Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Only Nora Roberts can make me sit down and devour a 500 page book in less than 24 hours. I enjoy her writing style, I love her characters, and I thought this was the best stand-alone novel that she has written in some time. Well worth the honor of her 200th publication! Elizabeth Fitch leads a very sterile and pre-planned life: conceived from carefully planned artificial insemination to a woman lacking in emotion, a prodigy with an eidetic memory who is pre-med at Harvard at the age of 16, and still a teenage girl who feels the need to rebel as she struggles to become her own person. Her single act of rebellion results in death, being targeted by the Russian Mafia, and her entering into witness protection. Now, 12 years later, she is still hiding but as Abigail Lowry in a small Arkansas town. The Chief of Police, Brooks Gleason, has taken a professional - and personal - interest in her and Abigail has to decide if being alive is enough, or if she wants to actually live a life she never thought she could have. Nora Roberts, in my mind, always spins a good tale. I will never claim her books are full of unexpected twists and turns or worthy of a National Book Award, but they have solid, well-developed plots, that are enjoyable to read. I thought this book was a cut above her normal. Not because of the plot, which was good, but because of the lead female character. I really liked her! She was incredibly smart, unbelievably courageous, and just a little socially awkward as truly brilliant people can be. My heart broke for the 16 year old girl and cheered for the 29 year old woman - both of whom made difficult decisions. And now, I am left with the same feeling I always have after finishing one of Nora's books: why did I read that so fast?! However, I am physically incapable of drawing out the experience and savoring it. I have to consume it in one fabulous gulp. Luckily, her next new book comes out in just two weeks, which I fully intend to blissfully devour as well :)