LoveSpell, $5.50, ISBN 0-505-52394-9
Paranormal Romance, 2000
Blue-Eyed Bandit is a hybrid of campy fun, downright sizzling sexiness, and humor gone haywire. I love the title of the story, but I think the cover art is boring. I like the hero, but I think the heroine is annoying. So I’m afraid I’ll just toss a coin – heads I’ll love it and tails I’ll savage it for my sadistic pleasure.
Okay, I’ll be more scientific and analyze things.
The story first. The main characters of Free Falling are now living happily as modern yuppies in 2000. But they are not pleased when they realize that Darian Woodward, the dude they met during their sojourn in 1870, was hanged soon after they left the past for modern plumbing. Even worse, the nice dude they know was painted as some sort of Western Genghis Khan’s Evil Twin in history books.
But since they are reluctant to leave the comforts of an automatic flush toilet bowl – okay, because Cora is preggers – they decide to send their friend Emily Morgan instead. Emily thinks time travel is nonsense (imagine that), but she steps into the magic whirlwind that is the gateway to the past and woosh!
Fine, so she’ll try and save Darian, but heck if she’ll fall in love with him. No way! No blarney blarney bloody way!
Darian isn’t actually a bad guy, he’s framed by his evil superior. But now that he knows he will die soon, he decides to take Em with him on his run from the law. Now, he will find a way to uphold justice, lose his cherry, and save the day. Small potatoes for a hero, yes indeed.
Thing is, I don’t know. Blue-Eyed Bandit is sometimes fun, sometimes sexy, sometimes silly, sometimes great, and sometimes downright illogical. It’s as if this book is written by many, many people, or by the author when she is in very different moods. Sometimes Darian and Emily are like two Stooges after a non-stop alcohol and herbal substances binge; they act silly and behave stupidly. Darian eats the silly cake when, during his act of waving his gun around a salon and throwing drunkards around, he wonders why everyone is looking at him like they are scared of him. Really, huh. Must be something in the air, Darian. Emily too is contradictory. Sometimes she is smart like a crack shot, making practical suggestions that bowl me and Darian over. Then she’s acting ninny and vapid, screaming and whining as if there’s something stuck up her nostrils.
The plot too is like a up- and downhill ride. Sometimes it’s funny, sometimes it’s silly in a campy way, and sometimes it is downright painful in its silliness.
Well, at least there are some nice hot love scenes.
