book review:the collector by nora roberts
Nora Roberts can be hit or miss for me: sometimes I can't put her books down and other times I have to force myself to finish. There was a time awhile back where I devoured every book she wrote with a gusto and I'm not sure if I've evolved as a reader or she's written some many novels in her 30+ carrier that she sometimes rests on her laurels.
That being said I enjoyed 'The Collector' I think it kept a steady pace and held my interest long past when I should be have been heading to bed. I liked Lila Emerson, the female protagonist, who is a young adult novelist at heart and a professional house-sitter by trade.
I'm certain Lila isn't for everyone since she tended to take things in stride and could handle herself in most situations. I like that in a female lead since I rarely want to read about the woman being rescued. I much prefer my damsels to be knights in disguise. She had a competent and professional best friend who they met under interesting circumstances - to say the least. I won't go into details, but it's a fun little side-note that says a lot about both characters.
The male lead was Ashton Archer, a professional painter who comes from family money, and he's interested in Lila because of a murder she witness. The murderer was supposedly Ashton's brother and while the concept is a bit contrived the two characters are interesting enough that you can suspend disbelief. The side story between the two best friends of the leads gets a bit silly, but sometimes romance novels tend to pile on the sweetness factor so that's forgivable.
I do admit that I wish the book had one more chapter to really show us how the couple settled. (Of course they end up together. This is a Nora Roberts novel so don't look at me as if I spoiled the ending.) Which I think is a testament to how well the characters were developed. I'd love another novel in this universe that touches base with Lila and Ashton and gives us a peek into how they're doing.
That being said it's well worth a checking it out from your local library. I had to wait a couple of weeks to check it out here since it's relatively new, but it was well worth the wait.
That being said I enjoyed 'The Collector' I think it kept a steady pace and held my interest long past when I should be have been heading to bed. I liked Lila Emerson, the female protagonist, who is a young adult novelist at heart and a professional house-sitter by trade.
I'm certain Lila isn't for everyone since she tended to take things in stride and could handle herself in most situations. I like that in a female lead since I rarely want to read about the woman being rescued. I much prefer my damsels to be knights in disguise. She had a competent and professional best friend who they met under interesting circumstances - to say the least. I won't go into details, but it's a fun little side-note that says a lot about both characters.
The male lead was Ashton Archer, a professional painter who comes from family money, and he's interested in Lila because of a murder she witness. The murderer was supposedly Ashton's brother and while the concept is a bit contrived the two characters are interesting enough that you can suspend disbelief. The side story between the two best friends of the leads gets a bit silly, but sometimes romance novels tend to pile on the sweetness factor so that's forgivable.
I do admit that I wish the book had one more chapter to really show us how the couple settled. (Of course they end up together. This is a Nora Roberts novel so don't look at me as if I spoiled the ending.) Which I think is a testament to how well the characters were developed. I'd love another novel in this universe that touches base with Lila and Ashton and gives us a peek into how they're doing.
That being said it's well worth a checking it out from your local library. I had to wait a couple of weeks to check it out here since it's relatively new, but it was well worth the wait.