J.D. Robb (Nora Roberts): Naked in Death

MY REVIEW

Naked in Death
Series: In Death, Book 1
Author: Nora Roberts writing as J.D. Robb
First Release: June 30, 1995
List Price: $7.99

Read: October 7-8, 2009
My Rating:


Author Homepage | J.D. Robb Page | Amazon.com

SUMMARY (from inside front page)
Eve Dallas is a New York police lieutenant hunting for a ruthless killer. In more than ten years on the force, she's seen it all - and knows that her survival depends on her instincts. And she's going against every warning telling her not to get involved with Roarke, an Irish billionaire - and a suspect in Eve's murder investigation. But passion and seduction have rules of their own, and it's up to Eve to take a chance in the arms of a man she knows nothing about - except the addictive hunger of needing his touch.

MY OPINION
Naked in Death is absolutely fantastic - both a great romance and a wonderful murder mystery. I'm really looking forward to reading the rest of the books in this series and seeing the relationship between Eve and Roarke progress and continue to develop; they are both fantastic characters and complement one another very well. Definitely one of my favorite books by Nora Roberts so far, if not my favorite - it's hard to decide, because she does have some really great ones. Is automatically going on my "to-buy" list!

NEXT BOOK OF THE "IN DEATH" SERIES
Naked in Death is followed by Glory in Death, Book 2.

Nora Roberts: Finding the Dream

MY REVIEW

Finding the Dream
Series: Dream Trilogy, Book 3
Author: Nora Roberts
Release: July 31, 1997
List Price: $7.99

Read: September 28-29, 2009
My Rating:


Author Homepage | Amazon.com

SUMMARY (from online)
Nora Roberts presents the final novel in a dramatic trilogy. Margo, Kate, and Laura were brought up like sisters amidst the peerless grandeur of Templeton House. But it was Laura who seemed to have it all - until she lost almost everything and had to begin again ...

Laura Templeton found out the hard way that nothing in life is guaranteed. The daughter of a wealthy hotelier, she had always known comfort, privilege, and security. But by the age of thirty, her storybook marriage had been destroyed by her husband's infidelity. Laura's divorce left her both emotionally and financially devastated - but determined to rebuild her life without the help of the Templeton fortune.

Laura had always defined herself as a wife, a daughter, or a mother. Now, she must finally discover Laura the woman ...

SERIES: The Dream Trilogy
I didn't read Book 1 of the Dream Trilogy, Daring to Dream, because the heroine just didn't really do anything for me - lol, don't mean it like that, just that Margo is beautiful and an ex-fashion model and just not really my type of heroine. She seems very nice and I like her as a supporting character in the two other books, but did not have an interest in reading her book. The second book in the series, Holding the Dream, was just as fantastic as Book 3 and I also gave it 4.5 stars.

MY OPINION
Roberts' book summaries are very odd because I feel like they leave out so much - mainly the romance! You know it's there - that's why we read these books - but so many times the hero is hardly mentioned, if at all. This book has the wonderful hero of Michael Fury, Josh's bad-boy friend from childhood (Josh is Laura's brother). He's basically been a nomad/wanderer for most of his life, doing a variety of things - and doing them all well - and he has now recently finally settled on raising / breeding horses.

This book was absolutely *fantastic*!! I love bad-boy heroes and Michael was a great counterpart for Laura; she's so prim and proper, always doing what was right and what she felt she should do, so it was wonderful to have a guy who wanted to focus on her (and her children - the scenes between Michael and her daughters will make you go "awww" out loud), make her live on the wild side and show her passionate side, and really give her the all-consuming love she has always wanted and dreamed (haha, no pun intended) of.

HERO AND HEROINE LOOKALIKES
Laura, the heroine of this book, is very similar to Abby O'Hurley, from Roberts' short story The Last Honest Woman, which is the first story in Born O'Hurley and Book 1 of the O'Hurley Collection (I rated that story 4.5-5 stars). Both women had horrible marriages and husbands that were complete ____ who abused them either emotionally or physically and left them in financially dire straits.

Michael, the hero, reminded me of Murphy Muldoon, from Born in Shame (rated 4 stars), in the way that they're both very comfortable with themselves, who they are, and what they want from life. They are also similar in their livelihoods, and connection to natureand the heroine of the books they're in.

BEST AMAZON.COM REVIEW
The review is by Jill Clardy and is repasted below, but here is the permalink if you want to read it on the Amazon.com website.

"Two years after her loveless 10-year marriage to Peter Ridgeway has ended, Laura Templeton is immersed in working two part-time jobs, raising her two daughters, and running the Templeton estate in Monterey. Peter managed to wipe out most of Laura's considerable assets, but she still has the home and a job working in one of the Templeton hotels. Her life is hectic and overscheduled, but basically lonely.

Enter the dark, mysterious, brooding Michael Fury. Raised nearby but on the 'wrong side of the tracks', Michael had been a good friend of Laura's brother, Josh, but had left the area right after high school to live a life of danger and adventure. Michael is back in the area, raising and breeding horses, but his stables and home were destroyed in a mudslide and Josh convinces Laura to let Michael rent her unused stables until he can rebuild.

Having married Peter at 18, Laura has little experience with dating or flirtation, and has compartmentalized and organized her life, leaving no room for dating or passion. When Michael strikes her a spark in her, she is confused and in denial, but he pursues her relentlessly. He is charming, sexy, good with animals and wonderful with her two daughters.

The usual misunderstandings, protective family, meddling friends, and circumstances attempt to thwart their romance, but after all this is a romance novel, so you know the guy gets the girl in the end. I didn't realize that the book was part of a trilogy, but the characters and scene are so captivating that the book stands alone and is a quick, entertaining, satisfying read."

Nora Roberts: The MacGregors - Robert & Cybil

The MacGregors - Robert & Cybil:
The Winning Hand / The Perfect Neighbor
Series: The MacGregors, Books 9 and 11
Author: Nora Roberts
Release: December 31, 2006
List Price: $7.99

Read: October 1-2, 2009
My Overall Rating:


Author Homepage | The MacGregors | MacGregor Family Tree | Amazon.com

The Winning Hand

SUMMARY (from back cover)
When Darcy Wallace spends her last three dollars at the hotel casino and wins a jackpot worth almost two million dollars, all casino manager Robert MacGregor Blade wants to do is look out for her. But something about the lovely young woman is getting under Mac's skin and playing havoc with his big brotherly intentions. And to win her over, he'll have to take the biggest gamble of his life.

The Perfect Neighbor

SUMMARY (from back cover)
Brooding loner Preston McQuinn's new apartment, like his life, was just the way he wanted it - dark and empty. But when sunny Cybil Campbell came barging into his well-ordered gloom, he couldn't deny a grudging fascination with his bright, bubbly neighbor. Preston thought he'd closed the door on love for good, so why was he suddenly longing to open up his heart to his incredibly perfect neighbor?

Nora Roberts: Born in Ice

MY REVIEW

Born in Ice
Series: Born In Trilogy, Book 2
Author: Nora Roberts
Release: November 1, 1996
List Price: $7.99

Read: August 26-27, 2009
My Rating:


Author Homepage | Trilogy Page | Amazon.com

SUMMARY (from Amazon.com)
Brianna Concannon is a woman with a rare gift for creating a home, and she makes use of this talent by running a bed-and-breakfast in a picturesque corner of Ireland. Mystery writer Grayson Thane is an American who grew up in an orphanage and has spent his life alone.

A restless wanderer with a painful past, Grayson arrives at Blackthorn Cottage intent only on soaking up the Irish atmosphere and writing his next novel, but he finds far more than he bargained for. The beautiful, calm Brianna soothes his disquiet soul, and in her Grayson finds the home he hadn't realized he needed.

Brianna knows that by falling for him, she risks her heart, already bruised and scarred by a young love who left her at the altar. But the yearning to let the American melt the ice around her cold exterior is irresistible. Unless Grayson can let go of his past to forge a future with her, Brianna may have gambled her heart in vain.

SERIES: Born In Trilogy

1. Born in Fire (October 1, 1994)
2. Born in Ice (November 1, 1995)
3. Born in Shame (January 1, 1996)
   

The trilogy follows the Concannon sisters. The first book features Maggie, a glass-blowing artist of fiery temper, and Rogan Sweeney, a very successful and driven international gallery owner; opposites attract in this book. Then comes Brianna, Maggie's quietly reserved sister who finds contentment in running her inn and making strangers feel comfortable when they are far from home; her hero is Grayson Thane, a well-known mystery writer who has been a lone wanderer for most of his life and treasures the fact that he isn't tied down.

The trilogy ends with Shannon, their American half-sister, whose existence they have only learned of during the second book. She is the result of a brief affair between her mother and their father and has grown up in America, never having met the other side of her family. Shannon's hero is the wonderful and sexy Murphy Muldoon, who was featured in both of the trilogy's other books.

OPINION
Born in Ice has good reviews on Amazon.com (average customer rating of 4 stars), but it is the least preferred one of the trilogy. I myself liked it better than Born in Fire and give it a solid four stars. I love the quiet heroines and Brianna is definitely that; she's so reserved and cool at times that I would have liked to see her lose her temper in one big fiery blowout at least once in the book. Regardless of this, Brianna was an interesting heroine and despite my apprehensions from the first book, she was much more accessible than I thought she would be.

Gray was a wonderful hero and he and Brianna are perfect for each other. Their trip to New York was one of the highlights of the book;he's so sweet to her and her bafflement when he gives her gifts is very amusing. The love scene while they're in NYC was the hottest one in the book and one of the best. Gray is always so tender and loving when they make love (Brianna is a virgin, so at first she's somewhat frightened/confused by her feelings for and attraction to him) and this one rougher and hotter moment had me fanning myself a little, lol. Though of course nothing beats the scene in Rising Tides between Ethan and Grace against the tree - whew!! ;-)

The relationship between Brianna and Gray was always honest, forthright, and open, which was something I really appreciated. They are reserved with one another about their pasts, but when it comes to their relationship with each other, there were no misunderstandings, no lies, no secrets, etc. As always, Roberts has one of the characters realizing and admitting their love, while the other one refuses to admit the truth until the end - still, the end is wonderful, sweet, and just perfect for those two characters.

BOTTOM LINE
A great read that I would definitely recommend. The first book in the trilogy, Born in Fire, can be passed over, but it's worth checking out from the library if you want to read all three books of the trilogy. Now it's on to Born in Shame for me! I'll let you know what the verdict is :-)