Customer Reviews

Truly, Madly Manhattan

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

 

 

I liked both of these stories. I think this is probably the best of the reprints that have come out lately. These are early Nora Roberts books, so if you are looking for romantic suspense, you won't find it here. I also think these 2 stories are more polished than some of the other early novels that have been released lately. Of the two, Local Hero is my favorite. Mitch writes comic books, and though Hester's son likes him, Hester is wary. She is a serious bank manager who has been hurt by love before. (By the way, I agree with the other reviewer that Hester is not the greatest of names! Don't let that put you off.) I found this story to be absolutely delightful. Mitch is one of Ms. Robert's best heroes, in my opinion. The second story, Dual Image, I liked just a little bit less. It was also an interesting and well written story. Ariel get the lead in Booth's screenplay which he wrote about his nasty ex-wife. Even though Ariel seems different, Booth is not sure he trust her because she is, after all, an actress like his ex-wife and might be hiding her feelings. To me, the only downside to the story was Booth's cynical attitude. He pulls away from Ariel because she can't possibly be as good as she seems. The way he continually withdraws emotionally from Ariel got a bit tiring toward the end. Still, I did enjoy it. I would give Local Hero 6 stars if I could, and I would probably give Dual Image 4 and a 1/2. Both are definitely keepers!

I enjoyed both of the stories in this book. They are both reprints, but they are great ones, and I think of all the Nora Roberts stories that have been reprinted lately, this duo really illustrates how she developed into such a great romance writer.

Local Hero is the story of Mitch Dempsey and his new neighbors, Hester Wallace and her son Radley. Despite the (in my opinion anyway) ugly name of Hester, this is truly a great romance. Hester is a bank manager and is a very careful and meticulous person who was hurt badly by love the first time around. She hardly ever hears from her exhusband Allan, neither does her son Radley. She is very wary of men. Mitch is a comic book writer/illustrator, who just so happens writes Rad's favorite comic book, Commander Zark. Mitch takes an interest in Radley right away, and volunteers to baby-sit him during the day when Hester is at work. By baby-sitting, he slowly integrates himself into Hester and Rad's life, falling in love with Hester in the process. She is very nervous, but reciprocates his love whole heartedly though she is very reluctant to take the final step of marriage. Mitch's time and effort to get Hester to love him and trust him back pays off wonderfully, in this classic romance. Definitely a wonderful story.

Dual Image is the story of soap star Ariel Kirkwood and script writer Booth DeWitt. She auditions for his newest tv show, and is cast as the female lead, the lead that just so happens to be based on his horrible and bitchy ex-wife. Booth wants to type cast Ariel in that role, but finds that hard to do as she is the complete antithesis of his exwife. She is loving and open, and unbeknownst to him has a secret that comes out at the end of the book. She falls in love with him almost right away, scaring him because he isn't used to such an emotional display. He evenutally accepts his feelings for Ariel and they fall in love, then her secret comes out, scaring Booth all over again. The minor intrusion of his exwife plays a small role in the book too. It is a very good book, and I really liked it being paired up with Local Hero. Definitely some great Nora Roberts's reprints!

LOCAL HERO
Hester Wallace is a single mother living in Manhattan with her young son. The story begins with their move to a new apartment, a new job and a new school. Her son, Radley, is a comic buff, is much more excited than she to discover that the author of his favorite comic resides just a few floors away. Mitch Dempsey falls for the boy and mother almost instantly. But Hester must overcome the demons of her first marriage if they are to have the chance of becoming a family.

DUAL IMAGE
Ariel Kirkwood, a young actress on the rise, has just landed a role that could launch her career. Playing the cruel, undermining ex-wife of script writer Booth DeWitt would be her most difficult role to date. But winning isolationist Booth's trust, and love, proves to be more difficult than any role she could imagine.

This is the light, short-length Roberts. I read each of these in a few hours. Its the type of Roberts that makes you relax without digging too deep into the characters. I ranked this a four only because I prefer her full length murder/romances - but there is nothing wrong with these as well!

I've rarely read anything by Nora Roberts that I didn't enjoy to some degree. Although this is not one of her best, the lives of the characters managed to capture my interest.

"Local Hero" is a nice story with likable characters. Hester and Mitch struck me as an odd pair, but that notice didn't detract much from my enjoyment of the story. (I must admit, as others have here, that "Hester" isn't the kind of name one would expect to see in a romance novel; but perhaps Roberts' intention in naming her female protaganist Hester was to help paint a picture of her character. Although Hester is a very loving person, she feels it's necessary to be a responsible adult and exclude romance from her life. The name "Hester" fits that brief. ((No offense intended to anyone named Hester who may be reading this.)) ) Mitch is a really likable person. I had fun reading about him.

I thought the characters in "Dual Image" were very dramatic, but considering that most of the characters are in show business, the drama seemed to fit. However it's difficult to feel involvement with Booth's (the male protaganist) character. We are told that he's changing from dark and brooding to being more open to love, but not enough was put into the character to help the reader appreciate his transition. Ariel is a very likable character. She seemed like a person I would like to know. My main problem with the story is the way Ariel just assumed everything would work out between the people she loved, even though they hadn't met each other and didn't even know about each other. I didn't feel that particular point was credible.

Despite the flaws, I did derive pleasure from reading both stories, so I would recommend this book as a light diversion.

During a weeklong layoff earlier this month, I read a lot of books, but this one was easily one of my favorites. The first story, Local Hero, was kind of an emotional rollercoaster. I found myself smiling thinking of Hester, Rad and Mitch playing in the snow together in Central Park and a lump in my throat at the end (which I won't give away). Five star story

Like other reviewers I found Dual Image a little harder to get into, but I am a lot like Ariel, so I just had to see what she was getting into! Booth is definitely a piece of work. The twist at the end of this story will knock you for a loop. Four stars.

A PAGE TURNER. I COULDN'T PUT IT DOWN. THE STORY IS SO REAL YOU CAN PICTURE IT IN YOUR MIND. I RECOMMEND THIS BOOK WHEN YOU CAN SIT DOWN FOR A QUIET AFTERNOON OF READING.

I have been passing on these 2 for 1 books lately because they have been a drag. I picked this book up as a last resort and was plesantly surprised. Very good story line, very hard to put down.

These two stories are both fun and entertaining reads. The first one has Hester and Mitch, (boy was she having a Jayne Ann Krentz moment when she named her or what?). With the exception of the name this was a really fun read. Mitch is a comic writer, and she is bank loan officer with a 10 year old son. He meets them when she moves into his apartment building. He soon realizes that she is the one and spends the rest of the morning overcoming her fears of abandonment and commitment issues. (She had a bad 1st marriage.)

In the second book with Ariel and Booth, he is the one that had a bad 1st marriage. Kind of a theme, but both are fun and entertaining light reading. I though that the 2nd one spent a little too much time on the acting scenes(Ariel is an actress)
She starts off as a soap star that wants to a part Booth wrote that was autobiographal of his life with his ex-wife. I thought that they spent too much time on the soap story and they got busy with a child custody hearing, and there was a frankly bad spot where the ex-wife tries to "get" Ariel for playing a part she felt should have been hers, it got a little too busy, but all in all it was still worth it. Nora Roberts getting distracted is still better than most writers at their best.

This is on my keeper shelf!!!!

Ariel Kirkwood from Dual Image ranks in my top 5 female leads of all time. (Included also in that list is Ella from Ella Enchanted, Sorcha from Daughter in the Forest, and Elizabeth Bennet from Pride and Prejudice). Ariel is a beautifully designed character that makes me envy her views on life and carefree spirit. It perhaps helps that my own significant other is my Booth through and through, however, this story touches me every time I read it.

This book was worth reading, but in my opinion easy to put down. Even at her worst Nora Robert's is my all-time favorite author, but this was not a true display of her talent and I was disapointed. However, like always I fell in love with her characters...mainly in Hester, Mitch, and Rad.