Heartbreaker

by Karen Robards

While vacationing in Utah’s mountain wilderness, Lynn Nelson suddenly finds herself having to deal with her teenage daughter Rory’s raging hormones. The object of Rory’s passion is their guide, drop-dead gorgeous Jess Feldman, a man the divorced Lynn instinctively distrusts, even as she shields herself from his blazing baby blues. But after Lynn and Rory fall off a cliff of sheared rock, Jess becomes their only hope. Risking his life, he navigates them through the impenetrable forest thousands of feet below, unwittingly plunging them into a danger more menacing than they could have imagined. Exhausted and injured, all they have is one another—a terrified child, and a man and a woman who rediscover passion in each other’s arms—as they race against time for their lives.

Genres: Romance, Romantic Suspense, Suspense, Contemporary Romance, Mystery, Thriller, Fiction

390 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

Karen Robards is the New York Times, USA Today, and Publishers Weekly bestselling author of more than fifty books and one novella. She has won multiple awards including six Affaire de Coeur Silver Pen Awards for favorite author.
Karen has been writing since she was very young, and was first published nationally in the December 1973 Reader's Digest. She sold her first romance novel, ISLAND FLAME, when she was 24. It was published by Leisure Books in 1981 and is still in print. After that, she dropped out of law school to pursue her writing career.
Karen was recently described by The Daily Mail as "one of the most reliable thriller....writers in the world."

Reviews

[Paula · Rating 5 out of 5]

When Lynn Nelson's teenage daughter, Rory, and fellow schoolgirls go on a vacation camping trip in the mountain wilderness of Utah, Lynn goes along as one of the chaperones. Jess Feldman, owner of Adventure Inc. along with his brother Owen, are the tour guides for the girls' adventure into the wilderness. Rory has a crush on Jess, but it's Rory's mom that Jess is interested in. Jess and Lynn start off on the wrong foot, but after Lynn and Rory plummet from a crumbling cliff edge, it's Jess who comes to their rescue, and Lynn starts to see that there is some good to having the handsome and sexy trail guide around. The three are on their own now, apart from the rest of the group, and must find their way back to the others through the deep forest since they can't climb back up the cliff. Little do they know the dangers they are about to encounter deep in the wilderness when they stumble upon something they shouldn't. Soon they are being hunted down by madmen and must run for their lives.

This was such a fun story with suspense, romance, and adventure. Hero Jess was handsome, strong, sexy, and the kind of guy you'd like to be stuck with in the wilderness. Heroine Lynn could be whiny and annoying at times but she really didn't bother me that much, and she didn't back down from tough situations and proved herself worthy on many occasions. The banter between the two was humorous, and although the story focused more on the suspense, the sexual chemistry was definitely there. The secondary characters (both the good and the bad guys) were great. The wilderness setting provided a perfect backdrop. The story was fast-paced, with the action barely ever letting up, sometimes over-the-top and far-fetched, but always entertaining. Wonderful romantic suspense book laced with humor, danger, and adventure.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really detested the beginning of this book. I HATED the bitchy main character, and her bitchy, spoiled brat daughter. The main character actually thinking to herself - SMUGLY - that at least her ass isn't as big as the other moms - WOW. Meanwhile she is SMOKING to keep her weight down.

Does she wonder why she has NO FRIENDS AT ALL?? No, she doesn't care. As long as she is smarter and better looking.

I detested her. I wanted her to die in the damn avalanche.

Of course, the hot main dude is completely into her. Because when you are thin and blonde and conventionally beautiful, "bitchy" is just called "challenging". Not what it really is -- BITCHY. And her kid is worse than she is.

The book is redeemed by the chase scenes and the mystery of what happened to the family murdered in the mountains. Once the book sped up I enjoyed it a lot. The main character was slightly redeemed by her love for her daughter ... and the fact that her athleticism and angry, bitchy personality saves their bacon more than once. Good for her.

[MBR · Rating 4 out of 5]

With the end of the world stuff circulating around the Internet and the world media, I picked up quite a fitting read for the occasion, and I promise you that it was all by coincidence. Karen Robards is a favorite author of mine and every now and then I pick up something of hers just to get my fix of Ms. Robards who delivers kick-ass romantic suspense with a superb dose of sensuality in almost all of her novels of the genre. Similarly Heartbreaker is a contemporary romantic suspense packed with non-stop action and a race against time as well as the bad guys with a heady mix of humor in it that makes this a great read!

35 year old Lynn Nelson, anchorwoman of WMAQ Chicago is on a vacation from Hell. Lynn had signed up for a 10 day long wilderness vacation just so she can try and work on her relationship with her 14 year old daughter Rory who seems to have a bone to pick with her lately. Lynn is not someone who is at all prepared to "bond" with nature and with her plans to spend more time with Rory backfiring in her face, Lynn is resigned to having a miserable time on the 1st vacation she has taken in 3 years when danger strikes propelling Lynn and her daughter to depend on the last person she would trust for survival.

35 year old Jess Feldman co-owns Adventure Inc. with his elder brother Owen. Jess is handsome, charming and easygoing and has the hots for Lynn from the moment she steps down from the plane to become part of the wilderness vacation which is promoted and carried out by Adventure Inc. And though Lynn makes her disdain for "fake" cowboys clear right from the start, Jess is glutton for punishment as Jess is a man who likes beautiful babes with "balls" as his brother Owen keeps saying.

When a freak accident of nature separates Lynn and Rory from the rest of the group, it is Jess who comes to their rescue, proving that he is the "real" cowboy material time and time again. Surviving the freak accident only to stumble upon one's worst nightmare, Jess, Rory and Lynn are forced to run for their lives as they are chased through the forest not really knowing what lies in store for them. When a clearer picture emerges from the unfolding events, Jess and Lynn are horrified by the scale to which a mad man who is hell bent on achieving his prophecy of the world coming to an end become true, even if it means taking matters into his own hands, in the most devastating ways possible.

I loved the adventure aspect of this novel. The pace though at the very beginning of the novel tended to be a bit slow for me, once danger comes calling, there is no stopping the chain of events that follows making Heartbreaker a great adventure romance.

I loved Jess's character. He is the furthest thing from being broody and tortured and all that that makes us ladies go weak at the knees. Contrary to that, Jess is charming, sexy as sin and has a way of teasing Lynn that just brings to light the his endearing qualities. Now before you all go on and think that he is a beta hero, let me stop you right there and say that every single inch of Jess is alpha through and through. When push comes to shove, he is the guy to you can depend on to save you and he certainly proves himself much more than able in ALL the areas that matter *wink*. And I damn near broke out into an applause each single time that Jess kept on surprising Lynn with his true character!

Though the romance aspect of the novel is kept at a minimal, that does't make the impact of the sexual tension that rises between Jess and Lynn any less and of course the scenes of passion any less memorable. And I so loved the humor-filled tone of the whole story that just kept me on the verge of laughing out loud even through the most tension wrecked moments.

Moving onto Lynn, at first I was ready to project myself into the story and bitch slap her a time or two because she kept getting on my nerves with her less than wonderful attitude. But she does a wonderful job of turning herself around and knowing where her ballsy nature comes from helped in settling my emotions down where she was concerned. In the end, she turns out to be a champion as much as Jess and things do finally end on a happy note with her daughter Rory too! All in all, a very well rounded tale that earns 4 solid stars from the sunny side of life!

Rating=4/5

Original Review posted at: MBR's World of Romance

[Sabby · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not my type of book and I really had to force myself to finish it. I was quite disappointed as this is not what I expected of Robards. I don't see the title of the book fitting anywhere with the plot as it seemed to be about religious fanatics. Characters seemed to get lost along the storyline and all this with a bit of romance thrown in here and there. It was like everything was thrown in together haphazardly. If I had not read any other books by Robards, I would have stopped right here but thank God I have other books to judge her writing style by. Hopefully this book was just a bad apple in a batch of otherwise good books.

[Sheila Myers · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fast-paced thriller with some interesting and well-developed characters.

[Lynsey A · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was an interesting story line but the heroine annoyed me way too much. Even when Jess was saving her life she was all about how she was going to sue Adventure's Inc. and it was constant, I think even after they made love. Wow. Talk about a b*itch. Didn't like it.

Then what really tipped it over the edge for me was when the man she loved hurled himself out the window right before a house blew up, she's being a reporter and reporting on the story. She didn't run over to him and kiss him or hug him but says "Well, hi there, hero," and squeezes his hand.

Seriously? He just threw himself out a window while tied to a chair! For Pete's sake, hug him, untie him from the chair! Something other than squeezing his hand!

The best part of the book was when Theresa learned her mom and siblings were still alive.

This is an older Karen Robards book that I somehow missed. I usually read her romantic suspense.

[Josie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I got to Chapter 34 and was really disappointed where the book went from there (although I see that this was to develop Jess's story but I think it would have been stronger if there were more scenes in his POV), so I skipped to the HEA. However Lynn was incredibly judgemental and unlikeable, and when she and Jess had four rounds of sex on a rocky ledge after he was shot and she sent her daughter off, I really struggled to buy into their story any longer. What happened to Rory at the end? She wasn't mentioned at all in the scenes leading to the HEA. Overall, a few good moments but an otherwise disappointing read.

[Ginger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lynn Nelson is an anchorwoman in Chicago. Her relationship with her 14 year old daughter, Rory is rocky to say the least. When Lynn books a vacation in hopes she can bond with Rory, she has no idea she'll be right in the middle of murder. Plenty of twists, turns and a bit of romance. I really had a hard time putting this down. I love this author's Romantic Suspense!

[Penelope · Rating 5 out of 5]

HEARTBREAKER is a standalone Proximity-Danger novel by Karen Robard (originally published in 1996). I listened to the audio version narrated by Lisa Jandovitz. This was a “reread” for me, having enjoyed HB a number of times since it was first published (first time with audio).

RATING GUIDE: 4.5 Stars. This book never fails to make me laugh. :D
1= dnf/What was that?; 2= Nope, not for me; 3= This was okay/cute; 3.5= I enjoyed it; 4= I LIKED IT A LOT; 5= I Loved it, GREAT FUN!! (I seldom give 5 Stars).

June 1996
“Don’t mess with me” Lynn Nelson/FMC, 35yr old Chicago television anchor and single mom of 14yr old daughter, Rory, has signed the two of them up for a 7 day horseback riding and camping trip in the rustic mountains of UT. On day 2, Lynn and Rory fall off the edge of a 200’ cliff. They only survive because of a few well placed trees and the skills of one of the outriggers (MMC Jess Feldman). Separated from their group by an insurmountable distance, the three of them begin a cross country journey to return to the others. But one disaster after another befalls them and Lynn (who had passed on a luxury vacation cruise for “time with her daughter”) is considerably outside her comfort zone. HEARTBREAKER proceeds with hilarity, spunky dialogue and suspense as it becomes evident that not only the harsh elements could kill them before they locate help; strangers in the mountains also want them dead.

What I Liked ~
1) HEARTBREAKER was published years ago but I love that the scenarios could easily still occur in 2022. It doesn’t sound dated (other than technology issues, which don’t bother me).
2) HEARTBREAKER combines several of my favorite tropes - Proximity-Danger, “Opposites Attract”, and “Enemies to More” resulting in a story I enjoyed very much.
3) The settings are well described. I could easily imagine myself fleeing through the woods, hiding in the cellar with the baby, experiencing the claustrophobia of the mine. I loved the kayak scene and much of the dialogue was reminiscent of Romancing the Stone (with Kathleen Turner).
4) Lisa Jandovitz was wonderful with the voices. Both female (young and adult) and male voices were excellently performed.
5) There is good vs evil. Although the antagonists prevailed for much of the story, I liked that good wins in the end. And the Bad Guys got what they deserved - Justice.
6) The scenes switched back and forth with the suspense building in one area then hopping back to other characters, allowing a bit of a reprieve before building it again.
7) There was a HEA.

HEARTBREAKER reminds me of two of my favorite movies - Six Days and Seven Nights (Harrison Ford) and Romancing the Stone - fast action, a dangerous adventure, a snarky woman out of her element but able to rise to the occasion, an alpha male initially amused by said woman who later learns to respect her capabilities, Bad Guys, spunky dialogue and a HEA. Readers who wouldn’t enjoy this format might want to take a pass. As a long-time Karen Robard fan, I loved it and will undoubtedly listen to this audio again.

READER CAUTIONS - IMO, not appropriate for YA readers (under 15).
PROFANITY - Yes. Strong language is used.
SEXUAL SITUATIONS - Yes. Two(?) scenes of intimacy occur in the second half.
VIOLENCE - Yes. This is a Suspense Romance novel with elements of evil vs good. Certain scenes are violent but drawn out for sensation.

[L.M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

The 90's were an interesting time for romantic suspense. The gothic romance of the 70's and 80's was morphing into something a bit more every day. Gone were the crumbling castles and rustling grass huts in exotic, far-flung locations that I used to love. We still had characters in glamorous professions, news anchors and zoo keepers and wine makers, but we see them swept up in suspense in the carrying-on of their fairly ordinary lives. The concept of this book was an interesting one, a mass murder uncovers a dangerous cult. For me, it dragged. Every little thing was explained, every action described, every person had their share of the spotlight. I wouldn't say it was boring, but it verged on that in places. I would definitely be willing to read other books by Robards (this was my first and I've probably had it on my shelf for 20+ years) but they won't be on the top of my list. If you're a fan of Nora Roberts, this was similar in many ways. If you're a fan of current suspense-thrillers you might not enjoy it.

[Meg · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lynn and her daughter Rory go on horseback camping trip in Utah with some of their school mates and moms. Lynn is having problems with her 14yr old who is boy crazy and being a difficult teen.

The camp is run by Jess and brother Owen. Jess likes Lynn at first sight, she hates him. She is not a very likeable character and I found her hard to take. Jess is a good guy and saves her life and she is still so bitchy. Jess, Lynn and Rory are stuck together finding their way out from the bottom of a mountain after a near death fall while the rest of the group continues back to the ranch.
This is an action adventure, with wild suspense and crazy cult murdering people in the woods which has Jess, Lynn and Rory running for their lives.
There is a secondary story going on at the same time of former cult family hiding off the grid and some of them getting murdered. I really didn't care much for this whole plot. It went in so many directions, I didn't like h at all and don't see why Jess did. First book I have read by this author so maybe it's me.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lynn Nelson accompanied her daughter Rory on a trail riding adventure and soon regretted it. If bouncing up and down on a horse was not bad enough, Rory was making eyes at one of the guides. Jess Feldman was good looking, she would give him that. He proves himself when he rappels down the side of the cliff to save Lynn and Rory after they fall off the ledge of the cliff. Jess laughs at Lynn when she complains about him teasing Rory. He tells Lynn he realizes Rory is still a child but she caught his eye as she was coming toward him in the airport. He saw long legs and blonde hair and an attitude that said “don’t mess with me”. That was a challenge issued and he meant to change her mind.

Cute romance as she realized first impressions are not always correct. She called him a faux cowboy and soon realized he was the real deal as he saved her and Rory many times.

[Laura Beasley · Rating 2 out of 5]

I give this book 2.5 stars. A mystery and love story but a little far fetched. More a summer read. Lynn and her daughter Rory go on a wilderness trip with other people. Jess and his brother are te owners and Jess and Lynn don’t seem to hit it off. Lynn is a news anchor and this time of vacation is really not her style. While out Lynn, Rory and a friend go out too far on a ledge and it breaks. Jess ends up rescuing them. The friend was able to get with the group but Lynn and Rory were too far down to get back yup to the top. As Jess leads them to get back to the group then run into danger, There is a fanatic group that plan to end the world and they have to flee for their safety. Read the book to see what happens.

[Gail · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Robards "wilderness survival" book. This one has a single mom and her snotty teenaged daughter on a week-long trail ride with some good-looking wranglers as trail bosses. The daughter has a crush on one, but he has the hots for the mom. He grew up on the ranch with his brother, also working the ride, but used to be an ATF agent. The survival part begins when a cliff crumbles and three riders fall with it. One girl is hauled back up, but mom & daughter have to be lowered down because of cliff problems. The hero goes down with them. So they have to walk out. Except there are crazy murderous people out killing people in the territory they have to walk through. Pretty good read. I liked it.

[Debby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lynn Nelson, a Chicago news anchor and divorcee, decides to accompany her 14-year-old daughter Rory on her class outing to the Uinta Mountains of Utah. They're to spend 10 days horseback riding through the mountains. When Rory and then Lynn both fall down a cliff when it disintegrates, they're rescued by Jess Feldman, one of their guides and a former ATF agent. After the fall, they have to hike out. In the process, they come across a mass murder by The Heaven religious cult. The plot thickens when they discover the group had nuclear bombs set to detonate in several cities. They disarm the bombs, uncover the leaders, and fall in love. Well done.

[Rachelle Ayala · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyed the banter and tension between "middle-aged" single mother Lynn, a rhinestone cowboy Jess, and teenage daughter Rory. The adventure was exciting and of course, the cult was outrageous.

Spoiler: the only thing that ruined it for me was that they could have easily shut off the mechanism by calling the phone company, but oh well... still made for a fun and surprising ending. [Plus, author didn't close the loop on exactly HOW the mechanism was disabled, so the ending was a little weak with the hero tied up to a chair].

[La Patiperra · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really hated the MainBitch... the heroine and her daugther (bitch 2.0).
Both were so superficial, stupid and egocentric.

Jess - the hot guy is a cool cowboy, who is a former ATF Agent...Sure. And he is such a great looking guy, who is totally into the beautiful bitch.

And then there is a world conspiracy. And terrorists. And human sacrifice. And great sex. And a love story. And and and... yeah and maynbe a bit to much story - for the book.

[Christina Joyner · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have to say Karen Robards is one of my favorite authors and she doesn’t disappoint! I read this book way fast! Wow.. very thrilling and scary! I really like the main characters and how the book has two stories going at the beginning- one a miserable vacation and another a horrible nightmare!!! Then the two come together omg! I was on my seat through a lot of it and literally couldn’t put this book down! I highly recommend this book and this author!

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not one of my favorites.

The story plot was interesting and engaging, but the characters were a little too nasty to each other throughout the whole book. Lynn(the mom) and her daughter Rory didn’t really stop sniping at each other until the end and then it was all of a sudden . I think Lynn was supposed to be a tough modern woman, but she just came off cranky and a snotty know it all.

[Ollie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a page turner. Wow the experiences the characters went through would be enough to suffer from PTSD. The author just could let them suffer from all kinds of natural disasters; she just had to throw in the conflict of a single Mom and a teenage hormonal girl. This is a quick read but fun and scary with romance thrown in.

[Judith Sherrod · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heartbreaker

News anchor, mother of a teenager, divorced and on a week long trek through the wilderness area in Utah. Riding horses, camping out not something that Lynn had ever done in her life, but to keep an eye on her teen daughter , she would do whatever it took. Who knew that she and the scrumptious cowboy guide would end up saving the world.

[Elaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I picked this book off my shelf I thought it would just be another quick romance novel. To my surprise it turned out to be much more. It was full of suspense and was a triller book as well. Kept me reading long into the night.
Karen Robards is a talented author and can keep her readers turning pages.

[Heide Katros · Rating 3 out of 5]

Heartbreaker by Karen Robards

Not my favorite novel by Ms.Robards. It was uninspiring and bordered on religious fanaticism. Of course that is only my opinion. An editor saw something in this novel, so I suggest you come to your own conclusion. It is a well written story based on sound research.
Reviewed by Heide Katros, Winter Haven News, Florida

[Christine Jalili · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable.

This book was slow for me to get into. I didn’t really feel much of a connection between Jess and Lynn at first. The story gets much better when they discover the bodies and are in danger. The suspense level is great and I loved staying on edge. Glad to say everyone got a happy ever after.

[Jennifer Hazlett · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very dramatic, could not have predicted the story or outcome, very involved, dramatic, good story and characters intermingled with romance that at times seemed a bit unrealistic, but fun to balance out the circumstances.

[Lois Bates · Rating 3 out of 5]

Plot is not realistic

Having said that, this was a good rainy day read. This couple survived so many calamities that it felt unreal. There is a happy ending and I enjoy the author’s wit.

[Shelley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Listened on Hoopla. There were many tense moments and had a steamy sex scene and language. First time listening to her books. Would have been a good thriller without the above additions.
Mother/ daughter relationship and romance with a cowboy. Not my usual historical fiction, which I prefer.

[Teri-K · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the first 60% or so of this. It was a fun stranded-in-the-wilderness story. But then it evolved into something bigger. The rest of the book was find, but I didn't enjoy it as much. Still, I'll give it 4 stars over all.

[Jennifer Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty average story. I liked the relationship growth between mother and daughter as well as a romance blossoming. Lynn, Rory and Jess went from bratty characters to lovable ones at the end. The book was a little long though. I could've done with like 100 pages less!

[Sandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great reading!