Nora Roberts Land - Ava Miles

Title:  Nora Roberts Land

Author: Ava Miles

Publishing Info:  June 24, 2013 by CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform

Summary:

Meredith Hale is recovering from an awful marriage and an even more awful divorce.  In order to get back some of the self-esteem that she lost, she listens to her inner superheroine, aka Divorcee Woman, and returns to her hometown of Dare, Colorado.  Here she plans to help out with the family’s newspaper and to write an article about finding her own happily ever after ending in true Nora Robert’s style.

Good stuff:

When I first saw this book, I had two fears.  One was that the author might try to emulate Nora Roberts (NR) tone/style in her writing.  The other was that the premise might not be believable enough or sustainable enough to hold for 350+ pages.  I am very happy to say my fears were quickly put to rest.  The author has her own writing style that is unique and refreshing.  She is obviously a Nora Roberts fan and I enjoyed all of the references to NR’s works.  In fact, some of them had me laughing out loud.  However, this is not an attempt to copy NR.  Instead, it is quite a nice tribute to the author and a great story on its own.

As for my second worry, the story is not all about a divorced woman trying to find her happily ever after.  About halfway through the book, the author shocks us with an unexpected death and mystery that builds in suspense through to the end of the novel.

Not So Good Stuff:

There was an opportunity for a secondary romance between Meredith’s sister, Jill, and an old friend, Brian, that never fully comes into play.  Even though this pairing had some good chemistry, both characters have some immature moments that made me wish I could reach into the book and slap them upside the head.  Apparently, their romance is developed in the second book, but I wonder if their story is enough to carry a book on its own.  I will find out, since I do want to know what happens with this pairing.  Still, I felt that it could have just been a nice side story to main romance that would have really added to the novel.

 I was also a bit disappointed with one aspect of the ending.  SPOILERS AHEAD....

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I wanted the ex-husband to be crushed, maimed, or exposed for the no-good creep that he is.  Lordy, he was such a despicable character, but in the end, he doesn’t get his just desserts.  The author does such a good job making you hate this guy and yet the consequences for his actions are so minor, that you really don’t get the kind of pay off that you are looking for.  This is not saying that the ending is horrible.  It isn’t by any means.  I just really wanted the ex-husband to suffer more than he did.

Pair It Up With...

Books:  This probably goes without saying, but any Nora Roberts book would work.  There are so many NR books mentioned within this novel (the Chesapeake Series, Birthright, High Noon, ect...) that you could pull an entire display from those.  Another series that it could pair well with is the Virgin River series by Robyn Carr. 

Movies:  Again, it is easy to pair this book with NR books-turned-movies, particularly Montana Sky or High Noon. It would also work well with Letters to Juliet with its happily ever after, Ten Things I Hate About You due to the Taming of the Shrew vibe the novel gives off, and The Pelican Brief.

Music:  Abba’s Gold: Greatest Hits.  Jill, Meredith’s sister, loves the band and many songs are mentioned within the book.