Book Reviews # 4 and 5 - Love by Design

Love by Design by Nora Roberts is the release of two classics

Loving Jack

And


Best Laid Plans




Loving Jack: "Somehow her own fictional hero had turned up in person right under her own roof, and now all romance writer Jackie MacNamara had to do was convince stubborn Nathan Powell that happily ever after began at home and in her arms." Loving Jack is a formula romance - they meet, they fall in love, they make love, he can't make a commitment, she leaves, he realizes he can't live without her. The story is a light, enjoyable read.

Best Laid Plans: "She was the sexiest thing in a hard hat that architect Cody Johnson had ever seen, but structural engineer Abra Wilson also had a will as strong as a steel girder--and just about as flexible. But Cody had plans for Abra that not even this spirited beauty could resist." Very well done story. Abra has to work twice as hard as the men to prove herself and she is working on the last project for her boss before she goes solo. Cody is the architect and the two of them butt heads over the design of a resort in Arizona. Cody is attracted to Abra from the start and works hard to get the girl. Someone is sabataging the project and the race is on to discover who. Meanwhile, the animosity fades and attraction grows as they are forced to work together.

Nora Roberts is one of my favorite authors so when saw Love by Design in the store, had to get it.





I also completed Fire Dancer by Colleen Coble.





Back Cover: "A Decade ago, Tess Masterson's parents died in a terrible barn fire. Now she's become one of the best smoke jumpers in the business. Though she makes a living jumping out of planes into roaring wildfires, she's never found the courage to face the wounds of her past--or to deal with the anger that flares whenever she encounters Chase Huston. When a serial arsonist known as the Fire Dancer strikes near her old homeplace in Arizona, Tess is forced to examine the past as it relates to the present. How will she confront her own demons while at the same time putting a stop to the terror that has the area in flames?"

This is the first story I have read by Coble. I'm not sure if it was the writing or the characters, but just couldn't get it to the story. It just didn't flow right and I didn't feel emotionally drawn into the story. It felt like something was being left out. Something would happen to one of the characters or one would be caught in a situation and it seemed like instead of dealing with it or talking about it right then and there, it would be ignored and later something would be said about it. The reviews have been all good for this book, so I can only assume it is my perception and the flaws of the characters just didn't sit right with me. I do have a tendency to be analytical and follow a logical course. They spent more time trying to ignore what was happening around them and focusing on things that didn't matter. All was resolved in the end as it is supposed to be. As I write this, I'm realizing I just didn't like the characters and their actions and reactions. Hmm!

I also purchased the first three books in the Aloha Reef Series: Distant Echoes, Black Sands, and Dangerous Depths. They were on sale through christianbooks.com. I'm keeping an open mind.

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