*I was given a complimentary copy of Love's Encore for an honest review.Love’s Encore is a second chance romance. Camille Jameson owns her own decorating business with her mother. Commissioned by the Rayburn Prescott, she gets the chance to renovate a Louisiana plantation house. Little does she know that the estate she will be working on is home to the one guy that she really loved…then ran from! Why Camille? He was totally into you! Camille see Zack Prescott again, sparks fly, and then they proceed with the “I love you, I hate you” dance we all love in these type of romances.I love the majority of the characters in this book. Rayburn Prescott is very charming and wonderful. His love for Zach and his late wife are endearing. The house staff Dearly Beloved (the back story to this name is cute) and Simon Mitchell are great, too. Unfortunately it’s Camille and Zach that are the most frustrating. Zach’s character bugs me. He has very poor communication skills and is overly grouchy. I feel we don’t get enough of a back story as to why he is the way his is. And some of his behavior toward Camille is infuriating! Camille’s character lacks a self esteem. I would think she would have more self confidence considering she owns her own businesses. But when it comes to Zach, she seems to put up with his terrible behavior and not engage her back bone.The sex scenes in the book are pretty modest considering our modern day romances. I actually enjoyed the word play to describe Camille and Zach during the steamy situations. And Sandra does a great job of building the chemistry between the two.The plot twist and the ending of Love’s Encore did not make me happy. I felt the plot twist was out of the blue and a bit unfeasible. And the ending really made me mad! We see this poor guy go through all of this plotting and conniving to get Camille and Zach together and we don’t get the full HEA with babies? You owe this to Rayburn Prescott, Sandra Brown! He needs to see his grandchildren running around on his plantation! Geeze! hahahahaLove’s Encore is an okay book. I cannot complain about the writing. Sandra’s writing is stellar. She transports you back into the 1980s and you feel like you’re sitting in your fresh from the cleaners creased Gloria Vanderbilt jeans and silk long-sleeved blouse with a slim gold belt while a guy who looks just like Tom Selleck woos you with a steak dinner! My problem is the plot and the main characters need more development. And I just can’t with the ending. I give Love’s Encore 3 out of 5 stars.Written by Dee McGee - Booze, Bookz, and Bad Boyz
Georgia native Camille gets the dream job redecorating an antebellum house in Natchez Mississippi. Little does she know that Zachary Prescott, the only man she has ever really been with, is heir to this illustrious home. They butt heads from page 1 all the way till a literal brick knocks poor Camille over the head. Thankfully knocking sense into her.What I love about this book: If you have not experienced firsthand "southern hospitality", you'll fall in love with Rayburn Prescott's( Zachary's father). He is portrayed as a southern gentlemen who expects nothing less from his cantankerous son.Tight jeans, boots and a hat- that is the uniform of out hero( although he doesn't do much saving.)The book is pretty old( in years since published not in setting) and my 2nd time reading it but there is something timeless about two people falling in love. I love the butting heads and the quippy comebacks that only Sandra Brown can write.Get used to the setting giving a kick of its own (falsh floods, mudslides and snakes).What might throw you off:This is a classic romance story where the hero is strong and the protagonist is fragile(ish). Sandra throws this on its head when Camille risks her life for Zachary because she thinks he's in love with someone else. Well, at times, it was a bit unbearable how clueless Camille really was. She withheld all her thoughts from Zachary and that delusion steamrolled this wild fantasy that even after he kissed her, sought her out and whispered her name in an endearing way, she still didn't get it. Urghh... Did I tell you Camille is like 24? (I don't remember much at 24 and maybe this is why Camille is clueless too.)But with Sandra's easy style of writing, you can get frustrated at this main character because she is portrayed so beautifully. If you have never experience Sandra Brown as a romance writer, it is a little different but well worth the read into Love's Encore.
Do You like book Love's Encore (2005)?
This book was written beautifully. Though Sandra Brown always mentioned Camille's breasts and that kind of bothered me. But over all it was great! I found that Zack was a little superficial but his personality and sense of humor made you fall in love with him and the book. It was very good I enjoyed every second of reading the book.Also recommended: All books of Phyllis A. Whitney's is strongly recommended. And Angel Creek by Linda Howard, Kindom of Dreams, and Perfect by Judith McNaughtJoin my book group on Facebook (Romance Novel Junkies) and fan page (Romance Novel Junkies Book Reviews). We have over 500 members, which includes well known and indie authors and avid readers as members, who are apart of this group. We would love to hear about new books and thoughts. Also check out our kindle and ebook lending library.Twitter@romanceJUNKIES.
—Lady Raven RAVE!
I received this through Goodreads First Reads.Love's Encore is a very typical romance novel. I just happened to be in the mood for one, so I did enjoy the book.This Sandra Brown story was a little shorter than her usual. Camille the main female character has been hired to restore an aging estate. When Camille arrives she finds Zack who is a man with whom she had a one-night stand while on vacation a couple of yeas ago. Zack is heir to the estate. So begins the romance.I was surprised to learn that this was Sandra Brown's very first novel. I guess that explains why she was not as polished as her more recent books.
—Rocky
For an older book, this one held together really well under modern scrutiny. The plot of girl meets boy that she's met before (with embarrassing results) through a chain of events no one could have predicted is an old storyline, but a good one. I enjoyed the fact that Camille was an interior designer restoring a beautiful old home in Natchez as I've toured down there before and can only imagine what fun a project like that would be. And of course the backup cast of love interest's father, and the staff of the old home added a delightful sideplot to this steamy little romance.That said, it could have been better. I think her reactions felt old-fashioned even for the year this book came out. Would a modern career woman truly feel 'ruined' after a night of passion? It's a question that bothered me, in part because of what that says about how our world has shifted, and how we view morality anymore.His reactions were pure male. At times mystified by Camille, and at times just frustrated as all heck I think he rings true regardless of the year.So overall...this was a fun little book to read. Light entertainment done well. Sure, I'd recommend this if you want something to throw into your purse for when you're waiting at the doctor's office or somesuch. ** I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway which did not influence me in the least to give this book a positive review. It's still fluff no matter how you look at it. **
—Kristine Pratt
