Jamesville: Discovering Dani (Book 1) [Paperback]

N J Walters (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 20, 2006

Burke Black wanted something he could live with, but ended up finding someone he could live for. Book 1 of Jamesville Dani O'Rourke has had the responsibility of raising her two brothers, Patrick and Shamus, since the death of their parents. As sole owner and operator of O'Rourke Cleaning Services, she is no stranger too hard work, but she is a beginner when it comes to men. Burke is a very rich and successful businessman whose brush with death has made him question his priorities. He's traveled to Jamesville for peace and quiet while he plans the rest of his life. Their lives collide when Burke accuses her of breaking into his cabin to steal from him. Their attraction to each other is immediate, and after a series of misunderstandings he finds himself caught up in the lives of Dani and her brothers. But can this gentle, giving woman get a man as hard and cynical as Burke to believe in the power of love? Or will Burke leave town without ever discovering the wonders of life with Dani?

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

N.J. Walters has always been a voracious reader of romance novels, and now she spends her days writing novels of her own. Vampires, dragons, time-travelers, seductive handymen, and next-door neighbors with smoldering good looks all vie for her attention. It's a tough life, but someone's got to live it.

Product Details

• Paperback: 220 pages
• Publisher: Samhain Publishing (June 20, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1599981181
• ISBN-13: 978-1599981185
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,557,962 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

N.J. Walters worked at a bookstore for several years and one day had the idea that she would like to quit her job, sell everything she owned, leave her hometown, and write romance novels in a place where no one knew her. And she did. Two years later, she went back to the bookstore and her hometown and settled in for another seven years.

Although she was still fairly young, that was when the mid-life crisis set in. Happily married to the love of her life, with his encouragement (more like, "For God's sake, quit the job and just write!" ) she gave notice at her job on a Friday morning. On Sunday afternoon, she received a tentative acceptance for her first erotic romance novel, Annabelle Lee, and life would never be the same.

N.J. has always been a voracious reader of romance novels, and now she spends her days writing novels of her own. Vampires, werewolves, dragons, time-travelers, seductive handymen, and next-door neighbors with smoldering good looks--all vie for her attention. And she doesn't mind a bit. It's a tough life, but someone's got to live it.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Boring and slow, October 1, 2009

By 

Karen M. (Alameda, CA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Jamesville: Discovering Dani (Book 1) (Paperback)

I found myself wishing that I liked this book, because I sensed that the author had a good heart (just a feeling that came through), but it really isn't well written or emotionally compelling.

There's rule in writing: show don't tell. This books tells us a lot about these characters and shows very little. To make things worse, it tells us over and over and over again. So many paragraphs had three sentences that said the same thing in slightly different ways.

I never felt an emotionally real reason that these characters were together. I had the strangest feeling that the heroine, a saintly twenty-five-year-old virgin, was a cross between a dreamy teenager and a sheltered octogenarian.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing, October 23, 2009

By 

Tracy "One Good Book Deserves Another" (Fort Myers, Florida, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Jamesville: Discovering Dani (Book 1) (Paperback)

I wanted to like Discovering Dani, I really did. Unfortunately, the lack of depth in plot and one dimensional characterization made that impossible. The romance between Dani O'Rourke and Burke Black was actually painful at times, with the dialogue and action wavering between stilted and cliched through the whole of it. And don't get me started on Dani's inability to even function when the first of the inevitable issues crop up with Burke. I'm sorry, but some backbone would be appreciated. And any twenty-five year old woman who'd lost both parents, dropped out of High School to raise her brothers alone, and started her own cleaning business to make ends meet has all sorts of backbone. It's a true pity that she was such a damsel when her heart gets dinged. There were a couple of scenes that were just off-putting - like Dani getting hurt (again) and when she gets home, she collapses on the kitchen floor and curls up into a nearly catatonic ball without even shedding her winter coat until her brother comes home to take care of her. And that was my biggest problem with Dani. I couldn't respect her. I respected her past achievements, but as soon as Burke sets up in her heart, she becomes a needy, emotionally naive cliche of 80's style romance novels.

And then there were the aspects that just flat out didn't make sense. There's a scene towards the end (and it's just not important enough to be considered a spoiler) where Dani asks Burke about whether the snooty rich-bitch spoiled brat that vies for Burke's affections and causes all sorts of trouble will continue to be a threat...and then proceeds to provide evidence of her own (including a conversation with the woman) that answers that question...and by then I didn't even care enough to wonder why she bothered asking if she already knew the answer. That's just...weak storytelling by the author who, I can only assume, wanted some closure on that thread.

I DID like Dani's relationship with her brothers, and while they were no more fleshed out than Dani and Burke, they were pleasant enough despite the lack of anything resembling layers. Beyond that, the book just wasn't everything I hoped it would be. I don't believe I'll be reading any more about Jamesville.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars You can tell this was her first book, March 30, 2010

By 

KAH (Chicago) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Jamesville: Discovering Dani (Book 1) (Paperback)

This book was a Kindle freebie that I had sitting around for a while and finally got around to reading. I liked the idea behind the romance, but it wasn't written very well. It wasn't bad for a freebie but I would've been upset if I had paid for this. This author has quite a few books published so she's probably gotten better in the last 4 years.