Do you read romance? In that case you probably have come across Nora Roberts and her alter ego J.D. Robb. My mother loves the In Death series by Robb and in 2016 I finally got the first book of the series. Here is what I thought of it.
Naked in Death (In Death, #1) — read in 2016
by J.D. Robb
Fairly stereotypical police procedural, with some futuristic gadgets and a love interest who is, at first, a suspect, as well as tall, dark, mysterious and the common alpha male of romance novels. I think the correct label is romantic suspense. The first book in the very successful In Death series by The Nora. My mum is a huge fan, so curiosity made me pick it up, to see what all the fuss is about.
I did not really like the relationship much at first between Eve and Roarke. He definitely had problems accepting her wishes, which bugged me. If you do not mind his consent issues, he’s fine as a romance MC.
The world building could have been better. The gadgets and some futuristic concepts were not explained, so if they weren’t self-expalantory, you were left to guess. However, they only play a very small part in the story. If you want to read sci-fi with suspense, hands off this book.
This is mostly told from Eve’s view, third person. There is the odd change of POV, mostly to Roarke and sometimes to others. These changes are not well done and jarred me every time. It could be the formatting (or lack thereof), the various protagonists do all sound exactly the same as well, though.
The mystery wasn’t very gripping and, at least from the second half onwards, pretty predictable.
The romance and sex were ok. Fairly tame, I like my nooky more explicit.
Bottom line: Ok, nothing gripping, as light entertainment on the side not bad. Decent writing. I wasn’t very happy with the early Roarke and his consent issues. I would recommend it and will probably read the next book in the series, to see where their romance goes.
PS: I never got the next book in the series and don‘t feel tempted to get back to this series.
And a long, long time ago I read two romance novels by Roberts…
Birthright by Nora Robert — read in 2003
5000 year old bones are found at a construction site in a small town in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Our heroine Callie, an archaeologist, comes to investigate. So does her ex-husband, annoying, but good-looking and charming Jake. And then a death occurs. Is the site cursed? And, least but not last, someone gives Callie some shocking news about her past that shake the foundations of her life.
If you are looking for a book with a serious archealogical twist, forget it. You are looking at a slightly upscale romance novel with a bit of mystery strewn in for added suspense. Not too trashy and quite a good read to relax after a hard day at work.
Three Fates by Nora Roberts — read in 2004
Great fun! Roberts manages to give you low-brain-power entertainment, but with wit and a lot of humour, without getting too sloppy on the romance side of things. Did I mention steamy sex? 🙂
This is what the story is about: Three siblings embark on a quest to re-unite 3 parts of a mythical statue. They are not sure that it even exists, but they are determined to find out and try. From Ireland they travel to Eastern Europe, Helsinki, New York, to follow clues and find romance, adventure and a deadly enemy…
Out of this World by J.D. Robb, Laurell K. Hamilton, Susan Krinard, Maggie Shayne
And this one has been languishing on my bookshelf since 2015. Maybe next year?
Have you read anything by Roberts? What is your favourite?
Cathy's Reading Bonanza 