High Intensity [Mass Market Paperback]

Dara Joy (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 14, 2000

WHAT IS HIGH INTENSITY? Silken Caresses. Steak bomb sandwiches. A hot press of lips. A haunted chef. Seductive touches in the dark. Spirits who gobble the haute cuisine. A master strategist. A miscreant ghost. And a very, very fat cat. Join the most sizzling, provocative physicist to ever solve a case or heat up a bedroom and his equally passionate partner as they investigate the perfect equation for love! Tyber and Zanita invite you to come along for their madcap, sensual journey into high intensity . . .

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Dara Joy's meteoric rise has been nothing short of stellar. From her very first novel, Ms. Joy has consistently appeared on national best-seller lists, including those of the New York Times, USA Today, Ingram's A-list, and Amazon.com. Dara Joy has brought in some of Leisure's highest sell-throughs. Romantic Times magazine calls the multi-award winning author, "An electrifying talent!" Readers, across the board, flock to her unique, unforgettable, page-turning tales. She has created memorable, beloved characters that are adored world-wide by her fans.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 395 pages
• Publisher: Leisure Books (August 14, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0843947470
• ISBN-13: 978-0843947472
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (78 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #248,382 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars 3.5 stars, August 14, 2000

By 

Tina "tinaellorascave" (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: High Intensity (Mass Market Paperback)

First of all, let me start off by admitting that out of all of Joy's books, "High Energy" was the one I least wanted to read a sequel to. It was pretty good, it's just that I much prefer her futuristics and her sole historical over her contemporaries. *However*, if you loved "High Energy" then you will probably also like "High Intensity" a lot more than I did.

The best thing that "High Intensity" has going for it is its humor. In that respect, I enjoyed the book a lot and the dialogue is what took this book from a 3 to a 3.5 for me. But I'll be honest, if Joy's name wasn't stamped on the cover, I never would have known she'd written it. For one thing, her trademark *hot* *hot* *hot* sex scenes were not there. It was very much a PG-13 read and not what I've come to expect and want out of Joy.

Another reason I was less than thrilled with "High Intensity" is because it just sort of lacked a certain "oomph". I buy Dara Joy romances because I enjoy reading about the hunt, the way she pens a hero finding and claiming his heroine. Zanita is claimed from before page 1, so there is no hunt to speak of. Had Joy focused on Mills and Gregor instead of Zanita and Tyber, perhaps this book would have been a solid 4 - 5 read.

Since there is no hunt, "High Intensity" instead focuses on a case Zanita and Tyber embroil themselves in involving an allegedly haunted house. The main focus of the story is on this case instead of on the romance. Unfortunately, I wasn't drawn in enough to care very much for the case itself. It read a lot like a Scooby Doo mystery, only in this episode, Fred and Daffney are finally getting it on (at a PG-13 level).

To be honest, I don't know if I rated "High Intensity" a 3.5 because of or despite of the fact that Joy wrote it. Had anyone else written this book, I probably would have given it a 3 at best. I purchased this book expecting to like it, wanting to like it, and was disappointed when it took me five days to get through it.

But let me stress again that tastes are subjective. If you enjoy wacky "who dunnits" and if "High Energy" blew you out of the water, then do not let this review dissuade you from buying "High Intensity". If, however, you are like me and prefer books that concentrate on the romance and "High Energy" was just an okay read for you, then you can take this review to the bank.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars a comedy of errors, August 25, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: High Intensity (Mass Market Paperback)

LOL if you haven't read High Energy you won't follow this book. It is a continuation of that book and there is no prologue or any type of explanation of the characters. There are several conversations relating to the previous book but unless you read it you are lost. The sex is hot and heavy and it would almost be gross if it wasn't so funny. For example in one scene, the heroine is leaning out a window of a quaint inn in New England and the hero takes her from behind, but somehow the only thing you can imagine is that her head turns completely around because he embrasses her face for an agressive kiss. I laughed trying to figure out how he did this. Another is they are in bed making love, in the next paragraph he picks her up and puts her in the bed. I asked how did that happen. The love scene under the bed is also full of questions since it does not tell you how high the bed is and he is over six feet and built, some of his postions were quite impossible. Another describes him holding her hands over her head yet his hands are all over so I envision he has at least three arms. Obviously once you are known and a good author the editors just accept whatever else you write. This book was not intended as a comedy but it certainly was.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A disappointment., August 14, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: High Intensity (Mass Market Paperback)

I hate to be the " rain on the parade, " but after reading "Mine to Take" and waiting for almost two years for something from Dara Joy, ( who really is one of my favorite authors ) I was sorely disappointed in this book. I did not read the prequel,High Energy,but after reading the reviews, I don't think that it would have helped. This book was, to me, a combination of Clue,Ghostbusters, I Love Lucy and One Flew over the Cuckoos Nest. Where was the romance? The boy already had the girl and what was left was a sitcom masquerading as a romance novel. The hero and herione (Zanita and Tyberius-Where did she get some of the names in this book? )had no chemistry whatsoever, and their love scenes had all the passion and sizzle of George Burns and Gracie Allen. I am certainly not opposed to humor in a romance novel, but some of the charachters in this book were just too zany and unbelievable. For instance , Auntie who always wears three hats, all at the same time! I do believe that I read the names Yaniff and Rejar at the beginning of this book. Where was the tie in to the Matrix of Destiny charachters that was hinted at? I gave this book two stars because it did hold my interest, if only to see " whodunit." Dara Joy is a very versatile and talented author and I know that she can do much better. Her Matrix of Destiny series is proof of this. They are some of the best romance novels that I have read and even re-read. Please give us more Matrix of Destiny, Dara, and stick to "familiar" territory.