Monday, March 05, 2007

Drop Dead Gorgeous by Linda Howard


Blair Mallory has already survived one murder attempt. Now, while planning her wedding and dealing with holiday-season madness, Blair once again dodges a bullet. Or more precisely, a Buick. And though the driver’s identity remains a mystery, his or her murderous intentions are all too clear.

Or are they? After all, Blair’s homicidal ex-husband and his partner in crime/wife are safely behind bars. And even Wyatt Bloodsworth, her police detective groom-to-be, isn’t inclined to believe she’s being targeted again. All of which makes Blair wonder if her close call was simply a mishap. But the wondering stops when she narrowly cheats death again in another seemingly innocent accident. Two strikes is all it takes to convince Blair that she’s back in someone’s crosshairs. And the only thing more frightening is that Wyatt still doubts her. That means this time, no one will be watching Blair’s back when she sets out to get the drop on her would-be killer–before whoever it is finally drops her.

To echo the sentiments of my reading girlfriends, this one disappointed. I won’t say it all out sucked because I was drawn into the dynamic that is Blair and Wyatt AND I finished it without effort. Overall though, it didn’t pack near the punch To Die For did.

Its first person POV didn’t bother me. Nor did Blair’s hyper-stereotyped cheerleader persona. I liked that ditz with depth angle in the first book as well. Unfortunately, Howard takes her dangerously close to the edge of stupidity—again and again. Not in action, but in thought. The mental tangents this broad goes on were distracting and frankly, not altogether flattering. Without them, I’m convinced that Drop Dead Gorgeous could have been a decent follow up to the first book in this series.

As for Wyatt, he edged close to a stereotype of his own. I love an alpha male as much as the next romance reader. But, like most readers, I like a quiet intelligence behind the brooding. He had that in To Die For. Here, we saw him more as a working man, a bit short on patience and with less page real estate on which to show his smarts.

So yeah, disappointing. But I’m not sorry I read it. And I did get a few laughs and more than one Wyatt-induced shiver. Will there be another in this series? If memory serves, it was expected to be a trilogy. No author website—that I can find—so the answer eludes me.

7 comments:

  1. Wow I hadn't heard that she planned a trilogy. An interview I read at AAR said she just kept hearing Blair's voice in her head and that's why she was doing a second book. Wyatt-induced shiver indeed. Ms. Howard sure leaves her mark with her alphas doesn't she?

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  2. You are likely correct Rosie. Since I can pinpoint when and where I got the impression of a trilogy. LOL Good to know though that she does have a new release coming this summer. Up Close And Dangerous is the title listed on the publisher site.

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  3. Since I cannot pinpoint the source. Doh.

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  4. I think I liked this one a lot better than you *g*. I liked it just a tetch less than TDF and I don't know if she has a third planned - but I sure hope she does 'cause I just love Blair & Wyatt! And one thing I did like about his one. I found it quite a bit hotter than TDF. It got two of my votes at AAR - best couple and favourite funny.

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  5. You got me there Kristie! That tantric thing...*g* Very good.

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  6. Are these books even romance? At Chapters they are not in the romance section.

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  7. I would definitly say they are romance. The heroine is the kind you either hate or love. I'm in the love camp!

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Have you read it? What do you think?

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