Customer Reviews

Every Breath You Take

5 star:		(72)
4 star:		(49)
3 star:		(35)
2 star:		(24)
1 star:		(26)

 

 

Kate Donovan is vacationing in Anguilla after the death of her beloved father. Feeling lost and out of sorts, Kate hopes that having time away with her boyfriend, Evan, will be exactly what she needs to get back on track. What she doesn't expect is Mitchell Wyatt.

Mitchell Wyatt leaves Chicago to travel to Anguilla so he can oversee the building of his home. When he meets a charming red head in a bar after she spills her drink on him, Mitchell is intrigued and wants to know more. After befriending her, he convinces her to have dinner with him.

What follows is a love story that is poignant and romantic. As in most romances, there is certainly no lack of misunderstandings between these two. When Evan finally arrives on the island, Kate is ready to tell him that she has fallen in love with Mitchell. She is unprepared for the information he has regarding Mitchell and who he is. Kate is soon convinced that Mitchell came to Anguilla to single her out and get revenge. She flees the island, leaving Mitchell waiting at a pre-arranged spot, never guessing what lies ahead.

After two years of separation, Kate and Mitchell must unite together to overcome an event that has the potential to be life-altering. It is in this part of the book that Judith McNaught has added to. While I enjoyed the first edition, this special edition really delves into the reunion between Kate and Mitchell and clarifies the misunderstandings that the two had.

There is a small part that is suspense, but it is minute compared to the romance.

I really don't understand the pans the new paperback edition is getting!

Like some others, although I liked the hardcover, I was a bit disappointed with it. But - lucky for us - Ms. McNaught rolled up her sleeves and delivered a true Grand Slam with her revisions!

The new edition is FABULOUS, with a fully fleshed out love story, satisfying explanations, and plenty of tugs at the heartstrings. I read it straight through, it was so good. I can't recommend it highly enough.

By the way - what other author do you know who actually listens to her fans and rewrites a novel? Ms McNaught is definitely 5 stars in my opinion! (Oh - and read the teaser at the back of the book for Can't Take My Eyes Off of You - it's a tearjerker!)

Although reading "Every Breath You Take" is not a total waste of time as it does provide a few hours of mindless entertainment, it is certainly not Judith McNaught at her best, nor even her second best! Ms. McNaught is probably my favorite romance writer. I have read every single novel she has published. Her three dimensional characters, complex, original plots and intelligently written narratives make her work stand out for sheer excellence. However, the characters in "Every Breath You Take" are as flat as cardboard and totally predictable. The storyline is so cliché I am sure I have read numerous versions of same many times over. (Probably on airplanes). This is billed as a romantic suspense (riveting?) novel. There is no suspense whatsoever here. The murder suspect is so obviously the wrong man it is ludicrous that he was even brought in for questioning.

Mitchell Wyatt is a self-made man...sort of...with a lot of help from his anonymous friends. He was brought up to believe that a wealthy American "patron" took an interest in an orphaned baby, (him), and so sent the infant boy to live with a family in Italy when he was just a few months old - room, board and loving care paid for in advance. He was also sent to the best schools and wound up a wealthy hunk of an Alpha male that women of all ages drool over across five continents. Imagine his surprise when William Wyatt, blue-blooded grandson of philanthropist Cecil Wyatt, pays him a visit. It seems that William and Mitchell are half brothers. Just when they are getting acquainted their mutual father takes a dive out the window. Then William disappears. Thus Mitchell stands closer in line to the family fortune. Foul play is suspected - obviously. Ta-da. So yes, Mitchell is a murder suspect, but the police don't have enough evidence to bring him in.

Therefore he goes off on vacation to a tropical island paradise...where else? And he meets gorgeous, intelligent, savvy but humble Kate Donovan, titian-haired dynamo from Chicago - the Wyatt family hometown. She is also on vacation. Sparks fly. Did you doubt? There's lots of witty repartee. And after that things get really hot! But, unfortunately, complications arise. Etc. Etc..

Don't waste you money on the hardcover as I did. I would lend you my copy but I am passing it along to a friend who is another Judith McNaught addict. Wait for it to come out in paper, because I know you're as desperate to read "Every Breath You Take" as I was. It's not a bad book - just not up to McNaught standards. Anyway...who pays attention to reviewers?

JANA

I am glad to see that others agree that McNaught's latest book leaves much to be desired. I've always enjoyed Judith McNaught's books (Paradise, of course, being my favorite) and characters, and I look forward to each new release. Unfortunately, I found myself a bit disappointed with this one.

After reading the book, I continued to rethink different parts of the book and realized many holes and discontinuities: Holly is Kate's best friend and former roommate, but there is no mention of Holly at the wedding--one of the most important days of Kate's life. Mitchell had been building a house in Anguilla at the beginning of the book and was excited about it. Wouldn't that have been a more appropiate setting for the wedding since that is where he and Kate met? Danny is supposedly the spitting image of his father, and a photo of Kate and Danny is in the Chicago paper. Mitchell's good friends, Merideth and Matt, live in Chicago. Would they not have seen the photo and alerted Mitchell that it appears he has a son? Mitchell finds it so important to have the Callioroso family at his wedding, but the research that Kate reviewed in Gray's office indicated that Mitchell was so without family that he had to write to an employee of his old boarding school for his mandatory letters to family. Etc., etc., etc.

Things like those, in addition to the tidy wrap up at the end of the book were all the ingredients of a let-down. More should have been devoted to the process of Kate and Mitchell reuniting. That, and the miscommunication that kept them for so long was a bit weak. It'd be more understandable if there were forces beyond their control, but if they were so in love, one would think that they would go out of their way to find each other and make things right.

Here's hoping that the next one is better.

I have to agree with the other readers about this being disappointing and rushed. I, too, as most of the other reviewers am a staunch McNaught fan. I have read and keep rereading my favorite novels. But this one doesn't cut it.

Sure, she's predictable, but so what? That's what romance novels are about anyway. Otherwise, I'd be reading Stephen King. But I get the feeling that she let her publishers write the 2nd half of the book. There were other great characters that could have been developed and weren't. And I have to agree with one of the other reviewers.....it's not a 21st century book. Sure, they jetted all over, but so did Matt and Meredith 15 years ago. Not trading cell phone numbers? Come on!

To the reader who hasn't read Paradise yet....it's a must read, along with Perfect. They are the reason I continue to read McNaught, hoping for better. A note to Judith, now that you've met your deadline, go back and rewrite the 2nd half again. We, your loyal fans, will buy it again, hoping for a better read.

First, ANY J. McNaught novel is worth reading, but having read ALL her novels, I give this a mediocre rating. I liked the characters and the romance part between Kate and Mitchell is GOOD. But the first 4 chapters seemed choppy -couldn't get a handle on personalities - I thought at first that this was going to be another typical romantic suspense novel - but surprise- there is NO suspense - this is just a romance novel. (Which is fine, but misleading when you read the cover) The scene with the DA explaining to the police WHY they are tailing Mitchell was contrived (just a way for the author to get us in the know) At least half of the book is the meeting and love story with Kate and Mitchell. That part is excellent, but the reason they "broke" up?? Too predictable - why can't characters in love ever TRUST each other?? All could have been explained so easily - instead it takes 3 years before they get back together. (I guess that's how you keep the story going) And when they DO get together, it's too short, too fast. I thought Kate and Mitchell's characters seemed very similar to Sloan and Noah from Night Whispers (Good romance there, too - I love Noah!) But STILL, despite all, McNaught is the best at capturing feelings - you always like her characters, no matter what storyline or setting she gives you.

Like a lot of reviewers here, I am disappointed at Ms McNaught's last 5 novels and EBYT was the worst. I have stopped buying her new novels now as I have always been disappointed lately (just been borrowing them from the library). The last good book that she's written was Perfect. Every book from then on was just not up to scratch. I miss the romance that she used to write. I just don't understand why romance novelists these days try to write crime fiction. The reason why authors like Judith McNaught became popular in the first place was the great way they wrote romance novels. If I wanted to read about murder and other sad stuff, I would go and read James Patterson, Mary Higgins Clark and others. Please!!! Please write about romance again.

Last winter I read the first half of this book and grinned from ear to ear. "She's back!" I thought, "JM is at her top form again."

Then I read the ending. And I felt so cheated with how abruptly it ended with a HEA that was unbelievable. Lucky for us, JM listened to her fans (and agreed with us), so added some new scenes to the paperback edition. The new scenes flesh out the interaction between Kate and Mitchell and make the "big misunderstanding" actually make sense to the reader. Their reconcilliation is believable and touching and made the book so very much better.

I only wish I'd waited for the paperback to read this in the first place. If I had, it probably would have rated 5 stars.

Oh - you have to read the preview to her next book at the end of the paperback. So great. *dreamy sigh*

As one member of Judith McNaught's Bulletin Board claimed: "Every Breath You Take-SE has been McNaught-ized!"

The added scenes and dialogue in the Special Edition make this a Judith McNaught keeper. As with all of her other novel's, Every Breath You Take-SE leaves the reader with a sense of contentment yet still not wanting to let go of the characters. The reader is given more insight into Kate, Mitchell and their son, Danny. We get to know and understand their relationship better. Some of the best additions are the interactions between father and son. This is a must read for those who have read the hardback and for those who haven't.

The new Special Edition is a must read for McNaught fans. The added scenes turn this book into a McNaught classic and leaves you with a smile on your face. The preview to her next book, Can't Take My Eyes Off You, gives her fans something to look forward to in 207.