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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
I Really Wanted to Like These Stories. . .,
By
This review is from: Too Hot To Handle & Sweet Wind, Wild Wind: Too Hot To Handle\Sweet Wind, Wild Wind (Paperback)
Those 2 stars are actually more like 2.5. The stereotypical romance "hero" is often someone who is rough around the edges, and doesn't necessarily treat the heroine all that well in the beginning of their relationship. Authors run the risk, though, of making the heroes' words and deeds too harsh to overcome, especially when the page count is relatively low. Lowell took that risk in these stories, and in one, that gamble paid off; in the other, it didn't, in my view.
In the first story, the 20-year-old heroine (Tory), upon being promised a job, shows up at Ethan Reever's ranch, where he proceeds to deny her that job and then insult her until she leaves. The next couple of hundred pages give the reader the expected ending, and there are some rather sweet moments between Tory and Reever. However, that does not make up for the fact that, for well over half of the story, Reever is emotionally and verbally abusive to her. I don't use those terms lightly. What we are presented with is a heroine who is young, inexperienced, but not a pushover. Reever is older and has a mostly justified distrust of, and loathing toward, "city girls," which is what he immediately labels Tory. He insults everything about her, and in short order, she starts tip-toeing around him, trying to figure out how best to be mostly seen and not heard, so that he won't take out his temper on her (verbally) or insult her yet again. Her self-image also takes a hit, as she begins referring to herself using the same kind of insulting language that Reever has frequently hurled at her. Though he is never physically rough with her, this is pretty much the textbook definition of verbal/emotional abuse. Eventually, Reever sees the light and delivers an apology/explanation, and all is forgiven. The readers are supposed to understand why Tory falls in love with him and forgives him so easily, but all Lowell really gives us in that regard is that Tory is very physically attracted to Reever, and there's a lot of chemistry and passion between them. That's all well and good, but for me, his treatment of her went over the line so far, so often that I just couldn't get past it. Though they did have a few sweet, tender, loving moments, I don't feel as though enough was done to mitigate all that he had said to her and how badly he made her feel on such a frequent basis. The second story was better, in terms of developing the love story. In this case, the hero once again wreaks emotional havoc with the heroine in such a way that her self-esteem is basically crushed (due to something that took place a few years prior to the events of the story). Carson's actions and words are a bit easier to take, though, and Lowell doesn't waste all that much time before he delivers an explanation of his previous treatment of Lara (the heroine). It's certainly not difficult to figure out how things are going to end, or that there's going to be the requisite "big misunderstanding" that will be solved in a few pages near the end. That said, Carson and Lara's relationship had both heart and sensuality, and it was pretty easy to root for them. All in all, these stories aren't that great - one is borderline disturbing (at least it was to me), and the other is mostly sweet, but predictable. Bottom line: Lowell is capable of much better.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wow, You Won't Be Able To Stop Reading!,
By
This review is from: Too Hot To Handle & Sweet Wind, Wild Wind: Too Hot To Handle\Sweet Wind, Wild Wind (Paperback)
The first story, TOO HOT TO HANDLE is an amazing story. Right from the beginning I was hooked and hooked bad. I couldn't put it down and read it in only a few short days. This story was fast paced, well written, with a lot of tension between the main characters. The only thing I didn't like was that it was a little too heavy on the sexual talk but because of the rest being so great, I couldn't put it down, and loved it.
The second story SWEET WIND, WILD WIND, I started to read but soon realized I'd read it before but even so, I had a hard time putting it down. I have so many books I want to read, I can't justify reading the same one twice...at least not at this stage of my life. It too is a great story, fast paced, well written.
0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Too Hot to Handle & Seet wind Wild wind,
By
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Too Hot To Handle & Sweet Wind, Wild Wind: Too Hot To Handle\Sweet Wind, Wild Wind (Paperback)
The book arrived in good condition and in a speedy manner. I would purchase from this vendor again.
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