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Read Up Close And Dangerous (2007)

Up Close and Dangerous (2007)

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Author
Rating
3.8 of 5 Votes: 4
Your rating
ISBN
0345486528 (ISBN13: 9780345486523)
Language
English
Publisher
ballantine books

Up Close And Dangerous (2007) - Plot & Excerpts

This book won't be for everyone--even fans of Linda Howard may have a hard time with it, because a lot of it has to do with surviving a plane crash, and there isn't a heck of a lot of romance or suspense. But because I don't mind a plot that hinges on survival in the wilderness, for the most part I'd have to say I enjoyed it. Not that I didn't wish that LH would have included some more of this and less of that...The heroine, Bailey, is a 32 year-old attractive widow from Seattle with huge walls around her heart. She was involved in a brief marriage of convenience (for reasons I won't get into) and now that her rich husband's dead she's forced to deal with his two very spoiled, irresponsible, nasty adult children. To take a break from them she decides to go on a vacation with her brother and his wife, and needs to fly to Denver to meet them. She decides to fly by private plane and uses the company that her husband's corporation always uses, J&L Executive Air Limo. The pilot on this trip is one that Bailey considers a grim sourpuss, tall and broad shouldered Cam Justice.Cam thinks Bailey is cold and stuck-up, and figures the trip to Denver is going to be a looong one with her on board. But less than half way there, over some rugged, mountainous terrain, there's engine trouble, and Cam is forced to make a daring, last ditch landing among the treetops. By some miracle, Cam and Bailey survive, although Cam has a serious head injury. Bailey then goes into wonder woman mode (the woman exhausted and impressed me with all she was able to accomplish) and not only pulls the dead weight of Cam from the airplane, but stitches up his head wound, keeps him from dying of hypothermia, and erects a shelter for them. All of this while she has injuries herself. Cam is grateful, impressed, and turned on by Bailey, and makes plans to get around the walls she has around her heart. It will be days before a search team will find them. If they can stay alive that long, will that be enough time for Cam to worm his way into a very cautious, distrustful Bailey's heart?I really liked Cam. He was funny, sweet, and sexy, and appreciated a strong and smart woman like Bailey. Bailey was a bit prickly, and it took me a while to warm up to her. Once LH explained her past a bit, I saw where her attitude was coming from, and I cut her some slack. I liked her and Cam together, although I didn't totally buy the love story. I thought their 'love' might have been influenced a little by their dependence on each other for survival, but what the heck, I decided to go along with it and just enjoy it.I appreciated the survival part of the story, with all the ingenuity that Bailey and Cam showed about how to salvage the plane and the stuff they brought with them to keep themselves warm and alive. At one point though I was tired of all the suffering they went through and I was ready for them to be rescued!The suspense aspect of the plot? Well, the suspense of the plane going down was very harrowing and well-done, as well as the immediate aftermath as it's up to Bailey alone for their survival. Of course we know someone tampered with the plane, but we don't really know who (although LH serves up some prime suspects) or why. The revelation at the end threw me for loop though, as I just did not see that coming.Now the romance? This is where I though LH short-changes the reader. I loved the connection that Cam and Bailey shared as they struggled for days to survive. As Cam got better, his amorous side came out, and somehow (even while practically freezing to death and wearing layers and layers of clothing) he was able to put some moves on Bailey (verbally and physically), and the payoff (when Bailey finally succumbed) was hot and sweet. But I needed to see a little bit more of this emotional and physical connection . Even though the book was over 300 pages, I thought it ended rather abruptly. I needed to see Cam and Bailey under normal, every-day circumstances, to believe that their connection was true and that it would last. A nice little epilogue would've done that for me.Nothing wrong with the writing, the characters, or most of the execution of the story. If LH would've added just a little more, I would've bumped it up a notch. This was a good story, but certainly not one of LH's (who has a ton of wonderful reads) best. 3 1/2 stars

Up Close and Dangerous by Linda Howard is the pick for our book club and the first book of Lina Howard that I read. Bailey. Wingate is a youngt widow who was left as trustee to her late husbands estate to distribute monthly funds to her step children who are older than she is. The step children are Seth and his sister Tamzen. They hold resentment towards Bailey. After a nasty bout with Seth, she decides to go white water rafting with her brother and his wife. The Wingates have always used the same private airlines. Bret and his partner Cam. The day Bret was supposed to take Bailey from Seattle to Colorado his assistant called Cam and told him to get into the office prepared to take Bret's flight. When Cam got in Bret was Duffy his eyes were swollen shut, he looked horrible. Bailey pulled up with 3 large suitcases and a shoulder bag. Cam grabbed one suitcase and Karen grabbed the other 2. After they stowed the luggage they got into the plane. No small talk Bailey kept it all business. They got underway after Cam did his check up. When they reached the mountain over Idaho, the engine sputtered. Cam checked all the switches then the plane shut down. They were going to crash. Cam maneuvered the plane on the thermals till he almost reached the tree line. Then they crashed. Read on to discover how they survived and who sabotaged the plane.

What do You think about Up Close And Dangerous (2007)?

^^NOT THE MOST HAPPY OF WAYS TO GET CLOSE!^^So I read this book a few years ago, and truthfully I was not overly impressed. The second time around was a lot better if I do say so. I interpreted it a lot differently from the first time and found it amusing and very romantic regardless of the dire circumstances.Cam Justice is a pilot, not for a big airline, but a small independently own air fleet that takes rich people to their destinations. He loves his job and shares his work with his best friend and his lioness of a secretary, things are all good. On his day off he gets a call saying he has to fly Bailey Wingate because his partner had a serious allergic reaction and his unable to fly, He is not impressed because Bailey rubs him the wrong way, but he has no other choice.Bailey is looking forward to her mini vacation with her brother and sister-in-law. She wants to escape her evil step-children who hates her existence because she controls the money left by her husband their father. This marriage was basically a business situation, because the step-children are money hungry grubbers. So until they prove some form of maturity the money remains hers to handle and it is looking like forever. Well the vacation will be a welcomed breath of fresh air, until she learns who her pilot is, seems Cam also rubs her the wrong way and this flight looks like its gonna be tortuous.Well there is hardly anytime for uncomfortable moments when the plane sputters and the engine dies, and they crash in the snowy mountains. The book now becomes a matter of survival and remaining alive until they are rescued. What is surprising is that Bailey is the one who does the work of trying to keep them alive, because Cam is seriously injured and she can’t let them freeze to death. This woman comes off all man verses wild, and she handles business. Builds a shelter and works her ass of to make sure Cam remains alive. Nothing brings people together like plane crashes and almost dying it then becomes a classic case of never judge a book by its cover. Bailey thought Cam was a hard ass with his sourpuss face, and Cam thought Bailey was a snooty rich bitch and they realize that they were “oh so very wrong”. They come to realize they could love each other and it took a bloody plane crash to do it. I find it a metaphor for how ridiculi people can be, take time to get to know each other, take the time.Well we know they won’t stay in the cold forever, and some quick talk time and lets keep each other warm sex leads to rejuvenation, and melting snow for water and eating snicker bars. A look around the crash proves the plane was sabotaged and now its figuring it out who wanted them dead.Not a blow away by Linda Howard but I did like Cam he is the type of guy I wanna be stuck with if my plane crashes or something equally disastrous happens to me. The sex was warm enough and Bailey and Cam are good together, not heavy hitting on plot just a light read. I raised it to a 4/stars because I liked Cam, and the other characters are well done, those evil step children are spoiled.
—DarienMoya

I really hadn't heard anything about this book, but when I saw it in the used book store I thought it looked good. I wasn't wrong. Bailey Wingate is a woman that is taking care of the trust funds of her step children, who are about her same age. she only does this out of loyalty to her deceased husband and former boss. But it is a lot to handle and the "kids" are terrible to deal with. When she decides to take a vacation in Colorado, river rafting, she boards a small plane to take her from Seattle to Denver. but things aren't all peachy keen right from the first. The pilot that was scheduled is sick and she is stuck flying with Mr. Sourpuss. Then only a little way into the flight there is engine trouble and eventually the engine completely fails. thanks to the "sourpuss" he sets the plane down in some trees on the side of a mountain, which saves their lives, but they aren't out of the woods yet. Cam Justice is a loner but a great pilot. He runs his air limo business with his best friend and a grumpy secretary. When his partner gets sick at the last minute he has to jump in on that flight. It really shouldn't be a problem, except that he is flying a beautiful but cold and icy Mrs. Wingate. She makes it know that she doesn't like him. But when their plane crash lands in the Idaho Mountains her real self comes out and she shows him how caring, resourceful and determined she really is. She is also a very beautiful woman that he means to get close to. Over the next 5 days they fight the cold, hunger, and a desperate situation. They both surprise each other and show their true selves. And while they overcome obstacles and a work toward survival they also discover that they are very attracted to each other and find that they don't want to let what they have found go. I liked the mutual respect that the couple found in this book. It wasn't the typical man saves woman type of story. And I didn't see the twist at the end coming, which I usually do. I give this book 4 out of 5 stars.
—Wendy

Sukaaaaaakkk...sukaaaaaaakkk...sukaaaaaaaakkk. Selalu suka dengan tema macam ini, dua tokoh utamanya terjebak berdua di daerah antah berantah, harus bertahan hidup dengan makanan dan peralatan seadanya, yang tadinya bermusuhan atau tidak saling kenal, kemudian menjadi saling cinta dan tidak terpisahkan. Beberapa buku yang bertema sama dan sangat kusuka antara lain , , dan .Sudah kuduga dari awal kalau pelaku sabotase itu adalah (view spoiler)[Brett. Soalnya sakitnya mendadak and bikin curiga. Tapi aku masih ragu-ragu coz belum jelas motifnya apa and masa sih Brett setega itu mencelakakan sahabatnya? Ternyata memang beneran tega. (hide spoiler)]
—Mahareni Maldini

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