The latest trilogy from Nora Roberts is yet another ghost story, this time involving a ghost mistress that lost her baby and haunts the manor-born father’s house more than a century later. The first installment, “Blue Dahlia” made me realize that Danielle Steel and Nora Roberts have much in common. Sure, Nora’s conversational writing is a bit more believable (I love when she throws comments about “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” in there), but all the stories are very formulaic and the SAME. At some point I’ll probably stop buying Nora Roberts books. If I’m going to waste money on formulaic books, it’ll be Steel’s only, thankyouverymuch.
Maybe I’m just getting sick to death of romance writing in general. It’s all so schlocky, isn’t it? But it is also a guilty pleasure, the type of book that I can rip through in hours to give my brain a break from the heavier literature that I read. Remind me next time I’m thinking about buying Nora Roberts to wait for paperback. Buying hardback is just not worth it.
2 1/2 stars out of five.
See, you prefer Steel for schlock where I prefer Roberts. I don’t read any other romances anymore – only Nora. Definitely formulaic, but I think she’s better at it than Danielle. At least, I like her characters better than Danielle’s.