Very typical Linda Howard book with an alpha hero. But this one had a little more humor in it than most of them and the heroine was strong and sensible. It had a slow start for me but picked up towards the middle and then sped along. The villain was very strange and did not seem too believable to me. ( )

This book was long and draw out. I just wanted to hurry up and get to the end. I usually like Linda Howard's books but this one wasn't that great. ( )

I used to so love Linda Howard, but she's really losing it. This book was phoned in, with pages of boring, non essential details. The trouble is that the basic premise was a good one on so many levels. Jenner wins the lottery, the big one, and then everything changes. She loses her friends, her family, her life. And the life she rebuilds isn't so great, despite the money. And then her one true friend is kidnapped, and will be harmed unless she plays along... Now who isn't interested in that?

It wasn't that I didn’t believe Larkin, the lunatic villain, he was actually 3 dimensional by Howard's standards. It was that she gave barely any time to the relationship and romance of Cael and Jenner, and totally lacked the intensity of connection that her lovers usually have. Also, virtually no sex scenes, which are frankly usually one of Howard's major strengths.

Sadly not a keeper. ( )

I absolutely loved the beginning of this book. The story of Jenner and how she wins the lottery and how it alters her life is compelling. It isn't until the second part of the story when Sydney is held by kidnappers that the story gets a little out of hand. With that said, this story is the perfect escape. Yes, the plot is a little far fetched and the romance is a little forced, but the characters are wonderful and the book allows your imagination to go places you 've never been before (let's hope). ( )

Not up to Howard's usual snappy style. Takes place on a cruise ship and couldn't be more boring, and the male protagonist is given the awful name of Cael. There's a B story with the heroine's friend Syd that showed promise but was not developed. Not recommended. ( )

Jenner Redwine works in a factory until she wins the lottery, which totally changes her life. She begins to hobnob with the wealthy and elite, but never feels like she fits in. She has one real friend, Sydney, who talks her into going on the maiden voyage of a luxurious cruise ship for charity. Before the women board the ship, they are kidnapped. Sydney is sequestered in a hotel and kept from boarding. Jenner is held hostage in one of the staterooms and forced to pretend to have a romantic relationship with one of her captors. Things aren't always as they seem, however...it's sometimes hard to tell the difference between the bad guys and the good guys.

The story starts out a little slowly, after the first couple of chapters, it really takes off. There is plenty of suspense and romance. Once started, it is hard to put down. ( )

Linda Howard's new hardback "Burn" is about a lottery winner who is on a charity cruise when she's coerced to cooperating with a mysterious (and, of course, gorgeous) man doing surveillance on the man in the stateroom next door. I liked the book except for the slow and choppy beginning. It starts out in present time, moves back 7 years to when the main character, Jenner, wins the lottery, and then moves forward to the time leading up to the cruise. Starting the book felt like coming into a movie half-way in. You're sort of lost and trying to figure out if you're even in the right place. Then, the chapters leading up to when Jenner wins the lottery seem sort of extraneous. I think it could all have been explained in a few pages and in a different manner that didn't slow down the pace.

However, once the cruise begins the pace picks up and remains pretty steady through the rest of the book. It was a little bit disconcerting at times to read about what was happening off the ship (I had to re-read character names to realize they were talking about characters on shore), but I guess there's no help for that since it's necessary to let the reader know what was happening with other characters. Overrall, though I enjoyed Howard's new book. It had the some of the same humor she used in "To Die For" and "Mr. Perfect". And of course her heroine isn't anyone's door mat even if she's being held hostage. ( )

Since Jenner Redwine won the lottery seven years ago, her life has been very different. Now she is on a cruise, threatened by a very sexy man who is holding her friend hostage for her good behavior. But is he really the bad guy here?

The relationship here had the potential to be very creepy, but Howard mostly avoided that for once (she doesn't always). It's not one of her best books, but it's far from her worst, and her headlong style carries the book. ( )