So, did you finish reading The Witness?
Lori says:
I started it on
Wednesday and finished it on Friday
Carolyn says:
i wouldn't call it a
quick read so you must have liked it,
Lori says:
I could have read it
in one big gulp if there was no child
Carolyn says:
i did my best to do
that, but I have a rather large child
i'm married to him
Lori says:
Well, he's just as
bad as the 11 year old.
Carolyn says:
yes, he is sometimes
So, did Nora fool
you?
She did me
Lori says:
Gads yes. It's weird
that the most recent books I've read bothered me not because of what the writer
did but because of what I was afraid might happen
Carolyn says:
that's what a good
book does
Lori says:
you know, you invest
yourself in the book and you think you know what's going to happen and your gut
twists planning for it. A good author can do that. A great author takes you to
an unexpected place.
Carolyn says:
I agree. And I fell
in love with both the hero and heroine, but especially Abigail, so I was extra
worried about her. She was such a combination of toughness and naivety.
Lori says:
I think one of the
most brilliant aspects to Abigail is that she was what most of us were afraid
of being. She was unloved, she was outcast, she was other. And she was on her
own.
Carolyn says:
And yet she wasn't
defeated, she never said 'why me?
Lori says:
What I appreciated
also was that she understood logically why things happened to her. Although
ultimately understanding wasn't enough. She needed to grow away from it.
Carolyn says:
She needed to learn
to trust - I was going to say 'again', but I don't know that she ever did trust
anyone, except maybe John, not even her mother
Lori says:
Her mother was more
evil a character than those who wanted to kill her.
Carolyn says:
I SO agree!!
Lori says:
There was a lot of
subtext about parents.
Carolyn says:
Didn't I tell you?
Cruella De Ville!!
Lori says:
You called her
Cruella....
Carolyn says:
she was
byatch
Lori says:
But you had her, you
had Sunny (Brooke's mom), you had the hotelier's parents and the Dad with the
violent young son.
Carolyn says:
a cross section
Lori says:
Even the Russian mob
father and Ilya.
Carolyn says:
omg, the
juxtaposition of their relationship struck me even as I was reading
the sense of 'family'
between them
and the contrast with
their jobs
Lori says:
And why not? I think
La Nora really stressed the family relationships in this. But she showed how
some people grow into becoming their parents, some don't. And some rise way
beyond.
Carolyn says:
with Abigail, it was
certainly nature, not nurture, with the hotel parents too.
Don't know about
Brooks, probably both,
He's almost the
perfect beta
a good example of why
I love beta heroes
Lori says:
Brooke was the only
character I had an issue with and that was that he lacked motivation.
Carolyn says:
motivation for what?
he was a small town sheriff
Lori says:
Yes but why did he
push himself into Abigail's life? Why did he fall in love so fast?
Carolyn says:
maybe he was bored?
it was a small town.
heh
he was curious at
first, i think
she'd made herself a
mystery
Lori says:
well it isn't a huge
stickling point and it was just Brooke. But it was the only thing that I saw as
a sticking point. A small sticking point.
Carolyn says:
he was like a horse
whisperer with her. he saw things in her that puzzled him, he wanted to solve
the puzzle and in the process he fell in love
Lori says:
An Abigail
whisperer....LOL!!!! Thats a brilliant
analogy.
Carolyn says:
he was so careful
with her
and btw
I hate his name,
don't care how famous it it is
Lori says:
I don't like it much
either since I think of it as a girl's name.
Carolyn says:
omg,
could go either way,
huh?
Lori says:
yeah
Carolyn says:
don't know how to say
this well without giving away the goodies, but I loved how the heroine kept
control of everything. Nothing resolved the way I thought it would
Lori says:
I agree. I was so
scared of the dog getting killed or the town getting shot up. I thought there
was no way to resolve this without people's lives being shattered.
Carolyn says:
I just couldn't see
how it could resolve happily. which is why I’m not a best seller, .,
Lori says:
I agree. But there
was this other layer to the book that I adored and that was the 'what if it was
me?'
I think that all
girls had stresses with their mothers and had a lot of similar angst that 'Liz'
did but you couldn't help but read what happened and wonder what would you have
done at that age?
Carolyn says:
I believe at that
age, I would have caved
and ended up a
nothing
She was so strong, so
young
Lori says:
I think many people
would have chosen death as the easier way out. She was so admirable.
Carolyn says:
she was so admirable
she was so strong
and I wanted to hug
her and tell her she was loved
Lori says:
But she wasn't and
that's what made her so special.
Because when she
finally was loved, it was a wonderful/horrible experience.
Carolyn says:
I loved her, from the
first conversation she had with her new 'friend', in which she took everything
so literally and just generally sounded like an Einstein, I loved her
That's what I meant,
I loved her, wanted to tell her that she wasn't alone, I was rooting for her
Lori says:
I know what you mean.
And Nora crafted it so brilliantly at the beginning too with showing a young
woman expressing her opinions, not even rebelling, yet having the over the top
reaction from her mother that truly created the entire problem.
Carolyn says:
yes
I'll never understand
women like that mother. evidently she wanted a child only to serve her ego
Lori says:
Well even Liz
understood and said that her mother was incapable of bonding.
It broke my heart.
Carolyn says:
her mother was barely
human
more like a machine
made me wonder about
her upbringing
and yet Liz overcame
her upbringing, that to me was miraculous and marvelous and just plain
wonderful
strength - can one
acquire it, or are you born with it?
Lori says:
I think circumstances
can bring out amazing things in people.
And truly, I loved
the way that Brookes could hear Abigail, not just what she said but what she
meant behind the words.
Carolyn says:
yes
Lori says:
He annoyed me
sometimes though because he heard her but knew better. Sometimes he heard but
he acted in his own best interests.
Carolyn says:
well, he is a man,
they always think they know best
Lori says:
She needed control
and he kept taking it away.
Carolyn says:
not in the important
things tho, Lori
Lori says:
It was what she
needed but maybe done too quickly.
Carolyn says:
he gave her control
of her salvation
she was in charge of
saving herself
Lori says:
I agree. And the
places he respected her the most was in knowing that she knew better with those
things. He barreled through with the relationship and although I wished he'd
pussy footed a little bit, he did do right by her.
Carolyn says:
he was what she
needed.
Really.
Lori says:
Agreed. It was such a
satisfying read.
Carolyn says:
no one would have
gotten past her defenses unless they were sneaky,
I'm so glad you liked
it as well as I did. I put it right up there with Public Secrets.
Maybe better
Lori says:
Well I don't have an
advanced degree in Nora like you do but this was a great book. I think anyone
who loves a well crafted romantic suspense would put it on their 10 best list.
Carolyn says:
I don't read as much romantic
suspense as some, so I have a top 5, .
And yes, it's up there.
Need to retire
Lori says:
Ok, well thank you
for putting this in our Kindles. I'm going to read the MacKade brothers next.
I've a hankering for some Nora alphas.
Carolyn says:
omg!
alphas, betas, she
does them both well
I envy you, reading
them for the first time.
read in order
Lori says:
damn Carol, I really
am not a Nora fan girl but when she does it well, she does it amazingly well
Carolyn says:
i totally agree. This
book, well, i can't praise it enough.
If I were reviewing
and if I gave grades
this would be a
definite A
Lori says:
Me too.
0_)
ReplyDeleteYou guys... no-one can review like you :)