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3.88 AVERAGE
3.88 AVERAGE
emotional
funny
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:
No
I really enjoyed this mystery. It started a tad slow for me, but had me hooked around 20%. I really enjoyed Sloan and her super close family. Her parents were adorable! Loved seeing a happy sister relationship. Add in the Littlefield brothers as love interests for the sisters and the cast was perfect! We're given an inside view of the killers and their thought processes which I found interesting. I loved how Sloane and Nash communicated and worked together to discover the victim's connections. In some ways, it reminded me of Roarke and Eve from the In Death series. Nash, like Roarke, had no issues with being with a competent woman who didn't need saving. The ending was fast paced compared to the rest of the book, but it was satisfying.
Disclosure: I received a free ebook from NetGalley.
Disclosure: I received a free ebook from NetGalley.
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
Loveable characters:
Yes
I am always so impressed with all the different genres that Roberts writes. This is a romantic suspense set in a small town with Sloan who is back home to heal from an injury. While she is there, there is a case of a local woman missing and is intrigued by it and tries to help the local police solve it. At the same time, Nash and Theo moves to town and starts a small business.
Despite knowing who the killers are and their motivation, it was interesting to see their perspective. I think knowing this, the story does become predictable.
I enjoyed the slow burn romance of Sloan and Nash. They were focused on Sloan's home renovations and slowly getting to know each other better. I appreciate that Nash didn't try to be alpha and was impressed with Sloan's independence and strength.
January LaVoy is a phenomenal narrator. She did so many different voices to distinguish between the characters.
Thank you @stmartinspress @macmillan.audio for a copy of the book.
Despite knowing who the killers are and their motivation, it was interesting to see their perspective. I think knowing this, the story does become predictable.
I enjoyed the slow burn romance of Sloan and Nash. They were focused on Sloan's home renovations and slowly getting to know each other better. I appreciate that Nash didn't try to be alpha and was impressed with Sloan's independence and strength.
January LaVoy is a phenomenal narrator. She did so many different voices to distinguish between the characters.
Thank you @stmartinspress @macmillan.audio for a copy of the book.
adventurous
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
Rating: 5⭐️/5
Nora Roberts never disappoints! Such a great thriller with a seriously convincing villain duo. Sloan is such a tough and awesome FMC and I really loved the love story built in there too. Sloan goes through so much and I’m happy to see her find the gentleness that she deserves.
I thought the plot was really good and the build up for the finale was insane. A lot of tension for the series of murders that happen and a really unique motive for the perpetrators.
Really loved this thriller!
Thank you NetGalley for the ALC in exchange for an honest review.
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Content Warnings
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This book was *chef’s kiss*!!!’ The details, the banter, the revelations, the characters, the deep thoughts it made me have… wow! More proof that Nora Roberts is where she is because of pure talent and genius!! Sloan’s journey and relationships were so intricate and beautifully written. I cannot say enough about how much I enjoyed this book!! I’m not even sure how to characterize it or how to tell you all the things I loved without giving stuff away, so I’ll just say… Get it and read it!!
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Nora Roberts has long been one of my favorite authors, so I was so excited to get an ARC of her newest romantic suspense! Sloan was complex and deeply affecting. She was such a badass and her motivation to come back from her injury was inspiring. Nash was handy, smart, and sexy as hell. I enjoyed watching them circle each other before pulling the trigger on a relationship. Their banter was perfectly timed. I appreciated the way they listened to each other and didn’t judge. The spice hit just right. Sloan’s family and Theo added depth and heart to the story. The dogs Mop and Tic were such scene stealers but adorable all the same. The suspense storyline was twisty, and I enjoyed watching how it all came together. This book was so slow paced. At times it was overly detailed in a way that did not progress the plot. It was heavily character driven with moments of action and suspense woven in, so at times I was bored. The ending wrapped things up nicely and set the up the HEA.
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
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:
Complicated
It’s no secret that Nora Roberts is one of my favorite authors of all time. She’s my comfort read of choice. So I was understandably thrilled to find an early audio copy of her newest title, Hidden Nature, waiting for me in my inbox. And the fact that this took place on a day when I was down with a migraine felt like a gift. As I expected it to, the combination of Nora’s easy, lyrical writing, her compelling characters, wonderful sense of family, deep dives into interesting profession, and signature plot tension—all delivered via the dulcet tones of January LaVoy’s narration—carried me away from the headache. There were a few things about this particular novel that kept me from loving it quite as much as a lot of Nora’s other work, but it was still a wonderful narrative respite.
First, the things that worked for me. This list has to start with Nora’s phenomenal storytelling. I love Nora’s writing and voice just as much as I always have. I was immediately entranced. Her style is this phenomenal blend of easy and lyrical, and nothing else pulls me in as quickly or as deeply.
I also really loved this cast of characters. Sloan, our main perspective character, is a natural resource officer who fights her way back from the brink of death with incredible tenacity. She has this beautifully tight, happy, healthy family unit that supports her through it. And then there’s Nash, our male lead. He’s left everything he’s ever known, and the high-powered life he was groomed for, to move to the mountains of Heron’s Rest, Maryland, and start a handyman business. His family life was the opposite of Sloan’s but with an exception. He's incredibly tight with his brother, Theo, who is delightfully exuberant. I loved the family and found-family dynamics in this story; it’s one of the elements Nora always does best. She also does a fantastic job portraying construction and renovation. As her husband is a carpenter, this makes all kinds of sense, and I always enjoy when this is an element in one of her stories.
Sloan and Nash don’t even meet until over a third of the way into the book, and I like that we’re given such solid narrative foundations for both characters before they ever appear together on the page. This makes them stronger both individually and as a unit. I also really enjoyed the fact that some threads of this story remind me of the In Death books. The weirdness of the case. Sloan brainstorming over it with Nash as her sounding board. Her dreams. All of these elements brought Eve and Roarke to mind.
But, as much as I love that correlation, it’s also where some of my issues with the story started. First of all, I found Clara and Sam, our villains, to be deeply disturbed and disturbing. Which is, of course, the point. But their weird, cultish motivations mixed with their loving, well-adjusted couple’s routine made me really uncomfortable, especially as their beliefs were something of a bastardized version of Christianity. The fact that they’re totally in love and almost cute with it made the fact that they were so completely off their rockers more unsettling, as did the religious nature of their crimes. Clara struck me as a vampiristic Stepford wife, and that added element of blood consumption was all kinds of icky. But again, these elements worked for the story. They just grossed and weirded me out, which is totally subjective.
What’s a bit more objective is my critique of how the case was handled. The way Sloan comes to conclusions about the murders, about the who and the why, feels like a stretch. It’s all a bit too on the nose and convenient. That also goes for how everything comes together in the story’s climax. It all seemed kind of easy and tidy.
Also, I can tell that I've been mostly reading clean and Christian fiction, because the language felt a bit harsh. There was more profanity/strong language than I remembered there being in Nora’s work. But that’s another subjective issue. My ability and desire to stomach strong adult content, be it in language, sexuality, or gore, has just diminished with age.
Any day that brings a new Nora Roberts book into my life is a good day. And when that happens to align with me being sick or having a migraine, it makes a bad day so much better. Hidden Nature made a bad day better. I’m not sure it’s one that I’ll be revisiting as often as I have some of her other books, but I still mostly enjoyed my time with it.
First, the things that worked for me. This list has to start with Nora’s phenomenal storytelling. I love Nora’s writing and voice just as much as I always have. I was immediately entranced. Her style is this phenomenal blend of easy and lyrical, and nothing else pulls me in as quickly or as deeply.
I also really loved this cast of characters. Sloan, our main perspective character, is a natural resource officer who fights her way back from the brink of death with incredible tenacity. She has this beautifully tight, happy, healthy family unit that supports her through it. And then there’s Nash, our male lead. He’s left everything he’s ever known, and the high-powered life he was groomed for, to move to the mountains of Heron’s Rest, Maryland, and start a handyman business. His family life was the opposite of Sloan’s but with an exception. He's incredibly tight with his brother, Theo, who is delightfully exuberant. I loved the family and found-family dynamics in this story; it’s one of the elements Nora always does best. She also does a fantastic job portraying construction and renovation. As her husband is a carpenter, this makes all kinds of sense, and I always enjoy when this is an element in one of her stories.
Sloan and Nash don’t even meet until over a third of the way into the book, and I like that we’re given such solid narrative foundations for both characters before they ever appear together on the page. This makes them stronger both individually and as a unit. I also really enjoyed the fact that some threads of this story remind me of the In Death books. The weirdness of the case. Sloan brainstorming over it with Nash as her sounding board. Her dreams. All of these elements brought Eve and Roarke to mind.
But, as much as I love that correlation, it’s also where some of my issues with the story started. First of all, I found Clara and Sam, our villains, to be deeply disturbed and disturbing. Which is, of course, the point. But their weird, cultish motivations mixed with their loving, well-adjusted couple’s routine made me really uncomfortable, especially as their beliefs were something of a bastardized version of Christianity. The fact that they’re totally in love and almost cute with it made the fact that they were so completely off their rockers more unsettling, as did the religious nature of their crimes. Clara struck me as a vampiristic Stepford wife, and that added element of blood consumption was all kinds of icky. But again, these elements worked for the story. They just grossed and weirded me out, which is totally subjective.
What’s a bit more objective is my critique of how the case was handled. The way Sloan comes to conclusions about the murders, about the who and the why, feels like a stretch. It’s all a bit too on the nose and convenient. That also goes for how everything comes together in the story’s climax. It all seemed kind of easy and tidy.
Also, I can tell that I've been mostly reading clean and Christian fiction, because the language felt a bit harsh. There was more profanity/strong language than I remembered there being in Nora’s work. But that’s another subjective issue. My ability and desire to stomach strong adult content, be it in language, sexuality, or gore, has just diminished with age.
Any day that brings a new Nora Roberts book into my life is a good day. And when that happens to align with me being sick or having a migraine, it makes a bad day so much better. Hidden Nature made a bad day better. I’m not sure it’s one that I’ll be revisiting as often as I have some of her other books, but I still mostly enjoyed my time with it.
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
I really liked it, Nora is and always will be one of my favourite authors. I'll read anything she writes. The way she writes her characters and their stories, as well as their relationships, both romantic and familial, is unmatched.
This story is about Sloan, a Natural Resources police officer, who gets shot and almost dies after she walks in on a robbery. Her recovery will take time, so she goes back to her hometown with her parents and sister. While recovering, a missing person case gets her attention and by looking more into the case, she'll discover there are even more victims. With Nash, her neighbour and contractor, who is helping her work through the case, will she able to find the killers before they strike too close. All while slowly falling in love.
I absolutely loved the characters, Sloan and her family were such a delight. The way they embraced Nash and his brother Theo was amazing.
I enjoyed the suspense part, and I really liked the fact we got insight into the killers too.
The only thing I didn't liked is that the pace was really slow at times. Some things were way too detailed.
Also, the story is divided in three parts, and we only got to see Sloan and Nash meet in the second part. It didn't make any sense to drag it out that much.
Overall, still a great story. I really liked the setting. I recommend it.
*Thank you to Netgalley and to Little Brown Book Group UK for providing me with an ARC.*
This story is about Sloan, a Natural Resources police officer, who gets shot and almost dies after she walks in on a robbery. Her recovery will take time, so she goes back to her hometown with her parents and sister. While recovering, a missing person case gets her attention and by looking more into the case, she'll discover there are even more victims. With Nash, her neighbour and contractor, who is helping her work through the case, will she able to find the killers before they strike too close. All while slowly falling in love.
I absolutely loved the characters, Sloan and her family were such a delight. The way they embraced Nash and his brother Theo was amazing.
I enjoyed the suspense part, and I really liked the fact we got insight into the killers too.
The only thing I didn't liked is that the pace was really slow at times. Some things were way too detailed.
Also, the story is divided in three parts, and we only got to see Sloan and Nash meet in the second part. It didn't make any sense to drag it out that much.
Overall, still a great story. I really liked the setting. I recommend it.
*Thank you to Netgalley and to Little Brown Book Group UK for providing me with an ARC.*
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
I will never not enjoy a Nora Roberts book! Her writing is a comfort to me and I will always love her characters, their relationships (significant others, family, and friends), and the settings are always so enjoyable! While the pace of this one was a little slower than normal (we start off with a bang, then we dip for quite a bit and it's just day-to-day life, then the suspense and relationship building really kicks into gear around 60%), I still enjoyed it! Nora always has a way of sweeping me away into the worlds of her books and this one was no exception.
The suspense plotline was interesting (and by that, I mean the motivations behind the crimes) and not one I was totally on board with, if I'm being honest, but I still enjoyed the story and how it was interwoven throughout the character arcs and their storylines.
So while this is not my favorite Nora Roberts book, I still really liked it and enjoyed my time listening to it!
Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and SMP for ARC/ALC of this book - all opinions are my own!
The suspense plotline was interesting (and by that, I mean the motivations behind the crimes) and not one I was totally on board with, if I'm being honest, but I still enjoyed the story and how it was interwoven throughout the character arcs and their storylines.
So while this is not my favorite Nora Roberts book, I still really liked it and enjoyed my time listening to it!
Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and SMP for ARC/ALC of this book - all opinions are my own!