Reviews
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While returning from a friend's shower, a very pregnant, very widowed, and very alone Leah goes into labor on a deserted highway. Rugged fellow widower and stranger Chad Dillon arrives on the scene and helps her through the tough labor and soon finds himself attracted to the new mother. Leah is not sure she wants to give herself to another man after losing her husband in the line of duty, especially one as secretive as Chad. But he relentlessly pursues her until she gives in to his desires. Please. Call me a cynic, but I wouldn't want some strange man going ga ga over me as I'm giving birth on the side of the road. Talk about a huge "ick factor!"
Being an early Brown novel, there are communication issues which keep the protagonists apart instead of real relationship issues. One thing is for certain, this book should never have been re-released. Poor writing, poor plotting, poor dialogue. You name it. This story has it (or doesn't as the case may be). The story is eerily similar to Linda Howard's horrid "Bluebird Winter," another must miss melodrama from the 80's. Save your money and get this tripe from the library.
Being an early Brown novel, there are communication issues which keep the protagonists apart instead of real relationship issues. One thing is for certain, this book should never have been re-released. Poor writing, poor plotting, poor dialogue. You name it. This story has it (or doesn't as the case may be). The story is eerily similar to Linda Howard's horrid "Bluebird Winter," another must miss melodrama from the 80's. Save your money and get this tripe from the library.
reviewed by tsu on November 25, 2006 5:24 PM
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When a book this bad bears Sandra Brown's name, my first thought is, "Wow. Talk about multi-tasking! Writing a novel while having a phone conversation and working a crossword puzzle must have been hard."
My second thought is "Naptime!"
The opening chapter shows promise: a young widow goes into labor on an abandoned desert highwsay and is rescued by a handsome stranger.
The fact that he has a tough time repressing thoughts of sexual desire for a woman who's in labor is a teensy bit wierd, but maybe that's just me.
More intriguing is the question of why Leigh is driving alone, in this isolated environment, so near her due date, in the era before cell phones. What is she running from? What dark secret will her rescuer discover?
Relax. She's not running from anything. She's returning home from a wedding shower, alone, in the desert, with no way to contact anyone in an emergency, eight-and-one-half months into her first pregnancy. Oops! Now she's in labor.
If Leigh has a dark secret, it's that she's about as sharp as a pound of wet leather.*
Hunky widower Chad delivers Leigh's baby in the back of his pickup truck. After that, the plot is as exhausted as the mom. What happens during the remaining 95% of the book is...
(CAUTION: SPOILER)
...nothing.
That's right, pretty much nothing happens. The sole source of tension is Leigh's reluctance to commit to a man who has a dangerous job. Why he would want a commitment from a woman like Leigh remains one of the great unsolved mysteries of the romance genre.
My best guess is that Leigh is the only woman Chad knows who lactates on the second date.
If that's not what has him so obsessed that he puts up with Leigh's passive-aggressive whining, I can't even hazard a guess. Aside from her breasts, which must be truly spectacular, Leigh's other memorable traits are a blank space where her sense of humor should be, and an inability to hear tragic revelations from Chad's past without throwing a temper fit because he didn't tell her sooner. She's the person for whom they invented the phrase, "It's all about me."
About halfway through "Shadows of Yesterday," I accepted that the plot twist I was hoping for wasn't likely to happen. If this plot developed a single wrinkle, Leigh would iron it.
So why did I stick around until the end? I blame Hurricane Wilma.
Reading by flashlight stops being fun after the first few nights of a power outage. So before Wilma arrived, I stocked up on Walkman batteries and books on CD. "Shadows of Yesterday" was the one I started on day 8 of a 10-day power outage. I'd have listened to the unabridged description of grass growing.
FYI, if you enjoy audio books during long car trips or extended power outages, there are some great selections in romantic suspense by Sandra Brown, Linda Howard and Karen Robards. The actor who reads Brown's "White Hot," Victor Slezak, adds a substantial amount of heat to an already sizzling novel.
I can promise you won't fall asleep listening to "White Hot," "Chill Factor" or the less substantial but still enjoyable "Demon Rumm." For insomnia, stick with "Shadows of Yesterday." If nothing else, you can use the CDs as coasters.
*Quoted courtesy of Foghorn Leghorn.
My second thought is "Naptime!"
The opening chapter shows promise: a young widow goes into labor on an abandoned desert highwsay and is rescued by a handsome stranger.
The fact that he has a tough time repressing thoughts of sexual desire for a woman who's in labor is a teensy bit wierd, but maybe that's just me.
More intriguing is the question of why Leigh is driving alone, in this isolated environment, so near her due date, in the era before cell phones. What is she running from? What dark secret will her rescuer discover?
Relax. She's not running from anything. She's returning home from a wedding shower, alone, in the desert, with no way to contact anyone in an emergency, eight-and-one-half months into her first pregnancy. Oops! Now she's in labor.
If Leigh has a dark secret, it's that she's about as sharp as a pound of wet leather.*
Hunky widower Chad delivers Leigh's baby in the back of his pickup truck. After that, the plot is as exhausted as the mom. What happens during the remaining 95% of the book is...
(CAUTION: SPOILER)
...nothing.
That's right, pretty much nothing happens. The sole source of tension is Leigh's reluctance to commit to a man who has a dangerous job. Why he would want a commitment from a woman like Leigh remains one of the great unsolved mysteries of the romance genre.
My best guess is that Leigh is the only woman Chad knows who lactates on the second date.
If that's not what has him so obsessed that he puts up with Leigh's passive-aggressive whining, I can't even hazard a guess. Aside from her breasts, which must be truly spectacular, Leigh's other memorable traits are a blank space where her sense of humor should be, and an inability to hear tragic revelations from Chad's past without throwing a temper fit because he didn't tell her sooner. She's the person for whom they invented the phrase, "It's all about me."
About halfway through "Shadows of Yesterday," I accepted that the plot twist I was hoping for wasn't likely to happen. If this plot developed a single wrinkle, Leigh would iron it.
So why did I stick around until the end? I blame Hurricane Wilma.
Reading by flashlight stops being fun after the first few nights of a power outage. So before Wilma arrived, I stocked up on Walkman batteries and books on CD. "Shadows of Yesterday" was the one I started on day 8 of a 10-day power outage. I'd have listened to the unabridged description of grass growing.
FYI, if you enjoy audio books during long car trips or extended power outages, there are some great selections in romantic suspense by Sandra Brown, Linda Howard and Karen Robards. The actor who reads Brown's "White Hot," Victor Slezak, adds a substantial amount of heat to an already sizzling novel.
I can promise you won't fall asleep listening to "White Hot," "Chill Factor" or the less substantial but still enjoyable "Demon Rumm." For insomnia, stick with "Shadows of Yesterday." If nothing else, you can use the CDs as coasters.
*Quoted courtesy of Foghorn Leghorn.
reviewed by rob33 on November 28, 2006 5:46 PM
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SHADOWS of Yesterday,
Can best be define as a very,favorful READ!
Perfect for those days when you ONLY want
a short,sweet & sassy taste of Romance on your tongue. Mmmm...nice!
Can best be define as a very,favorful READ!
Perfect for those days when you ONLY want
a short,sweet & sassy taste of Romance on your tongue. Mmmm...nice!
reviewed by perfectstorm on November 29, 2006 9:12 AM
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A good book for a quick romantic escape if the reader isn't looking for something too deep, nor true to real life. Yes, Chad wasn't upfront with Leigh about his wealth and his line of work, but it's understandable that he was being gentle and going slow with this new love and didn't want to scare her off. And Leigh was too skittish and could have avoided a lot of conflict with open communication rather than stewing anger and running away, but again, it's understandable considering her personal history. Despite these flaws, they were still quite likeable characters, and the reader is drawn into an emotional connection with them. I found myself wishing they were my friends, and cheering them on, hoping they'd find a way to work out their differences and make a life together.
reviewed by tsu on November 29, 2006 2:56 PM