Night Call
Price: $10.85
December 08, 2009.
2 novellas combined in one weak book - needs CPR!.
Rating: 2There are 2 novels going on at once here - neither being substantive enough to merit a whole book. While I like revisiting Honor and Quinn, I think each couple in this book merits their own book. Normally I don't mind the nods to other characters from other storylines that Radclyffe peppers into her novels. However, I find this one subpar, derivative and just plain old-fashioned annoying. There is very little character development of the new couple and no real reason to like them. Come on, Rad, you can and have done way better than this........
December 26, 2008.
Back in the Saddle Again.
Rating: 5I was worried for a while, but it seems that recently Radclyffe is truly back in the writing saddle. Several of her more recent Books have been a little less outstanding than her earlier stuff. However, `Night Call' is the third truly good one she's released in quite a while and this reader thinks she's on a roll.
Jett McNally flies medivac helicopter on the night shift. As a former soldier, she craves the excitement of her job and almost looks forward to the tragedies she faces every night. That becomes especially true when she meets anesthesiologist Tristan Holmes during a flight. The women have an immediate attraction. However, for their own reasons, both resist looking for anything from each other.
Jett has had her heart broken by a woman who wouldn't return her love. Tristan can't fathom giving up the single life. But, they're both surrounded by examples of what love can be and they're having a hard time resisting the pull. In `Night Shift,' Rad brings back characters from FATED LOVE, making it a pseudo-companion piece (of course reading FATED LOVE first makes a lot of sense here). This tactic gives the story much more depth and gives her more space to develop the new protagonists into wonderful and complete characters.
One other thing to note is the author takes advantage of the I-35W bridge collapse in Minneapolis. Toward the end of the book, the characters deal with that tragedy and some are more impacted than others. I love it when real-life events can be worked into a story.
Bottom Line - Fantastic, as usual, from the queen of this genre. This consistent pattern of great novels lately makes me truly anxious for her next book. It's a good idea to read FATED LOVE first, but not absolutely necessary. Do yourself a favor, grab this one and carve out a day in your favorite reading spot.
December 23, 2008.
Night Call, again a hit from Radclyffe.
Rating: 5Again the story takes place in a medical setting, though this time she introduces a hot helicopter pilot into the mix. Strong character formulation. Builds the tension between the two main characters well. Always good antagonists/challenges. I enjoy her writing in particular beacause her characters are bright, capable, confident, dedicated, driven, real, vulnerable and devoted.
December 30, 2008.
Awesome as always.
Rating: 5I love Radclyffe's books! They always make me feel a litte "Whoa" in my belly! Again she managed to make me read the book at once. The characters are beautifully written and you also get to know what happened to Quinn and Honor from the book Fated Love.
Again two women, Tristan and Jett, struggle with their past and if there is a future together. One might find stories by Radclyffe a bit cheesy, but they entertain very well and make one forget about daily live. I absolutely recommend the book!
December 28, 2008.
Predictable Radclyffe.
Rating: 3Night Call is another Radclyffe novel based on an area that is familiar to her as a retired doctor, the medical profession.
Jett McNally is a helicopter pilot and a veteran of the Middle East war. She's having trouble getting over what she saw in combat, plus she's trying to mend from a broken love affair, so working the night call flying the medivac chopper at a local hospital suits her fine. She can live a shadow existence without attracting much attention, she thinks. Dr. Tristan Holmes is highly respected for her skills as an anesthesiologist and is well known for her "love them and leave them" lifestyle. She's not looking for a relationship, but can't help being fascinated about the enigmatic Jett when they start working together. She becomes determined to discover what makes this woman tick and finds, to her surprise, that she might be interested in more than just adding another notch to her bedpost. Drs. Honor Blake and her partner Quinn Maguire, introduced in earlier books, are central figures in this story. They provide a picture of wedded bliss and family ties that encourages Tristan to keep pursuing Jett, no matter how distant she seems.
Night Call is another romance written in the style that Radclyffe's fans have come to expect and enjoy. It tells a familiar story of two women who meet, overcome an obstacle and find each other, with some sex scenes to spice up the plot. There was real potential in this story for Jett McNally's situation to be explored. The role of US women in a combat zone is a new one with many complications of adjusting to those duties while not really being considered battle ground soldiers. This would have been a chance to examine the feelings of those women and the struggles they go through in a system that is confused about their status, but Radclyffe didn't choose to take that course except on a superficial level. The opportunity to tell a fresh and topical story was bypassed in favor of a more routine romance. That will certainly please the die hard fans, but the possibilities that are glimpsed in this book will make some readers wish Radclyffe had used her considerable talent as a writer to do something different.
If the reader is looking for a predictable story that hits all of the expected buttons, then Night Call fits the requirements. It's easy escapism for a few hours of entertainment.