Comments on: REVIEW: Lady’s Choice by Jayne Ann Krentz

By: Michelle

Michelle — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 16:11:00 +0000

Thanks for this! I loved, loved, LOVED JAK’s temptations when I was in high school and haunted a local UBS. I remember really enjoying this one. Another particular favorite featured a professor.

By: Amy

Amy — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 02:06:57 +0000

I’m reading some of the one and two star reviews on Amazon for Lady’s Choice and I started laughing at the differences between Jane’s “confident, passionate,” and “assertive” woman and others’ comments about a “psychopathic heroine” (7/30/00) and a women who is “just downright unlikeable” (3/27/08).

By: DS

DS — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 22:10:02 +0000

I may have just had a post eaten by the spam filter. Anyway, Christine Rimmer is probably looking for Nightwalker by Stephanie James.

By: DS

DS — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 21:59:04 +0000

@Christine Rimmer: Nightwalker– former casino owner. I remember it was hard to find when I was helping friend glom original editions a few years ago. Probably reprinted, most of the Stephanie James have been. Always wondered why the Dell categories or the MacFadden books were never reprinted. The MacFadden ones were really hard to find– Jayne Bentley.

By: Marsha Love

Marsha Love — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 20:15:06 +0000

Jane, that scene on the car is making me want to hunt down a copy of the book now. Thanks!

By: Marsha Love

Marsha Love — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 20:10:43 +0000

@Christine Rimmer: Could the book you remember be “Gambler’s Woman”? I have the audiobook of JAK’s version (haven’t ‘read’ it yet) but the title kind of matched and “Stephanie James” also had a book with the same title…

Summary:
“To win big, she’d have to risk it all . . .
Dark, dangerous Jordan Kyle lived life on his own terms, setting his own rules and playing for high stakes. He’d moved through this world alone, and was satisfied to have it that way — until he encountered Alyssa Chandler.

By day Alyssa was a cool, controlled mathematical whiz, sorting through facts and figures. By night it was a different story. At night she became a creature of beauty and passion who was more than a match for Jordan. But were Jordan’s seductive caresses enough for Alyssa to take a chance on a future together?

Only time would tell . . . “

By: Jane

Jane — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 00:52:14 +0000

@Malle Your historical perspective is so interesting. I loved the Temptation line. I was so sad to see it retired.

By: Jane

Jane — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 00:51:14 +0000

@Kay Webb HarrisonOh I also loved A Woman's Touch. I can't remember Full Bloom. I bet I have it though.

By: Amy

Amy — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 17:50:56 +0000

This book sounds like something I’d really enjoy. I have never read JAK’s Harlequin novels. I started reading her early Amanda Quick books and later Jayne Ann Krentz singles, but I stopped awhile back when the heroines seemed to all blend in with each other with the similar quirky traits. Now I’m going to see if I could find a used copy of this. Thanks for the review.

By: ReacherFan

ReacherFan — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 17:31:53 +0000

Oh man, that was one of my all time favorite Jayne Ann Krentz books! I found it in a used bookstore and kept it till it fell apart. I LOVED that scene where she stands on the car and yells at Travis! The really funny part is that I was trying to remember the title just last week thinking I would try and hunt a copy down. I’m not fond of her current stuff, but I still own many of her Amanda Quick and Jayne Ann Krentz books in hardcover. I sort of stopped buying her when she went paranormal and I didn’t like the way she did it one bit.

By: Malle

Malle — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 17:27:52 +0000

I started working for Harlequin editing Temptation novels in August 1989 (yup, I’m about to hit my 20 year anniversary) and while I was thrilled to be an editor at Harlequin, I was a little puzzled by Temptation. At that time there were a lot of beta heroes and plots taken from women’s magazines — I didn’t really get the stories. I didn’t think they were strong romances with strong conflict and strong characters. At the end of the first week I picked up LADY’S CHOICE by Jayne and loved, loved, loved it. I especially loved what you highlighted: the heroine’s strength. Hundreds of novels later I can still recall that scene with her on the hood of the car.

Having read the book over a weekend, I was thrilled to get to work on Monday and be able to tell my boss that I had read the JAK and thought it was brilliant. She replied that she thought it was a bit much (hence the beta heroes). Luckily, this was her last week and Birgit Davis-Todd took over as senior editor and turned Temptation into a success — fast-paced, sexy, sometimes sassy romances with alpha heroes and heroines! In fact, Birgit even brought Jayne to the Toronto offices to help us reinvent Temptation.

We’ll look into the eBooks thing — obviously a rights question — because now I want to read it again. JAK rules!

By: Kay Webb Harrison

Kay Webb Harrison — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 16:50:05 +0000

This is also one of my favorite JAK Harlequin Temptations. Others that have this theme are A Woman's Touch and Dreams 1 & 2. In Full Bloom, the heroine triumphs over her over-bearing relatives. She took an assertiveness training class, and studied martial arts. One of the great scenes from the book is when she sends the hero flowers to apologize; his reaction is priceless. Kay

By: Jinni

Jinni — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 16:35:59 +0000

I miss Temptation. Blaze didn’t fully fill Temptation’s shoes (and I’ve stopped reading them in the last year because the plots are suffering). I still have a few Temptations on the keeper shelf.

By: Christine Rimmer

Christine Rimmer — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 15:14:01 +0000

Thanks, Jane. I had forgotten how much I loved this book. Also, your review made me think of another JAK whose title I can never recall. It was a Desire. Under her Desire psuedonym, Stephanie James. The hero ran a casino and he never came out in the daytime. It was like, “Is he, possibly, a vampire or something?” It was so smart and funny and sexy and well done. Just wish I could remember the title…

Also, back in the late ’80s when I first started writing and submitting romance, I sent my first baby to Desire where Isabel Swift was the Sr. Ed. I waited like three weeks and called her, wanting to know what was up with my wonderful book! She was so kind and patient as she explained to me why it was not for them (Now, looking back, I can’t believe she got to it so quickly–and even was able somehow to look it up right there on the spot; this was pre-computer at most houses, including Silhouette) Once I realized she wouldn’t buy my baby, I started talking about JAK’s Desires. I was just all over the poor woman, drooling in admiration for Krentz–well, for “Stephanie James,” I mean. Isabel let me babble on for a while. When I finally paused for a breath, she said something about how I should just be myself. She was lovely about the whole thing, and I after I hung up I felt a little foolish. But not that foolish. After all, she did agree with me. We both loved the books of “Stephanie James.”

By: Jeanette

Jeanette — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 14:24:38 +0000

I agree with you completely! I have this book in my Castle/Krentz/Quick keepers.

I think what I really love about Jayne Ann’s writing is the way she is able to inject vunerability into very masculine men. Even in the 80′s-90′s she had strong women vs very alpha men with a vunerability that gave the women equal footing.

Your review made me smile Thanks.

By: tracyleann

tracyleann — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 14:19:25 +0000

I used to love Jayne Ann Krentz books–totally glommed them when I was in college in the late 90s. Since then, the plots have all sort of melded together in my head and recently I have been trying to recall what I liked so much about them. Thanks for reminding me!

By: May B.

May B. — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 12:58:46 +0000

Lady’s choice is also one of my favorite book. I do not usually like Ms. Krentz’s category but this one stand out (another that I really love is The Family Way). Reading you review make me want to reread this book again.