The Awakening by Nora Roberts

 

Title:  The Awakening

Author:  Nora Roberts

Narrated by:  Barrie Kreinik

Publisher: Macmillian Audio

Length: Approximately 15 hours and 27 minutes

Source: Purchased from Amazon.com

 

Are any trees flowering where you live?  There are some very beautiful flowering trees in my neighborhood.

Nora Roberts is a prolific author that can cross genres.  I have been meaning to read her new fantasy trilogy since the first book of the Dragonheart Trilogy, The Awakening, was published in 2020.  Luckily, it was the May selection for the Page-turners Book Club at the Kewaunee Public Library.

Breen Kelly is living with her best friend Marco, just trying to make ends meet.  She is a people pleaser and focuses on trying to keep her mother and everyone around her happy instead of pursuing her own dreams.  One day while caring for her mother’s plants, she comes across a bank statement and realizes her mother has been hiding from her that her missing father has sent her vast sums of money over the years.  Breen uses the money to fund a trip to Ireland with Marco to find out what happened to her father and more of her roots.  While there, she discovers a portal to another world and her real past.  Will she be able to defeat the evil force that is waiting for her?

I liked the character development and world building in the Awakening.  The descriptions of Ireland were wonderful.  I really liked her best friend Marco and how he helped push her to achieve her dreams.  I also liked the theme of found family.  Breen’s mother is something else, but luckily, she has others in her life that help her out when she needs them.

I didn’t like that The Awakening was a very slow-moving novel.  There were dreams of future things to come, but no climatic battle.  It was really about meeting the characters and Breen training for some future battle.  I really wanted more to the story.  I really didn’t like Breen’s mother.  I couldn’t believe what a cold person she was.

We had a good discussion about this book at book club.  I still need to figure out if I want to continue with the trilogy or not.

 Barrie Kreinik was a good narrator, and it was enjoyable to listen to in an audiobook.

Legacy by Nora Roberts

 

What is your favorite book set in a small town?

Adrian Rizzo was seven when she met her father for the first time, and he nearly killed her and her mother.  Her mother has an exercise video empire, and Adrian sets up her own exercise online video empire when she hits her teen years.  Her safe place has always been her grandparent’s house.  When her grandpa leaves her his home, she decides to move to her favorite small town, Traveler's Creek.  While there she rekindles her childhood infatuation with a good-looking friend Raylan.  Adrian has been receiving threatening letters from a mysterious person for years, but they start to escalate.  Who is stalking her and why?

I love Nora Roberts and this novel started off with a bang.  I was reading quickly at first, but the story really seemed to drag in the middle. It was filled with making fitness videos and running errands. It seemed to go abruptly from scene to scene.  I enjoyed the characters, but they weren’t as well developed as I am used to in a Roberts novel.  Adrian herself I just didn’t connect with, which is troublesome when she is the main character.  I also wasn’t feeling the romance as I usually do in her novels.  I usually really love second chance romance and friends to lovers.  The suspense seemed to come rather abruptly to the front of the story at the end of the book.  Legacy felt like a mediocre Roberts novel, it was definitely not one of my favorites.  It pains me to say this.

Favorite Quotes:

“The first time Adrian Rizzo met her father, he tried to kill her.”

“If her childhood had taught her anything, it was to make time for her passion, her responsibilities.  And for the ones she loved.”

Overall, Legacy was an okay romantic suspense novel.

Book Source.  Review Copy from Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press.  Thank-you!

Under Currents by Nora Roberts

Under Currents was the June read for the Page Turners Book Club at the Kewaunee Public Library.  We had a lovely lunch time meeting this month in the library garden.

Zane Bigelow is abused as a child by his domineering father. Unfortunately, his mother is in denial about the abuse that she also receives and calls it love.  A tragic event changes the trajectory of his life.  As an adult, Zane has moved back to his small town.    He meets a beautiful and mysterious landscaper, Darby, and is ready to start life afresh.  Forces work against the two of them to make their lives very difficult.  Will they be able to move on from the past?

I enjoyed this book, and we had a good discussion about it.  The toughest part for I think everyone was reading the horrific child abuse at the start of the novel.  Warning that if this is a trigger point for you, this would not be a good book for you. Abuse was an experience that Zane and Darby shared and understood about each other. The first part of the novel set up the villain for the novel, the middle part of the novel Zane and Darby fall in love, and in the last part of the novel they battle the forces working against them.  My one downfall for this novel was that there was not one, not two, but three different villains in this novel to contend with.  It seemed a bit over the top to me.

It was a fun part for the novel for me that Nora Roberts made Jane Austen connections.  The bad ex husband was named Trent Willoughby and the characters point out that he is Willoughby like in Sense and Sensibility.  Unfortunately, this meant when another character showed up with a Jane Austen villain last name later in the book, I knew who he was instantly.

I liked the small-town setting and how Darby’s business was able to grow through word of mouth.  I also loved how friends and family came together to help everyone out.  It was refreshing to read about.

Favorite Quotes:

“Nice to live where people knew you and took time to say hello.”

“She couldn’t think past the two children, living in cruelty and fear and violence.  And somehow surviving it, not being dragged down by those ugly currents.

Overall, Under Currents is an enjoyable suspense novel that has a few too many villians.

Book Source:  Kewaunee Public Library – Thank-you!

The Obsession by Nora Roberts

My Grandma passed The Obsession by Nora Roberts on to me last month while we were at my cousin’s wedding. She had read it on her journey to South Carolina and passed it along to me for my journey home. It is the kind of book that you definitely can’t put down. I finished it relatively quickly, but life including sickness and a frantic work schedule have put me behind on my blog.

Naomi Bowes is excited for her birthday. Seeing her father slip out to the woods, she follows him thinking that he is going to work on putting together a bicycle, which is what she really wants for her birthday. What she finds instead is a horror show and the fact that her father is nothing that he seems. Naomi spends her life trying to run from his evil, but finally decides to set down roots in a seaside community in a ramshackle big old house that she decides to fix up.

Naomi meets every woman’s dream, a handsome rugged mechanic with a large library in his house that also happens to play in a band on the weekends. Xander is a sensitive man who has never fallen in love the way he has with Naomi. Will these two commitment phobes be able to find love and commitment with each other? When bodies of women start showing up in her community, Naomi has to face her fears and her past. What will the community and Xander think of her once they know who she really is?

To me the star of this book was Tag the dog that Xander and Naomi meet and adopt. A mongrel dog that was left by someone on the side of the road, he falls in love with Naomi and will protect her no matter what. Friendly to all unless he knows you are full of evil intent, he is the best of dogs. He reminded me a lot of my dog Jack.

Obsession had a great hook with the tale of terror in the first chapter and then became a more standard love story during the rest of the book. I did like the mystery of who the copycat killer was, including seeing into the mind of the murderer. This book was hard to put down. The only problem I had with it was that I felt the mystery was resolved a little too quickly at the end. I had figured out who the killer was, but I did still want to see how he would be caught and what would happen to all of my favorite characters.

Book Source: Given to me by my Grandma and passed on to her from my Aunt Sue. I need to pass it along now!

The Reef by Nora Roberts

The Reef was the February pick for the FLICKS Book and Movie Club. Its tropical location and treasure hunting adventure were perfect reading during a cold and snowy Wisconsin winter. I was reading it last week during the snowpocalypse. When you can’t get away to a tropical destination in the winter, reading about one is the next best thing.

Tate Beaumont is an undergraduate who loves marine archeology, scuba diving, and hunting for treasure. Tate, her father Ray, and mother Marla have taken their boat to the Caribbean to search for the sunken Santa Marguerite. They soon team up with Buck and Matthew Lassiter, the two remaining members of a famed family of treasure hunters. The Lassiters are looking for Angelique’s Curse, a beautiful necklace with a tragic past. Sparks fly between Tate and Matthew. They hit the wrong note with each other, but are also attracted by each other Unfortunately the Lassiter’s nemesis; VanDyke also has his eyes on the treasure and the treasure hunters. I don’t want to say too much more and give away the plot of the entire book!

I really enjoyed this novel. As I said previously there is nothing better to read than a tropical adventure story during the midst of a Wisconsin winter. I also loved the treasure hunting – I’ve always been fascinated by treasure stories. I also enjoy that Nora Roberts always writes about strong female characters with surprising careers. They aren’t just lawyers or nurses like in so many books and TV shows. I loved that Tate is a marine archaelogist. She starts off the novel as a student, but becomes a successful career woman in her own right.

My only negative with the novel was at times it seemed like the treasure was found a little too easily. It seems like they were too incredibly lucky to find more than one pristine ship in the shallow waters of the Caribbean. It kind of annoyed me, but I was able to move on!

Overall, I loved the adventure, characters, setting, and surprise plot twists of this novel. I would rate this as one of my favorite Nora Roberts novels – but I am by no means the aficionado that my friends Jenn and Carol are!

Book Source: The Kewaunee Public Library

Naked in Death and Glory in Death both by J.D. Robb

I had not read any of Nora Robert’s mysteries written as J.D. Robb, so my best friend Jenn loaned them to me . . . last summer! Luckily while I was sick, I finally read them as I really need to return them to her when I am in Michigan next week!

I enjoyed both mysteries. They take a darker turn then her romance novels. Eve Dallas is a cop in a near future scenario. In Naked in Death, Eve is investigating the serial killing of prostitutes in New York City. One of her top suspects is the mysterious, rich, and handsome Roarke. While the two have a battle of wits, Eve is running out of time to solve this mystery.

In Glory in Death, Eve investigates the killing of prominent women around New York City. Overall both novels had a great plot, setting, and characters and I enjoyed them both. The only thing I didn’t like was that both novels were the serial killing of women . . . I hope the plot moves on from this in the next novels!

Book Source: Borrowed from my best friend Jenn

Gabriel’s Angel by Nora Roberts

Gabriel’s Angel was a good comfort read book for me during my morning sickness. The book involves a pregnant lady, Laura Malone, alone on the run from her husband’s family. She is caught in a snow storm, but is rescued by a handsome artist, Gabriel Bradley. I am a pregnant Laura and read this during the cold of March so it was the perfect book for me!

Gabriel’s Angel is a short vintage 1980’s Nora Roberts romance. It is a quick read and a satisfying romance. I enjoyed it.

Book Source: My best friend Jenn passed this book along to me.

Tribute by Nora Roberts

I’m a bit behind on reviews as I had family in town visiting for a long weekend. So please forgive me as I try to catch up!

Tribute was the July pick for the Lakeshore Moms’ Book Club. We had yet to read a Nora Roberts book for our club even though a few of us are fans. I have the movie on my DVR ready to watch, but I wanted to read the novel first!

Tribute is the story of Cilla McGowan. She is a former child star (I thought of the girls of Full House) and granddaughter of a famous actress, Janet Hardy, who died young in the 1970’s of a drug overdose (I thought of Marilyn Monroe). Cilla has bad stage fright and after falling off of the D list has discovered a fulfilling career as a home flipper. She buys houses, restores them, and sells them for a profit. After buying Janet’s farm in Virginia from her mother, Cilla goes to Virginia to restore her grandmother’s estate. There she find fulfilling work fixing up the house, getting to know her father and half-sister better, learning more about Janet, and also meeting the hot neighbor next door, Ford Sawyer.

Ford is a hot nerdy graphic artist that lives across the street. I liked Ford and thought he would be someone Ben and I would be friends with. While he was a bit of a stalker in the beginning (watching her with binoculars to better use her as a model for his new graphic novel), he was a very romantic character. He was supportive of Cilla and I also loved his nerdiness. I especially enjoyed when he talked about his love for Lost and Battlestar Galactica. I loved the pop culture references. The only thing that seemed off was Cilla’s making money off of fixing up houses – I don’t think much of that is going on now with the current real estate climate!

The novel was interesting with great secondary characters and seeing Cilla grow as a character from a loner to someone who belongs. The Janet Hardy mystery was also intriguing. I couldn’t put the book down at the end to see how it ended. I was a half surprised by the ending and half not as I had guessed some of it earlier in the book.

I’m not the super Nora Roberts fan that my friends Jenn and Carol are. They’ve read most if not all of her novels. I’ve read quite a few, but not nearly all of her works. Out of the novels I have read, I’d put this in the middle. It was enjoyable, but not one of her best.

High Noon by Nora Roberts

I really enjoyed this novel and dare I say, I think it was the best Nora Roberts book that I've ever read. I still have a long ways to go though to be the ultimate fan like my friend Jenn who has read every single novel. I am a mere dabbler in Ms. Robert's books by comparison.

Phoebe McNamara is a hostage negotiator that meets Duncan Smith while talking down a suicidal man from a roof. Phoebe is a single mother that lives with her family and finds it hard to trust and love again. But Duncan wears her down and she finds love for the first time in her life. Meanwhile a mysterious man who whistles "high noon" has begun to stalk Phoebe and danger keeps getting closer with each turn of the page. It was a nail-bitter until the end.

This book was an excellent suspense. Nora Roberts had excellent character development and also excellent supporting characters. I wanted to live in Phoebe and Duncan's world .. . minus the pschyopathic stalker. The Savannah setting is also great. I love how Roberts sets her novels in such distinct settings . . . I hope that someday she'll set one in the beauty of Door County Wisconsin, or maybe the upper peninsula of Michigan:-)

Midnight Bayou by Nora Roberts

Midnight Bayou was a light romantic read involving a haunted southern mansion. I am a giant fan of ghost stories and of southern mansions so this was perfect for me. This book gave me a vibe of Roberts "In the Garden" series - a series that I really loved. I read this book to be prepared for the Lifetime movie of it that is premiering this weekend.

Declan Fitzgerald has given up his fiancee and law career in Boston to pursue his dream to fix up the Manet Mansion in New Orleans. He finds himself mysteriously drawn to the mansion and discovers that there are ghosts and memories of a past tragedy still living there. He is drawn to Lena Simone, a local girl who has a past link to the house. Will he be able to win the love of Lena and also come to terms with the Manet mansion's past?

While I tired of the overuse of the word "Cher" and thought the ending was a bit too rushed, I thought this was an entertaining read overall.

Quick Book Review Update

As with movies, I've read a lot of books in the last month during baby feedings. I'm a month behind on reviews with the new baby so I'm going to do a quick summary of what I've read in the past month to catch up! I'm going to list the books I've read from the most recent to the one I had finished right before the baby was born!

Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell. I loved the Masterpiece Theatre mini-series and also read the book over the past few days. The book does not include any stories about Doctor Harrison or Lady Ludlow - they are separate novellas, which I didn't realize at first! The book is a charming picture of life in a small village during the Victorian era. I enjoyed it.

The Virgin Blue by Tracy Chevalier. This book was recommended and borrowed from my good friend Elina (she has been recommending books to me since 4th grade!). This book was about a woman who has relocated to modern day France and becomes obsessed with tracing the story of her ancestors. Her ancestors were Hugenots that had to flee France to Switzerland to avoid prosecution in the 16th century. Half of the story is about her ancestor Isabelle and the dark secret hidden in the family. It was a good book and very interesting to learn about the era.

Princess by Jean P. Sasson. Princess was also loaned and recommended to me by Elina. The book was a first person account of a Saudi Arabian Princess named Sultana for the book's purposes. It was a vivid account of life under the veil and rule of men. It gave good brief background to the history of the region and of Islam. It was a good book to read to understand women's issues in the Middle east althought it was written directly after Desert Storm so it is a bit dated. It's hard to believe that women live such restricted lives in our modern age.

The Lady and the Unicorn by Tracy Chevalier. This is another book borrowed from Elina. I enjoyed this novel a lot! It tells the tale of a beautiful unicorn tapistry and how it was designed and woven. The lives it intersects are fascinating. I highly recommend this novel to fellow lovers of historical fiction.

Time and Again by Nora Roberts. This novel is actually a combination of two older novels by Nora Roberts. They both involve handsome men traveling back in time from the 24th century and meeting the love of their lives. They were entertaining novels, but not among Roberts best.

The Perfect Summer by Luanne Rice. This book was a Mom's Club book club pick. The story is a romance/mystery involving a woman, Bay McCabe, who's unfaithful husband has disappeared, and who's teenage crush has reappeared. I enjoyed this light read, except for the excessive mention of the "boardwalk" that Bay and Danny worked on in their youth.

Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult. I thought this novel was riveting and thought provoking (although I figured out the "surprise" ending right away. It involved a murderer who was on death row and wanted to donate his heart to his victim's family. The murderer may also be performing miracles in jail.

Certain Girls by Jennifer Weiner. I enjoyed this book although it's surprise ending was a tear jerker, especially after you've just given birth. I think Ben thought someone had died when he saw my tears! This novel is a follow up to Good in Bed. I thought it was a good sequel and enjoyed getting back into Cannie's story.

The Strongbow Saga Book Three: The Road to Vengeance by Judson Roberts. This novel was another first look review from Harper Collins so the novel actually comes out in June. I enjoyed the novel. Although I hadn't read the first two in the series, I was able to grasp the story quickly and go with it. If you enjoy Viking adventure tales, this book is for you.

Northern Lights by Nora Roberts

I received Northern Lights as a Birthday present from Jenn back in March. I've become quite obsessed with library books and keep forgetting I have quite a big stash of my own that I need to catch up on!

I enjoyed Northern Lights. It tells the story of cop Nate Burke and his move to Lunacy, Alaska. After the murder of his partner and a rocky divorce, Nate is looking for a new life in a rural area where he doesn't have to worry about murder. His spirits start to pick up after his move to Lunacy as the "Lunatics" are all very nice people, especially a bush pilot named Meg Galloway. Peace is shattered though when some young climbers find the body of Meg's lost father who has been missing for 18 years. Nate is on the case and finds that sometimes things aren't always as they appear.

I love the characters in Nora Robert's books. I wanted to live in Lunacy. I also really enjoyed the mystery that had me guessing up until the end. I also really liked the setting as I think Alaska is a cool and exciting place. Hopefully Ben and I will get to go there one day. I thought the romance in this one was a little weak. I could have used some more build-up, but then again, Meg isn't quite the shy kind of girl! :-)

Side note - I've really been enjoying the Nora Robert's movies on Lifetime. Ben, being the senstive man that he is, found one for me first last spring and taped it. I've watched Blue Smoke, Carolina Moon, and Sanctuary. I've been waiting for them to reshow the other movies this summer so I can watch them, but so far have been unlucky! I hope they show them soon!