Friday, August 14, 2009

Tribute by Nora Roberts

Copyright: 2008
Pages: 451
Genre: Romantic Suspense

Janet Hardy was a Hollywood legend - glamorous, brilliant & deeply trouble - and she died in mysterious circumstances at her home, Little Farm. As her granddaughter Cilla McGowan moves in to the rundown farmhouse, determined to restore it to its former glory, she finds herself dreaming of the grandmother she never really knew and wondering exactly what happened in her past.
As Cilla settles at Little Farm growing ever closer to her neighbour Ford Sawyer, she slowly begins to unravel her family's secrets. But someone else in the communtiy wants Cilla to leave the past alone, and she becomes the target of increasingly brutal acts. - book jacket

Wow 2 Nora Roberts books in as many weeks. Tribute wasn't a 'cloud 9' read like Vision in White but it was enjoyable.
This was definitely another character driven novel, the suspense wasn't particularly suspenseful and the mystery was a little artificial if I'm being totally honest but on the postive side, the identity of the 'real' baddie came as a surprise.

What I did like was Ford & Cilla, a simmering pot, the wait for chemistry to overcome caution was worthwhile. Ford, is not your typical hero, he can't tell a hand tool from his elbow but he's steady, unflappable, patient & funny, old-fashioned chivalrous and gets a 'certificate of excellence' in the bedroom when they finally make it that far. Sound almost too good to be true? He's also a famous graphic artist. Cilla is athletic, independent & capable, she's looking for a place to belong and she has 'issues'.

Being a home renovation show junkie, I loved the house flipping, rehabbing details but if blow by blow descriptions of wall demolishing, designing, plastering, tiling, choosing fixtures, chrome, nickel, brass, copper, brushed, satin, antiqued, paint colours, landscaping, & plantings aren't your thing, then a word of warning, you may find Tribute a bit of a bore. But ... if all the renovation talk is a turn-off then let me tell you this book is worth a read just for Spock, he's the real show stealer in Tribute, a hilarious, adorable, ugly-as-sin dog.

A cartoonishly ugly black-and-white dog with an enormous box of a head on a small, stocky body trotted beside him.
She liked dogs, and hoped to have one eventually. But this was one odd-looking creature with bulbous eyes bulging out of, and little pointed devil ears stuck on top of, that oversized head. A short, skinny whip of a tail ticked at his behind.
As for the man, he was a big improvement over the dog.

All in all, an enjoyable not so challenging read.




This month on The Eclectic Reader you could win Frostbitten by Kelley Armstrong OR The White Queen by Philippa Gregory OR Prophecy of the Sisters by Michelle Zink. Check this blog post for details. International entrants welcome.

9 comments:

  1. I LOVED the Lifetime movie they made from this book -- it was actually pretty good. You should check it out!

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  2. I was going to read this one, but after reading your review I'm not so sure. I've only read 2 Nora Roberts and am currently on my third so maybe I'll give this one a miss :(

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  3. Could sure need a book like that, enjoyable and not challenging...note to self, try Roberts

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  4. I sure could use something fun and not challenging. Thanks for the heads up!

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  5. OOOH I was wondering how this one was! Thanks for helping me decide! I hope you'll stop by my blog and get in on some of the giveaways and things going on! I have MANY more to put up!

    LOVE YOUR BLOG! Glad I found it!

    xoxo Amy (Park-Avenue Princess)

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  6. Can I just say that I love the way you write? It feels like I'm sitting down with you talking about books....love it!!! I've read a lot of Roberts but not this one. I saw where someone said it was a lifetime movie...would love to watch it too!!! Excellent review on this one!!

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  7. I have got to get back into reading books by this author!

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  8. I've not read Nora Roberts, I know, I probably the only one of the entire planet! I do have one of her books, but have peeked in the pages yet. Maybe it's time I did!

    Dottie :)

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