Book #82 was Time Was by Nora Roberts.  The back of the book reads:

Stranded in the present, time traveler Caleb Hornblower’s biggest problem wasn’t returning to the twenty-third century — it was falling in love with the beguiling Liberty Stone, who showed him a love more powerful than time itself. Though he belonged in the future, how could he leave the past — and Liberty — behind?

I couldn’t resist finding the original cover for this.  It’s so quintessential Harlequin! Much like the story.  Nothing special here, just a quick-read romance with a little time-travel to spice things up. Enjoyable, none-the-less. 

Other reviews:

Kay’s Bookshelf » Time and Again / Nora Roberts

Page count: 250 | Approximate word count: 62,500

2009: A Pen Warmed Up In Hell (Mark Twain)
2008: Matrimony (Joshua Henkin)
2007: Split Second (Alex Kava)
2006: Ruby (V.C. Andrews)

Used in these Challenges: 2010 100+ Reading Challenge; Contemporary Romance Reading Challenge; Pages Read Challenge Season 2;

Book #38 was Inner Harbor, the third book in Nora Roberts’ Quinn Brothers series.  The back of the book reads:

Philip Quinn is juggling his high-powered advertising job and his new-found family duty of helping to care for his young adopted brother, Seth, when Dr. Sybill Griffin shows up in the sleepy town of St. Christopher. Philip had done everything to make his life seem perfect. With his career on the fast track and a condo overlooking the Inner Harbour, his life on the streets was firmly in the past. But one look at Seth, and he’s reminded of the boy he once was. Seth’s future as a Quinn seems assured – until Dr. Griffin shows up. She claims to be researching St. Christopher’s for her new book, but the true objects of her study are the Quinn brothers. Her cool reserve intrigues Phillip. He is determined to uncover her motives, and while Sybill can’t deny her own growing feelings for the charismatic Quinn, the secret she hides has the power to threaten the life that the brothers have made for Seth, and destroy any chance that the two young lovers have at happiness…

This was my second favorite of the Quinn Brothers novels (Ethan’s being my favorite). Nora Robert’s best skill is creating characters and complex family units that feel real, and this series is no exception.  I liked this more in-depth look at Philip, and I also liked his romantic interest, Sybil, even if she is a bit cold and shut down for most of the book. Nora also does a great job pulling us into the setting, giving us a more clinical look at small-town life through the eyes Sybil, an outsider. The one element of this series I could do without is the ghostly Papa Quinn, especially since he is one of the few ghosts who have a solid form capable of giving someone a boost up a wall. But we all know that Nora likes a little bit of the supernatural mixed up in her love stories. The book does a good job of bringing resolution to the trilogy and answering some important questions, like Seth’s parentage and Ray Quinn’s connection to Gloria. This is one of her more solid series.

Audiobook length: 8 hrs 54 min | Word count: 93,695

2009: The Masque of the Black Tulip (Lauren Willig)
2008: Hide (Lisa Gardner)
2007: The Night Gardener (George Pelecanos)
2006: Case Histories (Kate Atkinson)
2005: I’m Not the New Me (Wendy McClure)

Used in these Challenges: 2010 100+ Reading Challenge; Audiobook Challenge; Contemporary Romance Reading Challenge 2010;

Book #132 was Born in Fire, the first book in Nora Roberts’ Concannon Sisters trilogy. The back of the book reads:

Attempting to hide from her past, reclusive glassmaker Maggie Concannon devotes her life to her art, until gallery owner Rogan Sweeney recognizes her talent and offers to help her build a lucrative career.

This started out a little slow for me… (slight spoiler).. Maggie’s father dies right at the beginning, and the foreshadowing is as noticeable as a neon sign. That turned me off a bit.  But once you get into it, you get what you’re looking for in a Nora Roberts tale: strong characters in a beautiful setting. Rogan comes off as the more likeable character, but you do warm up to Maggie over time, especially when you realize what her childhood must have been like.  The details about the glass blowing are interesting at first, but do get a little repetitive. Regardless, I’m looking forward to continuing the trilogy with Briana’s story.

Other reviews:

My First Nora (Review – Born in Fire) «
ReadingAdventures: Born in Fire by Nora Roberts

Page count: 416 | Word count: 97,988

2007: The Body Box (Lynn Abercrombie)

Used in these Challenges: none

Book #85 was Megan’s Mate, the final book in Nora Roberts’ Calhoun Women series.  The back of the book reads:

Calhoun sister-in-law Megan O’Riley and her young son had traveled far to become the Towers’ newest residents. Cool as an Atlantic breeze, Megan buried her passions and vowed never to let her heart control her life. But when boat captain Nate Fury set his course for her, the practical lady was swept away by his formidable charm.

This final installment in the series was much more romance than mystery. At this point, the mystery of what happened to Bianca has been solved, her emeralds have been recovered, and the hotel has been finished and is opened. Megan, who is not a Calhoun sister, but a sister-in-law, and whose son shares a father with Suzanna’s children, has come to join the family and work at the hotel.  This book tells her love story, with a few problems with her son’s father thrown in.  It was a good epilogue to the series, as we get to see how each of the Calhoun matches have turned out.

Page count: 248 | Approximate word count: 62,000

2008: Every Which Way But Dead (Kim Harrison)
2007: Raise the Titanic! (Clive Cussler)
2006: Glory in Death (J.D. Robb)

Used in these Challenges: 100+ Reading Challenge 2009; Read Your Own Books Challenge;

Book #83 was Suzanna’s Surrender, the fourth book in Nora Roberts’ Calhoun Women series.  The back of the book reads:

Burned-out and tired as hell, all ex-cop Holt Bradford wanted to do was relax. But when beautiful single mom Suzanna invaded his solitude to search for the missing Calhoun emeralds, he couldn’t say no. Holt had changed from a bad-boy teen to a dangerously sexy man, but Suzanna couldn’t risk her well-ordered life for a man who made her mouth go dry . . .

Will we finally get to the end of Bianca’s story?  Will they ever find her emeralds? While I liked Suzanna’s story, and her romance with a hometown boy, I wasn’t a fan of the flashbacks in this one.  I already knew the story of Bianca and Christian from her side, I really didn’t need it all rehashed from his side.  It didn’t really add anything new to the saga. Good wrap-up to the mystery, though.

Page count: 248 | Approximate word count: 62,000

2008: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (Mark Haddon)
2007: The Legacy (Steven Frey)
2006: The Eighth Commandment (Lawrence Sanders)

Used in these Challenges: 100+ Reading Challenge 2009; Read Your Own Books Challenge;

Book #81 was For the Love of Lilah, the third Calhoun Women book by Nora Roberts. The back of the book reads:

The four Calhoun sisters and a special sister-by-marriage are all united by a decades-old legend and the determination to save the Towers, their magnificent family mansion on the rocky coast of Maine. Sweet sister Lilah saved a mysterious stranger from drowning. Adrift in a storm, Max thought he had hallucinated the beautiful mermaid who came to his rescue. But Lilah was a woman of flesh and blood . . .

It’s at this point in the series where the "Me Tarzan, you Jane", "Let the big strong men handle this, little lady" clichés get a little bit tired. And that behavior didn’t really fit Max, the mild-mannered college professor.  It probably wouldn’t have been so noticeable if I wasn’t reading these one right after another. At any rate, it’s still a solid romance built upon a complex Nora Roberts family. There’s a little more danger in this one, and you can tell that things will soon be coming to a head.  Plus, there aren’t many sisters left!

Page count: 251 | Approximate word count: 62,500

2008: Last Known Victim (Erica Spindler)
2007: A Place Called Freedom (Ken Follett)
2006: Drums of Autumn (Diana Gabaldon)

Used in these Challenges: 100+ Reading Challenge 2009; Read Your Own Books Challenge;

Book #78 was A Man for Amanda, the second Calhoun Women book from Nora Roberts.  The back of the book reads:

Efficient Amanda Calhoun finds easygoing Sloan O’Riley insufferable — and irresistible. As she finalizes all the arrangements for her sister C.C.’s storybook wedding to hotel magnate Trenton St. James, and plans for the day she assumes command of The Towers Retreat, her family is racing to solve the generations-old mystery surrounding a priceless hidden emerald necklace.

I think that Take-Charge Amanda is my favorite of the Calhoun sisters, and Sloan my favorite of the men they fall in love with. This is another solid romance, and a good continuance of the Bianca Calhoun mystery as a new danger is added to the mix. There must be something in the water in Bar Harbor… There’s an awful lot of quick engagements going on!

Page count: 256 | Approximate word count: 64,000

2008: Considering SomeplacElse (B.L. Lindstrom)
2007: Shroud for a Nightingale (P.D. James)
2006: Voyager (Diana Gabaldon)

Used in these Challenges: 100+ Reading Challenge 2009; Read Your Own Books Challenge;

Book #75 was Courting Catherine, the first book in Nora Roberts’ Calhoun Women series.  The back of the book reads:

"The Calhoun Women" is one of Silhouette’s bestselling series of all time. Mechanic Catherine "C.C" and hotel magnate Trenton St. James mix like axle grease and mineral water–until they kiss.

This was one of NR’s Harlequin Silhouette series, so it’s pretty much straight romance.  There is a thread of a mystery which is carried through the entire series… What happened to make Bianca (their great-grandmother) kill herself, and where is her famous emerald necklace?… but really the focus of this novel is the relationship between C.C. and Trent. The one thing NR always does so well is create characters that feel so real, they could walk in your front door at any moment.  Here she hasn’t created just one character, but an entire family where each person is different than the last.  The "four sisters who all have different colored hair and distinctly different personalities" thing is a little clichéd, but it doesn’t take away from the grand romance.  I’m already into the third book in this series, and I don’t expect to stop until I’m finished.

Page count: 192 | Approximate word count: 38,400

2008: A Paragon of Virtue (Christian von Ditfurth)
2007: The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid (Bill Bryson)
2006: Cruel and Unusual (Patricia Cornwell)
2005: Under the Banner of Heaven (Jon Krakauer)

Used in these Challenges: 100+ Reading Challenge 2009; 1st in a Series Challenge; Read Your Own Books Challenge;