Jewels of the Sun by Nora Roberts

Determined to reevaluate her life, Jude Murray flees her complicated life in Chicago to take refuge in a beautiful cottage in the picturesque village of Ardmore in Ireland. Surrounded by the beautiful scenery and refreshed by the more relaxed lifestyle, Jude finds herself fascinated by the local folklore. Even her cottage seems to have a resident ghost and Jude decides to embark on a personal research project to find out more.

Finally back home in Ireland after years of travelling, Aidan Gallagher is also something of an expert when it comes to his country's haunting myths. He's returned to devote himself to managing the family business. But in Jude Murray he sees a woman who can soothe his heart and stir his blood. And he begins to share the legends of the land with her -- while they create a passionate history of their own... - Synopsis from the back cover of the novel.

My Thoughts

I picked this book up at the airport thinking it would be a good light read for my long flight south. What I got was an exceptional story of love; exploration and self-discovery that made me laugh, nod my head in agreement and cry. Jewels of the Sun has touched me like no other romance novel has, and to this day, nothing I have read can even compare. It is not just another romance novel, but a story of learning to live your life to it’s fullest, to take chances and follow your dreams. After having just been through a recent relationship break-up (and a bad one at that), this could not have come at a better time.

Our heroine is Jude, a onetime university professor who has quit her job, sub-let her condo and moved to Ireland to ‘find herself’. After having her marriage break up in less than a year, she is confused, angry, sad and a little bit neurotic. Jude settles in Fairie Cottage and begins work on her academic paper but this soon turns to her writing of Ireland’s legends and stories, and following her life long dream.

Our hero, Aiden, is a resident of Ardmore who, after years of travelling the world, has come home to take over the family business – the local pub. Intelligent, sexy, compassionate & strong, he is everything a woman could want. He sets his sights on Jude and pursues her, eventually convincing her that she is a warm, smart, beautiful woman with much to offer the world.

Their love story is wonderful, the characters rich and very real. From the tomboy Brenna to the the vain and adorable Darcy to Sean the very talented and angry artist they pull us in, making us wish that we could be lucky enough to find friends like them. Added to this is a secondary plot with a touch of supernatural. It is the story of Prince Carrick and Lady Gwen. Separated by a three hundred year old curse, they wait for the spell to be broken so that they can finally be together.

Maybe it’s my fascination with everything Irish, I don’t know. But every time I read something of Ms. Robert’s that is set in Ireland, I am never disappointed. Her writing style is always engaging, the scenery vivid and beautiful. In this book you can feel the essence of Ireland through the people, the ambiance and the music. In all, this is a fantastic book, one that I could not put down and have read again and again. It’s a ‘feel-good’ story, teaching us that love is something that should never be given up on, no matter how bumpy the road may be.

There Goes the Bride by Lori Wilde

Legend claims this antique Irish wedding veil can grant your heart’s deepest desire. But be careful what you wish for…

The moment Texas socialite Delaney Cartwright touches her veil, she knows she can’t go through with her wedding. And it’s not just because she envisioned a stranger’s dark eyes and irresistible lips the second her fingers touched lace. But she can’t simply call it off. This wedding to her nice, predictable childhood friend is the social event of the season (not to mention her mother would freak). So she hatches an escape plan: she’ll hire her own kidnapper. How hard could it be?

After all, she already had a practice run when she abducted her fiancé for a night of romance. Okay, so she accidentally grabbed the wrong man. It wasn’t her fault Detective Nick Vinetti with the sizzling and oddly familiar eyes and crossed her path—and looked game for all kinds of sexy fun. Now, with an altar to avoid and a cop to dream on, this runaway bride is feeling for real—and hoping a little Irish magic will unveil the true destiny of her heart.

My Thoughts
Delaney Cartwright is getting married. She has the perfect designer dress, the perfect fiancee (her childhood sweetheart) and a wedding that will be the talk of the season. After meeting with her friends for drinks and appetizers, Delaney finds the perfect wedding veil. At first, the owner of the store refuses to sell it. Legend has it that the veil will grant your wishes but it has a history of backfiring. Delaney is very insistent and a small fortune later, gets her way.

Detective Nick Vinetti is getting over a gunshot wound and has just left Dr. Van Zandt's office. Nick is frustrated because the good Doctor won't clear him for duty and plans to make him wait for a month before he has another appointment. But his bad day just got better, when a beautifully woman attempts to kidnap him. Now he can't get the beauty out of his mind. When he shows up at his grandmothers house and the woman is there he really believes in fate--until he hears that she's engaged to his doctor.

This is probably the most delightfully, frothy romance I've read in a long time. There is lots of twist and turns - kidnapping, blackmail, match-making grandmother, magic antique Irish wedding veil and some great heat with the two main characters. The plot is well written and very entertaining and the characters are real and believable.

Wilde also includes a great cast of characters from the meddling grandmother to the high strung society parents. Adding little subplots to the story gave it added dimensions that charmed and gave the story all the more color.

A fantastic book that should not be missed!

Spellstruck

Back Cover

Jenna Wren's customers leave her salon feeling physically and emotionally reborn, almost as if by magic - which is truer than they know. Like generations of Wren women before her, Jenna is a "hedge" witch. She channels the mysterious gifts of nature into empowering treatments in her salon. But even a flourishing business and two wonderful children can't keep her from feeling lonely and increasingly frustrate with her ex-husband, Jack.

Then one night, over a bottle of chardonnay, Jenna and her sister draft a recipe for the "perfect man". It's meant to be a joke... until eight-year old Cassie uses it to test her own spellcasting powers. Cassie has only the best of intentions: a happy reunion for her parents, and a boyfriend for her aunt. But sometimes magic made in moonlight can go seriously awry - and Jenna may have to summon all of her powers of enchantment before she can truly follow her heart.

My Thoughts

Seven year-old Cassie Wren will do anything to get her parents back together and find true love for her Aunt Hallie. When she hears them writing a spell for the “perfect” man, she seizes the opportunity and uses the spell – with some of her own ideas tossed in – to make it happen. Unfortunately, the dog eats the cookie that she has chosen to represent her Aunt Hallie therefore creating a love triangle between Jenna, Jack and a handsome stranger named Declan. What they do not know is that Declan is not who he seems…

Jaclyn Reding has created a heartwarming tale of true love, the innocence of children and beautiful witchcraft. She has created a novel filled with rich characters - from Cassie’s grandmother, Eudora to her Zio Sal. Between her characters and her details to the town and landscape, Jaclyn Reding brings the town of Ipswich-by-the-Sea to life.

The book is the third in a series but can easily stand alone. When I first read the book, I had no idea about the previous two and it didn’t affect my understanding and enjoyment at all. It is also a very fast read – I read it in two evenings and I work full-time and care for a 13 month old when home.

I highly recommend this book.

The Villa

Title: The Villa

Author: Nora Roberts

Publisher: GP Putnam And Sons

Year: 2002



One of my favourite books by Nora Roberts, The Villa is a complex story with several sub-plots and strong characters. The Villa focuses on the merger of two prominent winemaking families, the Giambellis and MacMillans, and the the two upcoming leaders of those dynasties, Sophia Giambelli and Tyler MacMillan. Tyler is the manager of the MacMillan vines while Sophia heads up Giambelli's public relations department.

As part of the merge, Tereza and Eli require that Sophia and Tyler work together, each learning the other's job so when they assume control of the company, the both know the company inside out. They also bring in David Cutter, formerly of La Coeur, as COO, to ensure a smooth merger and to oversee operations of the newly formed company. Neither Tyler or Sophia are happy about working together but eventually sparks fly and romance blossoms.

The smooth transition doesn't last long as it is discovered that bottles of wine has been tampered with, resulting in at least two deaths. Added to that, Tony Avano, Sophia's father, is murdered. As the Giambelli's struggle to make sense of what is going on and to find the person(s) responsible, Sophia must deal with the death of her father and the bitter, jealous ex-wife who is doing everything she can to cast doubt on the Giambellis and make a name for herself.

There are many other sub-plots in this book - Rene's attempt to claw her way to the top at the expense of the Giambellis, Kris' jealously of Sophia, Donato and Gina's troubled marriage and Tony's philandering ways but the best of the bunch would have to be the blossoming romance between David and Pilar. Pilar fights her attraction to David but in the end David sweeps her off her feet and she wins the affection of his two children, Theo and Maddy.

With exceptionaly strong characters, lively dialogue, red-herrings and many twists, Nora Roberts has written a fast-paced novel that will keep you immersed until the end. This book is classic Nora.