Monday, June 16, 2014

The Collector - Review


The Collector by Nora Roberts

Rating: 4 Stars

Description:  When professional house-sitter Lila witnesses a murder in a neighboring apartment building she finds herself drawn into the lives of those involved.  She never expected to get close to the killer/victim's brother, Ash, or to find herself being hunted by a professional killer.

Genre: Romance/Mystery

Why I Picked This Book: A new Nora Roberts is always an automatic read for me and I was intrigued by both the Rear Window similarities and the professional house sitting.

My Impression:
Pro: I liked the characters.  Lila was nice and very maternal and Ash was also a nice guy and a protector.  You could really see how nice it would be for both of them to have someone take care of them for a change.  Ash's family is huge and while I like a big family this was beyond huge with ex-spouses, step-siblings and half siblings.  It could have gotten very confusing but I liked how Roberts handled it which was basically Ash saying "It's really confusing so don't worry about it."  I liked how the relationship between Lila and Ash progressed gradually instead of flipping from just met to passionately in love with each other.  I think it helped make the bond seem more real that they knew some of the same people.  I liked the side romance as well.  It was sweet but didn't really distract from the main story.  The information about the Romanov family was really interesting as well.

Cons: How Ash and Lila met definitely strained credibility.  It also reminded me quite a bit of her earlier book Three Fates which I loved.  I think my problem with Roberts may be that since she's written so many books we're starting to see some repeats in terms of characters or plot devices.

Overall Impression: This is a fast paced book with excellently done friendships (it's Roberts after all).  While I didn't like it as much as I enjoyed her earlier Three Fates it's probably my favorite of her most recent suspense titles.  Definitely a fun read!

Would I Read More of this Series/Author?: Of course!

Would I Recommend this Book?:  Definitely!  This was a fun romantic suspense with a touch of history.

16 comments:

  1. I have yet to read one of her books-really need to try one soon!

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    1. This one would be a pretty good one to try. I liked it and I think her romantic suspense books are well done. If you haven't read a ton of her books you wouldn't be bothered by similarities to past books.

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  2. The repeat in romance has me a tad worried but I am excited to crack my copy open

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    1. I wouldn't let it stop you from reading it. I didn't enjoy it any less and it was definitely a fun summer read!

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  3. I have read only about a half-dozen Roberts/Robb books, so I haven't seen the problem with repeating a romance or storyline. However I have heard several readers complain about that. I guess, based on the overwhelming amount of books she has written under various names, that she either stops writing or has to occasionally repeat. Her fans would vote for the latter :) Thanks for a good review; I want to read this one this summer.

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    1. That was my thought as well. This is the 2nd book I've read of hers lately that has strongly reminded me of a previous book. In this case it didn't bother me too much because I did enjoy The Collector quite a bit. It's definitely a great summer read.

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  4. I haven't read anything by Roberts under her own name. This sounds good. I admit being a bit put off by the name Ash. Terrible of me, I know.

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    1. I like Roberts but yeah I didn't care for the names on this one. I did get past it because I liked the characters so much and he's an artist so an odd name is more acceptable than if he'd been a banker or something.

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  5. I haven't read anything by Nora Robert before but everyone swears she's a romance writing genouis so i really should get to one of her books eventually!
    Great review :)

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    1. I don't know about genius but she's definitely a reliably good read for me. She does a great job in portraying friendships and relationships between people. Plus she has books set in Ireland which is always a plus for me.

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  6. I've never read one of her books. I think I will at some point though.

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    1. Her suspense titles are well done and I like the history element she put in this one and Three Fates. I enjoyed one she had a few years back called The Witness as well. I'd be interested to see what you thought of them!

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  7. Yeah, there's definitely some repetition from earlier books. It was a good book, not her best, but enjoyable.

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    1. I liked it better than some of her more recent books but not as much as her older books. The repetition is definitely getting more noticeable but I can't say I don't understand with the billion books she's written!

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  8. I've noticed that about Nora Roberts too, but since I haven't read all her books, I've only run into duplicate ideas/devices a few times. The Collector is on my list to read, but I'm only about number 95 on the hold list at the library, so it's probably going to be a fall read instead of a summer one!

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    1. This will work out fine as a fall read too! I really enjoyed this one even though it did remind me of an earlier book. I hope you get this one soon. I'm looking forward to hearing your take on it!

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