Customer Reviews

Two Alone

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

OK, so the plot line is hackneyed: Beautiful self-possessed businesswoman and angry hiding-his-hurt-beneath-rough-exterior Vietnam Vet survive a small plane crash and are forced to rely upon each other to survive.

Every cliche known to man is in this book, from the sheet rigged up to provide each with a "private" bath in the small cabin they discover (think Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert in "It Happened One Night") to the city girl learning to cook, and the survivalist male learning to bend a bit.

With all that, though, this book works, because Sandra Brown again weaves her magic. I could't turn the pages fast enough to find out just when (not if) Rusty and Cooper would finally come together in body and mind. It takes quite a while, actually, and during that time, the two must learn to respect and accommodate each other's differences. Instead of a huge yawn and an "oh no, not again," Brown manages to make this relationship truly interesting, and engages the reader so that one really cares what happens. And that is Brown's great talent, the one that pulls her above the usual cheap-romance drivel.

Yes, the couple is rescued, but there is no happily-ever-after the minute they hit civilization. In fact, if anything, the rescue seems to destroy the relationship they so carefully evolved when relying on only each other. Can their love survive the real world? Read it and see. This is a great, cuddly bathrobe-fuzzy slipper type of romance, one to savor and enjoy.

I picked this up on a whim since I do love Sandra Brown and was shocked. This was an excellent older book! Written in the late 80's it definitely has the broody guy with a chip on his shoulder and the independent woman trying to come to terms with her independence and love for the hero but this one was a little different. The heroine doesn't change to suit the hero! Yippee! I LOVED it! The hero also didn't change, but they both LEARNED to become better people and to love one another as is.

Very emotional at times and very romantic, these two characters literally sizzled off the pages! They felt so real to me that I had to wonder if In actually was intruding on some adventure. It's rare to come across a story that brings you so deep inside that you loathe to end it and this one just ended way too soon for my tastes. Just under 250 pages it should've been longer.

A plane crash leaves two people stranded in the Canadian wilderness without food or shelter and with the oncoming of winter's deadly storms. One an independent and beautiful woman from LA and another a broody and angry loner from the Sierra's and not long out of Vietnam.

The chemistry is unreal here, Ms. Brown really took these two and fleshed them out. Kudos to her for touching on the war and POWs. More needs to be said about their great courage and sacrifice. And thanks for not making the heroine a whiny & complaining rich heiress. Its refreshing.

Tracy Talley~@

In this novel Sandra Brown tells the story of a plane crash that takes the lives of six people. The only survivors are Rusty Carlson and Cooper Landry. After the brutal plane crash the befuddled, terrified (and yet optimistic) Rusty Carlson drags an unconscious Cooper Landry out of a plane wreck saving his life.
Because of the unusual surrounding, there is the role reversal of who saves whose life throughout the novel, both specifically and abstractly. This is a great story by Sandra Brown. This is definitely another book that makes it on to my list of recommendations! Though a bit predictable at certain times, I think there are just the right twists and turns in her plot that make the book unbelievably addicting. Two Alone is the classic story of a man and woman stranded on a desert island, and is very hard to put down! I really enjoyed this novel. I think this is another shining example of the exquisite creativity that Sandra Brown has continued to show over the years. I can only hope she continues to put forth the same quality of work.

Sandra Brown, "Two Alone", Mira Books, 1987 (previously published under pseudonym Erin St. Claire) finds Rusty the beautiful, almost 30, red headed, successful business woman, and Cooper the muscled, past 30, blonde, forlorn 'Nam vet, the sole survivors of a terrible plane wreck somewhere in the uncharted wilds of Canada's North West Territory. Can they survive the pending wintry storms? Can they survive the hidden passion neither is willing to acknowledge? Can Cooper purge the pain of a past betrayal and accept that Rusty is much more than a simple, stunning, city girl? Can Rusty put a dent in Coopers carefully constructed psychological armor? Anticipation of the inevitable keeps Cooper literally "at attention" for half the story (poor guy). At the same time Rusty is dry mouthed, apprehensive yet intrigued about what might be. Once survival is insured, can a sizzling encounter be far away? With Sandra (AKA Erin), you know it can't. Sort of predictable, but I did like it, even though I couldn't believe Coopers resistance to a willing Rusty. No breathing male should have been able to resist such charms. Since he did (painfully resist) for 160+ pages I suspect that Sandra ran out of other ideas to heighten the impact of the inevitable conclusion. Regardless a fast and fun read, highly recommended.

I just finished this book yesterday and I can't even remember the names of the lead characters, that's how interesting I found it to be. I thought it might get better if I kept reading but, sadly, it didn't. I either love Sandra Brown's work or I hate it and sometimes I wonder, after reading work like French Silk, White Hot, Tidings of Great Joy (or whatever that one was) and Two Alone if this could possibly be the same woman who wrote Envy, The Alibi, Witness, Richochet and Chill Factor. The guy in this book was a total jerk and bully and I got seriously tired of the girl's whining. I was turned off that they took up residence in a cabin where two disgusting cavemen had lived and ate from their dishes and took baths in their tub and after offing them (rightfully so), they cohabited there like Ma & Pa Ingalls with her cooking and cleaning and him going off into the wild to slay their supper. It was just a bit too quirky. However, being that I'm always willing to read her books, I picked up Demon Rumm after chucking Two Alone and I have to say, I don't want to put it down. It started out good and gets better with every page I turn. If people thought Two Alone was good, they should read some of the previously mentioned ones. She's a lot better author than this.

I really loved this book. I was really turned off by Cooper at first, but warmed to him just as Rusty did. I thought the "Blue Lagoon-esque" story line was going to be very contrite, but it surprised me pleasantly!

Debutante businesswoman Rusty Carlson (who of course has beautiful flowing natural red hair) manages to survive a plane crash in the Canada mountains, pulling the only other survivor, Vietnam vet Cooper Landry out of the wreckage only to have him sneer at her, blaming her for taking too long to say goodbye to her Sugar Daddy, which caused a delay, resulting in the crash. He goes about treating her rudely the entire time they are traipsing through the mountians looking for safety, and when they happen upon a couple of mountain men of dubious honor, he suddenly gets proprietary with her. As they stay in the filthy cabin of the mountain duo after dispatching them to another realm, she plays house while he goes out and brings critters home for her to cook. Eventually he curses her beauty for reawakening his sexual desires. And of course she's willing since there's nothing like being treated like dirt and a man who hasn't showered in a week to put a lady in the mood. It might have been written in 1987, but with hackneyed dialogue and so many cliches, it manages to make Linda Howard's rip off of the story seem like a Nobel prize contender.

Brown is so prolific that I can't understand why her publishers keep going into the vault for these poorly written "classic" love stories. For every decent one there are a dozen that just don't translate decades later. The writing in this one is just lazy, for goodness sakes, she doesn't even bother to give Rusty's friends names. Like in the Seuss books, they are referred to as friend 1 and 2. Just skip it.

Let me just say that I LOVE STRANDED STORIES. "Two Alone" was a great one. I liked the fact that the story jumped right in at page one and just kept going. The characters of Rusty and Cooper were fanatstic together..Cooper was SO ALPHA and Rusty was his perfect match. As much as I loved this story..for some reason I cant explain it just didnt feel like a 5 star read. I was a bit disappointed by how quickly the ending was wrapped up and that their reconciliation was told to the reader rather than shown. However, even with its flaws..this book was and is a keeper for me.

I thought that Two Alone was a great book! I have not read one of Sandra Brown's books that I haven't enjoyed and this book was no exception. Rusty is a spunky individual who proves that she is not a pampered, spoiled brat and Copper falls under her spell quickly.

This story reaches into your heart and makes you understand the truth about unconditional love. Rusty gives her love unconditionally and makes sure Cooper knows it. She gave it everything she had. And she won his heart.