Review - - Shelter in Place

Shelter in Place

By Nora Roberts

Publisher: St. Martins

Release Date: May 29, 2018

Reviewed by Nancy Northcott

Shelter in Place, a standalone novel, follows a format unusual for Nora Roberts’ works in that it spans a period of 14 years.  The book opens with a horrible event, a mass shooting at a mall. Teenager Simone Knox is at a movie in the mall theater with friends. Through a combination of circumstances, she survives the shooting. So does Reed Quartermaine, a college student working as a waiter at a mall restaurant.

Simone and Reed are the primary characters in the novel, but each of them has friends and/or family members who were at the mall on the fateful night. Roberts deftly examines the psychological aftereffects on others who survived the event and on those who love them. While Reed and Simone are the story’s romantic leads, they don’t actually meet until well into the book. Along the way, each finds a calling and a way to deal with the events of that fateful night. The effects of the experience on their relationships with those around them also influence the story.

Simone is closest to her grandmother, artist CiCi Lennon, who’s “a little bit psychic.” She also has a friend and family members who are fellow survivors.  The family dynamics don’t go smoothly, in part because of Simone’s and her sister’s differing reactions to the event as well as their different lifestyles and tastes.

Reed also has a family, but his relationship with one of the police officers who responded to the 911 calls during the shooting plays a more prominent role in the story. She becomes a mentor to him and helps him find his path in life.

Gradually, Simone’s and Reed’s paths bring them together.  The roads they travel and the factors that influence them along the way are skillfully developed, and it seems better to be somewhat vague about the particulars here than to risk spoiling them. Roberts doesn’t take us through every month of the 14 years the story covers but looks in on the characters at couple of different points during that period.

As Reed and Simone build their lives, they’re unaware that someone isn’t happy that they and so many others survived.  Patricia Hobart, sister of one of the three shooters at the mall, sets out to finish the job she sees as bungled by her brother and his friends.  Reed begins to suspect that someone is targeting survivors, but not everyone in law enforcement is prepared to support this theory.  He has to fight for it, and that fight is part of what leads his path across Simone’s.

The last part of the book takes place on an island off the Maine coast that’s accessible only by boat.  It has some echoes of two of Roberts’ prior books, Northern Lights and The Search.  Considering the number of books she has written, it’s not surprising that there would be occasional similarities.  These aspects of the story are similar but definitely not the same. The situations are structured differently.

This story is emotionally wrenching at times, and Simone and Reed are both engaging, sympathetic characters.  (Reed gets extra points for the rescue of a stray mutt.) Those around them are largely sympathetic, but not always.  The conflict between Simone and her sister, for example, is persistent and not easily resolved. Not until that resolution does her sister reveal motives that are understandable. Roberts handles the characters’ emotional issues skillfully and without going for pat solutions anywhere.

Review - - Island of Glass

Island of Glass

By Nora Roberts

Publisher: Berkley

Release Date: December 6, 2016

 

The final in the Guardians trilogy, Island of Glass, a part-fairy tale, part-paranormal adventure series, takes place in Ireland (which admit it, Nora does great work there). The werewolf-archaeologist, Dr. Riley Gwin, and the Irish warrior turned immortal, Doyle, find themselves the only ones not paired off in the sorcerer’s castle. Of course, much like the couples, Riley and Doyle have bigger things to accomplish than scratching any itches—no matter how tempting the itch may be. These six are definitely on what seems to be a Mission Impossible.

Nerezza, the Evil One, nearly conquered the six at the island of Corfu where they rescued the water star and hid it in safety with its sister the fire star, but their efforts will be for naught if they do not find the final star, the star of ice, and return all the stars to their home on the Island of Glass. Which, according to legend, may be challenging to find since the island appears and disappears at will. Pfft, details.

Riley and Doyle research for clues in Bran’s massive library (which I want to live in), and the longer they are around each other, the more they can’t help but…itch. But an immortal like Doyle, who has already watched two wives die, is not going to entangle himself with a woman as passionate and intoxicating as Riley. (Besides, don’t wolves mate for life?)

Of course, you know as well as I, a celibacy stalemate is never destined to remain long in a romance as sizzling as Nora’s; and soon, the pair of them are bed-deep in lust and heart-deep in love. (Though of course, only one of them is more willing to admit the latter. Two guesses who.)

The world-building and scene layering for the Guardian trilogy, and especially for the Island of Glass where you meet the goddesses who created the stars, is exquisite and enthralling. This series definitely took a number of beloved fairy tales and mythology and blended them up into a frothy, but intoxicating brew that on the surface can seem sweet and simple, but is dark and complicated—and will knock you on your ass if you’re not careful. Read it for the sweetness that will keep you drinking, but do go back and admire the skillful layering that Nora made look so easy.

~Hellie

Review - - Bay of Sighs

BAY OF SIGHS

By Nora Roberts

Publisher: Berkley

Release Date: June 14, 2016

 

The second in the THE GUARDIANS series features Annika, a mermaid, and Sawyer King, a descendant of sea-faring time-traveler. They, along with four others, have banded together to conquer evil and return three stars to where they belong and forever out of reach of the darkness.

Annika is a pure soul who is new to the world above the water; she delights in nearly all she encounters and loathes to harm anyone, but she will do her part to defend the stars from falling into the wrong hands. While she does, she wouldn’t mind being in Sawyer’s hands, at least for as long as she’s allowed above the sea. Sawyer is enchanted by Annika and her joyful ways, but knows getting close to the mermaid will only lead to heartache in the long run. After all, theirs would definitely be a relationship that would be doomed to end sooner rather than later.

Nerezza, the evil one, broods, already having lost one of the stars to the strange band of strangers, and works to make sure losing the other two does not happen, even if she needs to ensnare the help of another human, even if she needs to make him a little more than human to ensure he succeeds against the guardians.

This series features a number of new paranormal elements not usually encountered in a Nora Roberts’ novel (at least not all at the same time): a witch, a seer/prophet, a mermaid, a time-traveler, a werewolf, and an immortal. While this might appear to be a disparate group of elements, and while the story seems to draw from about three or more different fairy tales before spinning off into something new, it works; and it’s all held together with classic Nora Roberts’ banter, suspense and unique characters. I wasn’t sure I would enjoy this trilogy like I had many of her previous ones that dealt almost exclusively with only one main element of paranormal at a time, or at least an alternate lifestyle (i.e. Wicca); however, I couldn’t put it down and I enjoyed it immensely. I look forward to reading the third in this series and learning how the guardians finally defeat the darkness forever.

~Hellie

Review - - The Liar

The Liar

By Nora Roberts

Publisher: Putnam

Date: April 14, 2015

Nora Roberts’ latest stand-alone romance, The Liar, is about a young woman, Shelby Pomeroy, whose husband is lost at sea.  He leaves huge debts behind, and the process of clearing them away and closing up the home she can’t afford on her own shows Shelby that she really knew very little about the man she married.  She decides to return to her hometown, Rendezvous Ridge, Tennessee, to raise her young daughter, Callie.

Going home forces Shelby to acknowledge how much her husband cut her off from family and friends, many of whom are reluctant to reopen old relationships they feel she severed.  Mending fences and re-forging these ties leads her to realize how much she let him mold her into someone unlike her real self.  Shelby resolves not to let that happen again.

As she rebuilds her life, finding a job, settling into the town again, and planning for the future, disquieting information about her late husband’s activities comes to light. Roberts skillfully builds these revelations until they’re virtually cascading toward the end of the book and a climactic showdown.

Of course there’s also a romantic arc.  The hero, builder Griffin Lott, is attracted to Shelby from the moment they meet in a kitchen he’s remodeling.  He sets out to win and, as is typical of Roberts’ heroes, refuses to be deterred by Shelby’s qualms over entering another relationship at this point in her life.  Griff patiently sets out to win her trust and then her heart.

His first success is with Callie, who takes to him immediately.  The way Roberts handles their interaction is one of my favorite parts of this book.  I also love the texts he sends Shelby when he watches Callie for her.

The way Shelby’s family rallies around her despite their hurt over her long absence is also handled beautifully.  There are no magic wands for resolving conflict in this book, and the way the family works through the past to build the future is brilliantly done.

As a native Southerner, I’m always nervous when someone who’s not from the South sets a book here. Non-southerners often mangle the usage of y’all (in no place I’ve ever been, and that includes most of the South, does it mean just the person being addressed, even though it may be addressed to one person--it is, after all, a contraction of you all) or use it ad nauseam, and fall back on stereotypes.  Maryland, where Roberts lives, is more a border state than a Southern one, so I approached The Liar with some trepidation despite being a huge fan of Roberts’ books.

I need not have worried.  Roberts nailed the small-town atmosphere.  Her y’all usage is spot-on and not overdone.  There’s a bit much of the double-name convention (Ada Mae, Emma Kate, Shelby Anne, Callie Rose) for me, but not to the point of being annoying.

My only real problem with the book was that I’m not sure what Shelby does with a smartphone (which presumably has a virtual, rather than an actual, keyboard) toward the end of the book is truly possible.  By that point in the story, however, I was so completely hooked that I just frowned at it and moved on.

This book has a terrific setting, engaging characters, and a beautifully built story.  I highly recommend it.

~Nancy Northcott

A former attorney who never outgrew her love of comic books, science fiction and fantasy, Nancy left the legal profession to pursue her dreams of creating her own action adventure stories.  Check out her terrific contemporary romances set within a fantasy world in present-day Georgia. 

My Top 10!

by Anna Campbell

If any of you read my review of BLACK SHEEP and ARABELLA by Georgette Heyer last month, you'll know that I'm hanging up my ballet slippers here on Christmas Eve and going off to seek new pastures!

Before I go, I want to do a round-up of some favorites that I've reviewed over the last five years - although basically anything I've talked about here, I've loved. That was part of the column's raison d'etre.

So these are the really special books that stuck in my memory. By the way, the order doesn't indicate anything except that there are 10 books on this list! They're all winners in my opinion!

I thought I'd start with some mystery/romance combos. This genre has become my reading of choice over the last few years, partly because of recommendations from readers here. Thank you!

The first is the Amelia Peabody series from the late, great Elizabeth Peters. I've been eking out this wonderful series for the last few years - I've got three to go.

These books are funny and quirky and full of information about Ancient Egypt. They also feature a string of fabulous romances, starting with the opinionated Amelia and her beloved Emerson, "the greatest Egyptologist of this or any age." There's a long and very passionate relationship spread across several books, featuring Amelia's dashing and enigmatic son, Ramses, who makes a wonderful romantic hero.

Next I'd like to mention the charming Daisy Dalrymple  mysteries by Carola Dunn. These are set in the 1920s and they're absolutely delightful. You'll so enjoy the impetuous Daisy's adventures and especially her romance with police Inspector Alec Fletcher.

Whatever you do, try this next recommendation if you haven't already. I discovered Julia Spencer-Fleming's fabulous Claire Fergusson and Russ Van Alstyne mysteries through this site, so thank you, thank you, thank you. I think they're just extraordinary. Romantic and suspenseful and atmospheric and beautifully written, I can't recommend these books featuring a vicar and the local police chief of a small town in upstate New York highly enough. Start with IN THE BLEAK MIDWINTER, and I bet you're ordering the rest straightaway! I've recommended these to friends high and low and everybody turns into a convert!

If you're regulars, you'll know that I've been on a bit of a Nora Roberts kick lately. I particularly like her stand-alone romantic suspense books and of those, my favorite is THE WITNESS. This features a geeky and very appealing heroine who witnesses a Russian mafia murder as a teenager and spends the rest of her life trying to stay alive. What happens when she falls in love, much against her better instincts, with the local police chief of the town she's chosen as her latest bolthole? If she stays, she risks discovery. If she leaves, she'll break her heart. Wonderful characters and writing and a nail-biting situation. NORTHERN LIGHTS was another favorite!

One of the things I wanted to do when I started here was talk about category romance. Some of the best stories out there are series books and I was keen to share some of my favorite writers with you. I've read some wonderful category romances in the last five years, but I thought I'd pick out three particularly memorable stories from authors who never fail me.

The first is A WEDDING AT LEOPARD TREE LODGE by Liz Fielding. Liz Fielding is an absolutely exquisite writer whose books always make me laugh and cry and then sigh with joy at the end. A WEDDING AT LEOPARD TREE LODGE is about finding love where you least expect it and gathering the courage to risk everything to gain happiness. Highly recommended.

The next book on my top 10 is Aussie author Sarah Mayberry's HOT ISLAND NIGHTS. Another one to make you laugh and cry - and man, is it sexy! There's a fantastic sequel called HER BEST WORST MISTAKE that I think might be even hotter. Well worth checking out. Sarah has such a wonderful understanding of the human heart, and her characters are so real, you expect them to pop around for a cup of tea after you've finished reading the book!

My final category recommendation is Sarah Morgan's RITA-Award winning DOUKAKIS'S APPRENTICE. This one's such fun. It takes the tried and true Harlequin premise of the heroine falling in love with the guy who makes a hostile takeover of her father's ailing business, and then turns it on its head. Full of surprises and laughs and lovely emotion. All of Sarah's books are good, but this one really lingers in my memory as a classic.

My list wouldn't be complete without a couple of historical romances - you knew they were coming up, didn't you?

The first one is among my all time faves ever - Loretta Chase's MR. IMPOSSIBLE. People regularly pick her wonderful LORD OF SCOUNDRELS (also reviewed on this site) as one of the best romances ever written, but for me, there's just a tad extra goodness in MR. IMPOSSIBLE. It's funny, it's sweet, it's steamy, it's clever, and I lay good money that you'll fall in love with Rupert Carsington, the hero.

The next writer on my list is Liz Carlyle who I think would currently be my favorite historical writer. Picking a book of hers to recommend was really difficult, so I thought I'd go with the first one of hers I read, the one that started the addiction. THE DEVIL TO PAY is another book full of unexpected takes on a tried and true formula, a feisty heroine making a rake account for his myriad sins. One of the many things I love about Liz's books is that they create such a rich world. It's wonderful revisitng characters from earlier stories and seeing how the various strands of the series plots intersect and enrich the current book.And don't you love that cover?

My last choice is one of the all-time great romances, historical or otherwise. Laura Kinsale's immortal FLOWERS FROM THE STORM. This is unlike any other book I've ever read and its intensity is amazing. Absolutely unforgettable! If anyone ever tries to tell you that romance is trivial and brainless, steer them in the direction of this book. Actually, don't - it's too good for the naysayers! It's a story of redemption and risk and forbidden love triumphing against impossible odds. A masterpiece.

So that's my top 10 of the books I've reviewed here on The Romance Dish. All are VERY highly recommended.

So what would your top 10 romance novels be? I'd love to see your lists!

The Search Is Over!

by Anna Campbell

I've been on a major Nora Roberts kick lately. I even blogged about it over with the lovely Romance Bandits. You can see my post here: http://romancebandits.com/im-in-the-mood-for-love-and-nora/

I've enjoyed all the books I've read by the great Nora, but I must say my favorites so far on this glom have been her single title stand-alones. I absolutely loved THE WITNESS and NORTHERN LIGHTS and really enjoyed WHISKEY BEACH. Her stand-alones tend to be longer than her series single titles and often have a strong mystery/suspense plot. They also include a rich cast of secondary characters.

Another to add to this wonderful list of Nora Roberts favorites is THE SEARCH which I picked up thanks to some recommendations for further reads on that Romance Bandits post. I devoured this one pretty much in one sitting - a bit like the way the dogs, who are such wonderful characters in their own right in the story, wolf down their dinner!

THE SEARCH  was published in 2010 and is set on a fictional island in Puget Sound off Seattle. By the way, one of the things I absolutely love about NR's books is the way she writes about places. The setting is always such a vivid part of the story and rainy, isolated Orcas Island is no different.

The heroine Fiona Bristow has come to this wild and beautiful place to set up business as a dog trainer and to escape the horrors inflicted upon her by the Red Scarf Killer. It's taken her years, but Fiona has finally found some peace after all the pain and tragedy, in working with the dogs and playing an important role in a search and rescue team.There's even the possibility of romance with laconic furniture designer Simon Doyle who needs help with his delightful puppy Jaws (cute, huh?).

But the Red Scarf Killer hasn't forgotten that Fiona is the only woman to escape him and while he languishes in prison, he hatches a brilliant but cruel plan to use an apprentice to finish off this woman whose mere existence challenges his evil ego. Even as Fiona falls under the spell of the first man to touch her heart since the Red Scarf Killer murdered her policeman fiance, danger looms closer and closer and threatens to steal not only her happiness but her very life.

Talk about high stakes!

While the suspense plot of this one is really edge of your seat, it's the characters that make the book special. Fiona has been to hell and back and as a result, she's strong, she doesn't put up with any time wasters, and she goes after what she wants. This is a heroine who is perfectly capable of rescuing herself (even as a young woman when the RS Killer kidnaps her). She has a strong moral compass and a guarded but deeply loving heart that until she meets Simon, she mainly devotes to her canine charges.

Simon is a wonderful creation - such a bloke! He doesn't talk when he doesn't feel like it, he's focused on his work, he definitely doesn't want to fall in love. But he meets Fiona and he's a goner. Always lovely to see the strong, silent type struggling with feelings that he doesn't welcome for one minute but which he can't escape. And Simon's a man who when he commits, REALLY commits. Watching the relationship between these two strong, independent souls as it grows and blossoms is a really emotional experience. For me, the love story was the heart of THE SEARCH.

So if you're looking for a great read that's likely to keep you turning the pages into the wee small hours - not to mention the chance to meet some great people and some seriously appealing pooches - I'd recommend THE SEARCH.

Are you a romantic suspense reader? Do you have any recommendations?

Guest Review - - The Collector

The Collector

By Nora Roberts

Publisher: G. P. Putnam’s Sons

Release Date: April 10, 2014

  

Writer Lila Emerson enjoys a comfortable, if nomadic, existence as a house sitter.  When in Manhattan, she entertains herself by watching the neighbors through their uncurtained windows and making up stories about them.  It’s a harmless hobby until she witnesses one of those neighbors being murdered.

Ashton Archer, a successful artist, is the go-to guy for his extended and somewhat dysfunctional family.  He has so many siblings, half-siblings, and step-relatives that he needs a spreadsheet to keep up with them, but his affection and concern for them all is one of his defining traits.  When his brother Oliver appears to have killed his lover and then himself, Ash refuses to believe it.  He goes to the police station to pick up Oliver’s effects and meets Lila, the sole witness to the woman’s murder.

Ash’s need for answers and Lila’s compassion for his pain bring them together. Lila joins Ash in his quest to find justice for his brother.  Their search is complicated by a priceless artifact Oliver secretly sent to Ash.

They soon realize the artifact and others like it have left a trail of blood behind them, and a ruthless man will stop at nothing to obtain the one Ash now holds.

This latest outing of Roberts’ is a little different from her recent releases.  It’s set mostly in New York City instead of in a small community, and she uses the urban hustle and bustle at key points in the story.  The plot is also different in that it’s tied to historical mysteries and legends.  Last year’s Whiskey Beach used a family legend, but this story looks at a broader historical stage.  It plays nicely off of the story of the Grand Duchess Anastasia, thought to have survived the massacre of the Romanovs until DNA evidence demonstrated otherwise, and the priceless, lost eggs created by Fabergé for the tsar’s family.

Ash and Lila are engaging and sympathetic.  Lila,  who grew up on military bases, carries a Leatherman multi-tool and prides herself on her independence and her ability to fix almost anything that breaks.  Ash runs his family’s personal affairs but not without periodic exasperation. His determination to have justice for Oliver and Lila’s desire to help are believable, as is their attraction to each other.

The secondary relationship in the book involves a high degree of coincidence, which will bother some readers and not others.  Some may not like the fact that Ash, like Seth Quinn in 2004’s Chesapeake Blue,  is a young and phenomenally successful artist who intends to paint the woman he’s attracted to.  Others won’t care.

The opening of the story is a little slow, perhaps because Lila is content, with no hint of any looming problem.  Once the murder occurs, however, events move along at a good pace.  Ash and Lila’s strategy for dealing with the man behind his brother’s killer is clever and credible.

The biggest group of secondary characters are the Archer family members.  They have various temperaments, personality clashes, and agendas and varying degrees of affection or tolerance for each other.   The uncle for whom Oliver worked is a bit more prominent and very well drawn, as are Lila’s friend Julie and Ash’s friend Luke.

Overall, this was an enjoyable, engaging story.

~Nancy Northcott

A former attorney who never outgrew her love of comic books, science fiction and fantasy, Nancy left the legal profession to pursue her dreams of creating her own action adventure stories.  Check out her terrific contemporary romances set within a fantasy world in present-day Georgia.

Mighty Lights!

by Anna Campbell

Happy New Year! 

As you may know, 2013 was my year of attacking the TBR pile.

I don't know if this rings a bell with any of you, but I just can't resist buying new books. And the new, bright shiny book that has just arrived in the mail tends to get the attention, which means often very good books drop lower in the pile until sometimes they're so far down, they're subterranean.

I keep my TBR pile in my dressing room which had started to look like it belonged to Imelda Marcos - if Imelda Marcos had a book fetish instead of a shoe one! So for the last 12 months, I've been tugging out books that I've had for ages and giving them a go.

As a result, I've discovered some real gems!

A book that had been there for so long that I'd completely forgotten I had it is NORTHERN LIGHTS by Nora Roberts.

Wow, what a great read! And I was lucky enough to have time to wallow in the story and read it in one gulp. Paradise!

Following the shooting death of his partner, Nate Burke leaves his job as a detective in Baltimore to become chief of police in tiny Lunacy, Alaska, in the middle of winter. Which many people consider an act of...lunacy.

Nate is wounded and grieving and guilt-stricken and perfectly aware that this is his last chance to set his life on the right path. At first, he's sure he's made the wrong decision. For a start, Lunacy in January is COLD!!! Beyond imagining cold. And not everyone in the small settlement welcomes the arrival of an incomer as the representative of the long arm of the law.

But Nate sticks it out and gradually finds himself a place and a new purpose. On the way, he falls in love with independent, eccentric bush pilot Meg Galloway who isn't at all sure that she wants a forever relationship, although she's perfectly happy to enjoy Nate as a lover.

So everything is heading in the right direction for Nate at last when some college students stumble upon a corpse in an ice cave up in the mountains. The dead man is Meg's father, a free spirit who everyone assumed walked out on his family sixteen years ago. Not only that, but it's likely that the murderer was a resident of Lunacy, and perhaps still is.

Nate has to draw on all the skills he learned as a homicide detective to solve this crime (and deal with the subsequent mayhem) in a place where he'd fondly imagined he'd only be dealing with minor issues like small-time theft and inappropriate high-spirits.

This is more of a police procedural than I'm used to from the great Nora although the romance between Meg and Nate is wonderful - and in such a long book (my Piatkus edition is 562 pages long), there's enough room for a secondary romance or two as well! All the characters are so real, from Nate and Meg down through the interesting misfits who have made Lunacy their home over the years. The reader falls in love with the townsfolk right along with Nate.

Having said that, I think the setting was the best part of this book. You can feel the cold and isolation and dramatic beauty of this isolated corner of the world. I think it's no accident of writerly intent that Nate arrives in the depths of winter and moves forward into spring - the setting definitely mirrors the new life burgeoning in Nate's cynical, damaged soul.

I've always wanted to visit Alaska - I'm a girl who loves cold! Reading this marvelous, suspenseful, evocative novel made me look seriously at booking a ticket!

So have you read NORTHERN LIGHTS? Do you have a favorite book by Nora Roberts? Have you been to Alaska?

Witches Are Wonderful!

by Anna Campbell

Don't you just love book recommendations? I do! I still think I pick up my best reading via word of mouth. I've come across some of my favorite current books via recommendations on this site - so please don't be shy about suggesting things! Just off the top of my head, I can think of writers like Julia Spencer-Fleming and Molly O'Keefe who are now autobuys for me, thanks to the wise comments of the Romance Dish fans.

For a long time, my friend, Rachel Bailey, who writes for Desire, has raved about the Nora Roberts Three Sisters Island Trilogy. Mind you, I've equally raved about the Chesapeake Quartet and I think she's yet to pay me any attention, so until now we've both missed out on some great books!

I imagine most of you have read these books so I'm speaking to the converted, but wow, they're great. I hadn't read Nora in a little while and I'd forgotten just how masterly she is at romantic tension and characterization and setting. You really feel like you're on this beautiful windswept island off the Massachusetts coast, smelling the sea and squeaking your way over the sand (hopefully to the cave - good things happen in the cave, LOL!). There's such beautiful texture in this writing. Not to mention the story features a great bookshop which I want in my hometown!

I read all of these within the space of 36 hours. Recommendation enough!

During the 17th century Salem Witch Hunts, three sisters, all witches and all representing an element, air, earth and fire, unite to create an island sanctuary off the coast. That's Three Sisters Island.

As you read the books, you discover that all three sisters come to a sad end, ends reflected in their modern-day descendants who are the heroines of this series. The last surviving 17th century sister creates a spell that will keep the island safe from the forces of darkness for 300 years. At the start of the Three Sisters Island trilogy, that 300 years is coming to an end and each heroine must face and defeat her fears if she is to save the island from sinking into the sea. So high stakes right from the get-go!

Book 1 in the series, DANCE UPON THE AIR, features battered wife on the run Nell Channing/Helen Remington. Nell, who represents the air element, has no idea that she's a witch so it's fun watching her come to terms with the woo-woo stuff that invades her life once she arrives on Three Sisters Island. Once there, she starts to heal. She finds a home and a place where she can exercise her talents as a cook (the meals in this will make you hungry, be warned!) and she also encounters gentle but strong local sheriff, Zack Todd. But can Nell accept love after all she's been through? And what happens when her violent husband discovers that she faked her death and she's still very much alive on the other side of America?

This is a great introduction to the series. We meet most of the major characters - even if only by description. We fall in love with the gorgeous island setting. Watching Nell and Zack come together is touching and emotional and you'll cheer as Nell discovers her new powers (both personal and witchy!) and searches for the courage to stand up to the man who nearly destroyed her.

Book 2, HEAVEN AND EARTH, is actually my favorite of the three, partly because I can't resist a really good geek hero. Although MacAllister Booke is more like Indiana Jones than Brains from THUNDERBIRDS. Mac is a paranormal researcher who comes to the island and falls in love with prickly Ripley, Zack's sister and deputy sheriff. Ripley represents earth - not that she wants to, she's got good reason to fear the strength of her powers and so she's deep in denial when the book starts. Her denial doesn't just include repressing her abilities as a witch, but also her once-close friendship with the heroine of the third book, Mia Devlin, who represents fire. One of the really lovely things about this book is seeing calm, centered Mac cope with Ripley's volatility. I laughed out loud at a few of these scenes. They really are beautifully done. 

Book 3, FACE THE FIRE, brings the final confrontation with the evil that has stalked the witches since at least the 17th century. The heroine Mia knows that, as the direct descendant of the witch who conjured the protective spell in the first place, she's the island's last defense. But she needs to learn some lessons before she can defeat the darkness. One of these is that she's not a lone agent and she needs to work with the people who love her to have a hope of winning. Another is that she needs to come to terms with Sam Logan, the man she loved and lost in her late teens.

This is basically a reunion story and I always enjoy a good one of those. Sam left Three Sisters as a young man and now he's back to reclaim Mia, the woman he's always loved. Needless to say, after ten years, this doesn't go smoothly! And the bad stuff encroaching on the island doesn't help. But Sam is an intrinsic part of the island and an intrinsic part of the cosmic plan to defeat the forces ranged against the witches. He's the water part of the equation so when he's reunited with Mia, all the elements join to save Three Sisters Island. But will they be strong enough?

So have you read these books? Do you have a favorite? Are you a fan of the geeky hero? What's your favorite Nora Roberts book? I have to say, much as I loved these, I still think the Chesapeake Quartet just edged the Three Sisters Island books out as my absolute top.

Guest Review - - Whiskey Beach

Whiskey Beach

By Nora Roberts

Publisher: Putnam

Release Date: April 16, 2013

Battered by his experience as prime suspect in the murder of his not-quite-ex wife, Eli Landon retreats to Bluff House, the historic house in Whiskey Beach that has been the home of the Landon family for three centuries. Although insufficient evidence meant that Eli was never arrested, his position as a “person of interest” and the media frenzy surrounding the police investigation have destroyed life as he knew it. His career as a criminal defense lawyer and rising star in a prestigious Boston firm is over, and most of his friends, convinced of his guilt, have abandoned him. His parents, his sister and brother-in-law, and his paternal grandmother have never wavered in their belief in him, but his concern over the effects of the investigation on his family adds to his burden. When his grandmother is injured in a fall and needs to be in Boston for physical therapy, Bluff House is empty. It offers space and privacy and is a perfect refuge for Eli to work on the legal thriller he is writing and to discover who Eli Landon has become after the emotional storms of the past year.

Abra Walsh is a yoga instructor, part-time housekeeper, and close friend of Hester Landon, Eli’s grandmother. It was she who found Hester after her fall. Already persuaded of Eli’s innocence by what she knows of the case, Abra responds to the sadness in Eli from their first meeting.  She has survived an experience that left her a different person and understands Eli on a level that few can. She is also a nurturer by nature, and she proves herself as adept at taking care of Eli as she is at taking care of Bluff House. She prepares food and encourages Eli to eat and pushes him to exercise. She uses her skills as a licensed massage therapist to help him relax, and she persuades him to end his isolation from those outside his family circle.  Abra’s ministrations combine with the memories Bluff House holds and the wonders of the New England coast to end Eli’s apathy and restore the assertiveness that once characterized him.

Eli is uninterested in reclaiming his former life, but he recognizes that he will never be truly free until his wife’s murderer is found. When Abra is attacked at Bluff House and a P. I. who has followed Eli to Whiskey Beach is killed, Eli and Abra begin to suspect that Hester’s injuries may not have been the result of an accident and that the invasions at Bluff House may be linked not only to the legendary pirate treasure that is supposed to be hidden there but also to the murder of Lindsey Landon. Eli and Abra trust one another enough to join forces as sleuths, but can they trust one another enough to surrender their hearts as well?

Nora Roberts once again demonstrates that romantic suspense can be as much character-driven as plot-driven and that romance can remain the heart of the story without sacrificing suspense. Whiskey Beach is essentially Eli’s story. He is the broken character who must find a way to build a new identity and a new life from the pieces that remain. The free-spirited Abra who nurtures him, challenges him, and flirts with him is just the person he needs to bring light and laughter back into his life. She’s also strong enough in her sense of self to meet him on equal ground when he regains his confidence. I liked both these characters, and a full cast of secondary characters that includes Eli’s family (particularly his grandmother), Abra’s yoga students, and a motley collection of detectives enrich the story. The villains are the kind of plausibly evil characters that Roberts can do well.

Two things I always expect in a Nora Roberts romantic suspense novel is a powerful evocation of particular place and a sense that the hero and heroine are actually engaged in their jobs. Roberts certainly fulfilled both those expectations in this book. Bluff House, the beach below it, and the Whiskey Beach community all have a convincing presence in the story. I thoroughly enjoyed the details about Eli’s writing process, and even though I found Abra’s list of jobs a stretch, I could visualize her as yoga instructor, massage therapist, and housekeeper.

I rank this one a star below last year’s The Witness, recently released in paperback, but it is a solid read that leaves the reader satisfied with both the romance and the mystery. Fans of Nora Roberts will not want to miss Whiskey Beach, and romantic suspense readers who prefer their RS reads to provide suspense without straying into thriller territory should also enjoy it.

~Janga
http://justjanga.blogspot.com

Review -- The Perfect Hope

The Perfect Hope

Inn BoonsBoro—Book 3

By Nora Roberts

Publisher: Berkley

Release Date: November 6, 2012

The Perfect Hope is the last book in the Inn BoonsBoro trilogy by Nora Roberts set in the beautiful town of Boonsboro, Maryland. This one features the oldest Montgomery brother, Ryder. He, along with his brothers and mother, have completely renovated and opened Inn BoonsBoro, a picturesque bed and breakfast located in the heart of the square. In the first book, The Next Always, Justine Montgomery hires Hope Beaumont practically on the spot for the innkeeper position. Ryder was opposed to how quickly it was done, especially since Hope was the first (and only) person his mother interviewed. But Ryder has since had to eat his words, so to speak, because Hope has done a terrific job running the inn. 

Hope is no stranger to the job—after all, she efficiently managed an upscale hotel in the middle of Washington D.C. for years. The only reason she isn’t still there is because her romance with the hotel owner’s son fell flat after she discovered he had cheated on her. Coming to Boonsboro and landing the innkeeper position was the perfect solution as she had friends there and she liked the small town atmosphere. Everyone seems glad that she was hired...everyone except for surly Ryder Montgomery. Hope is not sure how to read him—one minute he’s snapping at her and the next he’s looking at her like he’d like to jump her bones. She decides to take matters into her own hands and find out what his deal is when a blast from her past arrives on the scene.  

The Perfect Hope is a wonderful addition to the series and is my favorite of the three books. It has two things I love—an “enemies to lovers” type theme and a churlish, but loyal, bad boy hero. There’s just something about a hero with an attitude that is incredibly sexy to me. Justine Montgomery perfectly describes her son to Hope during one scene in the book: 

“He’s a good man, like I said. A Clever one. Smart, hardworking, and he tells the truth whether you like it or not. If he’s not going to tell the truth, he doesn’t say anything. He’s got a sweet side that doesn’t always show, and a surly one that too often does.” 

Ryder and Hope are total opposites who constantly spar with words yet can’t seem to completely deny their mutual attraction. They shared a New Year’s Eve kiss in the previous book which really sparked the sexual tension between them. Neither is looking for anything permanent, but as we know, that’s when love usually finds you. I enjoyed watching them give in and fall for each other. With a title like The Perfect Hope and a heroine with the same name, readers might infer that Hope is supposed to be “perfect”. I assure you she is not, though she is perfectly matched with Ryder. 

The previous couples and secondary characters are in this one, including the inn’s resident ghost, Lizzy. She figures more prominently in this one as Hope and the others are closing in on solving her mystery.

If you’re a fan of Nora or if you just love small town contemporary romance, The Perfect Hope is a book you are sure to enjoy!

 

~Andrea