Karen Robards
Robards, Karen - HEART BREAKER (Dell - 1998) (Highly Recommended)
On the surface, the heroine in HEART BREAKER seemed to be "to stupid to live," but there was always a good explanation for her actions. She doesn't just stand around wringing her hands when the hero isn't in a position to help her. She acts. For instance, she threw a rock at the villain's head—a dangerous move considering the fact that he was aiming a gun at her and the hero. Explanation: she was a top softball pitcher in high school. At another crucial moment, she kicks a gun out of the villain's hand. Explanation: her aerobics training at work. These situations and others make the story work.
The heroine is not a victim, and while she needs the hero's strength, she isn't a wimp at all. In the beginning of the book, after she arrives at the dude ranch, where she is vacationing with her daughter and some of her daughter's classmates, she sarcastically refers to the hero and his brother as "plastic cowboys." She was a refreshing heroine who could (and sometimes did) save not only herself, but her daughter and the hero as well. At times, I thought there was too much going on in the story, and I consider HEART BREAKER to be a suspense with a romance, rather than a straight romance; but it was a well-written book and one that I thoroughly enjoyed. ~Beth C. (Elizabeth_Coogan@brown.edu)
Robards, Karen - ISLAND FLAME (Leisure - Reissue 1995) (4+)
Seventeen-year-old Lady Catherine Aidley has led a privileged life and is spoiled and beautiful. When lusty pirate Jonathan Hale sees her, he makes her his captive and confines her to his cabin for the duration of his trip to a Caribbean Island he has a home on. She is forced, at first, but grows to love him. Everything looks blissful for awhile, until the English and her father attack in force and hangings begin.
This may be standard fare for romance novels and it may be predictable, despite a rather shocking scene near the end, but I guarantee you'll love it as I did. It deserves top honors because it is so expertly done. Karen Robards is a very good writer! ~Review provided by Romance Reviews
Robards, Karen - MIDNIGHT HOUR, THE (Delacorte Hardcover - 1/99) (5)
Grace Hart, a single mother and family court judge, is having problems with her teenage daughter, Jessica, who has recently been diagnosed as diabetic. She is rebelling against the new restrictions in her life by doing everything she shouldn't—eating the wrong foods, not administering her medication properly, drinking, and running with the wrong crowd. Late one night Grace awakens and discovers that Jessica is not home. She hears a sound and rushes out the front door, only to see someone running from the house. Jessie's favorite stuffed bear is lying in the road, so she frantically phones the police.
About the same time, two undercover police officers, Detective Tony Marino and his older brother Dom, arrive with Jessica. She is barely conscious due to a diabetic reaction to alcohol, and the officers inform Grace that she had been trying to buy drugs for her friends when they found her. At the emergency room, Grace tells Tony about the mysterious person she saw outside her house. She's afraid that Jessie's new friends are trying to scare her into not informing on them, but the police can't find any sign of a crime being committed. After another seemingly harmless yet unnerving prank occurs, Tony is assigned to protect Jessie and her mother. As they are together a great part of the day and night, Tony and Grace become attracted to one another, despite their different personalities. But as creepy pranks keep happening, it is obvious there is a stalker lurking in the shadows. Can Tony and Grace survive this threat, or will their future be snuffed out by someone's hate?
Karen Robards is at her best in THE MIDNIGHT HOUR. She blends a strong, sensuous romance with a very creepy suspense story, adds just a touch of paranormal, and tops it off with an unusual plot twist at the end. Tony is an understanding man who, after having lost a loved one in the past, has tried over the years to put her death behind him, and Grace is willing to take a chance on love again after the heartbreak of her marriage. The secondary characters, Jessica, and especially Tony's extended family, will warm the reader's heart, while the evil that lurks in THE MIDNIGHT HOUR will have them checking the closet and under the bed! ~Sharon L. (TLLAIRD@prodigy.net)
Robards, Karen - ONE SUMMER (Dell - 1993) (3+)
Steamy Kentucky-set romance between a "bad boy" ex-con and the ex-teacher who believes in him. My favorite book by a very uneven writer. ~Elena P.
Robards, Karen - SENATOR'S WIFE, THE (Dell - 3/99) (3+)
An unhappy politician's wife falls in love with her husband's political consultant, and she gradually transforms from a selfish to a loving person. For me, this was one of Robards' better books, and certainly her best in some time. I found most of the characters realistic, the hero attractive, the romance romantic, and the crime/legal elements fairly absorbing and suspenseful (although, as is often the case, the solution to the crime was farfetched and melodramatic). ~Elena P.
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