It was an amazing read! There was character development and growth. Perfection has its flaws. I loved both of the characters - Rusty Carlson, heroine, and Cooper Landry, hero. Rusty was from Beverly Hills, Los Angeles. Yet to me, she was not the spoiled rich girl Cooper pegged her to be. She trudged along like a true wilderness camper. Mind you, she did not like the few things that Cooper did, like shred up her fox fur coat or the fact that he snuggled up to her to create more heat. Everything was done to survive. Slowy and surely, she realized that. What rankled me about her was her naivete about the Gawrylow men and their intentions. Cooper was only trying to protect her. It was unfortunate that it resulted in Cooper killing them. Yet again, it was self-defense. However, Rusty, at first, did not see that. Ooh!!!! When she started whining about her not knowing the temptation she created by combing her hair by the firelight or the way the younger Gawrylow was looking at her, I just wanted to slap her myself. I kept bumping my head against the wall at her naivete. Again, I don't say this too much about a book; however, if a book could bring forth emotions like wanting to slap the crap out of a character, then that is a heck of a book. Now Cooper was not without flaws. He was verbally abusive and not very gentlemanly like. However, that was overlooked with all that he did to keep them alive. He did win extra points when he was ugly drunk and confessed hie feelings for her. Their was so much heat between the two characters you can actually feel it every time they got into an argument and/or everytime they looked at each other. It was like foreplay...heated words and heated gazes as foreplay. I sighed when they finally succumbed to their passion. It was about darn time. Also, I thought it awesome that Rusty finally stood up to her dad and cut the comparison b.s. to her beloved, deceased brother Jeff. It took only the words of having a baby something that Jeff could never do to cut her father down to size. I loved the fact that Cooper could not stay away from his woman and that Rusty went after her man. It was awesome that Rusty did not give up on Cooper and his viselike grip on his heart. Little did she know, Rusty had weakened that hold on his heart the first time he saw her. He was just too damn stubborn, pig headed, hurt from a former flame, disgusted and tainted by a war that still affects the veterans that fought. Rusty and Cooper struggled two alone in a wilderness to come out stronger as one with love, passion, trust, heart and a family. Thank you, Ms. Brown, for the happy ending. I am a fan.
Two Alone - the 2012 reissue of 1987 by "Roxanne St. Claire"This is the story of two plane crash survivors briefly lost in the Canadian mountains before returning to the real world. Cooper is an unloved rugged Vietnam vet with a mustache and Rusty is an annoying cinnamon haired successful real estate agent from Beverly Hills. These two were an unlikely duo from the start. Rusty constantly complained. She was cold, she was wet, her nails were broken, her hair was matted, and Cooper was mean. Poor Cooper, he looked out for her well being by feeding her the rabbits he caught and he nursed her badly injured leg. Of course, he also kept her warm during those cold Canadian nights. (If you read Linda Howard's Up Close and Dangerous: A Novel it also begins with two plane crash survivors stranded in the cold, but THANKFULLY Sandra Brown allowed her two main characters to take a bath before their romance began.)Sandra Brown is brilliant at creating tales of men and women who fall in love against the odds, but I felt this story was mostly about the lust Cooper had for Rusty's body rather than the true love they should have felt for each other after their ordeal. Even Cooper admits it by saying "in bed we're great, but we'd never make a life together.""...as in all romance novels expect a happy ending" Brown admits this in a statement at the beginning of the audio version. The happy ending was rushed. In every romance there is usually a dramatic break up followed by a passionate make up. There was no make up to read about and to become emotionally involved in. It just happened with the characters reminiscing about how they finally got the happy ending. I felt cheated. I want that scene they described!This was not my favorite, but past or present, Sandra Brown in my opinion is the absolute best in this genre! Two Alone was also brilliantly narrated by Joyce Bean. She is one of the best female narrators in the audiobook world.
What do You think about Two Alone (2007)?
RomanceRusty Carlson (27), real estate agent and Cooper Landry, a ranch owner (Vietnam war veteran/pow) were sole survivors of an airplane crash in remote Canada. Rusty injured her leg. They left the plane after smelling fuel and tried surviving in the wilderness until rescued. They spent two weeks alone. Rusty is a city person, and Cooper is a loner. They can't help attracted to each other, but they tried denying it. They fight a lot, but tried to be amiable to survive. They found two men who lived in a nearby cabin. They were father and son hillbillies. They said they can show the way to river, that was the way to the closest town, but wanted to get Rusty for themselves. Cooper had to kill both men, and one was killed just before he tried to rape Rusty.They lived in the cabin since then. They each learned of each other's baggage, that Rusty was hang up with her father's love and live up to the level of her brother, Jeff who died suddenly in a car accident. Cooper could not forgive his fiance aborting their baby, he did not get love growing up, and he still suffered from painful experience in the war.They met only twice since both went back to their homes.Rusty realized that she really loves him and convinced herself that she'd make Cooper admit he loves her, too. She drove to his far away house in the snow and told him so. Later she was pregnant and living with him in his house on ranch, taking a monthly trip to LA, where she still worked and did shopping, concerts and meeting friends.A lot of back and forth emotions, fights and physical attractions. Mediocre level for me.ワイルド・フォレスト（Two Alone) tヒーローは小学生のとき、父を亡くす。海兵隊にはいりベトナム捕虜収容所体験、結婚するつもりだった女性が勝手に中絶した。ヒロインは兄を交通事故で亡くした。サバイバル系種馬悶々ヒーロー t不動産会社社長令嬢ラスティ、馬牧場主クーパー tなかなかワイルドなラブで抑圧された欲望が爆発！ヒーローのなみなみならぬ悶々苦労が読後笑えてくる。 これまでのエリンヒーローと違ってマッチョな牧場主系になってしまった。
—HK
I liked the story. There were bits of drama, which made it more appealing. I love the two characters, Cooper and Rusty. The two things I didn't like about the book were: 1. Cooper's mustache, and 2. the ending of the story. For Cooper's mustache, I don't like it. I'm not saying he's not good-looking (I can picture him okay with a mustache) but, the idea behind it of him having it what I don't like. Just when, I thought he was gonna shave it, it wasn't meant to be. So, I accepted his mustache but
—Mary Wyman
Two Alone felt dated but despite that I did enjoy it even though there were moments I didn't like the hero Cooper or the heroine Rusty much.They are the only survivors of a plane crash and are stranded together. Cooper was a mean boor, belittling Rusty sometimes and being tender the next, if he was woman I would have said mood swings but hey he wasn't. He was pretty crude as well, in the things he said and implied to Rusty. Of course he had a sob story, terrible mother, POW in Nam, then a bad woman. Rusty was a rich pampered kid who vied for her father's approval but I liked it when she put her foot down in the end and the whole stranded experience was new to her, she was injured so she did whine a bit.Read this when you are in a mood for a hero who is verbally abusive at times and different the next and the heroine who just seems to forget it and jumps into bed with him.
—Saly
