Title: The Heart of Devin MacKade
Author: Nora Roberts
Series: #3 in The MacKade Brothers series
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Silhouette Special Edition (first published March 1, 1996)
Source: Purchased
Rating: ☕☕☕☕1/2
Synopsis: Sheriff Devin MacKade has always known his destiny was to serve and protect the small town of Antietam, Maryland--and for a long while he thought that future would include Cassie Conner. She's the only woman he has ever loved, but he'd never worked up the nerve to tell her. When Cassie married the wrong man, Devin did the honorable thing and kept his feelings to himself. Now that Cassie's divorced, Devin can finally follow his heart. Question is, can Cassie?
My Thoughts: I loved Devin and Cassie enough to make this 90's romance a favorite and a keeper.
The Good, The Bad, and Everything Else: OK so this is a 90's romance through and through. It is a bit dated in places with the terminology and pop culture references in addition to the Alpha-beat-on-your-chest man and the poor abused needed-to-be-taken-care-of heroine. Even though I loved Devin I was a bit irritated at him a few times in the book. He pinned away for Cassie for so long and told her he would be just fine waiting until she was ready but then a few days later he flipped the script and said he was tired of waiting for her to make her mind up. Also, Cassie, poor abused Cassie. She felt authentic to me up until I felt she was a little bullied by Devin to have sex. Technically she initiated it but as Devin was asking her the right questions but continued to go through with them having intercourse despite her thoughts on sex in general (something a woman needs to do to make her man happy and not something to be enjoyed by a woman) I was disappointed in him. She changed her mind, of course, after one night with a sex god (yes, I said it.... sorry...not sorry.)
I think this book would have held up into the 21st century if Cassie would have been less of a victim once breaking away from her abuser becoming a lioness instead of the timid mouse, she was through most of the book.
What did I like about this book to make it darn near a 5-star rating you may ask? Well, as with any book that makes my feelers feel a range of emotions, I tend to rate it higher than average. This book did make me tear up, laugh, say awwww (because let's face it those kids were adorable), and make me curious about the ghost in the Inn. Also, I tend to give Nora a half star extra just because she's Nora. It's my rating system I can do what I want!
In a Nutshell: A great conclusion to this series. I know it's not the end of the series but book 3. I read them out of order. I read this one last and the second book first. Needless to say, I read them all and I enjoyed them a lot. I will re-read them at some point...maybe even in order. Who knows?
