Review: After Sundown by Linda Howard & Linda Jones

After Sundown by Linda Howard & Linda Jones

Publication Date: March 31st 2020 by William Morrow

Pages: 384

Source: Publisher

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

About the book:

Danger brings together two guarded hearts in a battle for survival in this irresistible story from New York Times bestselling authors Linda Howard and Linda Jones.

Sela Gordon, the shy owner of a Tennessee general store, finds safety in solitude. But if anyone can pierce her protective shell it’s the handsome, mysterious ex-military man living alone in the wilds of Cove Mountain. For two years, he’s kept his distance—until the day he appears to warn her that a catastrophic solar storm capable of taking down the power grid is coming. Now, Sela must find the courage to become the leader Wears Valley needs.

Bitter experience has taught Ben Jernigan it’s best to look out for number one. For two years the former soldier has lived in a self-imposed exile, using a top-notch security system to keep people away. But he had to let Sela know about the impending threat—and now the quiet and undeniably sexy woman is making it too easy for him to lower his guard.

As panic spreads, Sela and Ben discover that in the dark, cut off from the outside world, there’s no more playing it safe—in life or in love.

My Thoughts:

Sela starts off as a quiet sort of heroine, happy to go unnoticed, getting by running her convenience store/gas station with her aunt and niece pitching in.  However, every time Ben comes in the store she’s captivated, he’s so serious and focused, but she’s also just fine that he doesn’t seem to register her presence.  That is until the morning he comes in and tells her to prepare for a massive solar storm that’s about to hit the earth and knock out the world’s power grid.

This story is a little different than Linda Howard’s usual romantic suspense/thrillers. This time she partners up with Linda Jones to write an end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it story. I wouldn’t call this an apocalyptic story, because it’s not really an end of the world situation, but a huge change in the convenient, buy anything at will, life that we’ve all lived… Well, until recently.  Some readers, in view of the situation that we’re in, have had an aversion to end-of-the-world stories, and some have been attracted to them. I’ve fallen into the latter category, although I’m not a fan of really gritty stories.

I thought After Sundown struck an excellent balance of urgency, keeping me on edge without scaring me into a panic. Of course, there are bad apples here, like in any community, and the threat they posed made my heart race, but Sela was no pushover, and she did end up having Ben at her back. Mostly, the story was about their small-town banding together as a community, working together to survive.  I find the prepper lifestyle fascinating, even before our world had sort of gone to hell, so I enjoyed seeing what everyone had to do to get by, living in a world without a working power grid. I wish I had a place like Ben’s right about now!

Even though it took a while for the romance to get into gear, Ben and Sela’s relationship was at the heart of this story, and my favorite part! Having a military background, Ben was naturally a protective and take-charge kind of guy, but he recognized that Sela was a strong, resourceful woman, he didn’t just barge in and take over.

After Sundown mixed a bit of reality, romance, and thrills that hooked me in and held my attention enough to finish the story in one day! Not an easy feat right now!

 4 Suns

Review: Kill and Tell by Linda Howard

Kill and Tell (CIA's Spies #1) by Linda Howard

Publication Date: January 1st 1998 by Pocket Books

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Audible

About the book:

Still reeling from her mother's recent death, Karen Whitlaw is stunned when she receives a package containing a mysterious notebook from the father she has barely seen since his return from the Viet Nam War over twenty years ago. Unwilling to deal with her overwhelming emotions, Karen packs the notebook away, putting it - and her father - out of her mind, until she receives a shocking phone call. Her father has been murdered on the gritty streets of New Orleans.

Homicide detective Marc Chastain considers the murder nothing more than street violence against a homeless man, and Karen accepts his judgment - at first. But she changes her mind when her home is burglarized and "accidents" begin to happen. All at once, she faces a chilling realization: whoever killed her father is now after her. Desperate for answers, Karen retrieves the only thing that links her to her father - the notebook he had sent months before. Inside its worn pages, she makes an unsettling discovery: her father had been a sniper in Vietnam and the notebook contains a detailed account of each one of his kills.

Now running for her life, Karen entrusts the book and its secrets to Marc Chastain. Together they unravel a disturbing story of politics, power, and murder - and face a killer who will stop at nothing to get his hands on the kill book....

My Thoughts:

Oh, Kill and Tell was sooo good!  Wickedly sexy, with just the right amount of action, danger, and mystery. 

Karen’s estranged father is murdered in New Orleans not long after the death of her beloved mother and her emotions are in turmoil.  From meeting the very male (yum!) and a little hostile Detective Marc Chastain, to having attempts on her life, Karen’s life is turned upside down! Marc is a little gruff with Karen when his mistakes her demeanor for cold heartlessness, but he soon realizes just how close Karen is to falling apart.  Finding out her history and the passionate woman underneath stirs up a powerful attraction combined with an intense possessiveness he’s never felt before.  When danger strikes, Marc’s main objective is to keep Karen safe all the while convincing her that they’re meant to be. 

Marc Chastain was every girls dream! Handsome, protective, and considerate. His Southern manners and care were a definite draw and the accent…well, I just melt over a Southern drawl!  So very seductive! I love Linda Howard’s take on an alpha men!

He was the most considerate man she’d ever met, and the hell of it was he was so damn alpha. She hadn’t known the two qualities could blend together so wonderfully.

I adored Karen as well. Even though she was going through so much turmoil, she kept a level head, and I felt her pain of loss acutely.  She deserved a man like Marc!

As for the romance, oh boy! Sultry hot New Orleans nights were the perfect setting for this sizzling love affair! Chapter Nine was so utterly and fantastically HOT!!  Linda Howard expertly lays a foundation of sexual tension and her writing is just so beautifully sensual!

The mystery and suspense portion of the story was exciting, too!  I devoured the story! It really says a lot that this story has a rating of 3.94 stars on Goodreads eighteen years after publication.  Also, I must thank Eva @All Books Considered for the recommendation! I plan on listening to All The Queen's Men, the next in the series, very soon!

As for the narration, Natalie Ross is perfection! Her Southern accents aren’t over the top, but still exude that sexiness that comes with a Southern drawl.  Her male voices are very well done.  Ms. Ross enhances any story she narrates!

5 Suns

Review: Cry No More by Linda Howard

Cry No More by Linda Howard

Publication Date: November 4th 2003 (? Lots of dates) by Ballantine Books

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

About the book:

Fueled by an obsession to fill the void in other people’s lives, Milla Edge finds lost children—all the while trying to outrun the brutal emotions stemming from a tragedy in her past. Traveling to a small village in Mexico on a reliable tip, Milla begins to uncover the dire fate of countless children who have disappeared in the labyrinth of a sinister baby-smuggling ring. The key to nailing down the organization may rest with an elusive one-eyed man. As Milla’s search for him intensifies, the mission becomes more treacherous. For the ring is part of something far larger and more dangerous, reaching the highest echelons of power. Racing into peril, Milla suddenly finds herself the hunted—in the crosshairs of an invisible, lethal assassin who aims to silence her permanently.

My Thoughts:

Cry No More was published more than ten years ago, but that hasn’t diminished the appeal at all! It brought out a range of emotions in me. It was a heartbreaking tale, any mother would probably gasp after the first chapter, but it was also an exciting, action packed read!  Let’s not forget the romance, because as usual, it’s my favorite part! 

Milla’s life was forever changed ten years ago, and since then she’s been a women with a mission.  For the last ten years Milla has been the front woman for Finders, an organization that helps locate missing people. She’s been relentless in her pursuit, and driven by a past tragedy to the point that her personal life has basically become nonexistent.  That is until the mysterious and enigmatic Diaz comes into the picture.  She’s been on his tail for years after hearing he possesses the information she’s been tirelessly searching for. 

I can totally understand why Milla would basically let her entire life go to focus on her goal, but I was sad to see her lose such a happy situation.  Seeing others move on broke my heart and it did break Milla’s heart when she allowed herself to dwell on it, so I was thrilled with Diaz coming into the picture.  Their romance wasn’t planned by either of them, but isn’t that when you find the absolute best, when you’re not looking for it?  These two just fit.  I love how the character weren’t the most beautiful, gorgeous, rich people around.  Milla is described as pretty but not in a typical way, possessing something about her that made her graceful, and attractive; a certain intangible quality that would drew people to her instantly. Just the presence of Diaz made people wary and scared. His remote, cold gaze, set alarm bells ringing, but there was something very compelling about him to Milla, and from the moment they meet there’s chemistry. He’s very male and exudes the kind of power where people take notice.

The romance was just part of the story and Milla’s relentless pursuit of the truth has put her in danger now that she’s come so close to discovering it. I had suspicions early on and when they were confirmed I wanted to shake these people I was so angry!

Linda Howard has written many stories, but she is a new author to me.  This is the second book I’ve read by her, and while I did love After the Night just a little more, Cry No More was an outstanding, compelling story! Romantic suspense at its best! 

5 Suns

Cry No More was first published in 2003, so it fulfills my Waves of Fiction 2015 reading challenge to:  

“Read a book published more than ten years ago” 

Review: After the Night by Linda Howard

After the Night by Linda Howard

Publication Date: November 24th 2009 by Pocket Star

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

About the book:

FAITH DEVLIN: A poor, outcast child in Prescott, Louisiana, she'd always adored the town's golden boy from afar. But he called her white trash that sultry Southern night when his rich, respected father disappeared, along with her pretty Mom. Now Faith wanted to hate Gray Rouillard...not to feel a powerful surge of desire. But she couldn't quench her passion, any more than she could hide the truth about the past she had waited so long to unravel.
GRAY ROUILLARD: Even when he raised hell, he did it with style. Reckless, charming, and backed by Rouillard money, Gray controlled the town of Prescott -- and Devlin was a name he never wanted to hear again. But when he gazed at Faith Devlin, all he saw was a swirl of tangled sheets and her silken flesh beneath him. To care for her was impossible, unthinkable...because Gray Rouillard planned to use all his power to ruin her.

My Thoughts:

After the Night was my first Linda Howard book, and I absolutely LOVED it!  It’s a riveting read, with a stormy and sizzling romance!

Faith Devlin has come back to Prescott, Louisiana after twelve years away. She was cruelly thrown out of her home at the young age of fourteen.  Though it was no fault of hers, Faith suffered the disgrace her mother, Renee, had brought down on them. Being regarded as white trash and suffering the stain her mother’s reputation made Faith determined to never be like any of her family so she made something of herself, but has never truly been able to move past the jarring events of the past:

At the age of fourteen she had literally been thrown out into the night like a piece of trash, and she had lived with that pain ever since.

Where is her mother and her mother’s lover, and why did they leave never to be heard from again? Their actions left two families very nearly destroyed, and Faith is back to find out some answers and closure. However, bringing up the past doesn’t sit well and soon Faith is facing threats and danger that may silence her forever.

Faith fell in love with Gray Rouillard, the admired son of the most powerful and wealthy family in Prescott, from afar when she was just a little girl.  Unfortunately, the years have done little to diminish her attraction, but if Gray Rouillard thinks he can bully her out of town again, he’s got another thing coming! Faith is no longer a little helpless girl, and I loved her determination.  Even in the face of her blinding attraction to Gray, she didn’t let him distract her from her goals. 

I adored Faith! She was a woman who came from nothing with zero advantages and still managed to have a strong, positive spirit without being overcome by bitterness over the past.  The cruel way in which Faith was treated because of the action of others angered me so much!  At first I hated Gray! His actions tore Faith’s life apart in such a humiliating way I wanted to kick him in the teeth!  But after getting some of his perspective I eased up on my feelings.  Be patient with Gray and you’ll fall for him every bit as much as I did!

Gray can’t help the attraction he feels for Faith.  At the age of fourteen she possessed unmatched beauty; as a grown woman she’s gorgeous, but she’s the image of her mother and reminds Gray of the pain heaped on his family.  Still, he can’t help himself; can’t stop pursuing her to the point of obsession. Even though I wanted Gray and Faith together, I was happy she didn’t just fall for him or let her guard down even though she was wildly attracted to him.  I love a smart heroine!  Faith kept her goals in place, and her resolve meant that Gray had work to prove himself, to gain her trust.  Their romance was hot, lusty, and tumultuous, and I loved every battle they fought! 

Linda Howard wrote an epic, captivating story, and soon after finishing After the Night, which by the way, was published over sixteen years ago (!!), I went through her backlog of titles and added several to my TBR.  I highly recommend her addictive writing!

As a side note, I bought the Kindle/e-Copy version and then added the audio version for an extra $3.49.  It was totally worth it because Natalie Ross' narration is excellent!! If you're cramped for reading time like I am this is an excellent way to read a book by switching back and forth between e-copy to audio. I listen on my commute back and forth to work, when I'm getting ready and when I cook dinner.  

5 Suns