Monday, April 20, 2020

Book Review: Mackenzie's Heroes

I'll have to post more about my Linda Howard shopping spree later but as I was going through her books (all in one box, of course) I found this and realized I hadn't read it and her books are always fast for me so why not?
MacKenzie's Heroes - Linda Howard 

Mackenzie's Pleasure

Navy SEAL Zane Mackenzie was a pro. No mission had ever gotten the better of him—until now. Saving the ambassador's gorgeous daughter, Barrie Lovejoy, had been textbook—except for their desperate night of passion. And though his job as a soldier had ended with her freedom, his duties as a husband had only just begun. For he would sooner die than let the enemy harm the mother of his child.

Mackenzie's Magic
Talented trainer Maris Mackenzie was wanted for horse theft, but with no memory of that fateful day, she had little chance of proving her innocence or eluding the villains behind the prize stallion's disappearance. Her only hope for salvation? The stranger in her bed. 

Well, as it turns out, I had already read MacKenzie's Pleasure before and you can read my more detailed review about it HERE. The quick and dirty of it is that Barrie is "randomly" kidnapped and in some gross terrorist holding building in Benghazi, Libya. Zane, a SEAL who finds himself deployed with his time in action and not in charge because of a training accident injuring some of his team, is sent to rescue her.

I don't have to tell you what happens because it is a really fast read and you'll get through it in a day. My favorite part about Linda Howard books is that while a lot of her books (especially the earlier ones like this) have the cheesiest story line and no way is it realistic but dammit. Here I am and take all of my money.

Out of all of the MacKenzie's though, Zane is maybe my favorite. I take that back. It is really tied between him and his brother Chance but that's another book for another day. I felt like this book though, really had the romance-slash-sex scenes you are wanting when you get into a romance and for being a book written in the mid-90's, its pretty spot on.

Part two of this book is MacKenzie's Magic and it is basically a novella covering the youngest of the MacKenzie family, the only daughter, Maris. I didn't expect a whole lot from this one considering it really is just a novella strapped to the end of an actual novel, but this one fell flat for me. I mean, Maris decides to marry a guy while she is still concussed and doesn't even know his first name.

So that happened.

Her entire story centers around a horse (the family is big into horses but she's living in a different state than them and doing her own career) maybe being a target in an insurance scam and/or murder plot. Of course the FBI is involved and Maris finds herself in the middle of it. Instead of letting the authorities handle it like a normal person, she uses herself as bait and literally all hell breaks loose.

The book, with both stories together, is a 4. I really liked MacKenzie's Pleasure a lot more than MacKenzie's Magic but hey, I'm not going to turn down a novella. I feel like this was written when novellas weren't really a thing people cared about or wanted so I have to cut it a little bit of slack.

I am going to try really hard to start reviewing the books I have on my shelf that I've read but just not blogged about, so stayed tuned for that. Linda Howard really is one of my favorite authors and I don't know if its just because she was the one who really kicked off my reading obsession as an adult, or what? I was a big reader as a kid and then when I graduated high school I kind of got out of it and it was my mid 20's when I can back and it was because of her book Open Season. I don't know.

So if you're in the mood for a romance, maybe even a cheesy one that'll be eye roll worthy enough to make you forget about the quarantine nightmare we're living, go for this one.

   
(This post contains affiliate links. When you click on them and order something, I will make a few cents at no extra cost to you.)

1 comment:

Shooting Stars Mag said...

Sometimes you just love certain books and authors. Glad this was one was pretty enjoyable - and sorry you ended up re-reading it, but since you love her, I suppose that wasn't a hardship. ;)

-Lauren
www.shootingstarsmag.net