One Good Book Deserves Another

Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: The Bride Quartet, Book 1
Rating: 4 Stars
Length: 325 Pages
Formats: Paperback, Kindle


Four women, best friends since childhood, share ownership in the growing wedding planner business Vows. Each has their own strengths and abilities, each their own role in the business, and the only thing they are more committed to than making Vows a success...is each other.

Mackenzie Elliott is an artist behind a camera, with a spectacular ability to capture perfect moments and turn them into visual memories. That ability serves her well as event photographer at Vows. Carrying scars from a childhood that lacked emotional stability, her photography is both a passion and a coping mechanism, a way to make love last, if only through recording it. Besides the contentious relationship she has with her mother, a truly selfish and wretched woman, Mac is quite content with her life, and loves her friends, her home, and her job.

English professor Carter Macguire sees stars when he gets his first eyeful of Mac since high school. Trouble is, they're circling around his head after the shock of catching her topless in the middle of her studio causes him to slam it into the doorjamb in his haste to leave. As if that mortification isn't enough, the fact that Mac is the redheaded beauty he had an unrequited but intense crush on in school makes the embarrassment several times worse. Though, admittedly, the double vision had its moments.

Mac doesn't know why, but there's something about Carter that just gets to her. The quirky, geeky guy is charming and his unreserved honesty is a refreshing change from most men. Despite an ignominious start, now that he's caught her eye, Carter has no intention of letting her overlook him again, nor does he intend to allow her deep-seated commitment issues ruin what he knows is the best thing to ever happen to both of them.

It doesn't really matter if it's romantic suspense or contemporary romance, if it has paranormal elements or not, if it's a stand-alone or a part of a series, I turn to Nora Roberts' books whenever I want a guaranteed read. Of course I don't expect to love every book, that would be too much to hope for, especially with the monstrously prolific Roberts. I do, however, expect a well written book with lyrical prose and believable characters. For that, Roberts has never disappointed me, even if I haven't liked every single tale being told.

Vision In White gave me that guaranteed read I was looking for, just as I expected it to. Even better, it had story elements that I loved and several of the descriptive passages in the narrative painted such vivid mental images that I was flat-out wowed over and over again throughout. Mac was a pleasant enough female lead, pretty standard for Roberts, really, but I have to admit, I fell in love with the klutzy, quirky, nerdy Carter, his romance retardation, and his three legged cat. He stole every scene he was in and I felt, like Mac, that his inexplicable charm was absolutely adorable.

And I'm a sucker for unrequited-to-happily-requited type stories.

The short series (trilogies and quartets) Roberts writes tend to be my favorites of her great body of work for their portrayal of the various bonds and connections in the relationships between sisters, brothers, friends, and family beyond the featured romantic pairing in each book. I always love seeing those relationships evolve as the series arc progresses, and I look forward to the same here. I also enjoy Roberts trend towards easily recognizable and sympathetic female archetypes in these short series and male lead characters who are wonderfully normal, generally decent guys with just enough complexity to keep them real but leaving off much of the pathos and angst that has become prevalent in the romance genre. Sometimes, I just like reading that nice guys do get the girl...even if it's fictional.

I've mentioned in other reviews of Roberts' more recent books that I haven't been fond of a trend I've noticed in the dialogue she's writing, and unfortunately, that almost abbreviated style of speech between characters is in evidence here, though perhaps not as prevalent as I've seen in other books. I don't understand, and don't think I ever will, how Roberts got started with that but I wish she'd stop, because affected scenes with a quick back-and-forth between characters don't read like natural conversation, they read like rapid-fire retorts from a Tommy gun. Not exactly appealing.

Beyond that stylistic issue, there were a couple of story elements that didn't quite work for me in Vision In White. I wish the conflict with Mac's mom had been handled differently. Mac's reactions to her friends' cautions and advice became repetitive but progress dragged, then came too abruptly as the end of the book approached. I would have liked to see more spine showed, too, and would have enjoyed Mac dealing with some things without help. I also wasn't totally happy with how the romance plot thread between Mac and Carter got squished up at the end, with a sparse conflict and resolution phase. The last chapter or two ended up feeling a bit rushed overall, with the romance aspects taking the biggest hit.

Of course 'biggest' is such a relative term. Regardless of my issues, I thoroughly and completely enjoyed Vision In White and look forward to another relaxing afternoon when I will gratefully sink into the second in the four book series, Bed of Roses. I already have it sitting pretty in my TBR pile, in fact, for the next time I need an absolute guaranteed good read and the comforting familiarity of characters I've already come to know and enjoy. It's always and only Roberts for me in those cases, after all.

Genre: Romantic Suspense
Series: N/A
Rating: 4 Stars
Length: 480 Pages
Formats: Mass Market Paperback, Kindle



A Hit With This Dog Lover

Some call her a victim. Eight years ago she was the lone woman to escape a serial killer's deadly web. Some call her a hero. Seven years ago her fiance and his K-9 police partner were gunned down by the killer in revenge for her escape, but it was her testimony that put the murderous sociopath behind bars. Fiona Bristow considers herself a survivor. She endured. She lived. She fought back, got away, and stepped up, then pulled herself back from the shaky precipice of grief and trauma and moved on, building a decent life for herself on Orcas Island in Washington state.

Now Fiona is a respected dog trainer. She deals with multiple levels of group training as well as one-on-one training for dogs with behavioral issues, but she specializes in training search and rescue dogs and their handlers, and heads an S and R team that works with the local and state police on an as-needed basis. When her neighbor, the terse and blunt woodworking artist Simon Doyle pulls into her driveway with a short temper and a bundle of incorrigible puppy named Jaws, Fiona gets both a new client and an opportunity to explore an interesting amount of sexual chemistry. Her life is full with a job she loves, friends and relatives she cares about and enjoys spending time with, and dogs that are her passion and pride.

It was an idyllic life bursting with potential until the morning one of her friends on the police force turned up at her house and told her that two women were dead and a new monster had risen to pick up where the previous one had left off, a copycat killer who seemed to be heading closer. Fiona's life was once again in the crosshairs of a killer.

The Search is an appealing romantic suspense that displays much of Nora Roberts skill with an atmospheric narrative that fully submerges readers into the setting and charms them with appealing characters who are likable and sympathetic. Characterization is one of Roberts' greatest strengths, and all primary, secondary, and ancillary characters are fully formed, realistic, and three dimensional. I loved Fiona and Simon, and I adored the dogs, especially Jaws, who was great for comic relief through the first two parts of the book.

I found the search-and-rescue aspects fascinating and well researched, and those plot threads felt authentic and added a lot of emotion to the story. The romance was thorough and satisfying, and Fiona's strength, independence, and obsessive orderliness fit well with Simon's near antisocial tendencies, his artistic temperament, and his inherent sloppiness. There was a great blend of sexual tension and emotional comfort in their relationship as it evolved, strengthened, and became significant, then imperative. Few authors are as talented as Roberts with the ability to slowly age and develop characters and bring them together stronger and better for the pairing.

The serial killer and copycat threads were the weakest points of the story for me, and felt unoriginal and tired. The copycat in particular never struck me as anything but a pathetic poser, even as his violence escalated, and he never seemed composed and intent enough to be a realistic threat. Perhaps if his crimes had been blended in a little better than they were, or had more presence in the narrative, but the scenes that featured him seemed sparse and lacked impact.

I'm also still confused about the the trend I've noticed in the dialogue Roberts has been writing over the last couple of years. I still haven't been able to put my finger on what it is, exactly, but it almost seems like dialogue shorthand, with a shortened sentence structure and a lack of dialogue description that would normally add tone to the characters' voices. As a result, characters often seem to be speaking in a rapid fire back-and-forth that seems devoid of emotion. It's a bit startling when compared to the fluid, descriptive, colorful narrative that so adroitly captures the setting, painting it in vibrant visual detail.

Take those issues out of the equation, though, and The Search was one of the better Roberts' romances I've read lately. Fiona and Simon were strong, memorable characters who truly seemed made for each other, and I loved seeing Fiona work with the dogs. I also appreciated the lighter, humorous moments liberally spread throughout the book. There were several instances where I found myself chuckling out loud, and far more funny moments than I've ever seen in her other books. It was a very pleasant surprise, and it added another dimension to this thoroughly entertaining romance.

Genre: Romantic Suspense
Series: N/A
Rating: 4.5 Stars
Length: 496 Pages
Formats: Hardcover, Paperback, Kindle, Audiobook CD



Fine Southern Suspense

In the sultry Savannah heat, a patient killer stalks his prey, intent on taking everything from the one woman who took everything from him.

Savannah-Chatham police lieutenant and hostage negotiator Phoebe MacNamara spent part of her Saint Patrick's Day talking a suicidal bartender down off a ledge, while bar owner Duncan Swift looks on in equal parts fear and appreciation for the take-charge woman. When her quick thinking and steely nerves save the day, Duncan feels her start to worm her way into his mind and stick there. Intrigued and enchanted, he decides to give her a little wiggle room before he looks her up and sees if that sticking thing is significant.

When Swift shows up at her precinct house, Phoebe is both confused and a little ruffled. Being maneuvered into agreeing to meet the attractive man for a drink, though, makes her realize what a smooth operator he is. The woman in her appreciates that, especially when combined with his dimple and a very fine posterior. Her personal life being what it is, though, as a single mother of a precocious seven year old and a guardian, of sorts, for her agoraphobic mother, combined with the way her professional life tends to impact that personal life, Phoebe is determined to not get involved, no matter how good looking he is, or how pleasant his company.

Duncan has other ideas.

Before she can really sort out what she's going to do about the man, Phoebe is brutally attacked and sexually assaulted in the stairwell of her police precinct, and her unwillingness to traumatize her complicated family leaves her with little choice but to rely on Duncan for a place to come to terms with her attack. It's as he's helping her deal - no pushing, no manipulating, no overprotecting, just helping - that she starts to realize that the heavy burden of responsibility is easier to bear with him beside her. She doesn't want to look too closely at that feeling.

She can't help but find herself turning to Duncan again and again, though, as mysterious and vaguely threatening things start happening around her house, and a matter at work blows up in her face. Soon her whole family is drawn into a dangerous game with a sadistic killer intent on punishing Phoebe for something only a twisted mind and an evil heart could dream up. Terror rises like waves of heat off the pavement as the summer sun beats down on Savannah, and Phoebe will need all the support Duncan can offer to make it out of this with her family safe and the public protected from a madman intent on taking them all with him.

The preeminent romance novelist Nora Roberts brings another strong, thorough romantic suspense to her readers with High Noon, a book that captures the feel of the historic Savannah and some of its inhabitants with typical Roberts aplomb while delivering a taut suspense that will chill and thrill. Truly gifted with an ability to imbue her characters with believability and depth, Roberts introduces us to the proud and able Phoebe MacNamara, a strong woman, excellent at her job, who has been the true emotional head of her family since a trauma they suffered when she was only twelve. She is now as she was then, the glue that holds it all together, the strength that they all count on, and the courage on which they have come to depend.

Phoebe is the true core of this novel, and Roberts graces us with an up close and personal look at the woman and her life. Her strengths and weaknesses are spread out over a bed of lyrical prose colored with the south and the warm vitality of the places and characters around her. And it's a style of writing that I find very satisfying when I'm in the mood to read some solid character-driven story.

Duncan is a charmer, but took more of a secondary character role in the book, and that may bother some readers who favor the romance of a book over the suspense. He was well developed and thoroughly incorporated into the story and into Phoebe's life as the story progresses, and their relationship developed with all of the organic and realistic emotional evolution that I've come to expect from any Roberts book, but he is not as central a focus as Phoebe is, especially towards the latter half of the book.

The suspense plot threads were extremely well woven into the overall novel, starting ever so slowly and gradually building only after the characters and their lives and the romance aspects had been well laid and thoroughly fleshed out. Those readers anxious for the suspense to kick off from the start are going to have to be a bit patient for the payoff, but when those threads start to take a greater and greater focus in the book, it truly explodes across the pages and leaves some rather disturbing carnage in its wake. And the lesser plot threads, romance, and sundry lesser conflicts definitely entertain before the big show truly gets rocking.

I do have one complaint, and it's something that transcends this book; I've noticed it in several of the more currently published Roberts books I've read recently. For whatever reason, over the last few years there's been a stylistic change in how Roberts writes dialogue and it's starting to get on my nerves.

She writes beautifully descriptive and lyrical prose, and offers narratives that brilliantly capture scenery and characters, fleshing them out and defining them with such a sense of realism that it feels like these places and people are fond haunts and close friends within moments of their introduction. And yet the dialogue between the characters has been reduced to truncated sentences and abbreviated grammar. This is especially glaring in scenes where there is a lengthy conversation between characters, without much action surrounding it. It makes the dialogue feel choppy, abrupt, and glib, and robs it of a natural conversational flow. People just don't talk in that manner. In this book especially, set in the Deep South where people never say in five words what can be said in fifteen, and culture demands much in the way of stylistic speech patterns, it was jarring and often dischordant.

I hope that's a stylistic change that will be rectified some day, because it's become the one glaring black mark on the works of an author I've adored for decades.

I suppose I could also say that I thought the ending of this book was rather abrupt, or I wish more had been offered to round out, further develop, or conclude some of the plot threads (e.g. Essie's agoraphobia), but truly, that's also part and parcel of what makes Roberts' novels seem like true slice-of-life moments. Like these characters were living their lives and dealing with all the minutia of everything from foibles to finery in a real and believable fashion long before you started reading about them, and will continue along as they have been doing long after you're finished reading about them. It's another of Roberts' gifts.

And really, Roberts has so very many gifts when it comes to writing. Between the lovable characters, the complex and layered plots, and the realistic scenery, it's hard to argue that Roberts is not only prolific, but a master of her craft. And neither the small quibbles and minor complaints, nor the larger concern over a stylistic change, can take away the fact that whenever I'm in the mood for a sure-bet book, one I know, without looking and regardless of the blurb on the back cover, will satisfy most if not all of my happy-reader requirements, I reach for a Roberts book. Every time.

Genre: Romantic Suspense
Series: D.C. Detectives, Book 2
Rating: 2 Stars
Length: 279 Pages, 4910 Locations
Formats: Mass Market Paperback, Kindle, Hardcover, Audio Cassette



A Victim of the Times

Writing murder mysteries has given author Grace McCabe a successful career, but when her sister is brutally slayed while Grace is visiting her in D.C., murder hits far too close to her heart. Struggling to come to terms with the woman her sister really was and who she is in the wake of her loss, a deep-seeded desire for justice starts to burn in her, even as a different sort of desire is sparked for her sister's neighbor, D.C. homicide detective Ed Jackson.

From the moment Ed saw Grace leaning out the window of his neighbor's house, he was captivated by her. Realizing she was an author whose books he favored only made him want to meet her more. The steady and thorough man with a gentle heart and warrior's eyes recognized her as his future almost immediately, but the discovery of her sister's body, and helping Grace through the loss even as he investigates the crime, has created a tension in him that he can't quell. He knows there is a killer stalking his victims, and he knows Grace would do anything - including put herself in a monster's sights - to stop him.

I've been a huge fan of Nora Roberts for more years than I care to admit to and have spent so very many hours lost in the worlds she creates, adoring my stays there. Unfortunately, Brazen Virtue wasn't one I favored, but in this case, I may have no one to blame but myself. Perhaps if I'd read this sequel to Sacred Sins back when it was originally published in 1988, I would have felt vastly different about it, because the truth of the matter is, it's difficult for a book of this nature to feel fresh twenty-three years after it was released.

A maestro of character study and well conceived plots, a virtuoso of lyrical prose and realistic dialogue, Nora Roberts is a goddess of romantic fiction, and those traits are in evidence in Brazen Virtue. I'm always fond of main characters who are authors like Grace is, because there always seems to be a bit more...something...part realism and part emotional honesty in those characters (be it real or imagined on my part) than in others, like the author his/herself is speaking a personal truth through their characters. It's something I've always found appealing and I did so in this case as well. Ed was no slouch either as the quintessential good guy that Roberts is so adept at writing. Both lead characters are three dimensional and realistic.

In fact, as far as the technical aspects of the story go, it's Roberts. If she doesn't do it well, no one does.

I can only imagine that when the book was originally released, it was probably a very taut, tense, and timely suspense novel, but now, over two decades of wars, politics, natural disasters, heinous crimes, and acts of terrorism, technological advances, and an entertainment industry overflowing with every single sharp-eyed observation of man's inhumanity to man has stripped this book of its sophistication and polish, leaving it feeling too tame and plodding to feel at all current...or substantial.

I don't need to wonder what that says about today's culture...or my own jaded world view.

Beyond that, though, I didn't like what I was reading. I wasn't sold on the timing or alleged romantic intensity between Ed and Grace - most of that was because I didn't find Ed's character to be to my taste. He was a bit too quietly solid and seemingly easy going for me. I preferred Ben in this book just as much as I did when he was featured in Sacred Sins. I also didn't like how Kathleen's character, Grace's sister, was slowly dragged down through the evolution of this book, to go from a struggling woman fighting her rich and influential ex-husband, scrambling to fund the investigation and battle for custody of her son, to a cold and self absorbed, bitter, drug addicted woman who made a horrible wife and mother and a judgmental, envious sister. It was unnecessary and seemed contrived to allow for Grace to heal from her loss quicker, as if to justify her quickly moving on from Kathleen's death.

The police procedural part felt very awkward, and the connection to Fantasy, Inc. seemed so glaringly obvious yet overlooked as a serious possibility for far too long, but again, I think my dissatisfaction is another symptom of the perils of the modern world on a book published so long ago.

I can't go back to 1988 (thank hell...because the hair and the clothes, people!) and view this book through the lens of a simpler, less dangerous, far less controversial time. I can only assume that if I could, this book would have seemed tense, atmospheric, and shocking. With today's headlines and over two decades of history between now and then, however, Brazen Virtue seemed too much a victim of the modern world...and maybe we're all a little worse off for it.

Genre: Paranormal Romance
Series: The Key Trilogy, Book 3
Rating: 4 Stars
Length: 352 Pages, 7116 Locations
Formats: Paperback, Hardcover, Kindle


Once upon a time and beyond the Curtain of Power, the Curtain of Dreams, there lived three Celtic demigoddesses, sisters and daughters of a Celtic king and human woman. Some in their world revolted against their existence, offended by their links to mortality. One such god, Kane, rose up against the king and his progeny, and in a moment, a single moment when the demigoddesses' protectors had dropped their guard, he attacked with swift vengeance and wicked sorcery. In the aftermath, three souls were stolen and three sisters lay as if asleep, their souls captured in a box secured by three locks, three keys at their motionless feet. For three thousand years, the protectors have searched for the three mortals to find the three keys, and once in every generation since that dark day three potentials are born. In this generation, Malory Price has been called, Dana Steele has been called, Zoe McCourt has been called. For three thousand years, the potentials have failed. But this time...this time... 

Zoe McCourt knows all about working hard to get what she wants. She's a master at taking the old, the broken, the used, and turning it into something special. Money has always been tight, security always a narrow thread, and time a premium. She comes from poverty, but worked her way out of it, little formal education, but worked her way into it, and when a childhood of raising her siblings segued into a relationship that ended with a teen pregnancy, she was forced to grow up far too fast. Only now is she starting to reap the rewards of grit and determination. Now, as she's raising the love of her life, her son Simon, she's also on a mystical quest to find the final key and release the Sisters of Glass, she has a solid core of friends who have become her family, and is working her way towards a fantastic future with her own salon atop of the business she's gone into with Dana and Malory. Her future looks bright, so long as she can find that key and keep Kane away from her son. And so long as she can keep the intimidating Bradley Charles Vane IV from pushing all her buttons. Once she loved a boy who came from money and it ended badly. Bradley's not a boy, but his wealth and polish make Zoe feel out of her depth, and the power of the attraction she feels for him could doom them both if Kane gets wind of it. And that's something that Zoe will not allow.

Months ago, before he'd even decided to return to Pleasant Valley, Brad Vane found a painting at auction titled After the Storm. Inexorably drawn to it and compelled by the ethereal face of a woman in the painting, he bought it. It was an act that seems preordained long after the fact, and as his attraction to the flesh and bone woman Zoe McCourt far supersedes that initial burst of appeal to the painted lady. But she vexes him at every turn. Stubborn, overly independent, and completely oblivious to danger, the pixie with power stomps all over every well intentioned move he uses to get closer to her. Heck, he had to buy her a stepladder just to get the first tentative smile from her. He's not used to having to work so hard to woo women, but his Zoe is worth it, and he's totally gone over her son Simon.

Brad knows that Kane is going to be coming after her, and they've done what they can to protect her son. He's determined to protect her, too, no matter how stubborn, no matter how willful, and no matter how hard she pushes him away. This quest has become more than releasing the souls of the sisters, and the way to victory may lie in the destruction of a god.

In this sweeping conclusion to The Key Trilogy, Roberts maintains her character-driven saga with aplomb. The series has charmed with its individuality of character and realistic portrayals of burgeoning friendship, love, and shared tragedy. The lyrical narrative and quick, genuine dialogue set Roberts books apart, and both are found in abundance in this and the other two books in the trilogy. For the sheer enticement of the interpersonal relationships within, this series shines brightly.

I found myself less enamored with the plot of the quest in this book, though. Even more so than in the first two. By now a pattern has emerged and yet characters involved seem surprised by events within that pattern as it continues. And what few twists do exists didn't seem terribly effective, nor last long enough to have much of an impact. I never found Kane to be a particularly fright-worthy adversary, and what terror he did induce was truly too transitory to give him much validity as an enemy or a threat in the trilogy as a whole. I was disappointed in that aspect of the trilogy because of it.

For the first time, I was less than pleased with one of the characters in the book, as well. Zoe seemed unusually fraught with indecision and emotional waffling, and that was very inconsistent with the mental image that had formed from her presence in the first two books. She seemed, frankly, a bit too wishy washy.

Still, Simon was a charmer and a total doll and Brad a strong, steady dream. I loved seeing the guys bond and watch a family start to grow. Some of the funniest and most heartwarming moments came when the single man is really forced to face some of the difficult questions that can pop up in a nine-year-old's mind. I enjoyed their relationship immensely.

I'm still satisfied and entertained by the trilogy as a whole. Roberts has a gift with them, and while perhaps The Key Trilogy wasn't the best of the many I've read, it was a strong, solid contender and provided tons of reading enjoyment. The characters feel like old friends by now and I plan to visit them again some day. There's little more, really, for which a reader can hope.

The Key Trilogy:

Genre: Paranormal Romance
Series: The Key Trilogy, Book 2
Rating: 4.5 Stars
Length: 352 Pages, 5978 Locations
Formats: Mass Market Paperback, Kindle


Once upon a time and beyond the Curtain of Power, the Curtain of Dreams, there lived three Celtic demigoddesses, sisters and daughters of a Celtic king and human woman. Some in their world revolted against their existence, offended by their links to mortality. One such god, Kane, rose up against the king and his progeny, and in a moment, a single moment when the demigoddesses' protectors had dropped their guard, he attacked with swift vengeance and wicked sorcery. In the aftermath, three souls were stolen and three sisters lay as if asleep, their souls captured in a box secured by three locks, three keys at their motionless feet. For three thousand years, the protectors have searched for the three mortals to find the three keys, and once in every generation since that dark day three potentials are born. In this generation, Malory Price has been called, Dana Steele has been called, Zoe McCourt has been called. For three thousand years, the potentials have failed. But this time...this time...

Dana Steele knew her part of the quest wouldn't be any easier than Malory's, but she has a lot of faith in her intelligence, and as a librarian, she has a whole library at her disposal for the research at which she excels. Well...until pride and persecution push her into quitting her job. But she can still figure out where her key is. Of course, it would be easier to concentrate if Jordan Hawke didn't keep getting in her way. Years ago she'd loved him with the passion of youth, but he destroyed that...destroyed her...when he left town. Now he's back, for however long that's going to last, and he's convinced he can help her - in fact, he's certain he's supposed to help her. Dana's certain they had the love of a lifetime, but that was a lifetime ago. Between searching for the second key and starting up her business with Malory and Zoe, Dana just doesn't have time for Jordan any more, no matter how much she still loves him.

Jordan knows what he lost all those years ago, and he has no intention of losing it again. He was drawn into this quest before he'd consciously decided to return to Pleasant Valley and he's determined to see it through. When Kane ups the stakes and tries to take a bite out of him, he knows he's right. He'll defy an evil god and stand beside Dana to the end. Even if he has to rewrite history to do so.

This second installment of Nora Roberts' The Key Trilogy hits a bit harder than the first, and without the necessary world building and exposition set up that came in the first book, Key of Light, Roberts hit the ground running here, providing broader and deeper character definition for both Dana and Jordan, and adding a lot of fun scenes for the rest of the cast, as well. It's obvious that the plot has been ratcheted up a notch and the danger is a bit more pointed, both of which increase the pressure and intensity, but there's also more room given to the emotional development and relationship here that was very pleasing.

I always enjoy a lead character who is an author, and Roberts did that particularly well with Jordan. It lends a genuine feeling of authenticity to his character, most notably concerning his work and his passion for writing. It's possible that was straight fiction, of course, but it felt so natural and true that I can't help but guess that there were a few Roberts' truisms in his personality. So too Dana's character and her love of reading. As I happen to share what is, frankly, a reading obsession, I felt very comfortable and familiar with a character who seemed in many ways a kindred spirit. I truly liked them, as individuals and as romantic leads.

As a general rule, it is usually the second book of a trilogy that I find most telling for the overall arc of the trilogy, and in this book, I saw a couple of glimmers of tarnish on the brass ring. Rules set in the first book seemed to break here, and characters didn't seem to be able to recognize simple patterns of Big Bad behavior that seemed a little obvious to me as a reader. Part of that was accounted for with the twisting and evolving mythos of the battle Kane is waging to keep those keys hidden, but I wasn't totally able to buy this sudden alteration after 3,000 years. It seemed a little too convenient when danger and threat needed to be raised in the plot. Still, that's strictly a plot issue and frankly, that's never been the strongest motivation for my reading these sorts of Roberts' trilogies.

The characters consistently draw me, and the relationships are stellar here in this trilogy. I'm very fond of how everyone fits together, and enjoy their idiosyncrasies and foibles that make each of them so individual and real. I was heartened by the consistency of characterization in Malory and Flynn (though with Roberts as the author, character inconsistency is virtually unheard of), and charmed anew by the few scenes with Zoe and Brad. I can't wait to see their sparks ignite in the conclusion, Key of Valor. I'm enjoying this trilogy very much, despite a few small issues with the plot of the quest, and the characters are definitely making it a thoroughly entertaining trip.


The Key Trilogy:

Genre: Paranormal(ish) Romance
Series: The Key Trilogy, Book 1
Rating: 4.5 Stars
Length: 352 Pages, 6091 Locations
Formats: Mass Market Paperback, Kindle


Once upon a time and beyond the Curtain of Power, the Curtain of Dreams, there lived three Celtic demigoddesses, sisters and daughters of a Celtic king and human woman. Some in their world revolted against their existence, offended by their links to mortality. One such god, Kane, rose up against the king and his progeny, and in a moment, a single moment when the demigoddesses' protectors had dropped their guard, he attacked with swift vengeance and wicked sorcery. In the aftermath, three souls were stolen and three sisters lay as if asleep, their souls captured in a box secured by three locks, three keys at their motionless feet. For three thousand years, the protectors have searched for the three mortals to find the three keys, and once in every generation since that dark day three potentials are born. In this generation, Malory Price has been called, Dana Steele has been called, Zoe McCourt has been called. For three thousand years, the potentials have failed. But this time...this time... 

Malory Price is an organized, goal oriented woman. Denied the gifts of the true artist but graced with a love of art and a keen mind, she made her passion her calling and manages a small but successful art gallery in the quaint Pennsylvanian town of Pleasant Valley. But not all is going according to plan, and before she can quite grasp it, her job is crashing down after a heated confrontation with The Gallery owner's new trophy wife, she's crashing down after being bowled over by a man and his dog, and her life is crashing down when an invitation to a decidedly odd house in the hills turns into a quest for some mystical key. She's surrounded by strangers, some of whom are in just as dire straights as her, and some look like they just stepped out of a Gaelic fairy tale. And the fairy tale set are spouting off about quests, keys, and gods. Yeah, this was not on Malory's lifetime goals list.

Newspaper reporter and editor of the local paper, Michael "Flynn" Hennessey may have knocked Malory down...well, he blames his unruly dog Moe, really, but it was she who bowled him over with her eyes and hair and legs and... Well, the list is long and very pretty. When the flustered but fascinating woman turns up in his home as his stepsister Dana Steele's guest, he's pleasantly surprised. When he finds out why she's there, and hears what she and Dana and Zoe have gotten themselves into, he's suspicious as hell and determined to get to the bottom of this ridiculous quest idea. And he knows just the two childhood friends to call in for help. Soon the three women and three men are working together - at the beginning with various stages of belief in this quest thing - and struggling to help Malory be the first to find the first key before her month runs out.

I've been reading Nora Roberts for all of my adult life and have to say, this sort of trilogy, with just a touch of the magical and mystical, is my favorite of her styles. It's not just about a couple coming together while something goes on in the background that links the three books together, but rather an intensive study on the relationships between friends, lovers, and family. Written with the classic Roberts lyricism and elegance, sweeping descriptive narratives, witty dialogue, and charming imagination, Roberts blends personalities and strengths and offers up very human foibles and follies for the ultimate in reading entertainment.

The style, the intelligence, the plot and the interpersonal relationships that are born, develop, and thrive, just flat out work for me. I love reading them. The Key Trilogy looks to be another that I thoroughly enjoy, as this first installment was full of wonderful Celtic mythos and a touch of magic, good-hearted people, and sweet romance.

For me, it's all about the characters in these books, and I really enjoyed Malory and Flynn and the rest. The three women are strong, independent, and intelligent, and even while all three were at a bit of a loose end career-wise, they still maintained a truth to self and an honesty of purpose and value that was very appealing. They're individuals, with very different personalities, but they fit extremely well together. Same goes for the guys. Roberts has a gift for making a seemingly effortless creation of characters, imbues them with such vibrant and varied life, litters their path with peaks and valleys both emotional and profound, and provides them the support of family and love, and by the end of the journey they feel like fond friends with whom I've thoroughly enjoyed spending time.

I will say the actual nitty gritty of the tale, the minutiae like the money that is offered to secure the three women's help and the nearly incomprehensible "assistance" from Rowena, seemed slightly less lyrical and smoothly conceived and realized than Roberts' previous romance trilogies with a magical theme. I wasn't totally sold on the way Malory's leg of the quest was resolved, either. The plot about the quest doesn't seem as visceral for the characters nor as integral to the overall story as I would have preferred. Still, the formula for the trilogy is a favorite of mine and the characters are exquisitely drawn. Their bonds, their friendships, and their love for each other are the driving force of this book and this series and I'm looking forward to gobbling up the second in the trilogy, Key of Knowledge.

The Key Trilogy:

Genre: Paranormal Romance
Series: In the Garden Trilogy, Book 3
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Length: 384 Pages, 7342 Locations
Formats: Hardcover, Mass Market Paperback, Kindle, In The Garden Box Set


Over one hundred years ago, a young woman on the brink of insanity...or just beyond it...disappeared without a trace. Her ghost haunts the house and grounds of the Harper household and has for as long as anyone alive can remember. Most who have seen or heard her speak of the care she shows to the children of the house, singing lullabies to the young and offering a comforting presence to young mothers. But there is a darkness, too, and when lullabies become edged in madness and comfort turns to terror, a group of family and friends must ban together to find out who their ghost is, where she is, if they have any hope of surviving her wrath.

Hayley Phillips knows all about difficult choices and personal strength. It takes a special sort of strength to be a single mother, and even more to pack up the only life she'd ever known while pregnant and move all the way across the country in the hopes that distant relative Roz Harper would help her get a job. She was rewarded for that temerity, and now she's got a daughter, Lily, a home at the Harper house, and friends and family in Roz and Stella. Hayley even has a lust interest in Harper, Roz's son...when she's not willfully pushing all thoughts of lust aside out of respect, however misplaced, for her friendship with Roz.

Harper Ashby is his mother's son, and the gorgeous Hayley is living in his mother's house, both a friend and distant relative. Because of this, and out of respect for his mother and Hayley both, not to mention the strength of will that he got directly from Roz, he's spent more than a year forcing his thoughts into the brotherly range when he looks at Hayley - not always successfully. The young mother tugs on more than one of his heartstrings and her daughter Lily has him firmly wrapped around every one of her tiny fingers. Then one evening, the delectable Hayley knocks on his door, steps into his kitchen, and changes everything...in the best possible ways.

That night, the Harper Bride does the same...in not so nice ways.

Harper and Hayley struggle with the insidious influences of a malignant entity as the corps of family and friends race to find out the whole story of Amelia, with the desperate hope that knowledge is more than power - it's the key to ending what has gone far beyond a haunting and straight into ghostly possession.

As we come full circle in Roberts' In the Garden trilogy, there are few surprises left for the romantic pairing of Hayley and Harper, but that lack of surprise doesn't mean the development of their relationship doesn't have merit. Sweet and a little zany, single mother Hayley has a slew of obligation and not a whole lot of room for a complicated romance, and there's nothing at all about being intimate with one of her best friend's sons that isn't complicated. Many of Hayley's deepest concerns may be unwarranted, but they're real to her, and her story is thick with that understandable angst. Harper has been a solid, reliable presence since the start of the trilogy, and Amelia's ghostly impingement has triggered his most protective instincts - also a legacy from his mother. His stubborn bullheadedness, however, and his attempts to male-muscle his way into pushing Hayley around for her own good actually add character to his personality...not always good character - but interesting, at least. That's actually an aspect that I felt missing from the previous book, characters with a flash of their flaws now and then.

The plot of Red Lily, though, lacked much of the depth and layers of the first and second book in the trilogy. There were no real external issues to supplement the romance and the battle with an annoyed specter, and in this case, that turns out to be slightly unfortunate, because while the issues with Amelia do come to conclusion in this final book, Hayley and Harper's relationship - which really started germinating back in Blue Dahlia (In the Garden, Book 1) - didn't offer enough in the way of complications or complexity to hold my interest throughout the book. And even though the Harper Bride issues were expanded and intensified, I didn't find Amelia to be enough to support the book on its own, either. There was a lot of planting and growing information included, as there has been all along in the trilogy, but in this book I found it difficult to slog through at times without other plot thread distractions.

Still, the undisputed strength of this series lays in the bonds between the primary and secondary characters - those family by blood and those by choice. That is always the core of Roberts' trilogies - the relationships between the characters. How they start, how they grow and develop, and how that growth blooms into something that feels true and abiding. In that respect, this series (and all the others) is far greater than the sum of each individual book, and one of the most significant drawing points for me when I'm reading Roberts. I may not have been quite as fond of Red Lily as I was of Blue Dahlia and Black Rose, but together, the trilogy was a pleasure and a treat and I'd recommend it to anyone who enjoys a ghost, a mystery, and strong, independent women coming together with the men who love them.