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Northern Lights
The town of Lunacy, Alaska, was Nate Burke's last chance. As a Baltimore cop, he'd watched his partner die on the street - and the guilt still haunts him. With nowhere else to go, he accepts the job as chief of police in this tiny, remote Alaskan town. Aside from sorting out a run-in between a couple of motor vehicles and a moose, he finds his first few weeks on the job are relatively quiet. But just as he wonders whether this has been all a big mistake, an unexpected kiss on New Year's Eve under the brilliant Northern Lights of the Alaskan sky lifts his spirits and convinces him to stay just a little longer.
Meg Galloway, born and raised in Lunacy, is used to being alone. She was a young girl when her father disappeared, and she has learned to be independent, flying her small plane, living on the outskirts of town with just her huskies for company. After her New Year's kiss with the chief of police, she allows herself to give in to passion - while remaining determined to keep things as simple as possible. But there's something about Nate's sad eyes that gets under her skin and warms her frozen heart.
And now, things in Lunacy are heating up. Years ago, on one of the majestic mountains shadowing the town, a crime occurred that is unsolved to this day - and Nate suspects that a killer still walks the snowy streets. His investigation will unearth the secrets and suspicions that lurk beneath the placid surface, as well as bring out the big-city survival instincts that made him a cop in the first place. And his discovery will threaten the new life - and the new love - that he has finally found for himself.
Meg Galloway, born and raised in Lunacy, is used to being alone. She was a young girl when her father disappeared, and she has learned to be independent, flying her small plane, living on the outskirts of town with just her huskies for company. After her New Year's kiss with the chief of police, she allows herself to give in to passion - while remaining determined to keep things as simple as possible. But there's something about Nate's sad eyes that gets under her skin and warms her frozen heart.
And now, things in Lunacy are heating up. Years ago, on one of the majestic mountains shadowing the town, a crime occurred that is unsolved to this day - and Nate suspects that a killer still walks the snowy streets. His investigation will unearth the secrets and suspicions that lurk beneath the placid surface, as well as bring out the big-city survival instincts that made him a cop in the first place. And his discovery will threaten the new life - and the new love - that he has finally found for himself.
562 pages, Hardcover
First published October 12, 2004
About the author
Nora Roberts
1,765 books55k followersNora Roberts is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than 200 novels, including Hideaway, Under Currents, Come Sundown, The Awakening, Legacy, and coming in November 2021 -- The Becoming -- the second book in The Dragon Heart Legacy. She is also the author of the futuristic suspense In Death series written under the pen name J.D. Robb. There are more than 500 million copies of her books in print.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,652 reviews
November 14, 2018
Okay that does it. I'm moving to Alaska!
June 9, 2019
Extremely enjoyable romantic suspense story set in Alaska. Hero Nate Burke who is running from his past in Baltimore takes the job of Chief of Police in the remote town of Lunacy, Alaska. Heroine Meg Galloway, who is a bush pilot, is the girl he falls for. The story focuses more on Nate adjusting to life in Alaska and the years-old murder mystery that is uncovered, than it does on the romance, but that worked out just fine for me. The cast of many characters were really memorable with suspects galore for the crime. The setting of Alaska was a character itself, described in such vivid detail. I could feel the freezing cold and see the snow covered mountains. This book was really long but I never found myself bored, it held my interest throughout.
December 10, 2023
I think this is the first dude-lit book I've ever read.
I have to say I loved it!! Maybe it was the narrator (who was brilliant), or just the character of Nate <3 but I really enjoyed this one.
What's really surprising is that the story here is REALLY slow, the romance as well, the suspense takes hours to get to it, but damn, I didn't really give a sh*t ahahahhahahah I just wanted to know more about him and his past and how he adjusts to life in Alaska.
Watched the movie too. Sucked. But the main actor was cute, so it wasn't a total waste XD
February 10, 2017
3,5 Estrellas.
Nora Roberts es una de las autoras a las que recurro cuando acabo de leer un libro que no me ha gustado y no sé qué lectura elegir a continuación porque desconfío de mi instinto. Los libros de Nora tal vez no me sorprendan después de haber leído tantos, pero siempre me reconfortan. Es algo así como beber una taza de té caliente (al menos para mí).
"Aurora boreal" tiene la típica estructura de los libros de la señora Roberts y mezcla misterio con una historia de amor. En este caso, el misterio se ve a venir a la mitad de la novela y creo que le da demasiadas vueltas al tema. La historia de amor es bonita, es lo mejor del libro, y el protagonista masculino, Nate, está muy bien construido. Me ha gustado especialmente que la señora Roberts se haya arriesgado con un protagonista que sufre una depresión y no tiene miedo de reconocerlo. La protagonista femenina me ha confundido un poco al principio, me ha parecido demasiado fría y distante, pero al final la he entendido.
En resumen, una novela que funciona, con una técnica perfecta y que ha conseguido que ahora elija mi próxima lectura con más ganas.
Y he averiguado que hay una película, buscaré si la hacen en algún canal del satélite.
https://youtu.be/yiaYreopkC0?t=6s
Nora Roberts es una de las autoras a las que recurro cuando acabo de leer un libro que no me ha gustado y no sé qué lectura elegir a continuación porque desconfío de mi instinto. Los libros de Nora tal vez no me sorprendan después de haber leído tantos, pero siempre me reconfortan. Es algo así como beber una taza de té caliente (al menos para mí).
"Aurora boreal" tiene la típica estructura de los libros de la señora Roberts y mezcla misterio con una historia de amor. En este caso, el misterio se ve a venir a la mitad de la novela y creo que le da demasiadas vueltas al tema. La historia de amor es bonita, es lo mejor del libro, y el protagonista masculino, Nate, está muy bien construido. Me ha gustado especialmente que la señora Roberts se haya arriesgado con un protagonista que sufre una depresión y no tiene miedo de reconocerlo. La protagonista femenina me ha confundido un poco al principio, me ha parecido demasiado fría y distante, pero al final la he entendido.
En resumen, una novela que funciona, con una técnica perfecta y que ha conseguido que ahora elija mi próxima lectura con más ganas.
Y he averiguado que hay una película, buscaré si la hacen en algún canal del satélite.
https://youtu.be/yiaYreopkC0?t=6s
September 10, 2014
Murder, love and revenge set in the backdrop of small town Alaska. Nate is the new police chief. Gorgeously described setting really makes this book above many others in the genre.
March 5, 2015
bUdDy rEaD wItH mY BeLgIuM wAfFlE
This was slow, but I've read books that are slower. Loved the journal entries the most, and everything how Alaska was described, especially because I have always wanted to go and see it.
The main hero was perfect, tortured soul, but NORMAL!!!
Didn't like the main heroine till almost the end. Started to like her when she started to act more ... let's say tender.
Wish I could say it gripped me, but sadly it didn't. I would even love it more without romance in it, but then I wouldn't experience him in the throes of passion and that would suck a lot.
But I have to admit that this is the first book ever by Nora Roberts that I finished it. All others I started, I gave up because I was always bored.
This was slow, but I've read books that are slower. Loved the journal entries the most, and everything how Alaska was described, especially because I have always wanted to go and see it.
The main hero was perfect, tortured soul, but NORMAL!!!
Didn't like the main heroine till almost the end. Started to like her when she started to act more ... let's say tender.
Wish I could say it gripped me, but sadly it didn't. I would even love it more without romance in it, but then I wouldn't experience him in the throes of passion and that would suck a lot.
But I have to admit that this is the first book ever by Nora Roberts that I finished it. All others I started, I gave up because I was always bored.
December 12, 2021
What a lovely read! 😍
We have a wonderful with sad eyes hero, here ☺️.
But this book more interesting because the heroine is a wicked wicked girl! 😘😜😂
Also, the way Ms. Roberts writes Alaska made me want to go there for a visit.
The closer I had been to a similar view like this, was at The Matterhorn in Switzerland and the coldest place I’ve ever been was -26°C for a hot air ballon festival at Château-d‘Oex.
No matter how gorgeous Alaska sounds like, I’m not sure I can survive its weather! 🥶🥶🥶.
Oh well, this book, took me there and it was a fabulous visit! 😘😍☺️
❤️❤️❤️
We have a wonderful with sad eyes hero, here ☺️.
But this book more interesting because the heroine is a wicked wicked girl! 😘😜😂
Also, the way Ms. Roberts writes Alaska made me want to go there for a visit.
The closer I had been to a similar view like this, was at The Matterhorn in Switzerland and the coldest place I’ve ever been was -26°C for a hot air ballon festival at Château-d‘Oex.
No matter how gorgeous Alaska sounds like, I’m not sure I can survive its weather! 🥶🥶🥶.
Oh well, this book, took me there and it was a fabulous visit! 😘😍☺️
❤️❤️❤️
January 3, 2024
"Every choice a person makes takes them somewhere."
This is one of the most scenic books I have ever read in my life, and I will never get tired of having Nora spell out a setting for me. Especially when it's one as beautiful as Alaska. Alaska, where you can look up at the night sky and see the Northern Lights anytime you like. Alaska, where the beauty almost hides the danger. Alaska, where broken people go to either be found... or lost entirely.
Nate doesn't know which category he falls under until he's among the people of Lunacy. Watching him go on the journey of self-realization and come back to life is full of so much hope.
He was broken in the lower 48. Lost his partner, his best friend, and didn't have anyone that cared enough to check in on him and make sure he was okay. He had people who felt obligated to, but no one that really cared. When you're in a rut like that, something as romantic and dramatic as Alaska must have sounded like the answer.
So he becomes Chief of a small town hoping for small town crime and the start of a new life. Whether or not he wants that life is the question. He's looking for light to take away his darkness, so when Meg, the town pilot, takes him out to see the Northern Lights, he begins to fall.
Not just for her, but for the town. For the beauty it offers. It's a slow start because it's meant to show a man coming back to life. A man realizing that he can start again if he really works for it. A man understanding that the dark days might not ever fully pass, but he can begin to live through them... not just exist.
Life happens, death happens, the world changes around him. He changes, he begins. He becomes.
Begin your Nora Robert's journey with Nate. Watch him grow into a man who says things like, "Look at you, standing there. I could look at you forever."
Watch him grow into a man who learns to live again.
This is one of the most scenic books I have ever read in my life, and I will never get tired of having Nora spell out a setting for me. Especially when it's one as beautiful as Alaska. Alaska, where you can look up at the night sky and see the Northern Lights anytime you like. Alaska, where the beauty almost hides the danger. Alaska, where broken people go to either be found... or lost entirely.
Nate doesn't know which category he falls under until he's among the people of Lunacy. Watching him go on the journey of self-realization and come back to life is full of so much hope.
He was broken in the lower 48. Lost his partner, his best friend, and didn't have anyone that cared enough to check in on him and make sure he was okay. He had people who felt obligated to, but no one that really cared. When you're in a rut like that, something as romantic and dramatic as Alaska must have sounded like the answer.
So he becomes Chief of a small town hoping for small town crime and the start of a new life. Whether or not he wants that life is the question. He's looking for light to take away his darkness, so when Meg, the town pilot, takes him out to see the Northern Lights, he begins to fall.
Not just for her, but for the town. For the beauty it offers. It's a slow start because it's meant to show a man coming back to life. A man realizing that he can start again if he really works for it. A man understanding that the dark days might not ever fully pass, but he can begin to live through them... not just exist.
Life happens, death happens, the world changes around him. He changes, he begins. He becomes.
Begin your Nora Robert's journey with Nate. Watch him grow into a man who says things like, "Look at you, standing there. I could look at you forever."
Watch him grow into a man who learns to live again.
Read
April 24, 2024DNF at 75%
I really couldn't force myself to finish this one. There was just so much small town Alaska that nothing was keeping my attention. I didn't love the characters and even the mystery/suspense wasn't enough to hold my attention. I thought we'd get so much more, but I just couldn't pay attention to the audiobook anymore and didn't care to see it through to the end.
I really couldn't force myself to finish this one. There was just so much small town Alaska that nothing was keeping my attention. I didn't love the characters and even the mystery/suspense wasn't enough to hold my attention. I thought we'd get so much more, but I just couldn't pay attention to the audiobook anymore and didn't care to see it through to the end.
November 19, 2021
Me gustó mucho. Sin ser una trama con mucho sobresalto, la autora le saca partido a una impecable ambientación, tanto de los agrestes pero a la vez majestuosos paisajes, como de una singular comunidad unida en sacar adelante este pueblo inmerso en una naturaleza salvaje e indómita. Además, mezcla muy equilibradamente un romance bastante poco tradicional con el misterio que debe resolver el jefe de la policía, un forastero que llega huyendo de sus propios demonios y que, "sin querer queriendo" se gana su lugar entre los habitantes de Lunacy.
Me encantaron los personajes, tanto los principales como los secundarios, que sacan más de una sonrisa al lector. De lujo las entradas de la sección policial del semanario The Lunatic.
En resumen, un libro para entretenerse de principio a fin, que te mantiene enganchado a sus páginas y que deja muy buen sabor.
Me encantaron los personajes, tanto los principales como los secundarios, que sacan más de una sonrisa al lector. De lujo las entradas de la sección policial del semanario The Lunatic.
En resumen, un libro para entretenerse de principio a fin, que te mantiene enganchado a sus páginas y que deja muy buen sabor.
April 30, 2018
This is an oldie but goodie if you are a Nora Robert's old school fan. I haven't read this one in forever, but was glad to see it when I was at Powell's book store. I am happy to say I didn't remember who was the bad guy in this one so I went in legitimately surprised. It's a slow burn romance novel taking place in Alaska. Roberts adds in tons of details about Alaska and the population of Lunacy, Alaska that makes this book really come alive. The only reason why I gave it 4 stars is that the flow of the book was up and down in a few places. Also it took a while for things to get going. Nate wasn't the most interesting character to me, Meg was, I wish that we had spent more time in her head than Nate's honestly.
"Northern Lights" follows former Baltimore police officer Nate Burke to Lunacy, Alaska. Nate is trying to get past watching his former partner die and agrees to become chief of police in Lunacy. Nate slowly starts coming back to life while in Lunacy.
Meg Galloway is a bush pilot who loves her life in Lunacy. She finds herself intrigued by the chief of police since she sees something sad in his eyes that she wants to see disappear. She has a somewhat disastrous relationship with her mother Charlene, but has a great stand in father who has been there for her since her real father left her and her mother when was she was a teen.
Past and present come together though when a dead body is discovered in a cave that leaves Nate to figure out who in Lunacy is a murderer.
I liked Meg more than Nate. Probably because she's honest to a fault. And I liked that she was upfront about wanting sex with Nate and nothing else. Nate started to bug me since Roberts had him doing the alpha male thing (romance novel trope) where he is the big bad man who will protect his woman. Meg shows Nate repeatedly she can take care of herself, but he ignores it. I am glad though that Roberts doesn't have Meg changing herself to suit Nate. I hate that in romance novels.
I do think that Nate and Meg have great romantic chemistry though.
The secondary characters in this one are great too. We have the mayor (Hop), the journalists, Meg's mother, the professor, the cook at the lodge, the brothers who keep getting into trouble, Nate's deputies, etc.
Roberts really did take her time making everyone come alive in this one. I honestly even questioned whether a murder needed to happen in this one. Just reading about the hi-jinks in Lunacy was enough for me.
The writing was good, though be warned this book is very long. It's over 600 pages so it took me a bit more than a day to finish. The flow wasn't consistent throughout and I can't lie and say that every part of the book sang to me. I was slightly bored towards the end until things picked up and the murderer was revealed.
The setting of Lunacy, Alaska fascinated me. Roberts must have done some research into things such as how cars/engines are kept heated. I liked reading about the Northern Lights and how much the town changes when it becomes summer and the sun doesn't quite set for months on end.
"Northern Lights" follows former Baltimore police officer Nate Burke to Lunacy, Alaska. Nate is trying to get past watching his former partner die and agrees to become chief of police in Lunacy. Nate slowly starts coming back to life while in Lunacy.
Meg Galloway is a bush pilot who loves her life in Lunacy. She finds herself intrigued by the chief of police since she sees something sad in his eyes that she wants to see disappear. She has a somewhat disastrous relationship with her mother Charlene, but has a great stand in father who has been there for her since her real father left her and her mother when was she was a teen.
Past and present come together though when a dead body is discovered in a cave that leaves Nate to figure out who in Lunacy is a murderer.
I liked Meg more than Nate. Probably because she's honest to a fault. And I liked that she was upfront about wanting sex with Nate and nothing else. Nate started to bug me since Roberts had him doing the alpha male thing (romance novel trope) where he is the big bad man who will protect his woman. Meg shows Nate repeatedly she can take care of herself, but he ignores it. I am glad though that Roberts doesn't have Meg changing herself to suit Nate. I hate that in romance novels.
I do think that Nate and Meg have great romantic chemistry though.
The secondary characters in this one are great too. We have the mayor (Hop), the journalists, Meg's mother, the professor, the cook at the lodge, the brothers who keep getting into trouble, Nate's deputies, etc.
Roberts really did take her time making everyone come alive in this one. I honestly even questioned whether a murder needed to happen in this one. Just reading about the hi-jinks in Lunacy was enough for me.
The writing was good, though be warned this book is very long. It's over 600 pages so it took me a bit more than a day to finish. The flow wasn't consistent throughout and I can't lie and say that every part of the book sang to me. I was slightly bored towards the end until things picked up and the murderer was revealed.
The setting of Lunacy, Alaska fascinated me. Roberts must have done some research into things such as how cars/engines are kept heated. I liked reading about the Northern Lights and how much the town changes when it becomes summer and the sun doesn't quite set for months on end.
June 29, 2012
Of course we start out with an unlikable character using crude language and talking about sex in a completely trashy manner, two characteristics that are sure to come in a Nora Roberts book. He’s talking about him and his group all sleeping with the same whore before they leave to go to the mountain. Ew. He’s cheating on his wife and family. How admirable.
We pick up with the main guy and there’s more crude language. The 1st person he meets tells him there’s an older woman that’ll try to get in his pants. How classy.
I liked how he wasn���t good at public speaking and it made him nervous.
It was a run-of-the-mill story that’s been done so many times it had no effect on me at all. Every military or detective or something like that has had a partner killed and they blame themselves and it haunts them and all that, but I wasn’t feeling anything for Nate. She said he fell into a void or depression and darkness and all that and I just couldn’t summon up any energy to care.
When he 1st meets Rose, a waitress or w/e, he thinks she’s so arresting, so serenely beautiful that he blinks.
When he meets Charlene, the older woman, he calls her a bombshell with very impressive breasts.
Charlene places her hand on Nate’s thigh; he removes it but becomes aroused. Wth? That’s the mother of the woman he’s going to get with. Set some freakin’ boundaries for Gods’ sake.
He even thinks Hopp looked hot at the party.
He sees Meg out the window at night and their eyes connect. When he sees her the next day he tries to decide if she’s pretty.
She shouldn’t have been—her eyebrows were too straight, her nose a little crooked, her mouth top-heavy.
That’s what he thinks about Meg, his future love interest, but her mom was man-killer Barbie.
There’s something wrong with this picture.
He’s just attracted to everybody, isn’t he?
Nora Roberts is so obsessed with having there be jealousy and conflict that she doesn’t realize just how perverted and wrong it comes out as. The mother of the woman is not the person to use for that role. I mean, think about it. When they’re married or w/e, how awkward would it be that he thought his mother in law was a bombshell?
I didn’t like that Nate had already been married.
Meg is very direct and doesn’t beat around the bush or mince words, which is a quality that I do not like, especially when they’re talking about sex with a person they just met.
At least Meg didn’t want him if her mom slept with him.
She speaks so crudely she comes off as manly. Being so direct that you go out of your way to use bad language isn’t admirable, it isn’t funny, it’s unnecessary and classless.
He goes to Meg’s house and she just assumes he wants sex, which is very forward and she seems a little full of herself that she thinks she’s so desirable. She tells him which room to go to and when he starts to say he just came there, not for sex, she says she’s going upstairs and getting naked. She also says she looks really good naked. Wth. Conceited much?
She’s acting like a whore, taking in customers at the drop of a hat and directing them to her room.
She was being way too forceful, and I didn’t like her at all. The way she kept calling him cutie like she was an old cougar going after a younger man got on my nerves. It’s absolutely disgusting the way they treat sex. You meet someone for the first time and you’ve got the woman jumping the men and getting down to business and asking for sex when they don’t even know if the guy likes them. They have no shame and it’s deplorable. They’re over-confident to the point of cocky, which is a bad trait. They jump the men and give them no choice and the men just follow along because it’s sex. Then love comes out of nowhere.
Nate deserves better than this classless piece of trash and I hated that he went along with her plan. She’s no different than her mother. I had no desire to see where this was going, and I had to slam it down. I’ve read enough of her books to see where it’s going.
They don’t take no for an answer. They’re one step above a whore, I guess, since they don’t charge anything for it, but the behavior is the same.
I can only conclude, since Nora Roberts’ characters are always the same, that Nora Roberts is this way. It’s crude, it’s distasteful and it’s majorly unlikable. Her behavior is disgusting. There’s nothing mildly sweet or romantic about it.
We pick up with the main guy and there’s more crude language. The 1st person he meets tells him there’s an older woman that’ll try to get in his pants. How classy.
I liked how he wasn���t good at public speaking and it made him nervous.
It was a run-of-the-mill story that’s been done so many times it had no effect on me at all. Every military or detective or something like that has had a partner killed and they blame themselves and it haunts them and all that, but I wasn’t feeling anything for Nate. She said he fell into a void or depression and darkness and all that and I just couldn’t summon up any energy to care.
When he 1st meets Rose, a waitress or w/e, he thinks she’s so arresting, so serenely beautiful that he blinks.
When he meets Charlene, the older woman, he calls her a bombshell with very impressive breasts.
Charlene places her hand on Nate’s thigh; he removes it but becomes aroused. Wth? That’s the mother of the woman he’s going to get with. Set some freakin’ boundaries for Gods’ sake.
He even thinks Hopp looked hot at the party.
He sees Meg out the window at night and their eyes connect. When he sees her the next day he tries to decide if she’s pretty.
She shouldn’t have been—her eyebrows were too straight, her nose a little crooked, her mouth top-heavy.
That’s what he thinks about Meg, his future love interest, but her mom was man-killer Barbie.
There’s something wrong with this picture.
He’s just attracted to everybody, isn’t he?
Nora Roberts is so obsessed with having there be jealousy and conflict that she doesn’t realize just how perverted and wrong it comes out as. The mother of the woman is not the person to use for that role. I mean, think about it. When they’re married or w/e, how awkward would it be that he thought his mother in law was a bombshell?
I didn’t like that Nate had already been married.
Meg is very direct and doesn’t beat around the bush or mince words, which is a quality that I do not like, especially when they’re talking about sex with a person they just met.
At least Meg didn’t want him if her mom slept with him.
She speaks so crudely she comes off as manly. Being so direct that you go out of your way to use bad language isn’t admirable, it isn’t funny, it’s unnecessary and classless.
He goes to Meg’s house and she just assumes he wants sex, which is very forward and she seems a little full of herself that she thinks she’s so desirable. She tells him which room to go to and when he starts to say he just came there, not for sex, she says she’s going upstairs and getting naked. She also says she looks really good naked. Wth. Conceited much?
She’s acting like a whore, taking in customers at the drop of a hat and directing them to her room.
She was being way too forceful, and I didn’t like her at all. The way she kept calling him cutie like she was an old cougar going after a younger man got on my nerves. It’s absolutely disgusting the way they treat sex. You meet someone for the first time and you’ve got the woman jumping the men and getting down to business and asking for sex when they don’t even know if the guy likes them. They have no shame and it’s deplorable. They’re over-confident to the point of cocky, which is a bad trait. They jump the men and give them no choice and the men just follow along because it’s sex. Then love comes out of nowhere.
Nate deserves better than this classless piece of trash and I hated that he went along with her plan. She’s no different than her mother. I had no desire to see where this was going, and I had to slam it down. I’ve read enough of her books to see where it’s going.
They don’t take no for an answer. They’re one step above a whore, I guess, since they don’t charge anything for it, but the behavior is the same.
I can only conclude, since Nora Roberts’ characters are always the same, that Nora Roberts is this way. It’s crude, it’s distasteful and it’s majorly unlikable. Her behavior is disgusting. There’s nothing mildly sweet or romantic about it.
January 1, 2010
"This book is a perfect example of why I love Nora Roberts so much. It takes a lot for me to want to move anywhere in the north where winters are long and harsh. Yet, even long after finishing Northern Lights, there is a part of me that really wants to move to Alaska. Her descriptions of its harshness, quirkiness, and more importantly, its beauty, leaves me breathless every time and makes me want to experience it myself, even though I hate winter and snow.[return][return]Meg is the perfect heroine. She's tough but realistic, driven and yet ordinary. I love how Ms. Roberts creates characters that are normal. They worry about mundane, everyday life as much as we do - from paying the bills to work to family issues. One can easily step into the shoes of one of her characters and not feel out of place in them. In her earlier novels, Ms. Roberts' heroines were fabulously wealthy, impossibly beautiful and people that are more the exception than the norm. I really like the fact that her heroines, including Meg, are much more believable and relatable.[return][return]I also adore Ms. Roberts' portrayal of men. The dialogue she writes them cracks me up because of the fact that I would expect my brother, my husband, or my closest males friends to say something similar. Nate is no exception in that aspect. I do realize that no female can quite conquer the male mind, and that if a man were to read this book, he would probably scoff at Nate as unrealistic. To me, he's just another enjoyable character.[return][return]This book definitely kept me turning pages long into the wee hours of the night. The mystery's resolution caught me off-guard, and Meg and Nate's relationship definitely hits all the right notes in the romance category. There is something so believable about these characters that had me caught up in the story line from the very beginning. The Alaskan backdrop is a character on its own. Together, they blend into one fabulous story."
March 27, 2008
This was Nate's book, not Meg's, and man, was that ever cool. One of Nora's biggest strengths is her wonderfully flawed, quirky, sexy, fully-fleshed out male characters; and with Northern Lights she finally gave the man a starring role. Depressed and broken Nate arrives in Alaska and finds a reason, a multitude of reasons, to not give up. That's the gist of it, in a nutshell. But Nora does it in such a way that it's an incredibly entertaining read.
This book wasn't so much about the romance and the hot sex - yes, there was some, but it was by no means the focal point of the story. Nor was the growing relationship between Nate and Meg. It was the story of Nate making himself a place. Going from 'Outsider' to belonging and becoming more or less at peace with his past. Some of my favorite scenes were Nate interacting with his deputies, Otto and Peter, and his office manager/dispatcher/aide-de-camp, Peach. How they all came to like and respect one another despite suspicions and events getting in the way. Other favorite scenes included Nate constantly butting heads with the natives and long-time residents of Lunacy as he spends his first long night of winter as the town's police chief.
Wonderfully colourful and endearing characters, a beautiful setting, a mystery that kept me wondering until the very end; Northern Lights was a juicy and fun read and left me with a big smile on my face. Yeah, Nate and Meg got their happily ever after, but the more satisfying end was that Nate allowed himself to heal and make a new and better place for himself.
This book wasn't so much about the romance and the hot sex - yes, there was some, but it was by no means the focal point of the story. Nor was the growing relationship between Nate and Meg. It was the story of Nate making himself a place. Going from 'Outsider' to belonging and becoming more or less at peace with his past. Some of my favorite scenes were Nate interacting with his deputies, Otto and Peter, and his office manager/dispatcher/aide-de-camp, Peach. How they all came to like and respect one another despite suspicions and events getting in the way. Other favorite scenes included Nate constantly butting heads with the natives and long-time residents of Lunacy as he spends his first long night of winter as the town's police chief.
Wonderfully colourful and endearing characters, a beautiful setting, a mystery that kept me wondering until the very end; Northern Lights was a juicy and fun read and left me with a big smile on my face. Yeah, Nate and Meg got their happily ever after, but the more satisfying end was that Nate allowed himself to heal and make a new and better place for himself.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 11, 2015
Besides the fact that one of GRs friends (Thank you, Pa!) told me that NORTHERN LIGHTS had some similarities to THE WITNESS, (my favorite NR’s romantic suspense), I was intrigued to see the story posted under What Book Would You Like To Live In?. Of course, there were over 2,500 books listed under this title but I was still interested nonetheless.
So while I was sweltering in our humid 90+ degree weather and waiting for autumn to arrive, I decided to visit Lunacy, Alaska. Population: 506. And before you ask, yes, the townspeople refer to themselves as Lunatics. And, no, I never saw the movie and don't wish to.
Nate Burke arrived in his new job as police chief with some emotional baggage. Ms. Roberts portrayed an honest look at depression. I found it refreshing that she chose Nate to suffer from this disease and that she told the story from his POV.
The townspeople were a contrary sort but Nate eventually formed an odd type of fondness for most of them. Especially the bush pilot, Meg Galloway. And before long, there was a mystery with a fair amount of suspense.
Ms. Roberts was in no rush developing the characters, then introducing a romance and, finally, bringing about the suspense. At over 600 pages, the story was a gradual climb but I had no problem with this. The mystery itself was actually pretty good; the author managed to stump me. I thought I had the killer pegged but I was wrong. I still favor THE WITNESS but I enjoyed Nate's adventures, too.
So while I was sweltering in our humid 90+ degree weather and waiting for autumn to arrive, I decided to visit Lunacy, Alaska. Population: 506. And before you ask, yes, the townspeople refer to themselves as Lunatics. And, no, I never saw the movie and don't wish to.
Nate Burke arrived in his new job as police chief with some emotional baggage. Ms. Roberts portrayed an honest look at depression. I found it refreshing that she chose Nate to suffer from this disease and that she told the story from his POV.
The townspeople were a contrary sort but Nate eventually formed an odd type of fondness for most of them. Especially the bush pilot, Meg Galloway. And before long, there was a mystery with a fair amount of suspense.
Ms. Roberts was in no rush developing the characters, then introducing a romance and, finally, bringing about the suspense. At over 600 pages, the story was a gradual climb but I had no problem with this. The mystery itself was actually pretty good; the author managed to stump me. I thought I had the killer pegged but I was wrong. I still favor THE WITNESS but I enjoyed Nate's adventures, too.
June 26, 2020
I was delighted Roberts didn't rush through the beginning, or even in solving the crimes. I just gladly sank into her depiction of life in a small Alaska town during winter. I also enjoyed the realistic pace of trying to solve a cold case and a more recent crime.
It was refreshing to have the man's POV running this romantic suspense book. The romance was, shall I say exuberant and joyous. This was a guy who fell hard immediately.
I keep forgetting how good a writer Nora Roberts can be. Shame on me.
It was refreshing to have the man's POV running this romantic suspense book. The romance was, shall I say exuberant and joyous. This was a guy who fell hard immediately.
I keep forgetting how good a writer Nora Roberts can be. Shame on me.
February 9, 2017
http://mrs-margot.blogspot.pt/
A slow reading but get us trapped with the mystery of "who is the killer?", making us distrust different people with each chapter we read and leaving our nerves to the skin.
Nate is a rich character who makes us want to confort him and let his ghosts fade, we want to cherish his heart and heal every wound. He is an excellent cop, with his heart in the right place and with the great efficiency, cold and distant enough, until he falls in love and begins to tear down the walls around him. A passionate character undoubtedly, unlike Meg, who is cold, distant, physical, carnal, wears armor and lifts a fortress around her and doesn't let anyone into her heart, solves things with sex and when things start to staying out of her control, she tends to flee and isolate herself. Two strong personalities who can only calm things down in bed.
It was the first work I read of the author and I liked it very much, although I found the story a little slow, it did not become very boring and it was easy to follow and from the middle of the book, we became contaminated with the investigation and we couldn't stop until we discovered who's the killer.
I just wanted the ending to bring us more explanations about the reasons for those deaths.
A slow reading but get us trapped with the mystery of "who is the killer?", making us distrust different people with each chapter we read and leaving our nerves to the skin.
Nate is a rich character who makes us want to confort him and let his ghosts fade, we want to cherish his heart and heal every wound. He is an excellent cop, with his heart in the right place and with the great efficiency, cold and distant enough, until he falls in love and begins to tear down the walls around him. A passionate character undoubtedly, unlike Meg, who is cold, distant, physical, carnal, wears armor and lifts a fortress around her and doesn't let anyone into her heart, solves things with sex and when things start to staying out of her control, she tends to flee and isolate herself. Two strong personalities who can only calm things down in bed.
It was the first work I read of the author and I liked it very much, although I found the story a little slow, it did not become very boring and it was easy to follow and from the middle of the book, we became contaminated with the investigation and we couldn't stop until we discovered who's the killer.
I just wanted the ending to bring us more explanations about the reasons for those deaths.
October 16, 2016
3,5. Me ha gustado, aunque se me ha hecho un poco largo, quizá demasiada paja cuando ya sabíamos quién era el culpable desde la mitad del libro más o menos. Y lo que se hace de rogar Nora para darnos una escena sobre los sentimientos de la pareja...
Lo que siempre me gusta de ella es que no te presenta a una prota fuerte e independiente para luego convertirla en una pánfila. Y menos mal, porque es algo que no soporto. Nada que decir sobre el protagonista, salvo que se lo compro.
Las pocas escenas románticas, chapó. Alguna me la he leído hasta un par de veces, aunque carezcan de azúcar (o quizá sea por eso).
Sí, la recomiendo.
Lo que siempre me gusta de ella es que no te presenta a una prota fuerte e independiente para luego convertirla en una pánfila. Y menos mal, porque es algo que no soporto. Nada que decir sobre el protagonista, salvo que se lo compro.
Las pocas escenas románticas, chapó. Alguna me la he leído hasta un par de veces, aunque carezcan de azúcar (o quizá sea por eso).
Sí, la recomiendo.
June 19, 2020
This one ended up being pretty good. Took me a bit to get used to the narrator but when I did it was smooth sailing!
Nate was great. Just your average handsome sweet talking guy. He loved the simple life.
Meg was great too. She was a feisty one! But she too loved the simple life
It took a bit for these two to get together. Well, they did have a quick romp off the get go but the serious stuff took some time.
Then there is this murder to solve so that was distracting. I’ll admit I didn���t figure out who the bad guy was. 🤷♀️
Loved the setting in Alaska. I have a visit there on my bucket list!
Overall a great read and if you are a NR fan definitely pick this one up!
Nate was great. Just your average handsome sweet talking guy. He loved the simple life.
Meg was great too. She was a feisty one! But she too loved the simple life
It took a bit for these two to get together. Well, they did have a quick romp off the get go but the serious stuff took some time.
Then there is this murder to solve so that was distracting. I’ll admit I didn���t figure out who the bad guy was. 🤷♀️
Loved the setting in Alaska. I have a visit there on my bucket list!
Overall a great read and if you are a NR fan definitely pick this one up!
June 29, 2018
Good mystery, some romance to go with it, feel good ending, enjoyable escape.
I read the paperback several years ago and gave it 4 stars. I recently did the Audiobook and for some unknown reason, I enjoyed it more. Don’t know why. It was a good escape - kept my interest all the way through.
AUDIOBOOK NARRATOR:
Gary Littman did a fine job.
STORY BRIEF:
Nate was a cop in Baltimore. His partner was killed on the job. Nate felt responsible and was sad, withdrawn and depressed for months. He left Baltimore to become police chief of a small town in Alaska, hoping to further lose himself. He meets Meg who is a fiercely independent bush pilot, flying people and supplies around Alaska. She has more masculine traits than feminine and is the initiator of casual sex. Some mountain climbers discover a dead body with an axe in his chest. The body has been sitting in a cave on the mountain for 16 years. Nate’s cop instincts awaken as he investigates. The murderer starts doing things to stop the investigation.
REVIEWER’S OPINION:
It was a long book and a little slow at first. But the last half made it worthwhile. It was an interesting group of characters. I enjoyed watching what life was like for a small town police chief, breaking up fights, taking care of drunks, dealing with teenage orneriness. Nate was a good man, taking care of his town. But when murder happened, he turned back into the tough, Baltimore cop - investigating and protecting. Solving the murder and his relationship with Meg brought him back to life.
I would have liked a little more understanding of the motivation for the murder. The love story between Nate and Meg could have used more relationship development. It started with Meg wanting casual sex and later they sort of realized they were in love. It was ok but could have used a little more sizzle. I enjoyed the Alaskan lights in the sky, the beautiful wilderness, and the lifestyle.
DATA:
Narrative mode: 3rd person. Story length: 635 pages. Swearing language: strong. Sexual language: mild. Number of sex scenes: 4. Total number of sex scene pages: 10. Setting: 1988, 2004 and 2005 Alaska. Copyright: 2004. Genre: romantic mystery.
I read the paperback several years ago and gave it 4 stars. I recently did the Audiobook and for some unknown reason, I enjoyed it more. Don’t know why. It was a good escape - kept my interest all the way through.
AUDIOBOOK NARRATOR:
Gary Littman did a fine job.
STORY BRIEF:
Nate was a cop in Baltimore. His partner was killed on the job. Nate felt responsible and was sad, withdrawn and depressed for months. He left Baltimore to become police chief of a small town in Alaska, hoping to further lose himself. He meets Meg who is a fiercely independent bush pilot, flying people and supplies around Alaska. She has more masculine traits than feminine and is the initiator of casual sex. Some mountain climbers discover a dead body with an axe in his chest. The body has been sitting in a cave on the mountain for 16 years. Nate’s cop instincts awaken as he investigates. The murderer starts doing things to stop the investigation.
REVIEWER’S OPINION:
It was a long book and a little slow at first. But the last half made it worthwhile. It was an interesting group of characters. I enjoyed watching what life was like for a small town police chief, breaking up fights, taking care of drunks, dealing with teenage orneriness. Nate was a good man, taking care of his town. But when murder happened, he turned back into the tough, Baltimore cop - investigating and protecting. Solving the murder and his relationship with Meg brought him back to life.
I would have liked a little more understanding of the motivation for the murder. The love story between Nate and Meg could have used more relationship development. It started with Meg wanting casual sex and later they sort of realized they were in love. It was ok but could have used a little more sizzle. I enjoyed the Alaskan lights in the sky, the beautiful wilderness, and the lifestyle.
DATA:
Narrative mode: 3rd person. Story length: 635 pages. Swearing language: strong. Sexual language: mild. Number of sex scenes: 4. Total number of sex scene pages: 10. Setting: 1988, 2004 and 2005 Alaska. Copyright: 2004. Genre: romantic mystery.
August 18, 2021
I think throughout the story there a few things here and there that I had issues with but at the end of the day, or book in this case, I don’t even care. I stayed up way past my bedtime to finish because I couldn’t and didn’t want to put it down.
I thoroughly enjoyed this story. Thoroughly. I read as fast as I could for as long as I could but was very sad when it was over. I’m writing this first thing in the morning after finishing it and it is still very fresh in my mind.
I’ve been in a bit of a reading funk and a lot of what I am reading is just not jiving with me. I feel too old for a lot of the new stuff. I’m not getting the references or the humor comes across as juvenile. I’ve slowly been going back and reading some of the older stories by beloved Authors and it is totally doing it for me.
I loved the small town feel of this story. So many small town stories read perfect or cute or just plain ol’ nice. This had parts of all of that but mostly just read real. There is a reason a person ends up in Alaska if they aren’t born there and all the stories seem very interesting.
Add to that the living. This story was about finding life again and it was a great feeling to see it unfold not just for our MC but for others. It is never too late to start anew, and I loved that feeling here.
And lastly, the mystery. It got me. I swear I had it pinned down and boy was I wrong. At sometime I’ll go back and read through the letters from the victim to see if I pick up on anything I may have missed because I had to have missed some clue 😊 I loved this though. The not knowing and not being able to figure it out.
Has Nora written other stories primarily from the guys POV? I can’t seem to recall. I really enjoyed that aspect of the story. I loved being in Nate’s head.
I’ve been wanting to visit Alaska for a while now. This just amped up that want to a whole other level.
I see there is a movie adaptation. I’m really not sure how I feel about LeAnn Rimes being cast as Meg but I do hope to get to watch it someday.
I thoroughly enjoyed this story. Thoroughly. I read as fast as I could for as long as I could but was very sad when it was over. I’m writing this first thing in the morning after finishing it and it is still very fresh in my mind.
I’ve been in a bit of a reading funk and a lot of what I am reading is just not jiving with me. I feel too old for a lot of the new stuff. I’m not getting the references or the humor comes across as juvenile. I’ve slowly been going back and reading some of the older stories by beloved Authors and it is totally doing it for me.
I loved the small town feel of this story. So many small town stories read perfect or cute or just plain ol’ nice. This had parts of all of that but mostly just read real. There is a reason a person ends up in Alaska if they aren’t born there and all the stories seem very interesting.
Add to that the living. This story was about finding life again and it was a great feeling to see it unfold not just for our MC but for others. It is never too late to start anew, and I loved that feeling here.
And lastly, the mystery. It got me. I swear I had it pinned down and boy was I wrong. At sometime I’ll go back and read through the letters from the victim to see if I pick up on anything I may have missed because I had to have missed some clue 😊 I loved this though. The not knowing and not being able to figure it out.
Has Nora written other stories primarily from the guys POV? I can’t seem to recall. I really enjoyed that aspect of the story. I loved being in Nate’s head.
I’ve been wanting to visit Alaska for a while now. This just amped up that want to a whole other level.
I see there is a movie adaptation. I’m really not sure how I feel about LeAnn Rimes being cast as Meg but I do hope to get to watch it someday.
August 28, 2020
When a book is nearly 700 pages long, you have plenty of time to think about all the problems you have with it. So I could honestly write a thousand word essay about my disappointment with Northern Lights. But I've already spent too much of my time on this book, so I'm going to try to keep it concise.
This book should have been 200 pages shorter. All the interest/ intrigue I had for the characters, setting, and mystery died a slow and dismal death before we reached the halfway point and never recovered steam.
In an effort to keep the murderer a surprise, the culprit was otherwise so insignificant to the plot I struggled to remember who he was and what, if anything, I knew about him. So the reveal, rather than shocking me, was just a big womp, womp.
All of the other Nora Roberts romantic thrillers I've read had a healthy balance between the romance and the mystery. Northern Lights does not. The "romance" is about 15% of the book. (That might be a generous estimation.) And I can't genuinely call it a romance. It's a no strings sexual relationship that out of the blue turns into I love yous and a marriage proposal. I didn't buy it and I never cared a thing about Meg and Nate getting together.
Ultimately, I never cared much about any element of Northern Lights and struggled even to finish it. Which makes me sad, because it had all the components of a book I should have loved. I guess I'll have to go back and reread one of my favorite NR romantic thrillers, The Witness or The Search.
2 stars
This book should have been 200 pages shorter. All the interest/ intrigue I had for the characters, setting, and mystery died a slow and dismal death before we reached the halfway point and never recovered steam.
In an effort to keep the murderer a surprise, the culprit was otherwise so insignificant to the plot I struggled to remember who he was and what, if anything, I knew about him. So the reveal, rather than shocking me, was just a big womp, womp.
All of the other Nora Roberts romantic thrillers I've read had a healthy balance between the romance and the mystery. Northern Lights does not. The "romance" is about 15% of the book. (That might be a generous estimation.) And I can't genuinely call it a romance. It's a no strings sexual relationship that out of the blue turns into I love yous and a marriage proposal. I didn't buy it and I never cared a thing about Meg and Nate getting together.
Ultimately, I never cared much about any element of Northern Lights and struggled even to finish it. Which makes me sad, because it had all the components of a book I should have loved. I guess I'll have to go back and reread one of my favorite NR romantic thrillers, The Witness or The Search.
2 stars
January 5, 2009
I don't like to give bad reviews, but sorry, Nora really missed it with this one. As an Alaskan woman, I was offended by her portrayal of Alaskan women. The only character in the book I liked was her hero. Every other character came across as stupid, slutty, selfish, greedy, or a combination of all the above, and it didn't matter if it were the men or the women.
I once read a reader review in which the reader gushed about how she now knew what Alaska was really like. Well, that was Alaska in someone's imagination, not how it really is. Come visit for a few months to truly capture the flavor.
I have a lot of respect for what Ms. Roberts has accomplished in the Romance genre and writing in general. But sometimes even the best have a bad day. This was it for Ms. Roberts.
I once read a reader review in which the reader gushed about how she now knew what Alaska was really like. Well, that was Alaska in someone's imagination, not how it really is. Come visit for a few months to truly capture the flavor.
I have a lot of respect for what Ms. Roberts has accomplished in the Romance genre and writing in general. But sometimes even the best have a bad day. This was it for Ms. Roberts.
September 14, 2021
I sometimes wonder if there are two authors named Nora Roberts. Some of her books are very good, others are so dull beyond belief. This is one of the good ones. OK it's a little cliched but burnt out Baltimore cop Nate Burke accepts the job of Police Chief in a remote Alaskan town called Lunacy. While there he investigates a 30 year old crime.
As with many Nora Roberts books the women are tough. Nate's love interest in this book is Meg Galloway, a shy of commitment bush pilot who takes on bears in her underwear. You generally know what's coming with a Nora Roberts novel and there are no surprises in this one, but it's still worth the effort.
As with many Nora Roberts books the women are tough. Nate's love interest in this book is Meg Galloway, a shy of commitment bush pilot who takes on bears in her underwear. You generally know what's coming with a Nora Roberts novel and there are no surprises in this one, but it's still worth the effort.
September 14, 2015
*Buddy read with V <333*
There's so many things I loved in that book.
First, the fact that the book was told from the hero's POV. It's not the first book Nora Roberts wrote that way, but I love her heroes in general so it's always a good surprise when she does it.
Second, I loved the way she spoke of Alaska and climbing in extreme conditions. In most of her books the location is part of the story and in Northern Lights she really made both feelings really vivid.
Finally, I loved both MCs and the secondary characters.
As the book is focused on Nate's personal journey, the pace, romance or suspense wise, is slow but it's really worth the read.
There's so many things I loved in that book.
First, the fact that the book was told from the hero's POV. It's not the first book Nora Roberts wrote that way, but I love her heroes in general so it's always a good surprise when she does it.
Second, I loved the way she spoke of Alaska and climbing in extreme conditions. In most of her books the location is part of the story and in Northern Lights she really made both feelings really vivid.
Finally, I loved both MCs and the secondary characters.
As the book is focused on Nate's personal journey, the pace, romance or suspense wise, is slow but it's really worth the read.
July 30, 2014
Ugh. This book gave me a raging headache. I don't remember who half the characters were and couldn't remember them while reading. There were just too many of them. Lots of time spent in awe of the snowy mountains. I mean, this is a busy book. Lots of things are happening. The repeated descriptions of the scenery weren't necessary. The repeated descriptions of depression weren't necessary. Damn near half the conversations weren't even necessary.
The reason this gets three stars instead of two: I was wrong about the villain. Nora Roberts made a concentrated effort to make the reader focus on one particular character - he totally seemed like the villain and I almost DNF'd it because I was like "Oh come on, it's gotta be him!" But it wasn't. It was probably the last person I would have expected aside from the little old lady or children. So yeah, that was a shocker and I really liked being surprised.
On the other hand, we never get any explanation as to why the original murder happened. We get, via old journal entries, a jist of the fight that resulted in murder... but once they caught the guy, we should have gotten his explanation aside from "Oh em gee, it was self-defense, you have to believe me!"
Anyway, there was too much going on, too many characters, too much superfluous descriptions of scenery. It dragged on forever. Took me 10 hours to finish, reading nearly nonstop. Too. Damn. Long.
Nora Roberts is a fabulous writer, but a few of her books I've read recently are needlessly long and border on tedious.
(I just checked - this has to be one of her longer books... 637 pages. Obviously I need to check these things before starting a book at 6pm.)
The reason this gets three stars instead of two: I was wrong about the villain. Nora Roberts made a concentrated effort to make the reader focus on one particular character - he totally seemed like the villain and I almost DNF'd it because I was like "Oh come on, it's gotta be him!" But it wasn't. It was probably the last person I would have expected aside from the little old lady or children. So yeah, that was a shocker and I really liked being surprised.
On the other hand, we never get any explanation as to why the original murder happened. We get, via old journal entries, a jist of the fight that resulted in murder... but once they caught the guy, we should have gotten his explanation aside from "Oh em gee, it was self-defense, you have to believe me!"
Anyway, there was too much going on, too many characters, too much superfluous descriptions of scenery. It dragged on forever. Took me 10 hours to finish, reading nearly nonstop. Too. Damn. Long.
Nora Roberts is a fabulous writer, but a few of her books I've read recently are needlessly long and border on tedious.
(I just checked - this has to be one of her longer books... 637 pages. Obviously I need to check these things before starting a book at 6pm.)
December 13, 2017
Trigger warnings: murder, death of a parent, death of a friend (in flashbacks), animal cruelty, slut shaming, lots and lots of guns.
2.5 stars.
Okay, I'm going to be perfectly honest here: I only read this book because I'm trying to read books set in US states that I haven't yet read books set in yet in 2017 (if that makes any kind of sense). I searched my local library's catalogue for books set in Alaska. This came up. I used to read Nora Roberts back in the days when I was young and foolish and YA didn't exist yet, and I remembered liking her stuff. So I was sold.
And the murder mystery side of things? Yeah, that was pretty decent. Basically, after a traumatic event, a Baltimore cop accepts a position as police chief in a small Alaskan town. A body is found, and it's a cold case for two reasons:
1. The murder was committed like 15 years ago; and
2. The body is frozen.
Sorry. Sometimes I make jokes in extremely poor taste.
Aaaaaaaaaaaanyway. The murder mystery side of things? It was fine. Probably a 3.5 star book.
But then we add the romance into the equation, and OOF. It was rough.
I live tweeted my reading of this book on Twitter, so there's a whole thread over there if you want more quotes and ridiculousness. But here are some gems:
- "Dress that soldier, and let's go to war". Said when he pulled his pants down and had a boner.
- "She's beautiful. Well, she's not, but she is."
- "What were his mountains but other whores? Cold, white whores that had seduced him away from her?"
- "If you do me right, I'll hear my own music anyway."
- "I expect you to ring the big bell tonight, seeing as I'm an engagement-sex virgin."
I just... WTF?? It's like every single line between Meg and Nate was taken from a book of truly terrible pick up lines.
Was it the worst book I've ever read? Nope. Not even close. Was it laugh-out-loud funny when it was trying to be swoony and romantic? Uh, yeah. Like, a LOT of the time. And not in a good way.
2.5 stars.
Okay, I'm going to be perfectly honest here: I only read this book because I'm trying to read books set in US states that I haven't yet read books set in yet in 2017 (if that makes any kind of sense). I searched my local library's catalogue for books set in Alaska. This came up. I used to read Nora Roberts back in the days when I was young and foolish and YA didn't exist yet, and I remembered liking her stuff. So I was sold.
And the murder mystery side of things? Yeah, that was pretty decent. Basically, after a traumatic event, a Baltimore cop accepts a position as police chief in a small Alaskan town. A body is found, and it's a cold case for two reasons:
1. The murder was committed like 15 years ago; and
2. The body is frozen.
Sorry. Sometimes I make jokes in extremely poor taste.
Aaaaaaaaaaaanyway. The murder mystery side of things? It was fine. Probably a 3.5 star book.
But then we add the romance into the equation, and OOF. It was rough.
I live tweeted my reading of this book on Twitter, so there's a whole thread over there if you want more quotes and ridiculousness. But here are some gems:
- "Dress that soldier, and let's go to war". Said when he pulled his pants down and had a boner.
- "She's beautiful. Well, she's not, but she is."
- "What were his mountains but other whores? Cold, white whores that had seduced him away from her?"
- "If you do me right, I'll hear my own music anyway."
- "I expect you to ring the big bell tonight, seeing as I'm an engagement-sex virgin."
I just... WTF?? It's like every single line between Meg and Nate was taken from a book of truly terrible pick up lines.
Was it the worst book I've ever read? Nope. Not even close. Was it laugh-out-loud funny when it was trying to be swoony and romantic? Uh, yeah. Like, a LOT of the time. And not in a good way.
December 27, 2021
in theory, snow is fun..to look at.. very pretty
but I'm not the person who enjoys the cold
then why am I so obsessed with books set in Alaska..
wasn't really enamored with the murder mystery plotline or the romance but THE SETTING!!! is everything..magical description of a small town reminded me of that tv show Northern Exposure
which I enjoyed..
3,5⭐
but I'm not the person who enjoys the cold
then why am I so obsessed with books set in Alaska..
wasn't really enamored with the murder mystery plotline or the romance but THE SETTING!!! is everything..magical description of a small town reminded me of that tv show Northern Exposure
which I enjoyed..
3,5⭐
January 21, 2016
Final rating: 3.75/5 stars
7th book by Nora Roberts that I have read, and the first one I consider a weak compared to the others. Reason? I really, REALLY, hated the heroine. And hero was very loveable. Maybe even one of the best of heroes by Nora so far. Also of note, I read the translation of the book on my language.
I don't really feel like writing a long review for this one so I will just keep it simple.
Besides me hating the heroine, i liked the story. But then, there was also the pacing. It is very slow book. Most of the story is about settling the side cases, meeting the town people and insta-lust on sight. Long, long time passes for the love to come out in the picture.
Nate Burke is a Baltimore cop, who went to the Lunacy town in Alaska to be a chief of police after death of his partner makes him go into shock, severe depression and nightmares. He wants a new start - away from everyone he knew and everything he had known. There, he meets citizens of the town, sees his surroundings and figures out where he is standing.
One day, he meets Meg Galloway, a lone wolf woman who would rather bite of the head of anyone who tries to help her. And she is one of the rare pilots the town has.
As soon as they meet, they feel attracted to each other and soon start a friends-with-benefits relationship.
After one particular incident happened on the mountain, the town is thrown into chaos when the news of a discovered body is spread. The man found frozen and killed is none other than famous Patrick Galloway, a man who went "missing" sixteen years ago. And the news that he was killed made a shocking impact on the citizens. Especially on his lover and his daughter Meg.
◈ Nate fell into severe depression after the loss of his partner, where he was wounded and survived, while his partner didn't. And he feels deep regret that he survived - because he had no one - and his partner didn't - because he had wife and children. And ever since then, he wanted to give up and just stay dead. But it's hard to stay dead when you are actually not dead. And therefore, he needs a new start. Even if it means abandoning everyone he knew and going into small town. Nate is, beside being depressed, pretty normal guy, with a clear background, but who is also estranged from his mother and other relatives.
◈ Meg is the long wolf - she wants to do everything on her own, she takes care of herself and her dogs on her own, and she doesn't need anyone's help. Not now, not later. She has a strong attitude towards it and prefers being alone. She enjoys being a pilot and she loves soaring the sky with her plane. Meg is in very complicated relationship with her mother - they just can't stand each other. She is also selfish, reckless, insensitive and frozen. Most of the time, she loves thinking only of herself, but Nate's sad and tired eyes break her cold interior... but only barely. She doesn't want commitment of any kind, unless it's friendship with benefits.
◈ Others: Mackie brothers are my favorites. The best thing about the whole book. There were many side characters and potential suspects. I also liked cop trio beside Nate, I just loved them.
Overall, nice read and light one. After a dark read like Honest Illusions, this was a nice one. But not as good.
LIKED:
☑ hero
☑ story
☑ side cases
DISLIKED:
☒ heroine
☒ slow pacing
☒
OTHER IMPORTANT INFO:
⚠ Standalone: Yes
⚠ Point of View: First POV, one character / Third POV, multiply characters
⚠ Cliffhanger: No
⚠ Triggers:
⚠ Love triangle: No
⚠ Angst: Yep
⚠ Supernatural: No
⚠ Explicit content: Yes
⚠ Ending type:
⚠ Recommended: If you want a light read, with slow pacing, heavy accent on characters, with (subjective opinion) annoying heroine, but wonderful hero, and with a good mystery (you can't figure out the villain until villain is made known. To those who guessed: good job.
Stand alone books:
◈ Whiskey Beach
◈ Honest Illusions
◈ Northern Lights
Chesapeake Bay Saga:
◈ Sea Swept (Chesapeake Bay Saga, #1)
◈ Rising Tides (Chesapeake Bay Saga, #2)
◈ Inner Harbor (Chesapeake Bay Saga, #3)
◈ Chesapeake Blue (Chesapeake Bay Saga, #4)
7th book by Nora Roberts that I have read, and the first one I consider a weak compared to the others. Reason? I really, REALLY, hated the heroine. And hero was very loveable. Maybe even one of the best of heroes by Nora so far. Also of note, I read the translation of the book on my language.
I don't really feel like writing a long review for this one so I will just keep it simple.
Besides me hating the heroine, i liked the story. But then, there was also the pacing. It is very slow book. Most of the story is about settling the side cases, meeting the town people and insta-lust on sight. Long, long time passes for the love to come out in the picture.
► STORY:
Nate Burke is a Baltimore cop, who went to the Lunacy town in Alaska to be a chief of police after death of his partner makes him go into shock, severe depression and nightmares. He wants a new start - away from everyone he knew and everything he had known. There, he meets citizens of the town, sees his surroundings and figures out where he is standing.
One day, he meets Meg Galloway, a lone wolf woman who would rather bite of the head of anyone who tries to help her. And she is one of the rare pilots the town has.
As soon as they meet, they feel attracted to each other and soon start a friends-with-benefits relationship.
After one particular incident happened on the mountain, the town is thrown into chaos when the news of a discovered body is spread. The man found frozen and killed is none other than famous Patrick Galloway, a man who went "missing" sixteen years ago. And the news that he was killed made a shocking impact on the citizens. Especially on his lover and his daughter Meg.
► CHARACTERS:
◈ Nate fell into severe depression after the loss of his partner, where he was wounded and survived, while his partner didn't. And he feels deep regret that he survived - because he had no one - and his partner didn't - because he had wife and children. And ever since then, he wanted to give up and just stay dead. But it's hard to stay dead when you are actually not dead. And therefore, he needs a new start. Even if it means abandoning everyone he knew and going into small town. Nate is, beside being depressed, pretty normal guy, with a clear background, but who is also estranged from his mother and other relatives.
It was routine he wanted. More than routine, he craved a rut where he wouldn’t have to think, one that got deeper and deeper so he didn’t have to see what was beyond it. He could go through the motions here, handling minor disputes, easing through the day with the same faces, the same voices, the same tasks repeating like a loop. He could be the mouse on the wheel. And maybe the ridiculous cold would keep him from decomposing. That way no one would know he was already dead.
◈ Meg is the long wolf - she wants to do everything on her own, she takes care of herself and her dogs on her own, and she doesn't need anyone's help. Not now, not later. She has a strong attitude towards it and prefers being alone. She enjoys being a pilot and she loves soaring the sky with her plane. Meg is in very complicated relationship with her mother - they just can't stand each other. She is also selfish, reckless, insensitive and frozen. Most of the time, she loves thinking only of herself, but Nate's sad and tired eyes break her cold interior... but only barely. She doesn't want commitment of any kind, unless it's friendship with benefits.
“I don't kick a man when he's down, unless I'm the one who put him down in the first place. I don't put him down unless he deserves it. And I don't break my word if I give it. So I'll give you my word.”
◈ Others: Mackie brothers are my favorites. The best thing about the whole book. There were many side characters and potential suspects. I also liked cop trio beside Nate, I just loved them.
► OVERALL:
Overall, nice read and light one. After a dark read like Honest Illusions, this was a nice one. But not as good.
LIKED:
☑ hero
☑ story
☑ side cases
DISLIKED:
☒ heroine
☒ slow pacing
☒
OTHER IMPORTANT INFO:
⚠ Standalone: Yes
⚠ Point of View: First POV, one character / Third POV, multiply characters
⚠ Cliffhanger: No
⚠ Triggers:
⚠ Love triangle: No
⚠ Angst: Yep
⚠ Supernatural: No
⚠ Explicit content: Yes
⚠ Ending type:
⚠ Recommended: If you want a light read, with slow pacing, heavy accent on characters, with (subjective opinion) annoying heroine, but wonderful hero, and with a good mystery (you can't figure out the villain until villain is made known. To those who guessed: good job.
► MY REVIEWS OF OTHER ROBERT'S BOOKS:
Stand alone books:
◈ Whiskey Beach
◈ Honest Illusions
◈ Northern Lights
Chesapeake Bay Saga:
◈ Sea Swept (Chesapeake Bay Saga, #1)
◈ Rising Tides (Chesapeake Bay Saga, #2)
◈ Inner Harbor (Chesapeake Bay Saga, #3)
◈ Chesapeake Blue (Chesapeake Bay Saga, #4)
October 19, 2022
This takes place in Lunacy, Alaska.
Rock, Bull and Yukon are my favorites.
You will fall in love with this small community in Alaska, even in the middle of winter.
The Chief of Police is an Outsider, but he doesn’t give up until he gets his man or his woman.
Great romance and mystery, didn’t know who done it until the end. Loved the tie-in between the journal and the story line.
This was my first Nora Roberts novel, but certainly won’t be my last.
Rock, Bull and Yukon are my favorites.
You will fall in love with this small community in Alaska, even in the middle of winter.
The Chief of Police is an Outsider, but he doesn’t give up until he gets his man or his woman.
Great romance and mystery, didn’t know who done it until the end. Loved the tie-in between the journal and the story line.
This was my first Nora Roberts novel, but certainly won’t be my last.
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