The Book Gourmet

Book reviews à la bookworm...The good, the bad, and everything in between.

 

 

Professional Reader Reviews Published

The Collector by Nora Roberts

The Collector - Nora Roberts

Oh, wow. Now we're talking!

I usually have a hit-and-miss think with Ms. Roberts' books, because of her heroines. They're always strong and independent women, but sometimes they come across as too strong, too stubborn, too independent, and I end up not particularly liking them, and not particularly understanding what the appeal is for the hero. And sometimes the heroine is just perfect, with 'perfectly proportioned' strength and vulnerability, steel and mushy core, her sense of humor is right up my alley, and she's so cute and adorable trying to wiggle out of the 'thing' with the hero I just love her to bits.

Lila was one of the latter. An amazing heroine, a great NR heroine. Funny, smart, stubborn, capable of taking care of herself, sometimes closed-of, sometimes afraid, caring, giving, sexy without knowing, a writer, and a gipsy. I won't lose words about Ash, the hero, because the guy was a typical NR hero. Not in a stereotype, cardboard cutout kind of way, but he had that NR-hero vibe, that air about him. Strong, silent, sometimes broody, all-the-time protective, and falling head over heels for the heroine in a chapter or two. Unlike NR heroines, I never find any fault in NR heroes, because they're 'normal'. Not overly alpha, not overly beta, but just the right mix to knock you off your feet when you least expect it.

So, with the heroine and hero just perfect, the story could not have been any less. It was pretty much a typical NR suspense fare (again, not stereotypical or predictable, but...just right). There was a hunt for rare objets d'art with some great research on the Romanov family and the Fabergé collectibles thrown in (perfect for a history junky), a murder or two, a crazed killer for hire, a transatlantic trip, a weirdly large family, two wonderful friends, a few pets, great H/h, and, of course, the romance.

The suspense part was edge of the seat, biting of the nails action in parts, the romance was heartwarming, because I just love how Ms. Roberts writes romance (and everything that goes with it), and there was the requisite humor (I love the one-liners Ms. Roberts characters deliver).

I just can't seem to get enough of NR's romantic suspense novels, and I can't seem to write a decent review of it without using stupid superlatives or starting to repeat myself.

Suffice to say, this one was a perfect package. One of those books, you want to read all over again as soon as you finish.

How does she do that?!