book review - dark witch by nora roberts
I was in the mood to read Sunday because I finished the entire book in one day. I put off a lot of chores to finish it and I'm certain I'll regret that later in the week. That being said I'm not entirely certain this book was worth dedicating an entire day to it.
I stated in my review of ' The Collector' Nora Roberts can be hit or miss for me. I think I like her mysteries better than her forays into urban fantasy. She's got a fantastic imagination, but all the magical aspects of the story weren't all that interesting or new to the genre. The villain was, unfortunately, cookie cutter bad guy with the trope of unwanted sexual advances tossed in for good measure.
He didn't feel particularly threatening and the protagonists weren't much better. I think if I wasn't familiar with Robert's body of work I'd find them delightful, but they followed the same pattern as her other trilogies. The playboy brother who needs the love a good woman to tame that wandering heart, the sexy oldest sister that protects her caring heart with sharp tongue and quick temper, and the youngest sister that loves just a little too deeply and a little too quickly. Sometimes the ages and sexes get mixed around, but more often than not those are the three central characters in her trilogies.
While I was reading it was fun, but afterwards I put it down and didn't really think about it again. That's rarely a good sign. I want to read a trilogy in which the first couple doesn't get together until the third book. Don't just allow the slow simmer for the last couple. It's a trilogy and marketed as such so the writer can, and should, play around with the endings. In the first two books not every relationship needs to be tied up in a bright, happy bow. Give us a little bit of sloppy, real life relationship blunders and hold off on the marriage proposals.
I might yearn for the happy endings, but sometimes the unhappy ending is much more satisfying.
I stated in my review of ' The Collector' Nora Roberts can be hit or miss for me. I think I like her mysteries better than her forays into urban fantasy. She's got a fantastic imagination, but all the magical aspects of the story weren't all that interesting or new to the genre. The villain was, unfortunately, cookie cutter bad guy with the trope of unwanted sexual advances tossed in for good measure.
He didn't feel particularly threatening and the protagonists weren't much better. I think if I wasn't familiar with Robert's body of work I'd find them delightful, but they followed the same pattern as her other trilogies. The playboy brother who needs the love a good woman to tame that wandering heart, the sexy oldest sister that protects her caring heart with sharp tongue and quick temper, and the youngest sister that loves just a little too deeply and a little too quickly. Sometimes the ages and sexes get mixed around, but more often than not those are the three central characters in her trilogies.
While I was reading it was fun, but afterwards I put it down and didn't really think about it again. That's rarely a good sign. I want to read a trilogy in which the first couple doesn't get together until the third book. Don't just allow the slow simmer for the last couple. It's a trilogy and marketed as such so the writer can, and should, play around with the endings. In the first two books not every relationship needs to be tied up in a bright, happy bow. Give us a little bit of sloppy, real life relationship blunders and hold off on the marriage proposals.
I might yearn for the happy endings, but sometimes the unhappy ending is much more satisfying.