A review by jerentropic
Valley of Silence by Nora Roberts

3.0

After reading this, and the two books preceding it in this trilogy, I think I understand why Nora Roberts is such a popular author; if these three books are indicative of her other work. Her writing lacks some sophistication, her plots are somewhat predictable, and her characters are just shy of possessing true depth. But those characters share an honesty between each other that seems as much a fantasy as her story lines and backdrops. Not a fantasy in that it doesn't, and cannot, exist, like faeries, magic, dragons, and vampires; but a fantasy in that we find it so hard to actualize in our day to day lives. It's an honesty that we all wish to express to each other freely in reality, but are held back from accomplishing by our own emotional hang-ups and complexes. In that sense, her work is refreshing, as she's able to develop other sources of conflict while keeping the endearing quality of her characters' shared candor. Her characters trust each other with their private emotions in ways that most of us desire to share with each other. In this, she's found something that few other authors discover. So, no wonder she's popular. But, though these books were entertaining enough on a superficial level; they also left me wishing she took more time and put more effort into crafting the other aspects that make up a great novel.