Customer Reviews

Mackenzies' Honor: Mackenzie's Pleasure\A Game Of Chance (Mira Romance)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In December 2005, I stumbled across this book (MACKENZIE'S PLEASURE) in a Silhouette edition twofer combining books by two different authors. Mackenzie's Pleasure, my Buried Treasure find for 2005, is the story of Zane Mackenzie, the youngest son of Wolf Mackenzie and his wife Mary Elizabeth (hero and heroine of Mackenzie's Mountain); I would love to see a twofer combining Mackenzie's Mountain with Mackenzie's Pleasure. Unfortunately, I have to settle for this book, which combines an excellent book with a less successful one.

Zane Mackenzie is called upon to execute a mission to rescue an ambassador's kidnapped daughter Barrie Lovejoy out of Libya. The first third of the book is about how the rescue takes place and with what consequences. In the second third, Zane and Barrie are separated by circumstances until they manage to find each other. Since there is a mystery and a bit of romantic suspense to the plot, I will not go further with the plot summary. It is probably sufficient to say that Barrie's kidnapping and rescue is somewhat more complicated than either Zane or Barrie realized.

MACKENZIE'S PLEASURE is one of the few stories where I genuinely liked the hero and heroine from the outset, and where I also felt that they were right for each other. That this contributed to my liking the book is not in question. Linda Howard's writing style also helped, as did her characterizations. Zane is an alpha male but not an overbearing alpha, but a protector and leader. The other SEALS came alive as did the heroine and her Ambassador father. What didn't work so well for me was the villain and his motivation (especially as explained to Barrie at the end).

Unfortunately, A GAME OF CHANCE is a very different kind of story about Chance, the adoptive son. Putting Chance and Zane together in the same "twofer" makes some sense, given that they are about the same age and apparently fought together regularly. The problem is not that Chance is the adoptive son, but that he is a different person from Zane. Whereas Zane makes it a point to protect the woman he loves (whether he realizes it or not), Chance uses the woman he loves (the heroine) as a bait for a dangerous trap. Arguing that he is not in love with the heroine does not change this fact. Chance's story is thus a disappointment for those who love heroes in the mold of Wolf and Zane Mackenzie, men who would do almost anything (save betray their country) to protect their families and their mates. I keep wondering if Chance would again put his wife in the line of fire in the national interest; the trouble is that I cannot convince myself that he had changed by the end.

MIRA's reprints: Mackenzie's Mountain (Wolf) goes with Mackenzie's Mission (Joe) in one volume. While Mackenzie's Magic (a story in an anthology) is left out, Mackenzie's Pleasure (Zane) is combined with A Game of Chance (Chance) in another volume. Of course, we have no stories for Michael and Josh, but have to find out what happy ending was in store for them from the first and last chapter of Mackenzie's Pleasure. I wish MIRA would reprint just the strongest stories Mackenzie's Mountain and Mackenzie's Pleasure.

Written by bookjunkiereviews 22 January 2006

This book contains two stories, described below.

4 stars to MACKENZIE'S PLEASURE.

Nice story. I liked it. I plan to read most of Linda Howard's books. She is an excellent author. Although this was not one of her best, it was still worth reading. Story brief: Ambassador's daughter Barrie is kidnapped. Navy SEAL Zane rescues her. She falls in love with him. She continues to be in danger.

Sexual language: moderate. Number of sex scenes: seven or more. Setting: current day Libya and a few places in USA. Copyright: 1996. Genre: contemporary romantic suspense.

3 stars to A GAME OF CHANCE.

Pretty good. Not great, but I'm glad I read it because I plan to read most of Linda Howard's books. She is an excellent author, although this was not one of her best. The story and characters were reasonably interesting. She wrapped it up a little too quickly and easily at the end.

CAUTION SPOILERS: Chance lied to Sunny through most of the book. When she learned the truth, he didn't try to soften it, justify it or make her feel better. He acted like he couldn't care less how she felt. At that point, she appeared to hate him, and I didn't blame her. A couple of weeks later, in one short conversation, he said he loved her, he got her back, and they married. It seemed too easy. I would have liked to have seen him suffer a little more. Story brief: Terrorist's daughter is on the run, hiding from her father for most of her life. US government agent discovers her and uses her as bait to draw her father to be captured.

Sexual language: moderate. Number of sex scenes: four. Setting: current day, various locations in USA. Copyright: 2000. Genre: contemporary romance with mild suspense at the end.

Along with Linda Howard's "Mackenzie's Legacy" (which includes "Mackenzie's Mission" and "Mackenzie's Mountain),

this is one of the best romance series I've read.

I was into this book right from the start of it. It begins with Zane Mackenzie on a mission to locate Barrie Lovejoy, the rich ambassador's daughter. It isn't long before he finds Barrie Lovejoy tied up, and having been abused by very cruel men. He rescues Barrie and pulls her into safety until they can escape. It was love at first sight, but later in this part of the story tragedy happens in transport on a rescue boat. Zane is hurt pretty badly and taken via helicopter to the closest hospital. Barry fights to go with him, but they won't let her. Instead she is taken back to her father who is very overprotective. Barrie discovers that she is pregnant and is very depressed when her father won't let go of her. Barrie finds a way to escape her father's mansion, but as she is getting ready to, Zane finds her and much to Barrie's father's protestations, she leaves with Zane to start a new life with the baby.

Chance, Zane's brother, is in law-enforcement and assigned to capture Hauer, a terrorist, and bring him into justice. He had to find Sonny, the daughter of this man, and use her as bait to reach the man. When Chance arrives at the airport, he spots Sonny, and offers her a ride on his small plane to deliver an important package on time as Sonny is a currier, and is entrusted by her company to deliver promptly. Chance knows immediately that he loves this woman, and as the story goes, the small plane crashes to the ground, and they are stuck in a canyon. Survival won't be easy, but they manage until Zane arrives in a chopper a few days later to rescue them. Sonny will be found by her father again as Chance has purposely arranged her as bait to capture this dangerous man. And when it is all over, their short romance will probably have to end.

A great story well told and highly recommended.

I love Linda Howard's books - even though there are some I like a little less than others. She makes these characters come alive and you want to be a part of their lives. In this anthology, the stories of Zane (Mackenzie's Pleasure) and Chance (A Game of Chance) are told.

Zane is a Navy SEAL who rescues Barrie Lovejoy from the clutches of some nasty men and instantly falls for her. By the time you finish the first chapter, you're routing for him to save her, that small voice in your head repeating "Hurry up Zane, hurry up!". That voice only gets louder as the book continues and you see what a great guy he is and how much they really belong together. Deliciously perfect.

Chance is an anti-terrorism agent who's willing to do whatever it takes to make Sunny Miller spill the beans about her father, an infamous terrorist. Chance makes sure that they're "stranded" together and forces Sunny to rely on him as they work towards rescue. Chance soon discovers that Sunny is a victim of her father, not an accomplice as he'd suspected, and that he needs to keep her safe. But that involves divulging his secrets, which comes to him very reluctantly. I think that Chance is a deviation from the hero's we normally expect from Linda Howard, so he gets a bum rap. He's not always honorable or respectable - two characteristics we typically find in Linda Howard's heroes. This is one of the few Howard books where I really didn't like the hero and I would have understood if she hadn't taken him back at the end.

Mackenzie's Pleasure is definitely worth the buy and you just might enjoy the other if you give it a chance. :D

For more about the Mackenzie family, look for Mackenzie's Mountain - Wolf's story and the beginning of the series (5 stars with a couple of smiley faces to boot) and Mackenzie's Mission - Joe's story and second in the series (4 stars). You can also check out Mackenzie's Magic (4 starts, typically a novella in an anthology) to round out the series with the 5th book and get Maris' story.

For other great Linda Howard books, look for Shades of Twilight (my personal favorite), After the Night, Dream Man, Mr. Perfect (makes you drool and blush at the same time), and Open Season for a delightful mix of romance and suspense. For a bit more suspense than romance, check out some of the more recent books.

Mackenzie's Pleasure (4 stars): Zane protects Barrie. I still don't really understand why he left the Seals though.

A Game of Chance (3 stars): Chance sets up Sunny. He should be kicked.

Overall the Mackenzie series is well worth reading. Ms. Howard does have a knack for romance.

Woo, This is one of my favorites. It made you can't stop, I have completed these 2 series (McKenzies' Honor and McKenzies' Lagecy) only in 3 days. I highly recommend thses books for those love romance fiction.

A great series, fun to read, extremely appealing characters. I know some readers didn't care for Chance quite as much as the other MacKenzie males, but I found him to be quite masculine and very sexy. I think I went through the MacKenzies in record time!

I love stories that flow into each other - this really does it. Linda Howard knows how to keep true to old characters while bringing you along into new wonderful characters. She sizzles!

I stumbled across this series some time ago. It is a wonderful story about a blended family not just in ethnicity but by adoption as well. Linda Howard can tell a story as well as anyone but she keeps you interested where you simply can't put the book down.