The Last Boyfriend by Nora Roberts

 

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Inn BoonsBoro #2

          As you may know, I love Nora Roberts books. Her plot lines may be a bit formulaic, but the people and places are so rich and real that I forget about the formula. I invariably laugh out loud and cry real tears during every one of her books. Writers interested in great scenes and memorable characters should study her writing.

          This is Avery MacTavis and Owen Montgomery's story. They have known each other their whole lives. Owen was Avery's first boyfriend. He proposed to her when she was five. Now he is the organizational genius behind Montgomery Construction and she own the town's pizza parlor. Each of them is successful in their own right, but it's what happens when they come together as a team that is truly special.

          Inn BoonsBoro is nearly complete. The final details are coming together. Avery has run across the street from her restaurant, Vesta, to check it all out. She runs into Owen in one of the rooms and as they are admiring it, she is mysteriously pushed from behind and finds herself in Owen's arms. Owen finds that he has an uncontrollable need to kiss her since she is so conveniently at hand. And, the resulting sparks generated between the two of them take them both by surprise.

          But Lizzy, the ghost of Inn BoonsBoro is not surprised at all.

          The story details how Avery and Owen go from loving each other to being in love. I found it very satisfying, a little thrilling, and was a bit sad when it was over. But not too sad because I know the third book in the trilogy is coming up!

 

          Read my review of The Last Boyfriend, book one of the BoonsBoro trilogy, and my reviews of other Nora Roberts titles: Skin Deep, Chasing Fire, Unfinished Business, and The Witness. Also, Nora writing as JD Robb: Celebrity In Death and New York to Dallas.

The Next Always by Nora Roberts

          This is the start of Nora Roberts’ latest romantic trilogy. It features three brothers. Brother number one, Beckett, finally hooks up with his high school sweetheart, Clare. She’s been married before, is now widowed and comes with a ready-made family of three boys. (Do I scent the beginnings of yet another series of stories???) 

          The story plays out against the backdrop of a building rehab project being done by the brothers – the restoration of a centuries-old inn.  And, of course, this inn is haunted.  No self-respecting centuries-old inn could possibly be without its resident spirit!  And, naturally, in the climactic scene, Clare is saved only through the intervention of Lizzy, the ghost.

          As always, the small town and its residents are vividly portrayed.  Clare and Beckett with their boys and dogs feel like close family friends. I can’t wait to visit Boonsboro again when the next installment comes out in May 2012.