Customer Reviews

The Stanislaski Sisters: Natasha and Rachel (Silhouette Romance 2-novel book: Taming Natasha, Falling For Rachel)

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"The Stanislaski Sisters" were wonderful stories. In "Taming Natasha", "Tash" falls for Spencer Kimball, a music teacher. Natasha was stubborn and snippy with Spence, but after taking his class, she decides there's more to him than she first thought. This one is my favorite of the two. In "Falling For Rachel", Rachel is the public defender for Nick LeBeck, an out-of-control teen with an older brother named Zack Muldoon. Nick falls for Rachel, and Rachel falls for Zack. Great ending to this story!!!! I can hardly wait to read "Waiting For Nick"!

This book contains two full-length novels both written by Nora Roberts, and originally published in the early 90's as Silhouette Special Editions.

TAMING NATASHA: Natasha Stanislaski is one of four children born to immigrant parents, who escaped from the Ukraine into America, for a chance at a better life. Previously a ballerina for a New York Dance Company, Natasha now owns and runs a toy store in the small town where she resides in West Virginia. Spencer Kimball, widower and father to a little girl named Freddie, has just moved from New York to this same small town. Spencer is a music composer as well as the new professor at the local college. When Natasha and Spencer meet, they get off on the wrong foot, but when Natasha decides to take a college class in music history, she's surprised to find Spencer is the teacher. They embark on a relationship, but will Natasha be able to move beyond the pain of her past which still haunts her, and offer this man her heart?

FALLING FOR RACHEL: Rachel Stanislaski is the sister of Natasha from the previous story. She is an attorney with a strong sense of justice who works as a public defender in New York. Her latest case is representing nineteen-year-old Nick LeBeck, a frightened tough guy whose parents have both died. Now Nick is mixed up with a gang, and taking the rap for an interrupted burglary. Zack Muldoon is Nick's stepbrother, and the only family Nick has left. Two years ago, Zack returned after a stint in the Navy, and will now do whatever he needs to insure Nick doesn't get prison time. Nick is sentenced to a provisionary time period where he will live with Zack, while Rachel keeps contact with Nick, and reports on his behavior. The chemistry between Zack and Rachel is undeniable, but will problems with Nick keep them apart?

Both these stories were quite enjoyable, and I had not read them when they were originally published. The Stanislaskis are a very likeable and loving family, one you'd like to be a part of. There is another book called THE STANISLASKI BROTHERS, which contain the stories of Mikhail and Alexi. My favorite of the four stories would be Mikhail's from the BROTHERS book, but all of them are heartwarming, humorous and delightful.

The Stanislaski sisters are, in Nora Roberts' style, strong and motivated, while being romantic and insecure about love. The men who pursue Natasha and Rachel are strong and stubborn and of course carry around their own baggage. The Stanislaski sisters are a do not miss set of books. "Taming Natasha" and "Falling for Rachel" are great stories of women whose family has an interesting history. And if you think the women are great you should meet Alexi and Mikhail, the brothers. Enjoy

You know the author of a book has succeeded when you feel like you have become a part of the family you are reading about. This is exactly what happens in the "Stanislaski Sisters," as Nora Roberts continues her tradition of excellence.
The first novel in the Stanislaski series is "Taming Natasha." Natasha, a toy-shop owner, and Spence, a college professor and famous composer, are the two main characters and their relationship is very realistically portrayed. Natasha's inner turmoil is palpable and Spence's dedication to his daughter, Freddie, makes for some touching and heart-warming scenes. It was wonderful watching these two find love and understanding with each other as they healed each other's old hurts. This is just an all-around wonderful read!
The second novel in this publication, "Falling for Rachel" is actually the third book in the Stanislaski series. This story deals with some tough subjects in a compassionate and perceptive manner. Rachel Stanislaski is a public defender and is assigned to the larceny case of 19 year old gang member, Nick LeBeck. But with Nick comes his sexy older step-brother, Zack Muldoon, and the attraction between Rachel and Zack is instant. In a strange court ruling, Nick is granted two months probation with Zack and Rachel as co-guardians. When these two are forced into close quarters they soon find their attraction hard to resist, and it makes for some very sexy scenes! Unfortunately, Nick finds himself falling for Rachel as well, due mostly to the fact that she is the first person to make him feel cared about and important in a very long time. This unusual triangle makes for some humorous situations. It also creates some very emotional and affecting scenes, as Nick once again finds himself disillusioned by the two people he was beginning to trust. This is a novel you don't want to miss!
"The Stanislaski Sisters" typifies all that is good about romance writing. It is a very fast read simply because it is tough to put down. NR really makes the reader care about the characters and what happens to them. I highly recommend this book!

The Stanislaski Sisters combines two previous short novels into one volume:

Taming Natasha - This was a very fast read and an enjoyable beginning to the Stanislaski series. Natasha, the eldest of the Stanislaski children, appears to be a confident, self-sufficient career woman, albeit in a small homey town in W. Virginia. Her composure is quickly rattled by the new professor in town, sexy single dad Spence Kimball, and his easy-to-love young daughter. For reasons known only to herself, Tash tries to keep her distance from Spence, without much success. Although Tash's "secret" becomes fairly obvious early on, this is still a very nice, pleasant romance novel, marred only by numerous typos.

Falling for Rachel - This third installment in the Stanislaski series continues the themes of family, loyalty, friendship, and love. Rachel, the youngest sibling, is pursuing her quest for freedom and justice by working as a public defender. Her latest case, a larceny involving 19-year-old gang member Nick, puts her in an unfamiliar position - in addition to being his lawyer, she's named co-guardian (along with Nick's sexy older stepbrother, Zack) while Nick spends 2 months on probation. Rachel and Zack quickly discover they share a bond quite independent of Nick, and despite Rachel's best intentions interest turns to involvement, and involvement turns to love. One of the best parts of this book is the sticky situation that arises when Zack is not the only one who is "falling for Rachel". Nick, having never known a stable family life, develops an attraction for Rachel and also for the family bonds she shares with her siblings and parents. The situation is realistic and sympathetic, as Nick is just looking for someone - anyone - to believe in.

I recently discovered this book and really enjoyed the unusual premise. THE STANISLASKI SISTERS is about two very different sisters and how they find love.

Natasha is the oldest child in a family of four children. She has two brothers, Alexi and Mikhail. Rachel is the baby of the family. The three oldest siblings are brought to America as children from the Ukraine and continue to carry their heritage with them. A typical younger child, Rachel is annoyed that she wasn't born until later and has no memories of life in the Old Country. The entire family is very close and shares a strong bond of love and friendship. Their charming parents, Yuri and Nadia Stanislaski are also a part of their stories.

Natasha's story is that of a dedicated ballet dancer who finds love and joy at the age of 17 and loses it very quickly. She rebuilds her life, but is afraid to commit again until she meets Spencer Kimball, a handsome and very distinguished musician. Spence is immediately attracted to Natasha when they become acquainted in a toy store, but because of a misunderstanding, she takes a strong dislike to him.

Rachel's life is that of an overachiever who wants to succeed in her chosen profession as an attorney. Her ultimate goal is to be a judge. Her life is changed forever when she defends Nick, a hostile young man who is on the verge of ending up in the prison system. His older brother, rugged Zack Muldoon is mucho and aggressive and difficult to deal with. In spite of all his bravado, Zack loves his brother very much and will do anything to help him. Rachel's court room defense, and the judge's decision to make Rachel and Zack co-guardians of Nick, put her on the defensive as she fights to keep from falling in love with Zack.

The love stories are good, but more importantly they show the backbone of family life that shapes all of us.

Nora Roberts writes another fascinating story of opposites attracting in The Stanislaski Sisters. Both Natasha and Rachel meet men whom they have to overcome their inital adversity to. The reader is captivated by her magical storytelling and incredible descrition. Roberts triumphs again with another wonderful book!

I Love the Nora Roberts books. I particularly love when she takes a group of people with something in common (sisters, brothers, family, same location) and writes a series. The two stories in this book do not dissapoint.

Both stories are fairly quick reads because they are shorter than a typical Nora Roberts novel. However, that does not mean that the characters are not developed or the story line is not believable. Quite the contrary.

Natasha and Spence are both very realistic. I felt their actions were what I would do in a similar situation. I particularly like how I can place myself in the main character's (Natasha's) place and feel her emotions.

Rachel and Zack was a very interesting story. I particularly liked Zack's brother. Again, I am impressed by Nora Roberts ability to take tough subjects and treat them with respect while also writing a romance.

If you have not yet read any of the Stanislaski Series, this is a real treat and not to be missed.

This was another great book from Nora Roberts but the basic copyediting problems were hugely distracting. I generally do not notice problems of that sort, they have to be HORRIBLE for me to and they were horrible this time. Entire lines of text were dropped and articles were doubled up and ess's added and subtracted indiscriminately. Really, Nora Roberts must account for a good third of the sales alone just for her category novels what with reprints and her new work.

This is a wonderful book. Another great series from Nora Roberts. One word of advise....you have to read Taming Natasha then switch to Luring a Lady and Convincing Alex then read Falling for Rachel to get the stories in order. Afterward, there are 2 more books related to these...Waiting for Nick (Rachel's brother-in-law) and Considering Kate (Natasha's daughter. Reflections and Dreams (Dance of Dreams in particular) is yet another related book with Nickolai Davidov from Considering Kate. Dance to the Piper as well as the O'Hurley's books connect through as well. This is quite a confusing but fun set of books.