Customer Reviews

Black Hills

5 star:		(74)
4 star:		(29)
3 star:		(33)
2 star:		(15)
1 star:		(18)

 

 

The Queen of suspense-filled romance novels once again treats her loyal fans to a thrill ride of intrigue that twists and turns through the Black Hills of South Dakota. As expected, this ride has well-defined backdrops, with all the sights, sounds, and smells, culminating to give the reader an experience of a life time. Enough with the standing in line...let's get to it. When Lillian Chance was a teenager, a chance meeting would introduce her to a young man named Cooper Sullivan. During a dinner between Cooper's grandparents and the Chance family, the two would form a bond that spans a lifetime. Years later, both would go on and pursue their dreams. Lil Chance is a world-renowned biologist that specializes in big cats and founded the Chance Wildlife Reserve in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Cooper Sullivan is a cop that also works security. That is, until a colleague of his is murdered. Coop, has finally had enough and returns to the small town in which he grew up.

Hold on tight, 'cause here comes the drop. Just as Coop returns home, he discovers a murderer lurking within the town, and with each new murder getting closer to Lillian, his feelings toward her grow deeper and deeper. Will he be able to protect her? Will the love they once shared be rekindled? Lil still has bitter feelings toward Coop, can she put them aside? I could tell you, but what fun would that be? Nora Roberts has an uncanny ability to build suspense and she does just that in her newest novel. This is a romance, however, and unlike rollercoasters that whip the reader around at breakneck speeds, Black Hills allows the reader to enjoy every aspect of the ride. Nora Roberts has put great detail and research into the backdrops and this ride is more reminiscent of a themed-coaster and not an old-fashion raise your hands and scream-coaster. That is Nora's style: depth, quality, and substance......I would also highly recommend JoAnna Wylde's novel: Price of Pleasure-- Price of Pleasure an excellent, supenseful novel.

I must admit that I usually buy most of Nora's books used because I love her books so much that I would spend a fortune buying new. This time I caved in and bought the hardcover for $18 a Wal Mart and was somewhat disappointed.

Almost immediately after starting the book, I had a strange sense of Deja Vu. The problem with having written close to 200 novels is that even the best writer will eventually run out of new material. Right off I saw numerous similarities to her book Montana Sky. How many times can you write a story about a crazy person who leaves dead animals on someone's doorstep? I did get a sense that the romantic conflict was drawn out, and since the reader discovers rather early on in this book who the person is doing the evil deeds, suspense gives way to the sense that Nora is trying to draw the story out as long as possible and it becomes rather old.

This is one of Nora's titles that I would check out at the library or buy in paperback because it's not worth the price of the hardcover.

I'm a HUGE Nora Roberts fan, but I do understand that not every book is going to be liked by everyone. Unfortunately, this was the Nora book that I did not like.

For me, it's Lil's character that ruins the book. I understand being pissed, but geez, at a certain point, get over it. Yes, it does take Cooper quite a bit of time to tell her what he's really thinking. But, part of that is because she's such a royal bitch to him. I wouldn't tell her anything either. Chapter 24, he's basically told her his reasons for dumping her 10 years prior, and she even says in her head that she can understand why he did it, she's had sex with him numerous times, he's basically done everything right, and practically every other character in the story has told her to forgive him, but she still isn't 100% convinced. Way to be a best friend, Lil.

Nora made this character so determined to never let this man hurt her again, she basically took away all the chemistry between them. By Chapter 26 I was past caring about these two, and wondering why Cooper was still even bothering.

Also, maybe it's just me, but the book just seemed so full of unnecessary fluff. Almost as if Nora had to make a certain word count, but the story wasn't big enough to fit, so she just started adding scenes until it did. Again, by chapter 26 I was thinking "When is this going to END?!" and that's really rare for me when I read a Nora Roberts book.

I was so done by that time, that I basically skimmed the last few chapters and then put the book away. I'm not exaggerating when I say I didn't even want to look at it. The whole experience was disappointing to say the least.

Sorry, Nora. Everyone has hits and misses, and this one was just a BIG miss for me. I was going to give it only two stars, based on how I was feeling by the time I gave up on it, but added one because I like Nora so much as an author, and many parts of this were somewhat entertaining. But for me, this was nowhere near a five-star book.

I had been disappointeed in the last couple of NR books i had read but this one really grabbed my attention. Not only am I a fan of NR but I'm a huge animal lover. I loved all the detail and even gained some knnowledge of the cougar. NR has redeemed herself. keep 'em coming!

Reading this felt like a blast from the past. I always loved the books that spent time on the characters as kids and then showed them when they were older. This style doesn't always work for me, but this author has a way with it and I always enjoy it. The last couple books I've read by this author haven't been in this style (which isn't a bad thing) but I really enjoyed revisiting it.

Getting to know Lil and Cooper when they were young made a nice start to the novel. There wasn't a huge chunk of the book spent in this period which kept it short and sweet.

The beginning of this novel was great and the end was great, but the middle dragged a bit. It's like the book lost steam for a bit before it finally got back on track. I liked all the information we had about the refuge and the wildlife there. I love how most of this author's characters have such different careers. It's nice to get a peek into the intricacies of some of the jobs.

I didn't really enjoy the secondary romance. I felt we only got a shallow view and not really enough to be interesting.

I think my biggest problem with this book was Lil. I thought she was beating a dead horse with the way she held on to her grudge. I'm going to rant at fictional Lil here for a bit... So, Cooper has told you why he broke up with you years ago. It may be a harsh reason, but I think it's a pretty good one all things considered. You keep him dancing on a string because you just can't believe him 100 percent. But you keep sleeping with him and you keep expecting him to bend over backwards for you. You seem bitter and like you need to get over yourself. There, I feel better now.

Even with those irritating details, I really enjoyed this book. I look forward to reading the next one she puts out.

This book started out well. I'm a big fan of Roberts and enjoyed the background on the characters. However, the love scenes with both Tansy & Farley and then Lil & Coop were skimmed over and not well-developed. I learned more about wildlife than I did about the character's feelings for one another. This book could have been a little shorter with less narrative on the animals and their habitats. I love many of Roberts books, but this just wasn't one of them. If I wanted a mystery with no romance and a greater understanding of big cats I would have gone for a Nature's Kingdom episode. Build the romance and I will remain a loyal fan. Where's the Circle Trilogy, Key Trilogy, Three Sisters Trilogy & Born Trilgy author? Better luck next time.

I used to love Nora Roberts, but now it seems as though every book she puts out is more and more alike: determined, career driven woman who's been hurt in the past and is not looking for a relationship is threatened by some crazy murderer. A guy (most of the time she has known him in her past) comes in and helps save the day. Yes, that's a basic romance plot, but lately Nora is taking it to the extreme, with these almost exact situations in every single book. I know authors tend to have a particular voice when they write, but this book was highly reminiscent of a combination of two of her past books: Montana Sky and River's End.

Ok, when you're reading a book and find that you're really more interested in the animals in the story then you are in the main characters, WELL you know it's not a great book. It was ok and as my title said so-so. Some parts were good, but I agree with others who said they were so sick of Lil by chapter 26 that they skimmed to the end. I didn't even skim, I just went right to the end to see what happened and then put the book away. I, like many others, have read everything that Nora has written, and can honestly say that I've liked most of them. This will go out the door the same way my copy of Northern Lights went, to the used book store. It's not a keeper and I'm disappointed. Well, hopefully the next one or the next JD Robb will be a good one!

I'm not a huge romance fan but when I do want a read Nora Roberts is on my short list. Living in the Black Hills, this book had immediate appeal to me and I think Roberts did a nice job of catching the flavor of this area. But the story definitely bogs down about 1/3 of the way through; I don't know why she dragged things out so much but the middle definitely seems like it could have been edited down quite a bit. I also got the "who dun it?" way too early; I would have liked to have been kept guessing a bit longer.

This was my first Kindle download and for $9.99 it was worth it for a fun summer read. If you're not a Kindle user, I'd wait for the paperback.

"Black Hills" by Nora Roberts is a fantastic book which should be enjoyed in a comfy seat with lots of time to read because there is so much to take in.

Dr. Lilian Chance is living her dream. She built up the Chance Wildlife Refuge in the Black Hills where she cares for animals. She lives a satisfying and happy life but could never forget her first (and only) love Cooper Sullivan. They met as children on her parents farm in the Black Hills, fell in love as teenagers and broke up some time later. While he ended up in New York as a cop Lil never left her home.

Even today, 12 years later, Lil is still in love with Cooper. When he comes back to the Black Hills to stay he wants another chance with Lil. He's still in love with her and when someone starts making trouble for Lil and her Refuge he is there to help. Soon they find out that there is a serial killer on the loose who likes to hunt his prey and who plans to make Lil his next victim. Cooper is there to make sure that Lil stays safe and to win her back.

But in the end it's up to Lil to decide if she can trust Cooper again and to outwit the killer.

I love everything about "Black Hills". The characters are great and the scenery (Black Hills plus the wildlife) is so lively described that sometimes I felt like I was actually there.

Lil is an awesome heroine. She is a strong and caring woman who has been fascinated by the wildlife since she was nine. She is very sure about her goals in life and works hard to achieve them.

She loved Cooper practically from their first meeting and never thought that they could break up. Cooper also never stopped loving Lil but growning up with cold and uncaring parents made him uncertain about himself. He needed more time than Lil to build up his life and to become the person he wanted and needed to be. He never intended to break her heart, he honestly thought that ending their relationship was the best for Lil and him.

I enjoyed reading about their relationship as children, teens and adults a lot. Especially because the changes in their relationship aren't rushed and I can understand Lil's fear to be hurt again but I also love how Cooper stays steady in pursuing her and is solid as a rock but also very sexy.

Furthermore the book contains a really sweet second lovestory, all the characters are great and very likable (ok, all besides the creapy and crazy serial killer) and the end is breathtaking. So all in all "Black Hills" is an outstanding book that you shouldn't miss.