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“It ended too soon for me!”
JoannaREM wrote this review Thursday, November 12 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“readingamidstthechaos.blogspot.com”
Dana W wrote this review Tuesday, August 4 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“A very sweet lovestory.”
rasha t wrote this review Monday, June 22 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Oh GOD i loved this book
Koshela wrote this review Tuesday, March 24 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
The corp world with the romance in the background . Loved it :) ”
“ALMOST FOREVER is a much earlier contemporary novel by Linda Howard about two people who find love amidst a tangled web of corporate lies and deception.
Michelle wrote this review Saturday, February 28 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
Max Conroy is an executive at Spencer-Nyle, a corporate conglomerate who has set its sight on acquiring Bronson Alloys. Yet not having learnt anything about their latest acquisition target, Max's boss thinks that they may have found the small company's weak link in the form of the owner's secretary - Claire Westbrook. And so with his model looks and seductive charm, Max's boss decides to send him to Houston to befriend Claire.
Having avoided the Houston society for five years after her divorce from her husband, Claire finally relents and attends a huge party. Until she gets there and finds that it was a cruel joke. Hoping to salvage her dignity, she never thought that her knight in shining armor would come in the form of the handsomest man she has ever laid her eyes on. And when "Max Benedict" proves himself insistent on courting her, Claire's defences melt.
But what happens when she finds out the truth about Max? How will she cope after having just managed to turn her life around after losing her baby just shortly before her husband divorced her?
After reading Linda Howard's more recent novels, I was eager to read this book to see what her earlier work was like. Well let me say that regardless of the 3.5 stars, I enjoyed reading this book very much. While other thought that this was a mediocre book, then let me say that Linda Howard's mediocre job is better than other authors' good novels. I liked both Max and Claire. As typical Howard hero, he is an alpha-male, but despite his arrogance, I felt the sincerity in his guilt about hurting Claire and his desperation to repair the damage he has dealt her by his deception. We see him torn between his loyalty to his company and his growing feelings for her. As for Claire, some readers might find her weak because of her insecurities and self-doubt, but having read of what she has gone through, I couldn't help but empathize with her. And the fact that Max knows why Claire has built a wall around her as a form of self-preservation, and how he longs to break it and nourish her with love was the best part of the story. I really enjoyed this story and my only gripe is the rushed ending and just the overall fact that it isn't long enough. ”
“One of my first Linda Howard. I will always have warm thoughs for that book and the series it is from ...”
Tisha wrote this review Thursday, August 7 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Wrote about on my blog”
Laurie Gold wrote this review Monday, June 16 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Wrote this Amazon review in 2003. "Fairy tale of corporate takeovers & romance – Howard style This is a fairy tale contemporary romance novel. It is a story of a secretary who has a “dream man” enter her life demanding a relationship with her. It seems too good to believe and the heroine fights her attraction to this unlikely admirer. Her second sense turns out to be right – he does just use her – but he has fallen for her in the process and will not lose her. Max Conroy is a striking, rich, very sexy, and handsome man with English nobility heritage living in the States. He works for a conglomerate, Spencer-Nyle, and his specialty is corporate takeovers. As the corporate giant plans it’s next takeover, Bronson Alloys of Houston, Texas, they discuss possible hidden assets in Bronson that could impede the planned buyout. In an attempt to discover these possible assets, Spencer-Nyle sends Max Conroy to Houston for some undercover work. He is to meet Claire Westerbrook, the secretary to the president of Bronson Alloys, and charm her, date her, obtain her trust, and ascertain the inside knowledge needed to prepare the conglomerate for Bronson’s buyout. You see – Claire is considered the weak link in the company. Clair Westerbrook is a beautiful and very pleasant woman who doesn’t see herself as such. Five years earlier, she had suffered through a painful divorce from her wealthy, handsome husband, Jeff. Jeff had not been faithful to Claire and left her for another woman. The past five years Claire has built walls of protection around her soul and heart. She has not dated and has schooled herself well in hiding her emotions. She carries a very cool look in her eyes now that gives away nothing – she becomes distant and icy should someone attempt to discover her inner thoughts. It is this woman that Max meets, within the first few pages of the book, at a party he discovered she would attend. Max is the type of guy that ladies love and he has never failed at winning a woman he wants. He is convinced that he can easily strike up a relationship with Claire. After all – he believes she is kind and fairly naïve. But she is not stupid. She knows Max’s type – she was once married to a man like him - and wants nothing to do with Max. He quickly discovers that she will not warm to him. Her cool stare and his inability to read her really annoys him. But she has access to all Max Conroy wants to uncover and Max is determined to not fail in obtaining this information. He disregards her attempts to ignore and snub him and he begins to move in closer. Over the next few days, Max and Claire play a game in which Max pursues Claire and Claire attempts to refuse him. She just doesn’t trust him. Why would such a handsome, classy guy relentlessly pursue her? This is romance writing and therefore we know that Max and Claire eventually get together. Innocently and certainly unknowingly, Claire provides Max with the information he seeks. What follows afterwards is the meat of the book. Claire is broken hearted and immensely disillusioned as she discovers Max has used her. However, the joke is on Max. He has fallen for Claire and is determined to work out this little (hah!) problem between them. Almost Forever is a story about a romance between Max and Claire. Max has certainly lived a charmed life. He has pretty much gotten what he wanted in life until Claire discovers his deception. She is much stronger than Max anticipated and he has some major groveling to do. There are only two or three sensual scenes but are true to Linda Howard’s style and rate about a 4.0 out of 5.0 (see More About Me for rating guidelines). Even with Claire’s protestations and Max’s manipulations, the two shared some intense chemistry for one another throughout most of the book. Although this is not the best Linda Howard book I have read, it certainly was enjoyable and satisfying. As is also typical of Howard’s writing, Max is a very alpha hero and Claire is a pleasant heroine who is not shy of confrontation. It is light reading and as mentioned before – has a fairy tale ending. Sometimes it is nice to just sit down and read a book that will delight you and make you wish there were a few more fairy tales in life." 8/10/03 ”
Lea AAR wrote this review Sunday, May 25 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
