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08 June 2012

Book Review


New York Times says ‘Women are addicted to her (Nora Roberts) novels as chocoholics are to Godiva’.

The Guardian described it as ‘sheer entertainment’.

The Washington Post claimed that Nora Roberts was ‘The greatest novelist on planet earth’.

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Will Parker and Mal ever get their Happy Ever After?

I couldn’t wait to find out.

This book is the last of four books based on a successful wedding planning business run by childhood friends Mackensie, Parker, Laurel and Emmeline. Although they helped couples to organise the biggest day of their lives it seems they had trouble finding their own partners. This book is devoted to Parker who was the brains behind the outfit and the last to remain single. That is until Mal came along.

It is a typical Nora Roberts love story. Don’t misunderstand me, I like a good love story but this one started to irritate almost from the beginning. Why? Because it came across as a bit too sugary.

I don’t know if weddings are organised differently in the US but I doubt anyone does it this way in the UK. Usually brides do things for themselves, by choice, but it seems that the wedding business took over all the decisions, choosing the dress, shoes, flowers, the guest list, the gift list, the who-should-sit-where list, and the settling of family feuds. She took phone calls from nervous brides at all hours of the day and night which made me wonder what mothers were for! On top of all that the reader was taken through many weddings and given prolonged insight into the decor, the cake making, dress selection etc. which changed with each wedding. My goodness, I felt breathless.

Enter Mal, a nice guy with a realistic manner, who falls in love with Parker. The sex scenes are a Nora Roberts speciality, she leaves little to the imagination and knows how to get the reader’s pulse racing, koff koff. It was only curiosity that kept me going with the book; I did at least want to know how the Mal and Parker relationship achieved Happy Ever After.

I hit on a problem with names. It took me about half the story to get used to the names Mac, Mal and Parker. Mac (short for Mackensie) and Parker seemed such masculine names and Mal (short for Malcolm) had a feminine ring to it. I had to keep going back to check out who was who.  

I like Nora Roberts but I think I have over-read her work. I have now started reading another Harlan Coben which was not only exciting from the first word but a more comfortable read.


12 comments:

  1. I haven't read any of her work but sounds like she's creating an entire fantasy world. Combined with a good story you can see why she would succeed in selling lots of books!

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  2. Hey Valerie. Hope you are well. I'm just stopping by to say hallo.
    Did I tell you how much I like the header photo? Such a happy looking lot.

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  3. i like harlan coben too...i read some of nora roberts that were written under her pseudonym....

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  4. I have never read any of her books...
    a good murder mystery for me please !

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  5. Jenny, Nora Roberts sells more books than anyone else I know. I often wonder how she can possibly do it.

    Brian, I didn't know Nora wrote under a pseudonym... must look into that.

    Hey John, thanks a lot for popping in. Yes, you did mention the header pic...lol.

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  6. I always enjoy reading your book reviews, Valerie!

    "I like Nora Roberts but I think I have over-read her work."

    That's exactly how I got with Danielle Steel. I read almost every single one of her novels back in the late 80's and early 90's, and just got bored because they all started to sound the same.

    "I don’t know if weddings are organised differently in the US but I doubt anyone does it this way in the UK."

    Here in the U.S., it's become popular to hire a wedding planner, which is probably why she wrote that into her novel. Personally, I think it's ridiculous to hire someone (which is VERY expensive) to plan a wedding.

    Thanks for sharing, dear lady!

    Have a lovely weekend!

    X

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  7. Ron, I've not read Danielle Steel for years, don't see her books on sale now. Thanks for telling me about US practices re weddings. It seems a bit extreme to me and, as you say, expensive. I can understand organisation of the basic requirements is a good idea but there's nothing like the personal pleasure of organising things yourself.

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  8. I did read some Nora Roberts books years ago. Reading bothers my eyes so much anymore that I don't do much of it. I used to read a lot of Danielle Steel books too.

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  9. I guess some people in the US would hire wedding planners and there were times during DD1's wedding where I might wish there were someone I could dump the problems, in general I loved planning the wedding with her.

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  10. She is one of my favorite authors and I have read all her novels and this trilogy as well.....and yes they do have wedding planners like this is the US and Canada, but only for those who can afford them.
    Have a great weekend....:-)Hugs

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  11. Thanks for the review, Val. I will pass this along to the Nora Roberts fan in the house. I also need to mention that I love the picture of the doggies at the top of your blog. Have a good one.

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  12. I read her books every once in awhile. I'm more into mysteries, thrillers and other fiction.

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