Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
The Anti-Romance, July 18, 2004
Hands down, "Paradise Wild" is Lindsey's WORST novel. It shouldn't even qualify as a romance, it is so awful and boring. The plot of "Paradise" revolves around two characters plotting revenge. Jared hates Corrinne's father and marries her as part of a plan to ruin her family financially. But Corrinne is so humiliated that she tracks Jared down to Hawaii to get her own revenge by ruining his reputation. Both Corrinne and Jared are despicable as the heroine and hero. Corrinne is angry, unreasonable, catty, and money-hungry. She does have an interesting vice - she's a gambling addict - but even that bad habit (and its interesting results when she runs out of money) cannot make her sympathetic. She's just lame - and, in my opinion, gets what she deserves. Jared is also blah. After we are treated to a detailed love scene with his mistress (sure way to make the hero unlikable), we get to hear all the boring details of his business and his plans to ruin Corrinne's father through poor investments. After spiting and mistreating each other CONSTANTLY, these two somehow fall in love, though I'm not sure why. Jared refers to Corrinne's beauty enough times that I'm pretty sure it was her looks he loves, not her personality. Pretty shallow, all in all. The only thing remotely interesting about "Paradise Wild" are the descriptions of Oahu, Hawaii. However, I've been to Oahu several times and had no problem following the tidbits Lindsey dropped about location, foods, and language. I'm not sure if a reader who has never been to Oahu would appreciate these details fully. Over all, this book sucked. The plot was listless, the characters terrible, the romance nil. Even the writing was stiff as a board. "Paradise" is on par with "Captive Bride" and "A Pirate's Love" as seriously terrible Lindsey romances, though "Paradise" is the worst of the lot. I wouldn't waste time with it. If you want to read a wonderful Lindsey romance, try "Savage Thunder," "A Heart So Wild," "Once a Princess," or "Hearts Aflame." These are REAL romances.
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Not your typical, contrived, blah blah romance, October 24, 2006
I read the reviews for this book after I read the actual book and was SHOCKED by the bad reviews. I LOVED this book. If you are looking for a mushy, can't live without you, run of the mill, contrived and predictable romance don't read this book. BUT...if you are looking for a firey, love/hate, emotional roller coaster, you may just like this book. I read a lot of romance novels and after a while, you can predict exactly where each subplot is going and what is going to happen next. This is NOT one of those books. Yes, the charecters despise each other, but that is what makes this book so good. Even so, it is easy to see how the characters fall in love toward the middle and end of the book when both Corinne and Jared let their guard down for some real romance. Out of all Johanna Lindsey's books, I thought these two characters were the most "real". Jared was a developer building a local hotel; he was not terribly rich, not some undefeated warrior and not royalty somewhere. Corinne could be thought of as "willful", but certainly didn't fit into the mold of any heroine I have ever read about (I love that she is a gambler). I really related to Corinne and felt her feelings and reactions were in line with exactly what mine would have been in the same situations. -- How many times have you read a book and thought about a character - "I can't believe she is crying now"? Sometimes I want to transport myself into a book and slap some of these "heroines" around. Not so with Corinne. If you are looking for a lot of fluff and mush, choose another book. If you are looking for a novel to break the run of the mill romance mold, try this book out.
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Brutal and Very Offensive, September 23, 2002
I find nothing appealing about a hero who will publicly humiliate a woman to get even with her father, hurting her a lot more in the process than the man he wanted revenge on. I also find it truly offensive when the hero later hits her across the face hard when his sister took offense at something she said. There is nothing at all romantic in a story with a hero who is nothing more than a violent, mean-spirited man who will use his strength to hurt a woman half his size. The heroine acts like a spoiled brat almost from the moment the story starts, but you have to feel sympathy for her because she certainly didn't deserve what she got. I wouldn't wish a man like this on my worst enemy. This is the second story I have read by Johanna Lindsay, and I can honestly say she just isn't for me. I don't like her violent, rapist heroes. It was all I could do to finish Paradise Wild, and when I was done I mostly felt sorry for the heroine. She ends up with a man who might backhand her again if she makes him angry. Some people liked this story, and I respect others opinions but I will not be reading anything else by this author.
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