High Noon by Nora Roberts Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of High Noon
Book Review: A lost opportunity to do it differently
Summary: 3 Stars
I have read many Nora Roberts novels in the past, some of which have kept me up long past a reasonable bedtime anticipating that thrilling ending I'd come to love. I wouldn't say that she tops my favorites list but I have come to expect that her "hardcover" novels will be written to a certain standard. This one failed to meet the mark somehow. I just wish I could figure out why.
The store line was fine; it was what we have come to expect from her novels. The characters, if not completely engaging, were at least likable. The setting was Savannah, one of my favorite cities in the US. And maybe that was the problem. You hear Savannah, you read that characters are born and bred in that briarpatch, and you expect them to act in certain ways that would be consistent with that part of the country. That element was totally missing from this novel. Savannah isnt' "like" any place else, with the possible exception of Charleston, and the people who are from Savannah have a different edge to them. These characters and their story were based in Savannah but the action could have taken place in any generic US town with water access. I never got a "place" feel from the book and if you're going to go to the effort to base a book in Savannah you need to add that element. Just one little ghost would have made it so much more interesting. And we know how Roberts loves to add those spooky little elements to her books.
Here's what I think...there is a definite formula for her hardcover releases that the publisher believes is her winning formula; her paperback releases have become her more creative efforts. I couldn't help but feel that I'd read this story too many times in the past - set in Idaho, or Washington, or California, well you get my point. It was tweaked a bit from other novels but the story was essentially the same. And there was no Savannah to be found. What a waste. Her setting offered the perfect opportunity to deviate from the formula enough to make the book interesting and fresh for her readers. I wouldn't expect "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" but I would have loved to have had just a little touch of "place" feel from her.
In the end, this isn't a bad book, but it is a disappointment. I think I'll stick to her paperback-only releases from now on. I prefer not to reread the same story yet again.
Book Review: Disappointing
Summary: 3 Stars
As I read this book, I kept wondering if it was the 2nd book of a Nora Roberts trilogy. I just knew there must be a book before and a book after that could explain all the hanging threads.
I'm a big fan of Nora Roberts and Savannah is one of my favorite cities, so when I picked this book up I was excited. Her description of the city falls flat. It's as if she picked up a tourist guide and used a few quotes, never really portraying the real character of the city.
As for the plot, so many threads are just "there", with no rhyme or reason. Some characters are thrown into the story with no introduction, others disappear with no explanation. Major story premises are not explained --- for instance WHY is Phoebe forced to live in the Jones St house?
This just doesn't even read like a Nora Roberts book to me. Skip this one and wait for her next.
Book Review: Enjoyable, but she's written better
Summary: 4 Stars
As always Nora Roberts writes an enjoyable novel with a strong, suspenseful plotline, good pacing, and a well developed cast of secondary characters. The main characters were likable and believable, with great chemistry. I do think it wasn't her best effort, though, for two reasons:
1) The hero was perfect - but almost too perfect. He's handsome, intelligent, generous, considerate and rich. In other words, he's EVERYONE'S Mr. Right, not one tailored to the heroine. I think that's usually one of Nora Roberts' strengths - her couples often less then perfect, but they're well suited to each other, whereas Duncan was more of a generic knight in shining armor type. Part of the problem, I think, was that relatively little of the story was written from his perspective, and most of the scenes that were, weren't particularly important to the plot, so I didn't ever feel like I got a good sense of him.
2) It ended much too abruptly, leaving open a handful of things that were never really well explained and developed, that I kept waiting to hear more about.
That said, Nora Roberts at her worst (which this wasn't) is still better than a lot of authors at their best, so I'd still highly recommend it.
Book Review: Favorite
Summary: 5 Stars
I am a reader, i read every type of books and magazines. But in Nora Roberts' High Noon, i found all my favorite things. Mystery, Romance, Drama, Passion, Family and Love. that book includes something for every body. if you love the bad boy there is a careless ex-husband,a chauvinistic police officer, and an avenging lover boy. there is the romantic multimillionaire, the lawyer best friends there is also something that make the book more relate-able to real life and even though there is a happy ending it is not like a fairytale.Book Review: First-time Nora Roberts reader
Summary: 5 Stars
High Noon is the very first Nora Roberts book I have read and I have a lot of reading to catch up on if all of her books are like this one. I'm not an eloquent critic but I loved the relationship between Phoebe and Duncan. The story had the perfect amount of romance, humor, and suspense to keep me from putting it down.