Customer Reviews

Kiss Me While I Sleep (Random House Large Print)

5 star:		(44)
4 star:		(24)
3 star:		(19)
2 star:		(16)
1 star:		(20)

 

 

In "Kiss Me While I Sleep," Linda Howard has returned to the world of John Medina and Niemi Burdock, the world of covert intelligence operations and contract killers. She has also returned to the theme she explored in "Cry No More," the trauma of a parent who has lost a child.

Lily Mansfield is a contract killer for the CIA, 37 years old, with 19 years of experience. She is also a grieving parent whose 13-year-old, adopted daughter has recently been killed, along with her foster parents who were Lily's best friends. Lily has set out to kill the man who ordered the hit on Zia and her foster parents, and to wreck as much havoc as she can on his organization. She is doing this without the CIA's sanction; in fact, they have sent one of their top agents, Lucas Swain, to stop her.

Sound grim? It isn't. Lucas Swain is not only an alpha hunk, he is also one funny guy. I found myself chuckling at Swain's opinions and actions, whether it was his thoughts on "chick food" or his views on Fiats. (He hates 'em.) The man went through more cars than Stephanie Plum.

If "Cry No More" had a fairly straightforward plot, that must have been because Howard was saving all her twists and turns for "Kiss Me While I Sleep." Just when you think you understand all Lily's and Swain's schemes and counter-schemes, Howard gives the plot a twist, and you realize you've been led down the garden path. Again.

All in all, a delightful read with a sexy hero and heroine, a serious examination of a parent's grief, and a plot that will have your head spinning. Highly recommended.

I'm a big fan of Linda Howard. She's about the only author I read that I shell out for a hardcover. I wasn't disappointed when I bought Cry No More, but this was a different story, different mood, different characters. Personally, I liked Cry No More much better, but this one had its moments. For instance, I got a pleasant surprise to find out how Medina was doing (although indirectly). The love scenes were much different than her usual and now I know how they got the cover art. I also liked the originality of this one, but at first, I wasn't sure how I would like a 37 year old female assassin as the main character. I have to say that she grew on me; I thought she suffered enough and needed a way out. It was also easy to follow her train of thoughts and helped me relate to her as a person. Swain was another story. He was a little too easy going and light hearted. Not what I expected of a CIA man sent to "terminate" her. But they worked well together and it helped lighten the mood of the book. The more I think about it, the more I realize that he was the only type of guy matched for Lily.

Reasons why I thought it fell slightly short of 5 stars...one, the way she was too trusting of Swain - not a characteristic that I would attribute to a 19 year veteran in the game. Two, I didn't think there was enough heart stopping action. For a CIA contract assassin and a CIA field agent, I sort of hoped for more cliffhanger type action. Three, the ending felt rushed. Personally, I like the end wrapped up nice and neat. Not to say this didn't end the way I wanted, but that I'm not into such an abrupt ending. Or maybe I wasn't ready for the book to end.

Overall, I liked the book because I'm a fan of Howard's writing style and I like the characters she develops. She tells a great story in a way that I like to read it. Can't wait for her next one.

I have to agree with Silver Tarnished about this book, the latest from Linda Howard. I didn't believe in Lily for a minute--or care much about her--and while I could see that Howard was trying to write against type by making Lucas Swain easygoing, cheerful, and upbeat instead of the stereotypical dark and dangerous CIA operative, he didn't work well for me, either. Far from being a page turner, this Howard novel was slow going; I lost interest even while I was reading it.

In attempting to leave the romance novel behind for the more seriously regarded genre of romantic mystery, crafted so beautifully by writers such as Mary Stewart, Howard has lost her niche, in my opinion. She writes well enough, and as a romance novel author, she can be moving and comical--(the scene in Open Season when the heroine and hero discuss the colors mauve and puce is a good example)--but she doesn't seem able to pull off the plotting or the characterization in her later stories of intrigue and mystery. One example: The character of Lily in KMWIS is a contract killer of long duration who plans every move with careful precision and far in advance. Yet she walks through an airport carrying a tote bag and a carry-on which, when viewed later on security cameras, easily identifies her. It would have been so easy for Howard to have made the bag reversible, or substituted one bag inside the other, but how, then would the hero have discovered who she was and managed to track her? This is what I mean about plotting. Whatever Howard needs to happen, happens. Realistic plotting is difficult and if not done well, makes the whole concept look silly and artificial. Perhaps Howard should take notes from the seasoned writers of crime noir if she wants to continue writing in this genre.

I also grew very weary of the repeated reminders of Lily's love for Zia, her main motive for revenge. I was unconvinced mainly because Lily is not written deeply enough to make us feel what Howard says she (Lily) feels about the child, her friends, or her terrible need for revenge. In trying to convince us and, therefore, make her assassin heroine more palatable, Howard is guilty of--no pun intended--overkill.

I discovered Howard two years ago when someone gave me a copy of Mr. Perfect, an appealing if less-than-perfectly-written little comic/romance/mystery. I followed it with Open Season, which I liked quite a lot. I've since read all her older romance and historical novels, many of which I think are very well done. However, Cry No More suffered from some of the same flaws as Kiss Me While I Sleep, in my opinion. I look forward with a mixture of eagerness and trepidation to the book due in December. Like many other reviewers here, I think I'll wait for the paperback.

I have read all of Linda Howards books and reread many on my Howard shelf. Her books are always page turners with different characters to stimulate our imaginations in a believable fictional scenerio. "Kiss Me While I Sleep" was no different, it was a page turner with real characters as hero and heroine.

I was truly suprised by the ending which was terrific. Tears were necessary, but usually are at one time or another during a Howard book. I was shocked to tears at the ending.

Laughter, great dialogue, good plot, steamy romance, real people, good vs evil, saving the world, exacting revenge, duty, loyalty to family and country. What more can you want? It was worth the price of hardcover. It is definately on my keeper shelf.

My only wish for this would have been more resolution in the epilogue and more passion in the romance. I compare the passion in Linda Howards "Dying to Please" with these two lastest Howard books, "Cry No More" or "Kiss Me While I Sleep", and they do not equal the steamy passages from "Dying to Please". But then again, it may not be fair to compare.

All in all this was a great read and I would recommend it with 5 stars!

The main character in Linda Howard's KISS ME WHILE I SLEEP is Lily Mansfield, an assassin for the CIA. Her two best friends, former CIA agents Averill and Tina, and their adopted daughter Zia --- a girl who Lily rescued after she was abandoned as a baby --- are brutally murdered.

Lily investigates and finds out that Averill and Tina performed one last assignment: blowing up a laboratory. The owner of that laboratory, Salvatore Nervi, is a powerful organized crime boss who has the family killed as payback for destroying his lab. Lily makes it her mission to avenge the deaths of her friends, and she does so by killing Salvatore. She is masterful at disguises, which comes in handy as she begins dodging Salvatore's son, Rodrigo, and the CIA.

The CIA sends out one of their best agents, Lucas Swain, after Lily to terminate her because she has committed an unauthorized kill --- it doesn't help Lily that Salvatore was an informant for the CIA. As Lucas becomes involved with Lily and finds out why she did what she did, he is torn between completing his assignment and helping Lily carry out her revenge mission. The two begin falling in love with each other, which complicates matters further. The twists and turns of the missions will keep readers turning pages, as well as the budding romance between the protagonists.

Both Lily and Lucas are likable characters and, despite their glamorous occupations as spies, very realistic. Readers will understand Lily's motives for revenge. It's obvious that killing is no easy matter for Lily; she has always justified her actions with the idea that it must be the right thing to do if her government tells her to do it. Readers will also understand the struggle Lucas has about how to handle his assignment. Even though Lucas is a veteran agent who has undoubtedly carried out dozens of such assignments, he is not so jaded that he will quickly throw away a chance for love. The romance between the two, while quick in time, is realistically told. Readers will pull for them to be together.

In addition to the romance, the mystery and suspense of the plot will keep readers glued to the pages. There are many surprises throughout, and things play out in a way that will keep readers guessing until the end. Rodrigo is a cold villain who seems to take pleasure in hurting people and in tracking down Lily like an animal. Readers will hold their breath while waiting to see if Lily can stay one step ahead of Rodrigo. He is a relentless man who will stop at nothing to get revenge on the woman who murdered his father.

Linda Howard has written more than a dozen books, but it is obvious with KISS ME WHILE I SLEEP that she has many stories left to tell.

--- Reviewed by Melissa Palmer

I really wish I had taken notice of all the negative reviews of this book. This was certainly one of Howard's worst efforts. I can't even describe just how bad this book was. The plot completely unbelievable and just plain silly. How simple vengeance turned into an act of "saving the world," I will never figure out. The characters were completely underdeveloped. There's no "spark" between the hero and heroine. They go from acquaintances to lovers in the blink of an eye. Even worse, the love scenes, (always one of Howard's best efforts)were completely drab. I also figured out who the "bad guy" was mid-story. It was just that predictable.
I have a shelf full of Howard's books, both hardback and softcover. This will not be one of them. As a matter of fact, I'm listing it for sale on Amazon right now!!!If you really want to read this story (and what true Howard fan wouldn't??)please, please, please check it out at your library. That way, you won't feel cheated out of of 20+ bucks.

I noticed that Howard has another book coming out later this year. That will be two books in one year, where she usually does one. Could feeling rushed and overwhelmed by deadlines be the reason she released such "trash" to her loyal fans? Who knows?

I'm not going to give reasons why I liked this book, as I agree with all the other 5 star reviews. I will say that I really appreciated the humor in this book and everything that Linda Howard writes is great. As to Cry No More. I absolutely hated that book! Even though it was a fantastic read I will never read it again and wished that I had waited for the paperback to come out. Kiss Me While I Sleep was another great read and I will read it again, though I really wish the ending had been a little longer. Now Ms. Howard how about another one quickly? And please give us more humor. My favorite is Mr. Perfect and would love another sassy mouthed heroine.

I am a true blue Linda Howard fan. I read ANYTHING she writes. Her best is better than any other romance writer; her not so best is still really good. I would rank this in the good category. Even though the mystery is probably not the most important aspect of the book, I was disappointed that I figured out the culprit early into the story. I was delightfully surprised though by the resolution of the conflict between the main characters (really good), though I would have liked a longer ending to fully appreciate this resolution. Unlike some Linda Howard readers, I enjoy conflict between the hero and heroine with aspects of humor, and don't enjoy the "funny" Howards as much as some do. I was pleased this was more in the first category. I wish we could have seen Swain being pushed a little more at the end in the emotion department.

All in all, recommended. I probably won't read it again, but will definitely read Ms. Howard's next book.

I really enjoy reading Linda Howard books, mainly because her characters are always so well drawn and so full of personality. I really liked this book, but the heroine being an assasin with obvious social/emotional deficiencies makes it necesarily difficult to get a feel for who she really is and why she chose the path that she did. Still, I wouldn't go so far as to say the heroine is unlikable, because she does inspire some empathy. It's just kind of hard to imagine why someone as entertaining as the male lead would fall fer her. Also, since the male lead is really quite funny and sexy, he makes up for some of the heroine's shortcomings. The book is fast paced and has pretty cool "spy" moments. Other than the stoic heroine, the only other thing that really detracts from the novel is its abrupt ending. While the majority of the book occurs over a span of two or three weeks, the last chapter alone encompasses like six months.
If you like books that are mostly romance you probably won't like this one. If you're more into romantic suspense, however, whether you're a Howard fan or not, you'll probably enjoy this book.

I could never give a Linda Howard one star - yes, I agree, it is not one of her best, however she is still my favorite author. There are worst books out there, but compared to her other books, which I can read again and again, this one I will probably not reread but I will keep anyway.