Open Season

With ten Linda Howard novels currently residing in my personal library, I guess I can officially consider myself a fan. As with many authors there are always some commonalities, especially in regards to the male/female dynamic. However, Linda Howard's major themes (romance, psychic/paranormal phenomena, spy/espionage, depraved serial killers) make her novels more varied overall. "Open Season" is one of my favorites. I love Daisy the librarian, and I am always a sucker for an ugly duckling story line. There is some very funny dialogue, and the reluctant attraction between Jack and Daisy is presented in a believable manner. "Dream Man" and "Kill and Tell" would round out my top 3 Linda Howard picks so far (plus "Almost Forever" if you like plain romance - no killings or paranormal activity). If I had to choose just one, I would probably still choose "Open Season".

Linda Howard shines in "Open Season". This book sits proudly on my keeper shelf and every once in a while I pull it down and read it all over again. And every time, I end up laughing as if it were my first time reading it. I love the sensuality. I love the humor. Daisy and Jack are so perfect together, I swear I can so easily see this couple walking down Main St. Holding hands, Daisy laughing while Jack whispers naughty suggestions in her ear. I feel like I know these two characters personally. Yeah, it's that good! Read it and see for yourself... I dare ya!

Open Season - Linda Howard is one of my favorite authors. This story to me was a little different than her usual writing style. I found myself smiling and even laughing outright while reading the antics of Ms. Daisy Miner. This is a heroine you can't help but adore! Meet Ms. Daisy Miner, the librarian in a small town. She's in her late thirties, lives with her mom and aunt, dresses like an old maid, and is pretty much considered "on the shelf" in her mind and in the town's mind too. Daisy has finally decided that instead of giving up, she is going after what she wants, and what she wants is a man, and not just any man, but the marrying kind. Daisy is on the hunt for a husband! First Daisy has to figure out how to accomplish this. She realizes that first she needs to change her image, her "old fashioned" clothes are not going to cut it. With the advice of her mom and aunt, Daisy obtains the help of a friend who helps to whip her into shape in terms of her hair, makeup and clothes. Now, the hunt and the fun begins. Daisy decides that if you want to meet a man you have to go where the men will be, and that's the neighborhood bars and dance clubs. Now throw into this mix, tough ex city cop Chief Russo who is now the small time sheriff in this town. These two keep bumping into each other in town and the results are hilarious. All of Chief Russo's city experience has not prepared him for the small town innocence of Daisy. The dialogue is witty, and you can't help but fall in love with Daisy's innocence, and Chief Russo's interaction with her. I do not want to give this story away, but it truly is a cute fun novel that will keep you chuckling until the end. I would highly recommend.

If you're a fan of Linda Howard's (and if you're not, you should be), you will find "Open Season" to be a satisfying read even though it doesn't offer anything new. If fact, I thought this book was VERY similar to Howard's "Dream Man" without the psychic elements. But hey, "Dream Man" was a great book, so a repeat isn't completely uncalled for.The core story is about a small-town librarian, Daisy Minor, who wakes up on her 34th birthday and realizes that her hair is boring, her clothes are boring, her job is boring, she's boring. Not to mention lonely. Daisy decides that if she doesn't want to spend her life alone, she needs to get busy, and the fastest way to get results is to do a complete make-over into a "party" girl. Sure enough, there is a beautiful, sexy woman under all her frowsiness. Before she even starts her transformation, she butts heads with the new police chief, Jack Russo, an apparent fish-out-of-water Yankee in this sleepy southern berg. He's big, he's intimidating, he's rude. He's also very sexy . As Daisy ventures out to strut her new stuff at the local bars, he becomes concerned that she's way too naive to realize when she's attracted the wrong kind of attention. Daisy wants him to get out of her way so she can continue her man hunt. Dane - I mean Jack - decides that he needs to stick close for her own protection. Then he decides that he just needs to stick close. Somewhere along the way there's a crime to solve and Daisy becomes a target for bad guys. Which means, of course, that Daisy and Jack need to have some hot love scenes.Howard's unique style and humor are evident throughout the book. Daisy's schemes to get the word out that she's available are hysterical, and you will never see colored condoms in the same light. Both of the lead characters are appealing, but Daisy is the more finely drafted of the two. Her ernest attempts to be a party girl are charming. I particularly appreciated that she isn't one of those ninny romantic heroines who has to go do something foolish that she's been warned not to do in order to prove how independent and spirited she is. In fact, when Jack thinks she's left a safe haven he's found for her, she lets him have it. Her response: "I'm safe here; why would I leave? That's what always happens in movies; either the woman or the kid disobeys instructions and does exactly what they've been told not to do, thereby putting both themselves and everyone else in danger. I've always thought that if they were that stupid, then let them die before they have a chance to breed." Hallelujah!The mystery plot is good, but the romance is better. The secondary characters are well-developed, especially the bad guys. All in all, this is a quick read, but a good one.

Over the last five or so books, Linda Howard has become a master at combining suspense, romance, and humor. "Open Season" is no exception; it combines many of the elements that made "Mr. Perfect" such a wonderful book.The heroine of "Open Season," Daisy Minor, is a tremendously charming character. Her honesty, forthrightness, sense of humor, and family reliance all make her an unusually strong and well-developed character. The reluctant hero, Jack, has the bone-deep strength combined with incredibly dangerous effectiveness that always make Linda Howard's heroes so incredibly appealing.The suspense/mystery in "Open Season" is well-done, as usual with Howard. It's interesting enough to provide tension but not so overwhelming as to detract from the characterization and relationship development.As in Howard's previous effort, "Mr. Perfect," we get quite a few laugh-out loud moments, which add tremendously to the appeal.My only criticism is that the relationship between Jack and Daisy somehow lacks the intensity normally found in Howard's books. The relationship lacks both the "immediate sensing of mate" basis typical to Howard books and the "gradual deepening of romance" generally found in romance novels."Open Season" is a tremendous demonstration of all that has made Howard a leader in the field of romantic suspense. The wonderful humor, great suspense, and intense sexuality combine to make this another masterful effort by Howard. It was a lot of fun to read!