Customer Reviews

Calhoun Women: Catherine And Amanda

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This one is two novels reissued in one. Four sisters, two children, and an aunt living together in a huge mansion, called The Towers, which is slowly running down. This book has the story of two of those sisters.

First story is of Catherine, also called C.C. Trent wanted to purchase The Towers and convert it into one of his fancy hotel chain. Catherine is an expert at fixing vehicles. Two of the most opposite people in the world and yet they fall in love. Trent learns how it hurts to have no choice but to give up an entire family history, such as The Towers is to the Calhouns. A compromise is made. During it all, everyone is searching for the famous Calhoun Emeralds which was a legend. They were hidden somewhere in the mansion.

Second story is Amanda. Well organized and level headed, Amanda always has things running smoothly. But when Sloan enters the picture, Amanda is thrown into pure chaos. She cannot even throw him out of The Towers, because he is the architect hired by Trent to do the renovations. She must be in his presence at home, while he fixes the house. Worse, she must deal with him at her work too, since he is a guest in the hotel where she is Assistant Manager. Through it all, there is a thief intent of breaking into The Towers to locate and steal the famous hidden Calhoun Emeralds.

***Wonderful stories. I love the fact that the plot runs through all the stories, even though each woman has a story of her own.***

If you've chosen this book then you're already a romance novel reader. It's not the typical extreme romance mush but it is close. Be sure to read these in the appropriate order. 1st-Catherine & Amanda then 2nd- Lilah & Suzanna. The reviews i read didn't specify but I checked. It flows and is quite engrossing. I easily got caught up in the characters but the overall premise of 4 sisters all falling fast & head over heels in love in a short period is somewhat unbelievable (but i guess that's why we read romance in the first place). I don't want to say more so as not to ruin the book. My original "Roberts" book was "Montana Sky" which has been the best by far after reading 5 of hers. I like story lines that are a bit more realistic than this series. Hope this helps more than the ones I read.

"The Calhoun Women: Catherine and Amanda" is a wonderful introduction to a family of 4 feisty, determined, and beautiful women.
This book contains the first two stories from the Calhoun series. In the first one, "Courting Catherine," tomboy C.C. Calhoun meets Trenton St. James III. C.C. is a mechanic and when she fixes Trent's car for him, she soon discovers that he's the man who is trying to buy her home, a wonderful but dilapidated mansion called The Towers, and turn it into a hotel. C.C. immediately tells Trent just what she thinks of him, but as these two spend time together the sparks begin to fly. This first story also introduces the mystery of the missing emeralds belonging to Bianca Calhoun, great-grandmother of the 4 Calhoun sisters. This is a lovely romance with an intriguing mystery added to the mix.
The second story, "A Man for Amanda," tells Amanda Calhoun's story. C.C. and Trent are now an item, and they have decided to turn one wing of The Towers into a special getaway, while keeping the rest of the home for the family. Enter Sloan, the architect Trent has hired for the renovations. His first meeting with Amanda doesn't go too well, but he finds himself completely taken with the obsessively organized and beautiful Mandy. The romance between these two is wonderfully written - when they aren't steaming up the windows they are arguing and taking shots at each other. However, Amanda soon discovers that she can't live without this handsome southern gentleman and wonders how she managed to lose her heart to him. The unbalanced and dangerous thief, Livingston, who is intent on stealing the Calhoun emeralds for himself, is introduced in this book. He causes all kinds of trouble (and danger) for the Calhouns.
C.C. and Amanda's stories are sure to please readers. Nora Roberts does a fantastic job of weaving the present day romances with the mystery of the emeralds and tying them to the long-ago story of the unhappily married Bianca Calhoun and her true love Christian. I truly enjoyed this book and I'm sure that you will too.

Catherine and Amanda are so totally unalike in nature but absolute sisters in their hearts. They share their falling down old castle of a home with their two other sisters and an accentric aunt. They also share it with a young man who is bent on having the house to make into another of his chain of hotels. The plotting involved and the added excitement of an ancestral love story and some missing emeralds adds fire to the combination. Nora Roberts is at her best form.

This is a collection of two stories. Both are very good in typical Nora Roberts fashion.

However, because both of these stories are shorter than the normal Nora Roberts books, the characters tend to fall in love faster and it is much less realistic than her longer stories.

The added drama of a missing jewels is what ties these two stories (and the others in this series) together.

In the first story- C.C. and Trent are fun to read about. They are opposites and prove that love can conquer all. The second story about Amanda and Sloan I found very enjoyable because of their constant sniping at each other.

As an added note, it is best to read these and all of the Calhoun Women books in order.

The Calhoun Women.. "Catherine and Amanda" is the first 2 part book about 4 sisters. In this book, Catherine "C.C." meets Trent, and Amanda meets Sloan. I give Nora credit for making up original names for her male characters. These Calhoun sisters will win your heart!!! C.C., with her black hair, is an auto mechanic, Amanda, with her honey brown hair, is a hotel manager, Lilah, with her flame red mane is a naturalist, and Suzanna is the blonde with the children.

Comprised of two books previously published: COURTING CATHERINE and A MAN FOR AMANDA. Roberts begins a quartet of romances about the Calhoun sisters, tying the books together with an ill-fated romance from the past and a missing necklace to find. COURTING CATHERINE had the type of heroine I must enjoy and rarely see: a woman who works with her hands, feisty and sure of her own self-worth.

I have just recently been turned on to Nora Roberts, and she has quickly become my favorite author. The story of the Calhoun Women is both touching and heart-warming to read. It's nice to read a book where the women are proud, strong and confident.

Catherine's story is the first in this double story book of the Calhoun women. I enjoyed C.C., as she is nicknamed, because she is such a "tomboy". C.C. and Trent are complete opposites who fall in love with each other anyway. Their story is an enjoyable one. Second is Amanda and Sloan. I liked this story best, out of the two. They bicker back and forth just to get to each other. It is quite amusing and funny! Both stories, were quick to jump to the "love" part of it, but they were good romance reads, which I enjoyed. Next comes Lilah and Suzanne's, the last two sisters, stories. I can't wait to get started, espically to see how C.C., Trent, Amanda, and Sloan are doing.

I was quiet wary about reading this book because it was the first Nora Roberts book that i would have read, however once I started reading I couldn't stop. It was a great book with the romance of the four sisters and the underline story about their great grandmother and her mysterious romance and the Calhoun Necklace.