REVIEW: The Return of Rafe MacKade, Nora Roberts
The Return of Rafe MacKade
by
Nora Roberts
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I just looked at the original copyright date on this one. 1995. Yeesh. I was twenty years old the first time I read this. Nora has always had the ability to write families that you can’t help but care about and the MacKades are no different.
“He’s hooked.” Jared grinned and lifted his beer. “And his heart looks so pretty, right there on his sleeve.”
It’s banter like this that makes me laugh right out loud and what always keeps me coming back for more.
This was a fun re-read. A few places felt rushed, but DAMN, I do love Rafe. Rough around the edges, a little wild, and a he fell in love so hard he was snarling the whole way down. Just like I like my men.
Reagan was a perfect foil for him. Buttoned up and crisp on the outside, and a volcano under all that perfection.
Combustible chemistry and a quick read.
REVIEW: The Witness, Nora Roberts
The Witness by Nora Roberts
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Okay…I’m mildly biased about LaNora books. She is my all time fave author. (Yes, I know some will roll their eyes. Seriously, between work ethic and pure talent this woman deserves every success she’s had.)
Brooks and Abigail will stay with me for a long time.
Abigail made me laugh, cry, want to fight, and ultimately made me just sigh in pure happiness. This character has been so much and still had a core of goodness and openness that is astounding. The one thing she wanted was someone to love her–she’d pushed the idea of it away from her for so many years she simply had no idea what she needed until Brooks Gleason walked into her life.
Brooks.
*sigh* Fun loving, fierce, loyal, brave, honest and a host of other things that makes a woman swoon. Not too perfect. Not so that you were sickened. He knew how to compromise. He knew how to love. His family is and will always be the most important thing in his life. He’s a cop, but he’s not a black and white one. His shades of grey made him even more appealing and real to me.
The line of suspense shook you from the beginning and always lingered in the back of the story. The overlapping plot and parallel storyline based in the little town highlighted all the things she was running from and made for one more satisfying layer to the story.
It never slowed down for me. Even in the peaceful moments, it drew me in and seemed to spotlight the ever fascinating way that Abigail’s mind worked.
As an aside, her social awkwardness reminded me a lot the Bones character from the Fox tv show, but it was definitely a different level. Just that logical mind that had to learn to bend and grow and maybe even learn just a little bit more to let love in. Because man…Brooks was SO worth it.
A must read for the Nora fans and a brilliant way to draw new readers as well.
REVIEW: The Next Always, Nora Roberts
The Next Always by Nora Roberts
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
*sigh*
I love the start of a new trilogy from laNora. Some people feel like they’re just a set up to the series, but somehow it just never is to me. I get to meet a whole slew of new people to fall in love with.
She does it to me EVERY single time.
It’s just disgusting. LOL
I look forward to it every year. This one does not disappoint in my eyes. The romance was a little sweeter, the children definitely put a different spin on things. And normally I’m not really a book-has-kids kind of reader, but I can get swept away. This book, and definitely this author, can do that to me. Beckett Montgomery…*sigh* Yeah—he’s the ultimate yum factor. (tho I will admit, Ryder has officially stolen the show for me. GOOD GOD. YUM! I love a grouchy guy for some reason. LOL)
He loves with everything and Clare has been on his radar since he was a kid. Even with the baggage of being a widow with 3 kids, Clare never makes you think of her that way. She’s strong and resilient. She’s had to take care of herself and her kids even when she was married. (He was in the military) And while she certainly loved her husband with her whole heart, she’s a different woman than the idealistic 19 year old that left with her young husband. This Clare was ready for love and the town she grew up in. She wants the roots and loves owning her own place thanks to her widows benefits.
Now as a Nora fan, I loved reading about Boonsboro–I know it’s a real place that is close to Nora’s heart both because Turn The Page and Inn Boonsboro are real places, and the way she describes them. I’m a sucker for a Nora setting and this book doesn’t disappoint.
At all.
This is heavy on the setting and the romance is definitely a force in the book, but the Inn is definitely a main character. So, know that going and I think this will be the book for you. The characters will win you over, I know it.
I cannot wait to see what happens with the next brother, Owen.