Book Review: Nora Robert's Land by Ava Miles

 

ISBN-13: 9781490527512

Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform

Publication date: 6/24/2013

 

Synopsis:

 

Journalist Meredith Hale's ex-husband claimed her Nora Roberts addiction gave her unrealistic expectations about marriage, and she believed him. All dreams of happily ever after or Nora Roberts Land as her mother calls it-went up in smoke. But when her family asks her to temporarily help their Dare Valley, Colorado newspaper, she decides it's time to change her life and prove her ex wrong. She's determined to find her own small-town Nora Roberts hero, prove that true love exists, and publish a story about her quest.

War correspondent Tanner McBride has just returned stateside to work for a major newspaper, and the last thing he expects is blackmail. Yet, before he can even unpack, he's headed to Colorado. His assignment? Make his boss's ex-wife fall for him and then break her heart. Her article about discovering love à la Nora might air dirty laundry about her marriage to the media mogul, threatening his senate run. The mogul wants Meredith stopped, and he makes sure Tanner has no choice in the matter.
When the two meet, the sparks between them are undeniable. Meredith, who vowed never to date another journalist, begins to succumb. Could Tanner be her Nora Roberts hero? As they work together to uncover the truth behind a suspicious death, the depth of their feelings unfolds and both realize they've kept their secrets for far too long. But before the truth can be revealed, their investigation takes a deadly turn, one that might make Meredith's personal Nora Roberts Land go up in flames. 

 

 

 

Guest Reviewer: Kathy Westerfield
I was excited to begin this book for the simple fact that it is about a woman who is a huge Nora Roberts fan. The concept of this book is what drew me in! I could totally relate to the heroine's way of thinking by the particular Nora book she referred to in each section. It was fun to see her hero take shape through the book and I know he looked just like Roarke!

 

The book started off really funny. The author had a great way of describing things, and giving us inner dialogue that showed her sense of humor. But about half way through, the book lost most of its humor and kind of fell flat.

I wanted to like this book way more than I actually did.

 

On the down side, there are a LOT of F- bombs dropped which I thought were for the most part needless and crass and made me uncomfortable-so much so that I sent the author an email stating exactly that. Probably wont change anything but if you are F-bomb sensitive, you might want to skip this one.

Book Review: The Cheesemaker's House by Jane Cable {Guest Review}

Synopsis:

“Just think, Alice, right now Owen could be putting a hex on you!”

When Alice Hart’s husband runs off with his secretary, she runs off with his dog to lick her wounds in a North Yorkshire village. Funny, feisty and just a little bit lonely, she soon meets her neighbours including the drop dead gorgeous builder, Richard Wainwright and the kindly yet reticent café owner, Owen Maltby.

As Alice employs Richard to start renovating the barn next to her house, all is not what it seems. Why does she start seeing Owen when he clearly isn’t there? Is it the amount of gin she’s drinking or some other reason? Where – or when – does the strange crying come from? And if Owen is the village charmer, what exactly does that mean?

Guest Reviewer: Kathy W.

This book is written by a Brittish author (her first) and I
can say I enjoyed the book overall,  although usually I do not like to read
in first person tense.  The story line was a tad slow in the beginning and
not being familiar with Brittish terminology (except for the movie
NottingHill), there were some words and description of places I tripped over
trying to figure out their meaning. Such as a "snug" being a "hearth room".

That being said, the overall story was
mysterious and tragic enough to keep me reading. The sexy portion of the
book was definitely G rated (which is ok with me). The romance wasn't boring, but I'm not a huge fan of wishy-washy romance plots. The back and forth of the romance was a little tedious.

The ghost portion of this book is really what held my interest. If you like the paranormal, you will enjoy this
book.

Guest Blogger Book Review: True Love by Jude Deveraux

 

 

Author: Jude Deveraux

ISBN-13: 9780345541796

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group

Publication date: 7/9/2013

GUEST REVIEWER: Kathy W.

 

GoodRead's Synopsis:

Just as Alix Madsen is finishing up architectural school, Adelaide Kingsley dies and wills her, for one year, the use of a charming nineteenth-century Nantucket house. The elderly woman’s relationship to the Madsen family is a mystery to the spirited Alix—fresh from a romantic breakup—but for reasons of her own Alix accepts the quirky bequest, in part because it gives her time to plan her best friend’s storybook wedding.

But unseen forces move behind the scenes, creaking Kingsley House’s ancient floorboards. It seems that Adelaide Kingsley had a rather specific task for Alix: to solve the strange disappearance of one of the Kingsley women, Valentina, more than two hundred years ago. If that wasn’t troubling enough, Alix must deal with the arrogant (and extremely good-looking) architect Jared Montgomery, who is living in the property’s guesthouse.

Unbeknown to Alix, Jared has been charged with looking after her while she lives on the island—an easy task for him, considering the undeniable chemistry between the two. But Jared harbors secrets of his own, which, if revealed, may drive a wedge between the pair.

With a glorious Nantucket wedding on the horizon, sparks fly, and the ghosts of the past begin to reveal themselves—some of them literally. Finding their lives inextricably entwined with the turbulent fortunes of their ancestors, Alix and Jared discover that only by righting the wrongs of the past can they hope to be together.

 

This book was a fun book to read.  The author introduces the characters with wit and charm and from the very beginning you know it is going to be light and entertaining. In a story where everyone is a cousin, aunt, or uncle to the main character, I was worried I would have to keep too many names and connections straight, but the author did a good job by not having too many relatives and friends be a meaningful part of the story.
 

There was a point in the story going through all the romance that I felt the mystery was going to be left behind. The quest for "ghost" answers was almost forgotten. However, reading further into the book, I was not disappointed at all. The author pulled me into the mystery of the past and there were just enough twists between past and present characters that I had to keep reading to see what would happen next. Usually ghosts are depicted as scary, however, I fell in love with the Captain with everyone else. I was truly sad about his circumstances and lost love, and truly happy there was a happy ending for him. I was a little disappointed that he did not get to keep his good looks. I had picutred him in my mind as a "Captain Jack Sparrow" kind of man and he ended up feeling kind of short, dumpy, and bald in my head.

 

Overall, I liked that there were not a lot of detailed love scenes that I would have skipped over anyway, and the book left me with a smile on my face!