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mvbookreviewer's review
5.0
Ah!, now this is a favorite contemporary romance from JM.
I love love love Michael Valente!
I love love love Michael Valente!
felizas's review
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
kathydavie's review
5.0
Fourth in the Second Opportunity romantic-suspense series. The couple focus in this story is Michael Valente and Leigh Kendall.
My Take
What can I say, it's a McNaught. I love her work. She may be formulaic, but she does write a good story that kept me entranced and racing through the pages. A woman's life is turned upside down and threatened and from the background comes her white knight to save the day.
McNaught always has her underdog and in this case, the love of this good woman has sustained Valente on his straight and narrow path for fourteen years. What a kick in the teeth for Trumanti! I love it!! The negative side is too true of human nature. A decent woman surrounded by people whom she thought were good friends. I did like McCord's stand at the end. It's these strong, sensitive alpha males that get me every time.
McNaught sets a good pace and it's a good thing the kittens left me alone to read!
The Story
It's a successful opening for her new play, and Leigh Kendall is happy to be heading up to their new place in the mountains but frustrated and very nervous following Logan's directions in this rapidly developing storm. Stopped in the road to re-check her directions, someone hits her car, and she goes tumbling down the mountainside.
Just as her life also takes a tumble when she wakes in the hospital, her husband still hasn't shown, and Leigh is terrified that he's in trouble. Upon the police discovering that Michael Valente is one of the Mannings' acquaintances, she is in trouble as well. For Valente is a known criminal with violent tendencies and obviously, Leigh and Valente have plotted his murder. It's only a matter of time before the police find his body in spite of all the misleading Leigh is attempting.
It's a series of misconstrued realities and prejudices with strong demands by the police commissioner that send the police off on their tangent giving us the opportunity to see true nobility in action.
The Characters
Leigh Kendall is the focus of the story. She's happy. She's magic. She's at the top of her game as a Broadway actress. Surrounded by friends and a loving husband. About to have her wonderful life shatter into pieces at her feet.
The gorgeous Logan Manning is Leigh's husband. A scion of an old respected and once-wealthy family, Logan has brought the family fortunes back with a vengeance. Michael Valente is Falco Nipote, an old acquaintance from her pre-stardom days, who worked for his aunt, Mrs. Angelini, at the little Italian market in Leigh's neighborhood.
Jason Solomon is the author of Leigh's current play; Eric Ingram is his lover. Jane Sebring is the cruelly ambitious actress dying to take over the role from Leigh.
Dr. Sheila Winters is the psychiatrist who first counseled Leigh and Logan when they were having problems; she later became friends with both of them. Hilda is Leigh's trusted housekeeper with a brutal attitude toward dust while Joe O'Hara is on loan as a chauffeur-bodyguard from Matt and Meredith Farrell (Paradise) while they take their round-the-world cruise. Brenna is her personal assistant. Trish Lefkowitz is her publicist.
Detectives Sam Littleton and Malcolm Shrader with Lieutenant Mitchell McCord heading up the investigation. Commissioner William Trumanti has a real hard-on for Valente and McCord is directed at doing all he can to pin something on him.
The Cover and Title
The cover is in deep shades of blue forming the corner of a building with someone's shadow cast against the cobalt blue of its pinkly lit side.
The title is up in lights just as Leigh Kendall's name is usually up in lights on Broadway when she's starring in a play. Little does she know there is always Someone to Watch Over Me.
My Take
What can I say, it's a McNaught. I love her work. She may be formulaic, but she does write a good story that kept me entranced and racing through the pages. A woman's life is turned upside down and threatened and from the background comes her white knight to save the day.
McNaught always has her underdog and in this case, the love of this good woman has sustained Valente on his straight and narrow path for fourteen years. What a kick in the teeth for Trumanti! I love it!! The negative side is too true of human nature. A decent woman surrounded by people whom she thought were good friends. I did like McCord's stand at the end. It's these strong, sensitive alpha males that get me every time.
McNaught sets a good pace and it's a good thing the kittens left me alone to read!
The Story
It's a successful opening for her new play, and Leigh Kendall is happy to be heading up to their new place in the mountains but frustrated and very nervous following Logan's directions in this rapidly developing storm. Stopped in the road to re-check her directions, someone hits her car, and she goes tumbling down the mountainside.
Just as her life also takes a tumble when she wakes in the hospital, her husband still hasn't shown, and Leigh is terrified that he's in trouble. Upon the police discovering that Michael Valente is one of the Mannings' acquaintances, she is in trouble as well. For Valente is a known criminal with violent tendencies and obviously, Leigh and Valente have plotted his murder. It's only a matter of time before the police find his body in spite of all the misleading Leigh is attempting.
It's a series of misconstrued realities and prejudices with strong demands by the police commissioner that send the police off on their tangent giving us the opportunity to see true nobility in action.
The Characters
Leigh Kendall is the focus of the story. She's happy. She's magic. She's at the top of her game as a Broadway actress. Surrounded by friends and a loving husband. About to have her wonderful life shatter into pieces at her feet.
The gorgeous Logan Manning is Leigh's husband. A scion of an old respected and once-wealthy family, Logan has brought the family fortunes back with a vengeance. Michael Valente is Falco Nipote, an old acquaintance from her pre-stardom days, who worked for his aunt, Mrs. Angelini, at the little Italian market in Leigh's neighborhood.
Jason Solomon is the author of Leigh's current play; Eric Ingram is his lover. Jane Sebring is the cruelly ambitious actress dying to take over the role from Leigh.
Dr. Sheila Winters is the psychiatrist who first counseled Leigh and Logan when they were having problems; she later became friends with both of them. Hilda is Leigh's trusted housekeeper with a brutal attitude toward dust while Joe O'Hara is on loan as a chauffeur-bodyguard from Matt and Meredith Farrell (Paradise) while they take their round-the-world cruise. Brenna is her personal assistant. Trish Lefkowitz is her publicist.
Detectives Sam Littleton and Malcolm Shrader with Lieutenant Mitchell McCord heading up the investigation. Commissioner William Trumanti has a real hard-on for Valente and McCord is directed at doing all he can to pin something on him.
The Cover and Title
The cover is in deep shades of blue forming the corner of a building with someone's shadow cast against the cobalt blue of its pinkly lit side.
The title is up in lights just as Leigh Kendall's name is usually up in lights on Broadway when she's starring in a play. Little does she know there is always Someone to Watch Over Me.
wellactjoally's review
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
4.0
Cops with a vendetta. Years of longing. The perfect marriage that isn’t. Rebuilding a life.
rissa83's review
3.0
This book had a slow start but as soon as the story picked up, it was an easy/good read. ....
***SPOILERS AHEAD*****
There was a couple of subject that I found very unrealistic like....
-how the heroine would agree to marry another guy within 3 months after she found out her cheating husband was murdered. (even if he was a total jerk, why would you trust so easily?)
-also I thought the love story between Littleton and McCord was unnecessary. I just wanted to skip that whole part.
***SPOILERS AHEAD*****
There was a couple of subject that I found very unrealistic like....
-how the heroine would agree to marry another guy within 3 months after she found out her cheating husband was murdered. (even if he was a total jerk, why would you trust so easily?)
-also I thought the love story between Littleton and McCord was unnecessary. I just wanted to skip that whole part.
shan198025's review against another edition
4.0
I liked Leigh and I liked Michael. Her husband was a douchebag and I spent ½ the book waiting for her to realize it. Once she did she definitely didn't let any grass grow before she moved on to bigger and better. Other than everything happening REALLY quickly I loved the book.
sierrarice's review
5.0
Best murder mystery I’ve read in awhile. Absolutely loved the unpredictability of it all!
aminowrimo's review
3.0
This is a really interesting idea, and I liked it. The use of flashback was something I don't remember seeing in McNaught's books before. I even liked the double romance that's going on in this book— though I almost liked Mack and Sam's story more than Michael and Leigh's.
(All the names in this book are fantastic, by the way).
Basically, Leigh Manning's husband, Logan, heads off to a cabin in the mountains to get things ready for a relaxing weekend with his wife. When Leigh follows him up to the cabin, she gets caught in a blizzard, run off the road, and ends up escaping from her car, being carried to a hospital… She wakes up and Logan, the man she's been married to for 14 years, is nowhere to be seen.
At about this point, Michael Valente shows up. He's from her past— before the Broadway Superstardom— and he's determined to help her in any way he can.
This Michael Valente is quite possibly one of my favorite characters. He's basically waited for her for years— and has never made a single overture to her, until now.
As Leigh finds out that her husband wasn't who he said he was, the two detectives, McCord and Sam, start their own romance.
And everything, of course, ends happily ever after. The last scene is beautiful.
So, here's a list of things I liked about this book:
- The hero's backstory.
- The premise of the story.
- The plot.
- The two romances.
Here are the things I didn't:
- The stalker: He's there, it seems, only to cast suspicions upon Michael. When he's found… he's dismissed within a paragraph… we don't even get his name. Maybe stalkers are always treated like this?
- Jane: I would have liked to get more inside her head— but then, that's probably just me and my interests.
All in all, an interesting story, with believable characters and a great deal of intrigue.
(All the names in this book are fantastic, by the way).
Basically, Leigh Manning's husband, Logan, heads off to a cabin in the mountains to get things ready for a relaxing weekend with his wife. When Leigh follows him up to the cabin, she gets caught in a blizzard, run off the road, and ends up escaping from her car, being carried to a hospital… She wakes up and Logan, the man she's been married to for 14 years, is nowhere to be seen.
At about this point, Michael Valente shows up. He's from her past— before the Broadway Superstardom— and he's determined to help her in any way he can.
This Michael Valente is quite possibly one of my favorite characters. He's basically waited for her for years— and has never made a single overture to her, until now.
As Leigh finds out that her husband wasn't who he said he was, the two detectives, McCord and Sam, start their own romance.
And everything, of course, ends happily ever after. The last scene is beautiful.
So, here's a list of things I liked about this book:
- The hero's backstory.
- The premise of the story.
- The plot.
- The two romances.
Here are the things I didn't:
- The stalker: He's there, it seems, only to cast suspicions upon Michael. When he's found… he's dismissed within a paragraph… we don't even get his name. Maybe stalkers are always treated like this?
- Jane: I would have liked to get more inside her head— but then, that's probably just me and my interests.
All in all, an interesting story, with believable characters and a great deal of intrigue.