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3.78 AVERAGE
3.78 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Read the book ages ago. It was just a wonderful experience to listen the story
Good, but sooooo sloooooow. I think it took me about 6 months to finish.
I really enjoyed this book -- I think it is one of my favorite Roberts novels so far. (Of course, there are a lot left for me to read.) The heroine has a great spark to her, and the hero was very well-written -- though rather on the too-perfect side, as Roberts' heroes tend to be. Also, she fooled me with the mystery! I was certain I knew who the killer was, and was annoyed that I had "guessed" it so soon, so it was a pleasure to be proved wrong.
4 stars. Entirely too long of a book. You really feel all 500 something pages with this one. However, I loved the main characters Nate and Meg so much that I was willing to overlook the really slow and dry parts of this book. Nate is such a damaged hero but he’s really reserved and by the book whereas Meg is prickly and an asshole and I adored her so much. Ugh, I love mean, emotionally constipated heroines. It’s one of my toxic traits. They really balanced each other out and their romance was so damn good. I honestly couldn’t get enough of them.
I did like the setting and the small town feel of it. The murder mystery was intriguing though I feel the ending to be lackluster. It wrapped up way too quickly. Still, I had a really great time reading this pacing problems aside just because of the characters and the gorgeous writing and setting.
I did like the setting and the small town feel of it. The murder mystery was intriguing though I feel the ending to be lackluster. It wrapped up way too quickly. Still, I had a really great time reading this pacing problems aside just because of the characters and the gorgeous writing and setting.
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
The intrigue and suspense in this book was well worth the read. A good little mystery with a side of love story.
Haven't read Nora Roberts in years. I picked this book up because I was going on a trip to Alaska and wanted to get in the "mood." I was pleasantly surprised with the book; I loved it. Luckily I went to Alaska in the summer, not in the wintertime of the novel. :)
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
There were so many moments that were so close to being up my alley, but somehow Nora really threw me with this one (I think it's my least favorite . . . ever!). I've read some of her earliest books (featuring chain-smoking main characters and MMCs that need to stay in the 80s) and yet I've never struggled to connect with or even like both of her main characters to this extent.
My biggest issue was with Meg. In typical Roberts fashion, Meg is a tall, lean, athletic woman working in a field traditionally dominated by men. She's a bush pilot (interesting!) who lives with two dogs and prefers solitude to people. Great! However, Meg is also an annoying commitment-phobe who has to be constantly talked into the relationship and who picks fights or spits out sexual suggestions during every encounter. I liked her a bit more by the end, but I still found her to be unknowable and weirdly unlikable.
I found Nate (Ignatius) to be much more compelling and sympathetic, but I couldn't understand his motivations for connecting with this community, the harsh Alaskan landscape, or the unreachable woman. It made me feel like I do with some FMCs who are inexplicably drawn to remote men committed to casual sex - like pull it together, buddy!
The murder mystery was interesting, but 665 pages really dragged it out and there was no real sense of danger or urgency in the book that wasn't random (bears, moose, alien-fearing men having psychotic breaks, etc) and over within a page or two.
Other minor quibbles:
My biggest issue was with Meg. In typical Roberts fashion, Meg is a tall, lean, athletic woman working in a field traditionally dominated by men. She's a bush pilot (interesting!) who lives with two dogs and prefers solitude to people. Great! However, Meg is also an annoying commitment-phobe who has to be constantly talked into the relationship and who picks fights or spits out sexual suggestions during every encounter. I liked her a bit more by the end, but I still found her to be unknowable and weirdly unlikable.
I found Nate (Ignatius) to be much more compelling and sympathetic, but I couldn't understand his motivations for connecting with this community, the harsh Alaskan landscape, or the unreachable woman. It made me feel like I do with some FMCs who are inexplicably drawn to remote men committed to casual sex - like pull it together, buddy!
The murder mystery was interesting, but 665 pages really dragged it out and there was no real sense of danger or urgency in the book that wasn't random (bears, moose, alien-fearing men having psychotic breaks, etc) and over within a page or two.
Other minor quibbles:
- How Charlene's behavior is not called out more than it is. I appreciated that she wasn't completely demonized, but at the same time, the whole town seemed to view both her and Meg as equally problematic and to blame for their relationship. I'm sorry, but Charlene was the adult and she chose to live her life as she did. How can she blame Meg for how she turned out? Also, the opening sequence when Charlene was trying to seduce Nate got a bit too close for my taste (he even gets a boner and they kiss 🤢)
- "Cutie" - ew
- The way that Nate talked about his ex-wife (being so in love with her and being totally heartbroken by their divorce and her new marriage) and the way he emphasize how Meg wasn't beautiful but "vital" (he literally says to his partner's widow: "she's beautiful. Well, she's not, but she is." Like . . . I get the sentiment, but I'd be pissed if I were Meg (especially when he calls her mom "the bombshell").
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes