Book Review: The Liar by Nora Roberts

 

Synopsis (from Goodreads):

Shelby Foxworth lost her husband. Then she lost her illusions …

The man who took her from Tennessee to an exclusive Philadelphia suburb left her in crippling debt. He was an adulterer and a liar, and when Shelby tracks down his safe-deposit box, she finds multiple IDs. The man she loved wasn’t just dead. He never really existed.

Shelby takes her three-year-old daughter and heads south to seek comfort in her hometown, where she meets someone new: Griff Lott, a successful contractor. But her husband had secrets she has yet to discover. Even in this small town, surrounded by loved ones, danger is closer than she knows—and threatens Griff, as well. And an attempted murder is only the beginning … 

My Thoughts:

I have always loved Nora Roberts.  Her books are always a fun read that doesn't make you think too much but full of suspense and anticipation.  The Liar is no different.  Although I had the ending figured out almost from the first chapter, I was still in for a few surprises.

Shelby is from a small town in Tennessee.  She meets Richard and runs away with him to get married and live a life of luxury...or so she thinks.  Shelby travels the world with Richard but once she gets pregnant, Richard is distant and it is obvious he doesn't want a child.  He leaves Shelby and their daughter often for business trips.  The one trip they were supposed to take with Richard, they end up staying home because of a sick child, and Richard gets into a tragic accident.  His body is lost at sea and Shelby is left a single mother with an unimaginable debt to pay off.  It seems Richard was not at all what he said.  Their whole life was a sham.

Shelby and her daughter, Callie, head back home to the hills of Tennessee.  There she is welcomed by her family and most of the town.  When some strange people show up in town and some even stranger things start to happen, Shelby knows that there is something more going on with Richard's lies and that she may very well be in danger.

I had the ending figured out pretty much from the beginning so that was a little disappointing but the book still kept me interested and it was such an easy read.  I loved Shelby and her mom and grandmother.  Nora Roberts described the town much like what I would expect from a small southern town (think Steel Magnolias) with the beauty shop gossip and the "second runner-up" beauty queen that still thinks she runs the town.  

There were a couple issues I had with the story like the way the law enforcement was portrayed. I come from a family in law enforcement and there is no way that some of the stuff that Forrest (Shelby's deputy brother) did would fly in any department that I know.   I was not bothered by the instant romance between Shelby and Griff because that isn't unusual in a Nora Roberts book but the way they talk to each other sometimes drives me insane.  "I just met you but I am in love with you and we will date/have sex/get married because I say so" dialogue is just annoying.  Shelby's family was almost perfect and it was so easy for her to just jump back into life in her town.  She found not one but two jobs that were just perfect for her and, aside from one "mean girl" character, everyone forgave her for running off and it was just like she never left.  Even her best friend, who was deeply hurt, had a quick talk with Shelby, said she was going to be hurt for a little bit and then seemed to forget about it all.  

If you want an fun, easy, slightly suspenseful and romantic read then you will like this book.  If you are looking for a mystery with an unpredictable ending, you will be disappointed in this one.  I enjoyed it but it definitely won't at the top of my favorite 2016 reads.

Book Review: The Dark Witch (Cousins O'Dwyer #1) by Nora Roberts

Synopsis (from Goodreads): 

With indifferent parents, Iona Sheehan grew up craving devotion and acceptance. From her maternal grandmother, she learned where to find both: a land of lush forests, dazzling lakes, and centuries-old legends.

Ireland.

County Mayo, to be exact. Where her ancestors’ blood and magic have flowed through generations—and where her destiny awaits.

Iona arrives in Ireland with nothing but her Nan’s directions, an unfailingly optimistic attitude, and an innate talent with horses. Not far from the luxurious castle where she is spending a week, she finds her cousins, Branna and Connor O’Dwyer. And since family is family, they invite her into their home and their lives.

When Iona lands a job at the local stables, she meets the owner, Boyle McGrath. Cowboy, pirate, wild tribal horseman, he’s three of her biggest fantasy weaknesses all in one big, bold package.

Iona realizes that here she can make a home for herself—and live her life as she wants, even if that means falling head over heels for Boyle. But nothing is as it seems. An ancient evil has wound its way around Iona’s family tree and must be defeated. Family and friends will fight with each other and for each other to keep the promise of hope—and love—alive…

My Thoughts:

I have really enjoyed novels by Nora Roberts in the past.  I cannot necessarily say the same for this book.  It wasn't horrible but definitely not up to Roberts usual standards.

Iona is the main character in this story.  She is the main character however you really don't ever learn a lot about her.  Iona comes from America and is somewhere in her 20's (I think) but you don't even know how old she is.  You learn a little about her parents, how they divorced when she was young and how they really never cared or paid much attention to her.  You know she loves her Nan and that she loves horses.  That's all you really get.  Maybe that is enough for some but I wanted to know a little more about her.

Iona decides to sell all her possessions, quit her job and move to Ireland.  You might be asking why.  Well, because her Nan told her a story about a witch in Ireland and that Iona was part of that witch.  Nan told her she had cousins in Ireland and that together they needed to defeat some evil being.  That's all it took for Iona to make a drastic, life changing decision.  

Iona pops on over to Ireland, finds her cousin and introduces herself.  The cousin, Branna, accepts everything Iona says and welcomes her with open arms, as does Branna's brother, Connor.  Within two days, Iona has a job and a love interest and getting ready to move in with her cousins and starting to learn magick.  Yeah...realistic much?

Iona annoyed me SO much!  She said literally anything that popped into her mind.  Things that no normal person would ever say.  She just barely meets her cousins and their friends and she is already telling them that she finds Boyle incredibly sexy and attractive and that she is having sex dreams about him.  Did I mention she has only known these people for a week?  She talked way too much and sometimes I just wanted to smack her!  She was not a strong character for me.  

I enjoyed Branna and Meara.  I could relate to both of them a lot more than I could relate to Iona.  Branna is not nearly so optimistic and chipper and Meara says things like they are, no sugar coating anything.  The male characters, Boyle, Connor and Fin, were fine.  Boyle didn't really have a personality at all and seemed to be grumpy a lot.  

My other complaint is that you never find out the back story to any of the other characters.  Branna and Connor are related to Iona.  They live together in Ireland.  There is absolutely no mention of their parents (presumably Iona's aunt and uncle) nor does Iona ever ask about them.  You find out nothing about Boyle, where or who his family is or where he came from.  The only thing you know about Fin is that he is a distant relative to Meara.  It was very unrealistic to me.  If I moved to Ireland on a whim and met up with my cousins, I would at least try to find out a little about my aunt and uncle as well as my cousins.  From what I got out of the book, Iona had never before met these relatives so you would think she might find out a little about them.  

Iona, Branna and Connor have to fight the evil Cabhan, who wants their powers.  Cabhan was defeated years ago by the groups distant relative, Sorcha.  There are some action scenes with Cabhan but nothing overly exciting or suspenseful.  The plan at the end lacked a lot of, well, planning and was a little rushed for me.  

This book was an easy read that didn't take much thinking.  I could easily put it down to do other things and was not distracted by it in any way.  I do like the fact that it was about witches and magic and, since I already have the other two books, can only hope the series gets better.  

 

  

Book Review: Chasing Fire by Nora Roberts

Synopsis (from Goodreads):  Little else in life is as dangerous as fire jumping. Flying past towering pillars of smoke, parachuting down to the edge of an all-consuming blaze, shoveling and sawing for hours upon hours, days at a time, all to hold the line and push back against the raw power of Mother Nature.

But there's also little else as thrilling - at least to Rowan Tripp. The Missoula smoke jumpers are one of the most exclusive fire-fighting squads in the nation, and the job is in Rowan's blood: her father is a legend in the field. She's been fighting fires since her eighteenth birthday. At this point, returning to the wilds of Montana for the season feels like coming home - even with reminders of the partner she lost last season still lingering in the air.

Fortunately, this year's rookie crop is among the strongest ever - and Gulliver Curry's one of the best. He's also a walking contradiction, a hotshot firefighter with a big vocabulary and a winter job at a kid's arcade. He came to Missoula to follow in the footsteps of Lucas "Iron Man" Tripp, yet he's instantly more fascinated by his hero's daughter. Rowan, as a rule, doesn't hook up with other smoke jumpers, but Gull is convinced he can change her mind. And damn if he doesn't make a good case to be an exception to the rule.

Everything is thrown off balance, though, when a dark presence lashes out against Rowan, looking to blame someone for last year's tragedy. Rowan knows she can't complicate things with Gull - any distractions in the air or on the ground could be lethal. But if she doesn't find someone she can lean on when the heat gets intense, her life may go down in flames.

My Thoughts:  Rowan has grown up with fire.  Her father was a fire jumper and now she jumps fires as well.  Last year, Rowan lost her jump partner.  She still has nightmares and thinks about him often but she comes back to jump fires again. 

Rowan meets Gull, one of the new recruits.  She has an instant attraction to him but has a strong rule never to get involved with anyone that she jumps with.  Gull, however, will not take no for an answer and continues to pursue Rowan. 

Then funny things start happening at the post.  The ready room gets trashed, equipment is not working right.  While jumping a fire, Rowan finds a body and things start to get dicey.  The last thing you want when fighting a raging fire is defective equipment or not being able to trust the ones you are with.  This is now what Rowan has to deal with.

I didn't know a lot about fire jumping but Nora Roberts did a great job explaining everything.  I almost wanted to go skydiving to see what the experience was really like after reading Roberts' descriptions of it.  Almost...but not quite.  Yep, I'm a chicken!  While Rowan and Gull were in the middle of a fire you could feel the heat and smell the smoke.  You could see the blackened areas where the fire has consumed everything and yet you could see the meadow of lupines on the other side where the fire didn't touch anything.

The mystery was good but not as suspenseful as some of Roberts' other books.  It wasn't a super huge part of the story.  The story mostly revolved around the jumps, Rowan and Gull's relationship and Rowan's father, Luke's relationship with his new girlfriend.

I thought Rowan was a strong, stubborn and brave character.  I thought she acted pretty childish when Lucas told her about his new relationship.  After all, she was a 20-something or 30-something woman who didn't even live at home all the time with her father and she expects him to not live his own life.  I was irritated then but she got over it.

All in all, it was a fast read with some good romance, great action and a little bit of mystery and suspense added in!