The Mirror: The Lost Bride Trilogy, Book 2 by Nora Roberts

The Mirror: The Lost Bride Trilogy, Book 2

By Nora Roberts

Amazon Link

 I like Nora Roberts' romantic suspense novels, and this one is very good.  I hate that I have to wait a year to find out what happens next, though.  At least I know it will all work out in the end.  You should read the books in order, or you won't understand everything that goes on.

Book Blurb:

When Sonya MacTavish inherits the huge Victorian mansion on the coast of Maine, she has no idea that the house is haunted. The footsteps she hears at night, the doors slamming, the music playing, are not figments of her imagination. In her dreams she sees glimpses of the past. In the present she finds portraits of brides. And when she has visions of an antique mirror, she is drawn to it, sensing it holds dark family secrets.

Then one night the mirror appears and Sonya glides through this looking glass, into the past—and sees a bride murdered on her wedding day, the circle of gold torn from her finger. It is a scene that will play out again and again—a centuries-old curse that must be broken—and a puzzle she must solve if there is any hope of breaking the curse.

Liar by Nora Roberts

Liar

by Nora Roberts

Amazon Link

I really like Nora Roberts' romantic suspense books.  I am reading this one.  It is an older book, from 2015, but it is very good.  I think this book is just right for a rainy day where you snuggle in a chair by a fire and read all afternoon.

Book Blurb

Shelby Foxworth lost her husband. Then she lost her illusions…
 
The man who took her from Tennessee to an exclusive Philadelphia suburb left her in crippling debt. He was an adulterer and a liar, and when Shelby tracks down his safe-deposit box, she finds multiple IDs. The man she loved wasn’t just dead. He never really existed.
 
Shelby takes her three-year-old daughter and heads south to seek comfort in her hometown, where she meets someone new: Griff Lott, a successful contractor. But her husband had secrets she has yet to discover. Even in this small town, surrounded by loved ones, danger is closer than she knows—and threatens Griff, as well. And an attempted murder is only the beginning...

Check out my latest news at Smart Girls Read Romance as well.  Thanks for reading.

 

Identity by Nora Roberts

Identity

by Nora Roberts

Amazon Pre-Order

Identity is about a woman who has her life together until her identity is stolen.  The man who stole it courts women, steals their identity, then kills them.  In this case, it was Morgan's roommate who was murdered.  Morgan's life falls apart and she returns to her grandmother's house to live with her grandmother and mother.    Morgan slowly rebuilds her life.  

The FBI is involved and says she is his first victim to survive. The murderer can't forget her.  He leaves things he stole from Morgan on his new victims and makes it clear he will come and kill her, eventually.   Can she defend herself or will she lose everything again?

I really enjoyed this book.  It was suspenseful enough that I binge-read it, but not so scary it gave me nightmares.  It ended happily, too.  Ms. Roberts is a skillful world builder and I could feel the desperation of Morgan, the worry of her friends and family, and the hatred of the murderer.  The book is up for pre-order.  It comes out on May 23, 2023.

 

The Choice: The Dragon Heart Legacy, Book 3 by Nora Roberts

 

The Choice: The Dragon Heart Legacy, Book 3

by Nora Roberts

Amazon buy link

The Choice is the third book in the Dragon Heart Legacy trilogy.  First, let me say that, like all Nora Roberts books, this one ends happily.  The fun part is seeing how she achieves that happy ending.

Breen Siobhan Kelly grew up on earth and was told by her mother that her father left her and never returned.  That was true as far as it went.  As a young adult, Breen finds out her father and grandmother sent her money that her mother has concealed.  Breen takes the money and goes to Ireland, a lifelong dream.  There, she finds a portal into the world of Talamh, where magic, fairies, elves, and people live in harmony with other beings.  She finds out her father was the ruler of this world and died fighting against his father, an evil God that wants to destroy not just Talamh, but all the worlds.

Breen starts learning magic, martial arts, and her own nature so she can defend against the evil God.  She becomes a dragon rider and works hard.  As the third book opens, Talamh is licking its wounds after a battle against the evil God and his minions.  Talamh won, but not without cost.  Breen knows she is the key to the final defeat of the evil God, but isn't sure how that is supposed to work.  While waiting and planning for the final battle, she writes books and trains.  Can she defeat the evil God, save all the worlds, and still have her happily ever after?

Nora Roberts does a great job at world-building.  Talamh is what everyone wants Ireland to be.  These books came out a year apart.  I wish I had re-read the series from the first book before reading this one, because I forgot some of the things that happened in the other books.  While this book can be read as a stand-alone book, it will be much more enjoyable if the series is read in order.  I definitely recommend the whole series.  These books are the perfect curl-up and read away an afternoon books!

BOOK REVIEW - HIDEAWAY BY NORA ROBERTS

 By Caroline Clemmons

I remember the first Nora Roberts novel I read, Irish Thoroughbred. That book inspired me and made me want to write my own romances. (Although, it was almost twenty years later before I was published.) Through the years, Ms Roberts has continued to amaze readers and publishers with her high quality writing and her amazing ability to produce large numbers of consistently good books. 

She is responsible for changing the way publishers thought. Previously, publishers believed that an author should not be overexposed and shouldn't publish many books a year. Nora Roberts disproved that theory. She's written far more than 200 books since Irish Thoroughbred was published. Writing as Nora Roberts and J.D. Robb, she continues to amaze readers.

I’ve met her at several conferences (no, she wouldn’t remember me) at which she was congenial to everyone. In addition, I know she has helped numerous writers and writers’ groups. You can tell, I am all fan girl for Nora Roberts.

HIDEAWAY is about a great acting family, such as the Barrymore and Redgrave lines. Here’s the official description:

A family ranch in Big Sur country and a legacy of Hollywood royalty set the stage for Nora Roberts’ emotional suspense novel, HIDEAWAY.

Caitlyn Sullivan had come from a long line of Hollywood royalty, stretching back to her Irish immigrant great-grandfather. At nine, she was already a star—yet still an innocent child who loved to play hide and seek with her cousins at the family home in Big Sur. It was during one of those games that she disappeared.

Some may have considered her a pampered princess, but Cate was in fact a smart, scrappy fighter, and she managed to escape her abductors. Dillon Cooper was shocked to find the bloodied, exhausted girl huddled in his house—but when the teenager and his family heard her story they provided refuge, reuniting her with her loved ones.

Cate’s ordeal, though, was far from over. First came the discovery of a shocking betrayal that would send someone she’d trusted to prison. Then there were years spent away in western Ireland, peaceful and protected  but with restlessness growing in her soul.

Finally, she would return to Los Angeles, gathering the courage to act again and get past the trauma that had derailed her life. What she didn’t yet know was that two seeds had been planted that long ago night—one of a great love and one of terrible vengeance.

 I loved this book! When I say I couldn’t put it down, I am being literal. The story painted the characters and setting vividly. Even had I not been to the places mentioned, I would have been able to envision the places mentioned.

The main character, Caitlyn Sullivan, is admirable. She’s smart, respectful to others, and a strong child who becomes a stronger adult. Dillon Cooper remains on his family ranch, but his love for Caitlyn doesn’t waiver. The suspense kept me unable to stop reading until the conclusion. Once again, Nora Roberts has given readers a captivating book that will remain with them for a long time.

Keep reading and stay safe! 

The Becoming: The Dragon Heart Legacy, Book 2 by Nora Roberts

 The Becoming: The Dragon Heart Legacy, Book 2

 by Nora Roberts

https://amzn.to/3A4h26O

The Blurb:

The world of magick and the world of man have long been estranged from one another. But some can walk between the two—including Breen Siobhan Kelly. She has just returned to Talamh, with her friend, Marco, who’s dazzled and disoriented by this realm—a place filled with dragons and faeries and mermaids (but no WiFi, to his chagrin). In Talamh, Breen is not the ordinary young schoolteacher he knew her as. Here she is learning to embrace the powers of her true identity. Marco is welcomed kindly by her people—and by Keegan, leader of the Fey. Keegan has trained Breen as a warrior, and his yearning for her has grown along with his admiration of her strength and skills.

But one member of Breen’s bloodline is not there to embrace her. Her grandfather, the outcast god Odran, plots to destroy Talamh—and now all must unite to defeat his dark forces. There will be losses and sorrows, betrayal and bloodshed. But through it, Breen Siobhan Kelly will take the next step on the journey to becoming all that she was born to be.

The Review:

I love this series.  Things are getting more intense in this book -- Odran is trying harder to take over Talamh, and through that all the worlds.  Breen has to work harder to master her power and her fighting skills.  Fortunately, her best friend Marco comes with her this time.  He steadies her and provides someone who gets her so she isn't so lonely.  As a nerd in a world without computers, he is a bit of a fish out of water, but finds someone special to help with that.  

The worst part of this series is I have to wait another year for the third and final volume.

The Author:

Nora Roberts is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than 200 novels, including Shelter in Place, Year One, Come Sundown, and many more. She is also the author of the bestselling In Death series written under the pen name J.D. Robb. There are more than five hundred million copies of her books in print.

WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE BOOK?

On Facebook, several people have been naming ten favorite books that meant something in your life. Narrowing my preference down to only ten would be impossible. And what each meant depended on where I was at that stage of life. Although I’ve been an avid reader as long as I can remember, I’ll skip the school years and move on to after I became an adult. I’ll also skip the classics and go for popular fiction.

TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, by Harper Lee. Okay, so it’s a classic now. Who didn’t love that one? I kept waiting for another book from Harper Lee (as did a lot of others). I thought Scout’s story was wonderful. I saw the film starring Gregory Peck and in which Robert Duvall had his first role. This is one of the few times I enjoyed a movie as much as the book.

THE HELP BY Katherine Stockett. Didn’t we love the way the heroine obtained justice for her friends? I didn’t like the movie because so much had to be changed. This is why books are better than movies—you get the main characters’ internal thoughts and motivation in a book. Usually impossible for a movie.

THE GUENSEY LITERARY AND POTATO PEEL PIE SOCIETY by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. How sad that Ms Schaffer died before she learned how successful her wonderful book had become. Thank goodness her niece Ms Barrows finished editing the manuscript. I have to admit my knowledge of the Isle of Guernsey was nil, but this story uplifted my spirit even though it dealt with Nazi occupation. 

MR. CHURCHILL’S SECRETARY by Susan Elia Macneal. This is another World War II setting, but Maggie Hope brings just that. I love this series and will save them to reread.  FALLON by Louis L’Amour. Any of his, really. What a great writer. He captured history and people and painted the West in words. I’ve read each of his books and will never tire of rereading them.

FOR THE ROSES by Julie Garwood. This was a wonderful saga about lost boys and the baby girl they rescued as they moved from New York to the West. Family and redemption are themes I love.

PRINCE CHARMING by Julie Garwood. Probably my all-time favorite book, I love the subtle humor the author introduces into the story and the developing love and adventure. I loved so many things about this book: the scene where we learn who stole Lucas’ knife, where we see Taylor shooting rabbits, where Taylor covers Lucas’ friend with a blanket, and so many more.

THE PROMISE OF JENNY JONES by Maggie Osborne. Jenny had only one thing and that’s her word. She keeps her promise through unbelievably difficult conditions and triumphs. My first time to read a book with a six-foot, redheaded, muleskinner heroine. In a speech once, I heard Ms Osborne say this was the traditional governess story turned on its ear. ☺

SLIGHTLY SHADY by Amanda Quick (Jayne Ann Krentz). This is the first of the Lavinia Lake and Tobias March trilogy and I loved each one. This first was probably my favorite. However, this woman cannot write a bad book under any name. I think I have each of her books by each of her names. The historical romances are my favorites.

MONTANA SKY by Nora Roberts. This is one of my favorites by Ms Roberts (although THE WITNESS may tie). I liked the three half-sisters learning to work together on a ranch and learning to be family. Family is a wonderful theme.  

TO KISS A TEXAN by Jodi Thomas. Wes McClain is my favorite member of his family and his rescue of the captive woman Allie,who salves his wounded heart, is amazing. Theirs is a memorable romance that has stayed with me for years.

 

FALLON by Louis L'Amour, along with each of his other historical works. What a creative genius this man was. He once told a group of writers that he could write while sitting in a folding chair in the center of Hollywood and Vine with a typewriter balanced on his knees. I know he was the master of setting and characterization. I chose FALLON as my favorite of his books because  it's the story of a man who is much better than he believes, a story of redemption. But L'Amour wrote only great books. Hero and I save them and reread them from time to time. I practically know FALLON by heart, yet it still calls to me. 

I have deliberately not mentioned any of the books of personal friends. To do so would be insane. I’d be certain to overlook someone and then be in the dog house forever. And there simply is not enough space or time to list all my favorites. There are huge numbers of wonderful writers whose books I’ve enjoyed and saved. And I continue discovering new writers whose works I love. Someday maybe I’ll quit writing and just read.

Naw, this is too great a job. Why would I ever give up a job where I can work at home in my jammies?

Thanks for stopping by!

  

AN INTERVIEW WITH CAROLINE CLEMMONS

Usually I ask about the same questions to my guest authors. Today I thought I would interview—ME. I know, you think you know quite a bit about me already, maybe all you ever wanted to know. Please don’t give up on me. Here I go:

Tell us about growing up:

Whew, glad no one asked whether I was sweet or horrid. My parents moved to the Bakersfield, CA area when I was a baby and then moved back to Texas the summer before third grade, when I was seven. We eventually settled in Lubbock when I was ten, a few months after the birth of my younger brother. (Then he was ten years younger than me, but now he’s passed me and is my older brother. Funny how age works, isn’t it?) 

Lubbock, Texas bills itself as the Hub of the Plains

We were our dad’s second family, and he was a lot older than our mom. Our half-siblings were near our mom’s age. In fact, our eldest half-brother was two years older than our mom.  Our half-siblings and their children live in California and look as beautiful as people who live there are supposed to. Many of them could pass for movie stars or models. I think I’m the only chubby one in the family.

As an adult, Hero and I lived in Oxnard CA one summer and loved it, in Cupertino CA a year and loved that, and in Windermere near Orlando FL for two-and-a-half years. The rest of the time, we've lived in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. Although we currently live on a small acreage, we're selling that (hopefully soon!) and moving into Fort Worth.

When did you decide to write?

I loved reading as long as I can remember. My dad taught me to read when I was very young, four. I think his motive was he wouldn’t have to read me the funny papers every evening. I loved Bugs Bunny.  Yeah, I still do. 

But I didn’t write until I took journalism. Then I didn’t write books until my mother-in-law gave me a grocery bag of romances. That’s when I wanted to become Nora Roberts.  Yeah, I still do.

Nora Roberts

Writing is not quite as easy as reading, but I love both. To date, I’ve written three novellas and thirteen novels that include a time travel romantic suspense, a cozy mystery, a mystery, three contemporary romances, and the rest are western historical romances. All except one novella are set in Texas. Write what you know.

What is your favorite way to relax and recharge?

I love reading, family, getting together with friends, working on genealogy, research (yes, I get lost in it and love it), and travel.   

What’s a quote that sums up how you feel about life?

“Be the change you want to see in the world.” Ghandi

Where do you prefer to write?

Hot tea and a couple of cats for company

I write in what I call my pink cave, which is a lovely room that used to belong to Darling Daughter 2. She decorated it with prints and photos and I’ve added to them with family photos, knick knacks, a couple of plaques from my friend Geri Foster, and assorted clutter. I have all my research books here in my cave. I prefer my PC to a laptop and save the laptop for travel. I like classical music when I’m writing because I believe it adds rhythm to the words. For email, I like Ella Fitzgerald or Carol King or others. We have our house listed for sale, so I hope I'll have a nice cave after we move.

Are you a plotter or a panzer?

Definitely a plotter since I heard Laura Baker and Robin Perini give their “Story Magic” workshop years ago. They saved my life! 

My critique partners are terrific at helping me plot. Darling Daughter 1 recently helped me with a current plot problem. Whew! Nice to have talented friends and family members.

Do you use real events or persons in your stories or as an inspiration for stories?

I do use some real events as secondary mentions, but not as main events. For instance, in the Men of Stone Mountain series, I mention Brit Johnson being murdered by Kiowas near the site of the book. That’s true, sadly. The closest I’ve come to using real people as characters is basing the aunts in that series on my mom and her sister. I love those two characters because of that connection and happy memories.

Do you set daily writing goals?

Sure I set page counts. Do I make them? Seldom, but then I have spurts where I amaze myself. Life often interferes.

What do you hope your writing brings to readers?

An escape from reality or whatever bugs them and a pleasant way to spend a few hours, that they end each book with a sigh of contentment wishing for my next book.

What long-term plans do you have for your career?

To keep writing as long as I can sit in my desk chair and prop my fingers on the keyboard. LOL I have too many characters in my head begging me to write them for me to give up now.

Would you like to tell us what you’re working on now?

I’m finishing up a novella that is a spin off from the Men of Stone Mountain series. In the third book, there’s a character briefly mentioned named Bear Baldwin.  For some reason, he appeared in my head as a terrific guy who’d written away for a mail-order bride. This is an extension of a short story I wrote, but I’m having lots of fun with my heroine. She’s a substitute for her friend and the hero is a bit miffed he’s been passed off like a pair of old boots. There’s a bad guy—isn’t there always in my books?—after the heroine, so she’s eager to get wed before the cad shows up.  The title is TABITHA’S JOURNEY and it will be out the first week of June, 2013.

 

Tabitha Masterson

After that, I’ll be working on Storm Kincaid’s book, THE MOST UNSUITABLE COURTSHIP. I hope to have it released in mid September and resume the Kincaid series concurrently with the Stone Mountain series.I love both those series. I hope it's all right to say I like my books and characters. I do. I can't expect readers to love them unless I do, too.

Storm Kincaid

Next will be another spin off from Men of Stone Mountain about the first of November, CHRISTMAS ON STONE MOUNTAIN. I haven't narrowed down the cover for it yet. The hero is Buster Parish, the new sheriff of Radford Springs, Texas. 

What advice would you give to unpublished authors?

Don’t let anyone steal your dream! Hone your craft and persevere.

A fun fact readers wouldn’t know about you.

Darling Daughter 2 and I used to have three antique booths. We brought home the best stuff. It's not that we're such bad businesswomen, really, but we love antiques and hate to part with them. We have a new rule that we can't bring anything else home unless we get rid of something. If we won the lottery, though, we’d  each buy a bigger house and get back in the antique business. ☺

Something about you that would surprise or shock readers.

I am afraid of the water and am a lousy swimmer. Even though I'm chubby, I sink like a stone. In spite of that, I love watching water and also boating. Yes, I ALWAYS wear a life preserver.

Is there anything else you’d like readers to know?

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