Nora Roberts Land by Ava MilesMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Nora Roberts Land by Ava Miles is a 2013 publication. I was provided a copy of this book by the author and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Merideth's husband, " Rick the Dick", told her reading Nora Roberts novels gave her unrealistic expectations about love and marriage. When she finds herself divorced, she thinks maybe her ex- husband was right. There was no happy ever after in real life.
When her family needs some help running the Dare Valley newspaper in Colorado, Merideth gets an idea. Maybe she can prove Rick was wrong about Nora Roberts and Happy Ever Afters. Merideth decides to do an article on the subject which makes Rick mighty nervous. Why? Well, Rick is running for a seat in the Senate and if Merideth's article comes out it could make him look bad and even expose some dark secrets that would ruin his political career. The solution? Tanner McBride.
Tanner has returned to the states after being a war correspondant. His first assignment upon returning home? To seduce his boss's ex-wife, make her fall in love with him and then dump her, proving once and for all that true love only happpens in fairy tales... or in Nora Roberts Land.
Why would a seasoned journalist like Tanner take on such an assignment? Blackmail of course. It seems Rick has some sordid information on Tanner's brother that he will make public if Tanner doesn't follow through. So, Tanner finds himself in Dare Valley, Colorado. When he meets his target, it's love at first sight. So, will Tanner be able to find a way out of this situation or will he have to break Merideth's heart to protect his family?
While Tanner is laying the ground work on getting to know Merideth, a suspicious death occurs which has some people thinking a coverup is underway. When Merideth and Tanner begin asking questions they make someone very nervous. So, not only is Tanner under pressure from Rick, he is also in danger and so is Merideth, his sister and his nephew.
Now, if the name of the book doesn't grab you, I don't know what will. Ava Miles takes a page from the modern queen of romance authors and creates her very own masterpiece while paying homage to true love and happy ever after.
Merideth really took her divorce hard. She vowed never to become involved with a journalist again. When Tanner arrives in Dare Valley, Merideth is dating every man she can looking for her very own "Roarke" . While her sister, Jill, and her grandfather all insist Tanner is perfect for her, she still holds out... well as long as she can anyway.
While Tanner is trying to protect his family by going along with this farce, I think deep down in his soul he knows he can't really crush Merideth like her ex husband wants him to. He just doesn't know now to extricate himself from the situation without someone getting hurt.
The secondary characters help to round out the novel and set up the scenario for the next book in the series which will feature Merideth's sister, Jill and her best friend, Brian.
I really, really, really, enjoyed this book! Merideth went from panic attacks to taking on Rick the Dick with dignity, intelligence and grace, all while proving that even if Prince Charming is just a fairytale, true love is real and not just in Nora Roberts Land.
This one gets an A+
