Customer Reviews

First Impressions: First Impressions\Blithe Images

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

 

 

I got this book against my better judgement because I was desperate for something to read and Nora Roberts is a pretty good writer. This book is made up of 2 short stories. The first one wasn't half bad for being so short. The heroine was very lovable and I liked her immediately. She was charming and loved the hero right away and wasn't afraid to love him. I grow bored with books where the heroine has some chip on her shoulder and acts like a total snot the whole time and I wonder how the hero would fall in love with her. The second book was horrid! It was all written from the heroines perspective and so you never got to know the hero or what he was thinking. He talked terrible to the heroine and I found nothing to like about him. There were no love scenes either. :(
Ater I read this book I found out they were written in 1982 and 1984. I guess that explains a lot. I don't think I would have bought it if I knew that they were just recycled books. I feel that's a little misleading. You can really tell these were some of her first books.
Don't buy this book or even borrow it...it will be a waste of your time.
The only reason I'm giving it 2 stars instead of 1 is the first story.

This is the first book I have read by Nora Roberts. This has 2 different stories in the same book. I really enjoyed the first book - First Impressions. It was a romantic story that I plan to read again. I liked the way the author told the story. The second book - Blithe Images I did not care for. It was boring and moved slow for me. The story was nothing like the first. I was not impressed but I liked the first one so much I wanted to buy the book.

I've given this four stars purely based on the first book alone. Honestly, the second novella disgusts me a little and if I didn't like First Impressions so much, this would have a much lower rating.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS:

The novella is quite good for a short story. Vance and Shane are very likable characters and the chemistry between them is evident from the get-go. Shane is refreshing. What I loved about her was the fact that she was not blind to Vance's faults. She knew that he was pretty much an insufferable, rude man and that he was harboring secrets. She acknowledged that they were his to keep until he chose to tell her the truth.

After Vance and Shane make love for the first time, Vance vows to himself that he's going to tell her the truth in the morning. He just wants a few hours before his true identity is revealed to her, which is understandable with all the pressures that his other life has. Unfortunately for both of them, Shane's mother -- if you can even call her that; it's really quite an insult to all mothers out there to be lumped in the same category with her -- blows into town looking for some fast cash. When she comes across Vance, all she sees is dollar signs.

Vance, of course, rejects the woman and tells her that she won't get another penny from Shane or from him. Anne is quite furious and tells Shane the truth about Vance in the worst possible way, painting him in a pretty shoddy light to boot. Shane is naturally devastated when it all comes out.

The scenes following are heartbreaking for the couple. It's wonderfully written and the best thing about it all is when Shane is forced to listen to Vance and when she does, she realizes that she knew all along that he's had secrets of his own. She just didn't know the extent of them. She is probably one of the first heroines that I've come across that actually realizes that she's blown things out of proportion and acknowledged that she went into it with both eyes opened. It was so refreshing.

Two thumbs up for this first novella.

BLITHE IMAGES:

This book was absolutely terrible. I do keep in mind that this was one of Roberts' earlier books, so her writing wasn't nearly as strong as it is now. It was evident in her character development. Hilary could have been a likable character, but she was a little difficult to keep up with. One minute she was completely against all things Bret and then she was in love with him the next? I felt like a missed a couple hundred pages.

It didn't help matters that Bret was pretty much a complete jerk, and that's a mild term. There was no insight for readers to his character at all. The only things we saw were that he essentially had a girlfriend, yet he kept toying with Hilary and then he would get angry when she didn't react the way he wanted her to. He went so far as to call her a tease when things were moving too fast for her and then he basically made fun of the fact that she was still a virgin at the age of 24.

The one thing that helped this "book" was the fact that Hilary finally reached her breaking point and told Bret to bugger off. She shoved him and his insufferable girlfriend out of her apartment and got the hell out while she still good.

Of course it was completely expected that Bret would go chasing after her and show up at her family farm. I can even see her family recognizing that he was the source of Hilary's discomfort and make it to where she had to at least gain closure from it.

What really bugged me about everything was the way that he "proposed" marriage. He didn't propose. He demanded. He was talking to her father like she was some well-bred animal instead of a woman (which she thankfully points out to him). He hardly makes a convincing argument to win her over and when he does go into some kind of explanation, it's creepy, truthfully. He was attracted to her face the first time he saw it and so he hires her to get close to her? That seems a little close to stalking. But I digress. It is what it is and I suppose all I can really do is complain about it and attempt to ward others away from this terrible piece of writing.

It makes me happy this was a free book.

But please do bear in mind that First Impressions is not bad at all! Just skip this one.

First Impressions: I'd call this formulaic crap if it wasn't so well written. I genuinely liked both Vance and Shane (although I hate their names) and thought there was good character development, especially with Vance. However, it's very much the "he has secrets and doesn't tell her until she finds out from someone else, even though he totally meant to, and she's super pissed" trope. Decent enough escapist reading. Obviously a repackaged Silhouette title.
Blithe Images: Threw it at the wall. I have to say straight off that I am not a fan of borderline abusive "alpha" heroes. When Bret, who happens to be Hillary's boss, compels her to lunch with him despite her reluctance, straight up says "I rarely listen to 'but' or 'no.'", then stalks her to a club where she's on a date, makes her dance with him, then physically and forcibly restrains her from leaving the dance floor until she agrees to call him by his first name, and when she complains he hurt her tells her he thinks she's tough and can take it, I was completely done. That is never acceptable. I refuse to read about her falling in love with this a-word.
First Impressions: 3 stars
Blithe Images : half a star, if not less
Together: 2 stars

it wasn't hard to tell this took place in an earlier time. No mention of seat belts, or cell phones. And what's a typewriter with ribbon? And of course the tell tale scenes of smoking anywhere one felt like it.

Turned out the way I expected.

Oh, so romantic! When I finished reading the book I was so pleased to have met those characters :)

NOra Roberts is by far my favorite romance writer. There is not much more that one can say about her novels!

I really like this book. Both stories were so romantic and nice. I must say that I don't care if this was "vintage" Nora. I loved it anyway.

This Review will not be overly helpful to anyone who is not interested in " All Nora Roberts/JD. Robb Books". I am an avid collector of anything that she writes.
Her style fits my preference. Although I also purchase other Authors- I feel that I can always " Depend On Nora Roberts" for an entertaining ride through the
Subject of said Book.

First Impressions: First Impressions\Blithe Images

This was purchased as a gift for a Nora Roberts fan. It was delivered on time and in good condition.