The Heart of Devin MacKade by Nora Roberts

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?

The Witness by Nora Roberts

Synopsis: Daughter of a controlling mother, Elizabeth finally let loose one night, drinking at a nightclub and allowing a strange man's seductive Russian accent lure her to a house on Lake Shore Drive.  The events that followed changed her life forever.  Twelve years later, the woman known as Abigail Lowery lives on the outskirts of a small town in the Ozarks.  A freelance programmer, she designs sophisticated security systems -- and supplements her own security with a fierce dog and an assortment of firearms.  She keeps to herself, saying little, revealing nothing.  But Abigail's reserve only intrigues police chief Brooks Gleason.  Her logical mind, her secretive nature, and her unromantic viewpoints leave him fascinated but frustrated.  He suspects that Abigail needs protection from something -- and that her elaborate defenses hide a story that must be revealed.

What I liked: The beginning.  I really enjoyed learning about Liz and felt for her when it was clear that her mother was not maternal. I was really able to identify with the decisions she made. I also loved that because of her logical mind she was able to comprehend what mistakes she made that lead up to her life being turned upside down.

I also liked Abigail and her social awkwardness. If you've watched the TV show The Big Bang Theory, Abigail is like Leonard. So smart but socially stunted and completely out of her element when she has to be around other people. 

I really liked Brooks too... I think that Nora really excels at creating men that we women really want but have a hard time finding.  Brooks is a great blend of an Alpha Male and a Beta. His need to protect is great but does not feel emasculated when Abigail does not need him to protect her. He is not one to beat on his chest then throw his woman over his shoulder to 'rescue' her. He may feel like he needs to do so but he doesn't. He's one smart cookie.

What I didn't like: Around the half way mark the book lost some momentum. This is when we are introduced to Abigail. As fascinating as she was (love an uber smart woman) her part of the storyline seemed to drag a bit. There were a few scenes that really did nothing to propel the story forward and could have been cut. 

Which leads me to the length. I read the hard cover version and there were almost 500 pages. There were a few times that I really felt the book was 800 pages long. I really have a short attention span and books that are over 400 pages tend to intimidate me. True story.

I thought Brooks' and Abigail's romance was nice but I just didn't have an big 'sigh' moments.

Back to Abigail...I think there was an inconstancy or two in her behavior towards the last 1/3 of the book. She is so much like Tempe Brennan from the Bones TV show (a good thing!) She is very smart and very clinical. She analyzes everything.  Knowing this I find it strange she would all of a sudden say something like (and I'm paraphrasing) 'you and our love is magic.' Abigail does not wax poetic. She describes mutual physical attraction as a chemical reaction for Pete's Sake! For her to refer to their love as magic (and Brooks in particular) she'd either have had to be drunk or suffering from a concussion. (So now I've totally compared Abigail to two different TV show characters!)

I would have liked to see more of a wrapped up ending when it came to the bad guys too. I find it odd that despite the bad guys being really bad it didn't seem that they were doing much to find Liz. Perhaps if the book would have spent a bit more time from their point of view instead of the once or twice it briefly did I would have felt that part of the book was more developed. I expected more of a thrilling read with Liz being in suspenseful danger but we really didn't see that. 

Overall a decent read but not a favorite. I was hovering between 3.5 or a 4 star rating and ended up with 4 because I love Nora and I'm one of those preferential treatment people.

 

Born In Ice by Nora Roberts

Description courtesy of Paperbackswap.com....When the harsh storms of winter descended upon western Ireland, the locals stayed indoors - and visitors stayed away. Brianna Concannon's bed-and-breakfast became a cold and empty place. But that was fine with Brianna. She enjoyed the peace and quiet, even when the icy winds howled at her window. But this year she's expecting an unusual guest - myster writer Grayson Thane of America. A restless wanderer with a painful past, he plans to spend the cold winter alone. But sometimes fate has a plan of its own. Sometimes a fire can be born in ice...

The story of modern-day Ireland's Concannon sisters continues with the tale of Brianna--whose cool beauty hides a heart of fiery passion.

My Thoughts....After reading the first in this trilogy I knew that I was in for a treat with the next two books. I am happy to say Roberts delivered an excellent continuation of the Concannon sisters' stories. Sometimes the second book of a trilogy tends to be fluff and filler but I did not get that at all with Bri's story.

I thought that Brianna might be a little mousy and timid to hold her own in a full length book but her character developed nicely into a woman to recon with. Her interaction with her sister Maggie and her mother was wonderful. I was really able to connect with her even though I have nothing in common with her.

Grayson was a very interesting character also. I really enjoyed the process he took while writing his book. From the walks through the Irish countryside to him locking himself in his room for a week at a time to write....all were fascinating to me.

I thought that this book was better then the first probably because we got to see a little more about what made Bri and Maggies mother tick. I even found myself not hating her as much toward the end of the book. I wouldn't have thought that was possible since after reading the first book I found her to be a horrible person and glad she was fictitious and no one really had to deal with her.

I really liked how Roberts helped me "see" what Ireland was like in the first book and in Born In Ice she now showed me what an Irish Winter was like. It sounded bone cold and wet and not at all charming but she somehow still made me want to visit.

I would recommend that anyone who has not read this book/trilogy do so, sooner rather then later.

Blood Brothers by Nora Roberts

The first in the latest formulaic trilogies from Nora Roberts. I for one am a fan of her trilogies, however, I felt this one was not as good as the others. I enjoy that she has men once again as her leading characters and I find all three men facinating. I thought the build up towards the climactic end was very good but then found the ending to be a little disappointing.

After 21 years of battling this big bad evil Cal and his blood brothers know this is the last year for the battle. They either will finish off the evil or die trying. This time is a little different because now they are not alone. 3 women have wandered into their town of Hawkins Hallow and are somehow involved in the fight.

The romance part of the story was, well, not very romantic. There was very little time for romance as the two main characters Cal and Quinn are trying to research the history of the big bad evil. The history of The Hallow and the battle between the good and the evil is very interesting. The setting of the town, The Pegan Stone and Hester's Pool are some place I would like to visit.

I thought Roberts could have done a little better with making a complete book with this first installment. Typically her trilogies are made of 3 books with complete stories that, although, when read together make one large story, each book can stand alone making the reader want to read the other books but not feel they have to read them. I was disappointed in the left hanging feeling I got when I finished this book. Don't get me wrong there was a minor to-do at the end but the confrontation of the 6 characters with the big bad evil was almost humorous and not as suspenseful as I think it was supposed to be.

Overall I would have given this book 2.5 stars but as Nora Roberts is one of my favorites I bumped it up to a 3. I will read the rest of the trilogy.