Customer Reviews

Half Moon Bay

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As a fan of Meryl Sawyer's for quite some time, I am used to snatching her books off the shelf the minute they're unpacked, and "HALF MOON BAY" was no exception. I had been waiting for this book since I learned of it's existence last summer, and it was definately worth the wait. As usual Ms. Sawyer has turned out a fine mystery, a sizzling love story, and a group of characters that stay with you long after the last chapter. Amy Conroy has been forced to live with a hideous facial birthmark all her life, until a freak accident gives her a new identity, and a man to love her - if she can manage to elude another man who wants her dead. Matt Jensen, who made an all too brief appearance in "TEMPTING FATE" is back as the man who mistakes the badly injured Amy for "Shelley" -a woman who turned into a stalker after their one and only date. Twists and turns are Meryl Sawyer's specialty, and she's done her best to keep her readers busilly turning pages. Teasing references to great characters from novels like "THE HIDEAWAY" and "UNFORGETTABLE" help to make "Half Moon Bay" like a visit with old friends. Thanks Meryl, for making Half Moon Bay worth the wait - and for keeping us waiting for more ! DON'T WAIT. GET THIS ONE NOW !!!

I liked this one even more than THUNDER ISLAND. HALF MOON BAY definitely belongs on the keeper shelf of all romance lovers. There was a nice, even balance between the suspense and the romance, and the characters were all too human.

Amy Conroy has always been disfigured--one side of her face has been marred by a terrible birthmark. As if that doesn't make her life bad, she's being pursued by a twisted sociopath. Then she's in a car crash and mistaken for one of the victims, Rochelle Raston. Amy's face is reconstructed, the scar disappears, and that's where the fun begins.

Matthew Jensen, an investigative reporter, would rather leave Rochelle Raston far behind. Being stalked by a maniac isn't his idea of fun. But he finds himself drawn to this new Rochelle, who doesn't seem as obsessive, who would rather have little to do with him, and to whom he finds himself irresistably attracted.

Meryl Sawyer makes you laugh and ache along with the characters, and sends chills down your back when the bad guys start to catch up. Matthew Jensen belongs in the Romance Heroes Hall of Fame for being one of the most likable, soft-hearted, but toughest men I've read about in a long time. He isn't vicious a cruel to Amy, though he has every right to be, since he thinks she's the stalker who threatened his sister.

The premise of this book was so unique to me. A woman who's gone through life disfigured suddenly becomes a gorgeous sexpot with a new identity. And gee...a stalker victim falling for his "stalker" :) Think of the mental gymnastics he's going through!

If you haven't read this, you'll definitely want to! The plot, characters, and secondary characters are fantastic!

I have been on a roll with Meryl Sawyer since reading one of her novels. Now I am hunting all her releases and reading them! She is so great, combining romance and suspense, my favorite type of book. In Half Moon Bay Amy Conroy is trying to hide from someone who is trying to kill her because she knows something. It is hard to hide, because she has a birthmark that covers the whole left side of her face. She is involved in an accident while running from the killer, and is left in the hospital, needing facial reconstruction and unable to talk. The hospital assumes she is a woman named Shelly. In comes Matt, who Shelly was stalking! Matt assumes Amy is Shelly also, but can't figure out why he is attracted to her, when he hates Shelly. Half Moon Bay is exciting and is a great read! Can't wait to find and read my next Meryl Sawyer book!

I found the sequel to Tempting Fate to be very good, but there was a few things that I found disturbing.

After an accident that caused extensive facial injuries, Amy is mistaken for another woman. Although "Shelly" had stalked Matt for the better part of a year, he felt obligated her help her. Amy, born with a large port wine stain on half her face, is called "The Beast". Afraid that her ex-boss will find her, she keeps quiet about the fact that she isn't Shelly.

After surgury, Amy is beautiful. Matt is drawn to this beautiful woman with a beautiful personality to match. Unable to explain his attraction to the woman who threatened to murder his own sister, Matt unsucessfully tries to stay away from her.

Meanwhile, Amy's ex-boss is desperately trying to find her because she uncovered the fact that he has murdered and is corrupt.

I found the story to be very good, but with many flaws. The biggest flaw of all was the "suspense" part of the story. The whole part of Dexxter and Irene could have been written out and the book would have been very good. Also, Matt's illness, I thought that it didn't play a big enough role. It should have been more a part of the story. Maybe his illness is a threat to their love, instead of the ridiculous story about Dexxter and Irene.

Overall, the book was good. I'd recommend it, although be prepared for a few disappointments

Sawyer created likeable complex main characters in Amy and Matt, with a suitably twisty plot, but the big weakness which prevented me from giving this book a higher rating was the villain. I expect a stronger suspenseful aspect from a "romantic suspense" book and the villain in this case was more laughably pathetic than menacing. Since the villain is introduced early on, it was hard to believe that Amy was in much real danger. If Irene had been developed earlier as a more sinister figure, then the story might have generated more chills. Fortunately, Amy and Matt were sympathetic characters, with Amy's relationship with her mom being especially touching. The ending did seem rather rushed, but as long as you don't expect too much suspense, this is a solidly written romance.

After reading Tempting Fate by Meryl Sawyer, I was anxious to read the next novel in the series. Half Moon Bay, although filled with interesting characters and settings, was not as detailed or as supsenseful. I will refrain from summarizing the plot since that can be read in other reviews. There are various problems with this book including the highly unbelievable twists and turns at the end of the book. The suspense factor was articifical and the details that are apparent in Tempting Fate are lacking in this story. In many ways, the lives of the main characters could have been researched more to make them more believable. However, Ms Sawyer was able to juggle various strong characters successfully.

The sub-plots (revealing the hero's secret illness, explaining the relationship of the villian and villanness) were unpolished and could have been deleted from the story without affecting the plot at all. I am still impressed with Ms. Sawyer's work and hope that she will remember to add more details and keep the suspense level high but believable. Even with all of it's pitfalls, the book is a pleasant read.

I had a few difficulties with this book. The first scenes in the hospital were excellent. I really enjoyed Amy's character and felt very sympathetic towards her and her problems, both past and present. As the book progressed, I understood her reasons for pretending to be Shelly for so long, but started to lose patience with the whole situation. She knew Matt, Trevor and even Kyle well enough after a while to entrust them with her secret and to ask them to help and protect her against Dexxter. My biggest problem was with Matt's character - I didn't like him or his behaviour. He was either really nasty or wild with desire. I know he believed that Amy was the psycho Shelly but still he was a bit of a creep. I thought Amy deserved better. Small inconsistencies also irritated me: for instance, one day Amy's leg is so sore it's swollen, the next day she's "streaking" across the beach! Same leg? No pain? Come on. Anyway, the storyline was exciting enough to keep me reading to the end, but because I had little empathy for the characters, it will be forgotten in no time.

Half Moon Bay has so many twists and turns in the plot, while the characters' relationships immediately draw you in. There is added humor in the personalities she gave the pets in the story. The author leaves plenty of room for the reader's imagination to try to predict what the characters are going to do next. If all Sawyer's books are this good, the readers of Nora Roberts and Iris Johansen will need to make room for Sawyer on their book shelves.

This book is a Romance Novel, set in Key West on the private island of Sunset Key. The story is intriguing, a woman who is grossly disfigured, has plastic surgery and her life changes dramatically. Meets man, falls in love, and lives happily ever-after. With a interesting twist, woman is in witness protection, murderer chasing her, new identity, ugly dog, swimming one-eyed cat, handsome Navy seal, gay benefactor, basically a quick read.

I purchased this book on a recommendation from a neighbor of mine. We both live on Sunset Key. It is quite interesting for us. Keeping in mind that this book is entirely fiction, the reader should not expect the venue to be reality.

There were only a few private residences on Sunset Key in 1999, and the author took full latitude of her imagination to develop it to her desires. I am writing this review is to dispel any of the beliefs that our home is the place she has written about, although the beauty of the island is reality. I am sure she visited Key West, but not during Fantasy Fest as the book indicates, and she probably stayed in the Sunset Key Guest Cottages. However, if Kyle lives there, I would really like to meet him!

Amy Conroy has spent her entire life as an outcast. One side of her face is pretty, while the other side is disfigured by a port wine stain birthmark, causing one cruel person to say "I did not know that beauty and the beast was one person!" Now in the witness protection program because her former boss Dexxter swindled people and rubbed out some witnesses, Amy is about the get the birthmark removed when her house explodes, killing the agent protecting her and sending her on a cross country journey that ends when she stows away in Rochelle Ralston's car and is involved in a deadly car accident.

Journalist Matt Jensen is called in to identify her - not an easy feat since she is head to toe bandages. Matt thought he would never have to lay eyes on Rochelle again, but apparently she is continuing her stalking and has followed him to Key West. It is assumed that she is Rochelle, and with her jaw wired shut, is in the ICU and scheduled for facial reconstructive surgery. Matt offers to pay for it if she promises never to bother him again. She agrees and Matt leaves Key West for awhile.

When he returns, he is shocked at his reaction to his stalker. He suddenly finds himself attracted to her, as the ugly duckling is now a swan. He is afraid that she will attach herself to his best friend Trevor, who has plenty of problems of his own and does not need to take on Shelly's. As Amy continues the charade to protect herself, she too is falling for Matt, though he is keeping some secrets of his own. Should she risk her safety and tell him the truth for a chance at love? As they dance around each other, Dexxter and his evil henchwoman Irene are closing in.

Sawyer always does a great job creating sultry characters and adding tension to move the story along. This one had a few too many sidebars at once and as a result, one plot point that should have been fully fleshed out (Matt's illness) appears to be thrown in as an afterthought.