The MacGregors: Serena ~ Caine(Playing the Odds ~ Tempting Fate)
Nora Roberts
I am quickly learning that the early romance version of my favorite author is a mere silhouette of the best-selling powerhouse she has become.
Serena and Caine MacGregor are the youngest children of the great Daniel MacGregor - a modern-day Scottish lord that rules over his family with never-ending love and a hope that they all find the love he has known with his wife and children...even if that involves a bit of heavy-handed meddling! In the case of Serena and Caine, their potential true loves come in the duo of Justin and Diana Blade - estranged siblings of Comanche descent who always fight for what they want and prefer to gamble when the odds are in their favor.
This book lives up the expectations incurred from the Silhoutte reputation: love at first sight, flash-point passion, and happily-ever-after....and some truly yummy leading men! ;) I am far from conservative and greatly enjoy books that have a couple tumbles in the sheets, but I also like a semblance of a plot and development of relationships that are external to the primary love interest - both of which are lacking in this book even though there was lots of potential for both. Because the two stories are contained in one double volume, it is even more painfully obvious that they were written from a "mad-lib" romance format and many of the same phrases were used in each!
I actually don't place too much of the blame on NR, I have a feeling that Silhouette doesn't branch too far from the formulaic romance plot with lots of steamy overtones. It does make me have a lot more appreciation for NR's newer works, which demonstrate that great romance novels can actually be much more complex than simple bodice-ripping and can actually be enhanced by well-written secondary characters. I will forever recommend Nora Roberts books to others but, unless you are a true fan of the old-school romance style of writing, I would steer clear of the Silhouette editions.
Serena and Caine MacGregor are the youngest children of the great Daniel MacGregor - a modern-day Scottish lord that rules over his family with never-ending love and a hope that they all find the love he has known with his wife and children...even if that involves a bit of heavy-handed meddling! In the case of Serena and Caine, their potential true loves come in the duo of Justin and Diana Blade - estranged siblings of Comanche descent who always fight for what they want and prefer to gamble when the odds are in their favor.
This book lives up the expectations incurred from the Silhoutte reputation: love at first sight, flash-point passion, and happily-ever-after....and some truly yummy leading men! ;) I am far from conservative and greatly enjoy books that have a couple tumbles in the sheets, but I also like a semblance of a plot and development of relationships that are external to the primary love interest - both of which are lacking in this book even though there was lots of potential for both. Because the two stories are contained in one double volume, it is even more painfully obvious that they were written from a "mad-lib" romance format and many of the same phrases were used in each!
I actually don't place too much of the blame on NR, I have a feeling that Silhouette doesn't branch too far from the formulaic romance plot with lots of steamy overtones. It does make me have a lot more appreciation for NR's newer works, which demonstrate that great romance novels can actually be much more complex than simple bodice-ripping and can actually be enhanced by well-written secondary characters. I will forever recommend Nora Roberts books to others but, unless you are a true fan of the old-school romance style of writing, I would steer clear of the Silhouette editions.
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