Nora Roberts
Roberts, Nora - BORN IN ICE (1996) (5)
Brianna enjoys the quiet atmosphere of her Irish inn, until an American writer comes to stay and sweeps her off her feet. This book is so vividly written that I could almost hear the brogue and smell the bread baking in the oven. The perfect romance to savor in front of the fire on a cold night. ~Karen W. (kwheless@rockland.net)
Roberts, Nora - DARING TO DREAM (Jove - 1996) (3)
Model, Margo Sullivan, is trying to patch her life back together after her career is shattered by a dirty scandal. She heads back home to heal her wounds and to help out an old friend who is going through an emotionally trying time, and falls in love with the friend's brother. Josh, an old childhood crush, is now a rich playboy and sometimes Attorney.
This is the first book by Nora Roberts that I could easily put down. Her beautiful knack for description was there, as was her easily readable style, but I didn't like the two lead characters. Margo, the gorgeous model heroine, was whiny and spoiled and she used her looks to get whatever she wanted out of life. She did grow up a little bit towards the end and realized that the world didn't revolve around her, but I still didn't like her very much. The hero was just plain spoiled and he wasn't present for a huge part of the book, so I never grew to care for him. I found DARING TO DREAM to be more effective as a story about a woman's struggle to rebuild her life after devastation, and her attempts to reestablish caring and loving relationships with her childhood friends.
Although I didn't click with either main character in this story and I wasn't excited by the romance, Nora Roberts kept me entertained with the strong interaction between the friends. Their love, devotion and banter came through as very believable, and I am looking forward to the two sequels about Margo's friends, Laura and Kate. They appear to be sensible and compassionate (and less self-centered) women. ~Laurie S. (shallah@empire.net)
Roberts, Nora - MONTANA SKY (1997) (4+)
A beautiful book with three different romances unfolding in parallel—each of them very special. In addition, the three sisters, who don't know each other, build a real family relationship. I liked the mystery in this book, even though I would have liked less details about the murders. ~Sylvie (s_pepos@videotron.ca)
Roberts, Nora - PUBLIC SECRETS (Bantam - Reissue 1998) (5)
Recently re-released in both hardcover and paperback, this is certainly my all-time favorite book by Roberts—and a must-read for anyone who liked the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and the British Invasion of the 1960s.
~Elena P.
Roberts, Nora - REEF, THE (Putnam HC - 1998) (4+)
Near Australia, James Lassiter and Silas VanDyke are salvaging the remains of the Sea Star, a ship that sunk off of the Great Barrier Reef two hundred years prior. Though not part of this job, the men dispute who can claim Angelique's Curse, a legendary jeweled amulet that James plans to locate on his next salvage job in the West Indies. Instead, while his teenage son Matthew waits on the ship, Silas kills James beneath the ocean.
Eight years later, Tate Beaumont, a marine biology student, meets Matthew. Both share a love of the ocean and have ambitions to find Angelique's Curse. Reluctantly they agree to team up and locate the missing gem. While diving beneath the ocean the pair falls in love; however, neither one realizes the truth behind Matthew's father's death and the danger that still lurks from Silas, who believes the amulet belongs to him.
In one word, this novel can be summed up best: Nora. Though other writers might want to be like Nora, her newest novel, THE REEF, takes readers to depths rarely seen in contemporary romantic suspense. Fans of the great author will find this novel to be her usual 62-home-run affair, again proving that the "Babe Ruth of Romance" deserved being the first writer elected to the Romance Writers of America Hall of Fame. ~Harriet Klausner
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