Customer Reviews

Sizzle: A Novel

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(21)
3 star:		(18)
2 star:		(21)
1 star:		(19)

 

 

Lyra Prescott is a documentary film student, who when stopping at a yard sale where the angry wife of a very rich man is giving everything away for free, picks up something she's not even aware she has. And someone else needs it and will stop at nothing to obtain it.

When Sidney Buchanan, her best friend and roommate gets hurt during a break-in, Sidney gets her FBI brother, Alec, to help out by sending agents to guard the two women while the police investigate.

Lyra and FBI Agent Sam Kincaid (descendent of the Kincaids from "The Bride"), are immediately attracted, but both believe there's no possible future for them and try to deny their feelings.

With a number of attempts on her life, the culprit and reason behind it isn't as obvious as it seems. We also follow the humorous antics of an inept hitman.

This book had the feel of the same old thing as this author has used the same formula for all of her books in this series. The main characters are so gorgeous that many other characters are attracted to them, and at least one of the characters is always sure that a relationship wouldn't be possible. On the plus side, we also get to see thoughts and actions through the eyes of the bad guy as well as the main characters.

The humor is good and the antics of Lyra's parents is interesting. It would be difficult not to like her grandmother Gigi. One of the things I've come to enjoy about this series is the number of ancestry tie-ins to her earlier historical books, now from at least 3 prior series/settings. The book is definitely a good read, but I hope the author will consider altering the formula in her next release.

Julie Garwood has always been an instant buy for me, in fact I didn't even read the plot synopsis before I bought this book. When will I learn? Julie has lost some of her sizzle and she needs to get it back before I shell out another twenty dollars for one of her hardcover duds.

Lyra Prescott and Sam Kincaid meet when a mutual friend of theirs (Alec Buchanan from "Murder List") asks Sam to guard Lyra while she is being threatened by a group of thugs trying to find some information she has. Unbeknownst to her Lyra stops at a rummage sale on her way to visit her grandmother and takes a bunch of books and CDs that might have evidence of crimes committed. Sam must protect her while trying to find out who is trying to kill her.

Finishing this book in one sitting at first glance I thought the book was okay but in retrospect it was lacking any originality. Lyra, who is said to not fall into bed with anyone on a whim, falls into bed with Sam in a matter of days. Another reviewer said that everyone is perfect looking in all of her books and I tend to agree, every character seems to be either the most attractive woman to grace the planet or have the most chiseled body known to man (okay I can't complain about that, who doesn't love a good pair of chiseled abs?) While both characters were very likable I didn't feel like she spent enough time focused on them-there were so many subplots and other characters' narratives that it got bogged down. There were a few subplots that could have been left out of the book entirely and it wouldn't have made much of a difference to the plot. I miss the Julie Garwood of old but at the end of the day her books have started to read on one note. I will still read her books (because face it even a bad Julie Garwood book is better than some authors) but next time I'm going to think twice before I purchase it full price.

Julie Garwood has been on my must read list for years, but her last four books have been a huge disappointment. I had high hopes for Sizzle because Fire and Ice: A Novel was much better than her last few books, but it failed to deliver.

It was poorly written and predictable. The main characters were two-dimensional, and the supporting cast was even worse. The villains were caricatures, and the plot lacked focus and continuity. Instead of letting us experience the story as it developed, Garwood spent half of the book having the characters tell us what happened "off-screen." This is a writing short-cut that really hurt the quality of the book. I don't want a monologue where I'm told what happens. I want to experience the story as it happens.

I thought about giving the book two stars because it was both entertaining and amusing, but I bumped it down to one because I know Garwood is capable of writing a better book. She's a talented author; she's written several well-rounded and interesting books in the past, and I keep hoping that her latest release will be the book where she gets it back. Sizzle is not that book.

If you've enjoyed her last few releases, you'll probably enjoy this book. If you thought her last few releases were lackluster and disappointing, this one won't be any different.

If I had never read any of Julie Garwood's books I would have really enjoyed Sizzle, however I've read them all, so was very disappointed.

Her last few contemporary romances, including Sizzle, have the following plot:
Beautiful, wealthy, modest young Woman somehow becomes involved in something dangerous, the Buchanan's are called and they assign protection by someone in or close to the family. Man protects woman, spending a few days together, they fall in love but Man doesn't believe in love, there's a weak mystery somewhere, Man leaves when everyone but the Man thinks the mystery has been solved, Man realizes a few days later that mystery is still open and arrives just in time to save Woman from the real threat.

The characters are also always very similar, just change the names:
Woman - rich, beautiful, young and doesn't think money or looks is important (of course this may be because she's never been without money and has always been beautiful) - no defined personality
Man - handsome, tough FBI/lawyer that carries a gun - no defined personality.

This template may be a time honored and proven success, but Ms. Garwood, please try something different! With your talent you could do something much better.

I've been a long time reader of Julie Garwood. In fact, she was the writer who drew me into romance novels in the first place, but with her last few novels, I've been so disappointed in the quality of her books that I doubt I'll be buying/reading another. The plots are contrived and the writing/characterization just seems rushed and underdeveloped. And I don't know if this can be attributed directly to her, or to her editors at Ballantine, or to whoever created the Kindle edition (which is the edition I purchased), but as early as the second chapter there were MAJOR typos! For example, the best friend's name is Sydney and in the books the spelling alternates between Sydney and Sidney. So rookie! Makes me feel like I've purchased an unedited draft of a manuscript instead of an actual book. So long story short--I hate to say it, but I think the glory days of RANSOM, THE SECRET or THE PRIZE are gone. My advice, if you're looking for a good read by Julie Garwood, go back to some of her earlier historical romances and skip her latest offerings.

Call me old-fashioned, but when you've got the guts to put a name like "Sizzle" on the cover of your novel, I expect a tale full of sparks and a hefty dose of spice.

This book had as many sparks as wet fireworks and as much spice as vanilla pudding. I wish I could say that the story was a startling new take on an old favorite with quirky, humorous characters and epic intrigue. But, as much as you can call me old-fashioned, you can't call me a liar. "Sizzle" is the same book I have been buying for the last ten years. Yes, it was ten years ago this year that Julie Garwood authored a little book called "Heartbreaker."

Ironically, she's been breaking my heart ever since.

If you haven't read "Heartbreaker," that's OK. You can basically pick up the same plot in "Sizzle," "Slow Burn," "Killjoy," "Mercy," or any of the other contemporaries she has published since 2000. You have the "smart" and "gorgeous" heroine named (insert ultra-feminine, but still slightly masculine name here), who works as a (insert job title here), but stumbles into trouble through no fault of her own when she (insert thing she did here). Then the evil, bad, murderer-dude/chick named (insert sinister name here) decides it is time to kill the heroine because she inadvertently holds the key to bringing him/her down and because murderer-dude/chick's insanity just rolls like that. Here comes the hero named (insert cool, buff, hardened hero name here) to the rescue. You see, he's a (insert job title here that has something to do with an aspect of the law or law enforcement) and he's been (assigned/asked/pressured/blackmailed) to watch over our quirky heroine until above-named murderer is caught (which won't be until the next to the last chapter of the book, in case you didn't know). The one thing our hunky, gun-toting hero didn't count on was the heroine being such a beautiful, witty, gorgeous, unselfish, pretty, funny, and lovely creature that he can't help but put his hands on within five minutes. And, hey, that hero is pretty irresistible himself. So, by page 16, our lovers are checking out the threadcount on the sheets, and by page 132, we are talking serious commitment. The fact that they have spent most of the book dodging bullets and arguing about the heroine's safety should in no way give the reader a sense that they probably won't last long as a couple after the final page is done.

In any case, I have written reviews for Ms. Garwood in the past where I begged her to return to the historical romance world where her characters shined and her storylines were like a cool drink of water after a hot day in the desert. However, like winning the lottery, finding the perfect man, and having someone pay off your maxed out Visa bill by mistake, I have accepted that Garwood writing another great historical is just a dream that isn't going to come true. So, I am not going to ask for that this time. No, I am going to make my plea a simple one.

Pick a different plot.

Please.

Any plot will do. Just not the same one you've been using.

No, really. I mean it.

Don't do it just for me. Do it, Ms. Garwood, for all of those people out there who haven't read your historicals and still think this crap you're churning out is great literature. Do it before they start putting two and two together and figure out that writers do not usually just keep slapping the same plot in a new wrapper and sell it in hardcover for a whopping $25 a pop. Do it while you still have some cred left. Do it for all those starry-eyed individuals who still believe in Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, and that you're coming out with a sequel to "Ransom" next year.

As for me and my love of "Sizzle," we've both fizzled out.

This was my last try. I have read all Ms. Garwood's books and am/was a huge fan..but, these last attempts at contemp. fiction have been boring and poorly written...I continued to buy them because they were somewhat entertaining- relatively speaking. I read the terrible reviews for Sizzle- but decided to give one last chance...I should have listened...The book was horrible; I mean truly terrible. I am sorry Ms. Garwood; I think you are an amazingly talented writer and it pains me to say that I will not purchase another one of your books. In fact, I did not even finish this one...A voracious reader, I cannot remember the last time that happened... These last books do not even feel like Julie Garwood books...hopefully someone will listen to their doubts (and the plentiful reviews) and avoid this book...I wish I had....

I'm a big fan of the Buchanan books but it seems like with the last two Ms. Garwood is only marketing these as part of the series and dropping the Buchanan name in the story a couple of times to sell more books. Money talks I guess. Why are they being relegated to minor characters at best or forgotten about altogether? Sizzle in particular was a huge disappointment with what to me was a very lame and boring plot. I got less than halfway through, skimmed to the end, and returned it to the library. Glad I didn't waste my $$.

The dependability of picking up a Julie Garwood novel and being assured an excellent read is no longer true. I would love to see her return to her roots in historical novels - I understand the need to explore another genre of writing and I enjoyed the first few but the last couple of contemporary novels have been less than stellar whereas her historicals had far greater consistency in depth of characters, development of story line and that extra something that just sucks you into the story and a need to finish - like up all night finish.

I am a huge Garwood fan and while I am partial to her historicals, I like her contemporaries as well. This book was enjoyable and entertaining. I love reading but rarely review but one of my resolutions is to review more.

A couple of observations:

1. In some of her early contemporaries, it drove me nuts that there was so much description of the scene and the items the characters used. I swear I wondered if there was intentional product placement. Thank goodness that seems to have disappeared from this novel.

2. Garwood's characters are always interesting, but she always seems to have one character that is in her novels that is so idiotic it's definitely fascinating. Some may find them unbelievable but I find them quirky. Milo, is Sizzle's standout and I thought his areas of the book were amusing.

3. I admit that I was kept wondering regarding the mystery of the plot...I didn't know until Sam figured it out. That was a good thing.

4. My only complaint is that I felt like I didn't get to know Sam that well. I thought the romance was a bit rushed but I liked Sam and Lyra together. And I wanted to see more of Gigi.

To sum it up, it's a good read and definitely a Garwood keeper. Can't wait for her next novel.

P.S. I read the Kindle edition and was lucky to get it as a $7.19 preorder.