Customer Reviews

Lover in the Rough

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Lowell's Amber Beach, Jade Island, and Tell Me No Lies were wonderful books. Lover in the Rough is an earlier work and it is evident in every sophomoric bit of dialogue. The characters are cardboard cutouts--the winsome (and, though previously-married, curiously innocent) heroine; the rugged, yet tender, hero; the malevolent, drunken, would-be rapist bad-guy. The dialogue and sex scenes have you rolling your eyes in disbelief.

The hero and heroine fall into each other's arms (literally) and into each other's bed for no discernable reason, other than they are both, of course, intensely attractive. This is dressed up as love, of course. (I don't have a problem with sex scenes. In fact, I really rather like well-written, hot and sexy love scenes. These, however, are ridiculously contrived, poorly written, and appear to only exist because she felt it was time for the obligatory sex scene.) Too, if I had to read one more comparison between driving on the freeway and the dangers of mining, I think I would scream. All in all, this book is a waste of time, money, and paper. The only thing I can think when I look at it is the fact that the time I spent on it is time I will never have again. Forget this one and stick with her newer books.

This just was not Lowell's best work. Chance was a hard man in love and war. . . until he met Reba, the woman he had been looking for all his life. I found the intimate scenes between Chance and Reba to be rather chaste. The constant, almost non-stop talk of minerals, precious stones, crystals, tourmaline mines, diamond mines, pegimitite (or whatever!!!) and prospecting stories just got boring after a while; I started skimming, during those lengthy endless discussions, and I rarely skim!!! Reba could have been a much bigger challenge and she could have had a lot more backbone. Chance didn't even have to do any chasing--Reba just fell into his arms right off the bat---and stayed there with little prompting from Chance. The tension was fair, but seemed somewhat contrived to me.

Overall, this was a fair read. The book had some romance and most of the characters were fairly likeable---but the tension that arose between Chance and Reba about the ownership of the tourmaline mine was predictable and simply needed something more substantive and real-to-life.

I really enjoyed reading this book. I thought the dialog (although mushy) was wonderful. I enjoyed both of these characters especially Chance. He was so kind, helpful, and loving to Reba. Although he did seem suspicious at times. I liked the sensual tension between these two characters. I got what i needed out of it. I felt as if i were in the book and what i look for in any book is a chance to escape from the real world. This book took me there.

Lover in the Rough is a comfort read I return to again and again. I'm not sure I can explain why, because I recognize the book's flaws--sometimes Chance and Reba's dialogue is high-flown, overly dramatic , kind of cheesy. The descriptions of clothing and appearance are dated. Prime example: Chance has the ubiquitous Lowell-hero mustache.
And yet, there's something about this story I keep coming back to. Maybe it's how knowledgably and beautifully the characters talk about gemstones, jewelry, and geology; I'm a big fan of all three! Maybe it's the undeniably compelling and claustrophobic descriptions of the cave-in. It's a convincing adventure in a 20th century that doesn't leave much room for that stuff.
But I think I enjoy this book because the characters are always trying to be emotionally true to themselves and to each other. Despite the differences and tensions between them, Chance and Reba are always trying to give the best of themselves. Yes, Chance has a secret and the reader sees it coming. Reba's heart-broken response and Chance' subsequent desperation--they move me every time.
For all of their romance-land faults, these characters feel real to me.

this was the first contemporary romance i ever picked up, and i am now completely addicted. lowell creates a tension that literally vibrates between the two characters. you can feel your heart being ripped out from the pain and reborn in the end.

This was the first Lowell book I ever read and I was happily surprised to see it re-released. I have hunted down every Lowell/Maxwell book for the past 14 years......She never disappoints. Reba and Chance are warm, funny, personal....you will be disappointed when the book ends because the characters seem so real. What a treat!!!

This was the first Elizabeth Lowell book I ever read and have become an avid fan since then. Reba owns and runs her own jewelry and precious stone shop. She meets Chance Walker when her mentor's grandson tries to accost her while she's trying to supervise the photography of his collection for his memorial book. Chance defends her against Todd "Loverboy" Sinclair. The characters get caught up in a web of lies by ommission over a near worthless tourmaline mine. Lover in the Rough describes two people trying to get to know each other while trying to get over past scars at the same time. Another masterpiece. Well done, Lowell!

I bought this book because I am an avid fan of EL. However, the personality traits and characteristics that work so well in her historical novels DO NOT work in a contemporary novel. Women have changed in the last century, and we definitely have more gumption, independence, assertiveness and self-reliance. Tragic occurrences do not weigh the average woman down - instead we are able to rise above it, and emerge stronger than ever. Reba and Chance do not come across as 20th century people. She is clinging, weak, teary and totally willing to submit to Chance's overbearing, arrogant, chauvinistic, "I'll take care of everything" attitude. Give this one a miss, and stick to her later novels. They're much, much better.

I bought the audiobook. It helped me pass a lot of boring driving hours. I thought the story was great. It kept me interested and the miles just went by.

Another wonderful story by Elizabeth Lowell. "Lover In The Rough" had me hooked from the very first pages, couldn't put in down.