Sunday, November 6, 2011

Romance Byte: Nora Robert's The Next Always

Author: Nora Roberts
Series Connection: Inn BoonsBoro Trilogy #1
ISBN: 9780425243213
Genre: Romance/ Ghosts
Publisher:  Penguin Group (USA)


Already getting mixed reviews even though it has only been out since Nov. 1, although I am dismayed to read that some of the reviewers haven't even read the book yet, but are giving their opinion on it and placing rankings.

A reviewer from Amazon, who apparently did read the book and gave it only 2 stars said: "More troubling, however, is the fact that it seems to be a novel-length advertisement for her inn, her husband's bookshop, and her son's pizzeria in Boonsboro, MD. The three main businesses in the book really exist and belong to her family. Granted, the characters are fictional, but it's rather tacky and somewhat creepy to use a novel in this way."

This is one of those cases where fans of Nora might want to pick up the book and read it themselves. I will say that many authors write what they know and readers who get upset because of this would probably be appalled at how many times this is done by other authors who aren't as well know as Nora.

Description:
The historic hotel in BoonsBoro, Maryland, has endured war and peace, changing hands, even rumored hauntings. Now it’s getting a major facelift from the Montgomery brothers and their eccentric mother. As the architect of the family, Beckett’s social life consists mostly of talking shop over pizza and beer. But there’s another project he’s got his eye on: the girl he’s been waiting to kiss since he was fifteen…

2 comments:

  1. I don't mind Nora "selling" her businesses in Innsboro through the book; as long as the love stories in it are love stories and not some meek stories that are carried along through the book.

    I noticed - even in standalones - that Nora is getting more (too) detailed while writing her stories. In Chasing Fire I almost lost some plot by jumping the too detailed explanation of firefight.

    Some reviews suggest a Tribute like novel (where the "ghost" and makeover really took a huge piece in the story) but I've never been put off by a review on a Nora book.

    I already spied the finale and it made me think instantly of The Key Trilogy third book finale but I'm reserving my judgement for when I really read the book.

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  2. And now that I've started the book I can tell you that Nora doesn't "sell" her businesses at all. I haven't seen, through the book, different descriptions or teasing that we've witnessed in other Nora's stories. That's one of her gifts - to make you see (and wish for) the places she writes the book in, from Ireland to Chesapeake.
    The story is magical, the characters in it lovely. Once I started I couldn't put it down.

    One Must read or have from Nora. Hard will be to wait for the other stories... mainly the last one :)

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