1. After the Night
2. Kill and Tell
3. Heart of Fire
4. Mr. Perfect