REVIEW: Uneasy Alliance by Jayne Ann Krentz
Dear Ms. Krentz:
I’ve read many of your out of print Harlequin Temptations (it was one of my favorite Harlequin lines). Lady’s Choice with featuring a barista who secretly wanted to be selling tea was probably my favorite although I’ve re-read The Wedding Night wherein the heroine, Angie, finds out too late that her husband married her as part of a business deal…or did he? One title I had not read was Uneasy Alliance, Harlequin Temptation No. #11. Harlequin just re-released the book (in paper only) as part of their Famous First celebration.
Uneasy Alliance is a book for die hard Krentz fans only because while I appreciate how Abby and Torr are types of characters Krentz fans grow to love, the two are immature reflections. Abby is somewhat independent but allows Torr to basically control every aspect of her life toward the end. Torr appears quirky and deep but also exhibits caveman like behavior which isn’t as elegantly done in Uneasy Alliance as it does it later books.
Abby Lyndon and Torr Latimer meet in a Japanese flower arranging class. Torr’s designs are perfect models of restraint and harmony. Abby’s are a hopeless profusion of color and abundance. Torr has watched Abby throughout the class and takes the opportunity at the end of one to drive Abby home. “Tonight he wanted to take Abby Lyndon home and do all sorts of intriguing, foolhardy things.”
Torr is a commodities trader and Abby makes her living selling, and imbibing, vitamin supplements. A Krentz story has always had the hallmark of dry wit. Uneasy Alliance is no different.
“Vitamins?” Torr picked up one of the green-and-gold boxes and examined the label. “You must take a lot of them. ‘MegaLife Vitamin Supplements, for the person who insists on living life to the fullest extent,'” he read. “You must have a very full live, judging by the thousands of vitamins stored in this room.”
Torr straightforwardly tells Abby he wants a relationship, one that ends up in bed while Abby informs Torr that she’s not in the right place for a relationship at the moment. This is primarily due to the fact that Abby is being blackmailed by someone over an alleged weekend away with Abby’s cousin’s husband.
Abby and Torr squabble over how to handle the blackmail, how to navigate their relationship, and whom has ownership rights over whom. Toward the end of the book, Torr is throwing out the “mine” term heavily along with some pretty florid talk toward the blackmailer. (I think he tells the blackmailer he’s going to kill him at least four times in the space of about six paragraphs).
In all, the book was a quick read and a fun revisiting of Krentz’s early work. For newcomers to Krentz, I wouldn’t recommend it though. She’s much better than her first effort even though her first effort isn’t bad. C
Best regards,
Jane
This book can be purchased at Amazon. Curiously there is no ebook that I can find of this.
I read Uneasy Alliance and some of her other older ones. I love seeing how her writing has developed since that time. Jayne Ann Krentz (or her writings as AManda Quick or J Castle) all intrigue me. I find it very interesting to read the older work of my favorite authors – you can almost see how they grow personally and as writers. Thanks for the great post!
I remember liking the first half or so, but then feeling really frustrated when the hero went all caveman.