Is Nora Roberts Still the Queen of Romance… Or Has BookTok Moved On?

This week on Plot Twist, Please, we're tackling one of the biggest names in romance: Nora Roberts. Is she still the Queen of Romance, or has modern BookTok left her behind?

 ✨ Today’s cocktail: Donna Italian Spritz
 🎧 Tune in, sip with us, and remember — keep your glass, your bookshelf, and your TBR full. 🍸📖✨

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Welcome to Plot Twist, Please – the ultimate bookish podcast for readers who love deep discussions, honest book reviews, and trending BookTok favourites. We talk fantasy books, romance books, thrillers, YA series, and everything in between whilst sipping on our favourite cocktails. From old favourites to the latest viral reads, we’re here for all the plot twists.

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INTRO 
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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

You know, if these were the books you enjoyed, I don't think I'd ever take a book recommendation.

SPEAKER_04 0:07

First 50 pages, they went to the island. They met in their group, and they're just like, everyone's just like, yeah, let's do this quest, even though I just met you two seconds ago.

SPEAKER_00 0:14

You know what Nora does? Here's her formula, a hot dog. It's all the bits and pieces. And she just throws them into the store to make a wiener. She dabbles too much. She'd be out here doing too much. She's got one formula for writing and 75 different genres she dips her toes into.

SPEAKER_03 0:35

We've got fantasy thrillers, tough fantasies, cozy fantasy with the dash of COVID.

SPEAKER_07 0:42

I read it in 2020, and again, as we've said, I'm a nostalgia Nora Roberts reader, and they look to us for giving much grace.

SPEAKER_00 0:51

And you toss them off a cliff.

SPEAKER_04 0:52

We are on such a good streak, too. Yeah, we were.

SPEAKER_00 0:55

We just decimated it.

SPEAKER_01 0:58

Smithereans. I don't know what you're talking about. This podcast is so unserious. We know nothing. And we're like, hey, what's the podcast? We all have things and yet we know everything.

SPEAKER_05 1:13

We're here for the vibes. All our knowledge. And roasting each other. That's that's all. Yeah, honestly, though.

SPEAKER_06 1:27

Welcome back to Plot Twist Please, where we sip, flip, and spill the tea on books and booze. I'm Beth. I'm Cass. And I'm Susanna.

SPEAKER_00 1:36

It's going well so bad. All of us, isn't it? I keep looking over here, going, You're not Beth.

SPEAKER_07 1:43

So today we're going to be discussing the queen of romance, Nora Roberts. No faces, please. Yep. If you're new here, she is a bit of a controversial topic for us. So we've decided that we're going to dive in. Oh, we're dive into it. You can see Beth is in the hot seat today. Yes. I'll be as the Nora Roberts lover. All by yourself over there. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 2:08

Where you belong. And the chair's fixed finally. It's off your floor. It's not on the floor. So it's good timing.

SPEAKER_07 2:13

Yeah. But we're here to discuss today. Can an icon truly age out? Yes. Yes.

SPEAKER_02 2:19

We're going to discuss.

SPEAKER_07 2:20

I don't know if we need to discuss it. I think the episode's over.

SPEAKER_02 2:23

And we're done. Two minutes and 40 seconds. Perfect.

SPEAKER_04 2:28

Today's drink is Donna Italian spritz with ice. It's delicious.

SPEAKER_07 2:33

It's really good.

SPEAKER_04 2:33

It's a blood orange flavor.

SPEAKER_07 2:35

I'm glad you put the little like the donor. Donna. And it's like a non. Like whitewashing it to be like Donna.

SPEAKER_04 2:44

Oh, I actually did like the Italian, like Donna.

SPEAKER_07 2:46

That's what you, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 2:46

You're like the donut. My Italian app's paying off.

SPEAKER_08 2:51

Is it though?

SPEAKER_04 2:54

Yes. Tut bene. Very good. Tut the bene.

SPEAKER_02 3:00

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 3:01

Oh, it's me. All right. We're just doing so well. We're doing real good today. I have only had three sips. Okay, so before we jump into the um the episode.

unknown 3:15

Oh my lord.

SPEAKER_00 3:16

Is everyone drinking? Or reading? Cass, you're fired. Am I hired?

SPEAKER_02 3:25

No.

SPEAKER_04 3:26

But thank you. I'm reading Crown Me Yours, which is the second book in the Heart String duet by Liv Xander, which we're supposed to be reading it together, but I have flown through it.

SPEAKER_07 3:34

You've flown through it.

SPEAKER_00 3:35

I haven't even started yet. I am reading Crown Me Dead, the first book in the duet. And I'm like 30% in, and it's real good.

SPEAKER_04 3:43

It's a dark fantasy romance, and I have to tell you guys, I feel real cool. It's dark romance.

SPEAKER_00 3:49

Oh no, I've breached it. I'm actually very shocked that you enjoy it.

SPEAKER_04 3:53

It's like a little bit spicy in some parts, but some of the scenes are like crucial to the storyline, so I don't mind it as much. But it's just the whole premise of it is just great. And the second book, you'll see why I love it so much.

SPEAKER_00 4:05

What's interesting though is we've read another book by her.

SPEAKER_04 4:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 4:08

Uh Feathers So Vicious. Yep. You hated it.

unknown 4:12

I didn't read it.

SPEAKER_04 4:12

Yeah, you did. She read it with us.

SPEAKER_07 4:14

Yeah, you did.

SPEAKER_04 4:15

No, I didn't. You did.

SPEAKER_07 4:16

It was one of her club books. You did not like that. Before the Fable Club.

SPEAKER_04 4:19

Continue. I will find a very spicy. I'm right.

SPEAKER_07 4:22

Well, I'm reading Hideaway by Penelope Douglas, and I will be starting Crummy Dead tonight.

SPEAKER_00 4:27

You better. You said that last night. I know. But then I died. I like it was like 8 30.

unknown 4:32

You're letting me down.

SPEAKER_02 4:33

I know. How is Susie beating you?

SPEAKER_04 4:36

I didn't read it. She doesn't have kids. It's true. I would always spend a lot of time. You read it. I didn't read it though. I think I opted out. No, you read it.

SPEAKER_00 4:43

I it's not in my finished. There's no way. I remember her commenting on how her not liking it. Yeah. We re we all read it together. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 4:51

Okay, whatever. I'm right.

SPEAKER_00 4:52

You just probably didn't like it so much, you just didn't even bother to rate it or anything. Maybe you got like the first chapter in, you're like, nah, I'm not doing this.

SPEAKER_04 4:59

I think I read the synopsis and I was like, no, you guys read. I'll I'll read something else.

SPEAKER_07 5:03

It is possible.

SPEAKER_04 5:05

I've done that for a few books.

SPEAKER_00 5:06

Maybe. Yeah. I just feel I remember her commenting on it and not liking it.

SPEAKER_07 5:09

I thought we all did it. Could have sworn.

SPEAKER_00 5:11

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 5:13

So let's dive in first to Nora Roberts, the author. Her first book was Irish Thoroughbred, don't recommend. Was published in 1981 by Silhouette Books. I don't recommend any of her books. So she actually wrote this novel during a massive blizzard in 1979 when she was snowed in with her two young sons, kicking off a wildly prolific career that spans hundreds of novels. Like she has over 200 books.

SPEAKER_04 5:39

200 too many.

SPEAKER_07 5:47

This episode is just going called Beth and the Haters. Susie literally just she like pulled it right out. Susie, yours I thought you were supposed to be. What is that?

SPEAKER_08 5:55

She's like, what do you have?

SPEAKER_07 5:57

What is that? It's a fist. That's a very weak fist. I could tell you've never punched someone. Can you tell that one? I was confused. It's like this. Definitely look like you're about to drop something in her hand. I'm embarrassed. I've never punched anyone. It shows.

SPEAKER_00 6:14

Thumb out.

SPEAKER_07 6:17

That was sad. Susie, you're supposed to be Switzerland in this episode.

SPEAKER_00 6:21

No, she hated it just. She's a she is a secret hater more with Laura Roberts than me. I'm more vocal about it. You are vocal, yes. Very secretive about it.

SPEAKER_02 6:31

You're making me cry over my fist.

SPEAKER_07 6:34

That was embarrassing. But anyway, since then she has built a romance empire, whether you like her or not. She also dived into the th thriller genre and has started and opened other businesses like a bread bed well, bed and breakfast, which she based her uh in Boonesboro series on.

SPEAKER_00 6:52

Maybe she just should have just stu stuck to the hospitality.

SPEAKER_07 6:56

Maybe.

SPEAKER_00 6:56

Did she not? Well, she does it too.

SPEAKER_07 6:58

She does both. I thought originally when I read the books that she'd open up the inn afterwards, but she actually wrote it, I guess, after they started doing this. So kind of interesting. It's a an old historic building that they had renovated and there's a ghost in it. Cool.

SPEAKER_00 7:14

I wouldn't recommend it for casts, anyways. Oh, I thought you meant there was a ghost in her actual bed and breakfast.

SPEAKER_07 7:20

There might be. Could be why it's in the story. So she has a massive fan base across generations. I'm just watching the two of you now. I, for one, found her through my mom, my family, possibly my grandma. She could have read them as well because they were all up at the family cottage. I know my aunts definitely did. And I've actually had quite a few members in our fable group that have come to me that they have read her because uh like their mom read her, their grandma, and it's kind of just trickled down to them.

SPEAKER_04 7:47

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 7:47

So is she timeless or does her style feel dated to new romance readers? Let's dive in. All right. Let's shall we? So you guys can't necessarily talk about it, but I just want to touch on what made Nora Roberts so big. So some of the things that she's allegedly like me keywords done really well is consistency. But I think that again, like I guess have said in previous episodes, she has a formula that she definitely uses for her books. Cozy escapism. No, it kind of made my brain bleed at that. She has strong settings, like small towns, competent adult characters, romance without relying heavily on spice, and she blends mystery, suspense, family dynamics with romance.

unknown 8:34

Okay.

SPEAKER_07 8:35

But allegedly.

SPEAKER_04 8:45

That's very true. Those are kind of the There's anything I agree with anything you're gonna say in today's episode. That's it. That's it.

SPEAKER_00 8:51

She doesn't fit any of these categories for sure. At all. None. It's but her writing for me is just nails on a chalkboard.

SPEAKER_04 9:00

Actually. There's one category in this list that she will she fits into, which is causing intense emotional damage.

SPEAKER_07 9:08

I knew you were gonna go for that one. In a bad way. In a bad way. To me. To me as well. To me. So that brings us to has romance changed more than Nora Roberts has? Maybe Nora Roberts didn't fall off. Maybe the genre just changed. It moved. Romance readers consume books faster now. Trends are constantly changing. And honestly, I think we expect more.

SPEAKER_04 9:29

Sharper dialogue. Yeah. They yearn. Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 9:31

Sharper dialogue, faster hooks, more tension, more explicit intimacy.

SPEAKER_00 9:36

Like I think her formula maybe worked in 1876. But that's that's that's a really long formula. She's not even that old. She's very old. She's 75. She wasn't born in 1876. I'm being dramatic, obviously. But but she's just kept and stuck with it that it's like it's not working anymore. Just doesn't work. Because I mean, agreed to disagree. There's so many looks for very intricately, beautifully well-written, structured books out there now.

SPEAKER_07 10:09

And hers is just not our members I was talking to, we were kind of like going, and she was kind of saying, like, she likes it. And I've seen some of the reviews I was looking at too was that they found her an easy read. She was an easy pick-up read. You're not too emotionally invested. You don't have to be in a right headspace for it or anything like that.

SPEAKER_00 10:29

Well, I wouldn't say easy. She's very confusing the way she writes.

SPEAKER_07 10:32

I think if you're used to her, it's I didn't I didn't find her book confusing. Just the way she describes things.

SPEAKER_00 10:39

Her sentence structures. Sentence structures and she flips narration like POVs. Without disclosure. But no disclosure.

SPEAKER_07 10:45

But again, like I because I grew up on that, I didn't even notice that. Did you notice it the second time? But I was looking for it because you had already complained about it.

SPEAKER_00 10:52

Right. Can you not see how someone just reading it for the first time would be like, what the?

SPEAKER_04 10:56

Well, especially when we're reading books nowadays that have like that. They're chapters.

SPEAKER_07 11:00

And then one of the things we've complained about too is when like when authors now don't have a distinct whose point of view you're reading. Yeah. Right.

SPEAKER_00 11:09

So most do, thankfully.

SPEAKER_07 11:11

Yeah. I think the the dual point of view is on the rise, but we want it a specific way. Yes. We deserve it. I think. So what what feels maybe nostalgic for me and other readers does not come across for you guys.

SPEAKER_04 11:26

No, doesn't it?

SPEAKER_07 11:27

For some new readers. Which is why, again, brings us back to is has has Nora Roberts, you know, she passed her prime. She has.

SPEAKER_04 11:34

Yeah. Her demographic. Has passed their prime.

SPEAKER_07 11:38

So and I said this to you guys before. So Nora Roberts has amazing reviews, like and star ratings on her books.

SPEAKER_00 11:46

I don't know how.

SPEAKER_07 11:47

She does though, but some of her books have like over a hundred thousand ratings on them, over six thousand written reviews on both like Goodreads, Fable, like all of that. Like she's got such a massive following. And I think the people who love her right now outweigh the people who don't. I don't think you guys are going round. Like, I don't think current modern day new readers are going out and being like, yeah, Robert.

SPEAKER_00 12:13

No, it's definitely people that have grown up with her.

SPEAKER_07 12:16

Well, and I think some of them have been reading her like since 70s, 80s. It's more of a nostalgia. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 12:22

Although I did see like that book that I think it's Mirror Mirror or something. I saw that on the shelves specifically at Walmart. And I this is before it read Nora, and I really wanted to read it because of the cover alone. But now that I've read Nora, I won't be.

SPEAKER_00 12:35

Well, and I didn't even really like that one. Yeah. I'm gonna play devil's advocate for a second here because I know not just devil. Right. Okay, here's the thing. We grew up with Twilight. Okay. We think it's a masterpiece. Fantastic book. And movie. Correct. And movie. Just if we were to give that book to someone today, a teenager. A teenager today, that's a reader that has read the other genres that are currently out, they would probably be like, Are you insane?

SPEAKER_07 13:04

I have to read it. This is garbage. Can a teenager reach out to us? I would like to hear from you.

SPEAKER_04 13:10

I haven't reread it since high school, so I had no idea what that book's like anymore.

SPEAKER_00 13:15

I think we would still enjoy it though, because it's nostalgia, right? So it's that nostalgia aspect.

SPEAKER_07 13:20

Well, and so even for the awakening, I had read that when it came out in 2020. Bring it back to the reviews for a second. And I remember saying to you guys, it's got a 4.2 something star rating on Fable. Not sure how. What's actually what does Twilight have?

SPEAKER_04 13:35

3.65. 311,664 reviews. Wow. Someone's review was just simply ho.

SPEAKER_07 13:46

Were they a five-star though? Yeah, what was her rating? 3.5. They came for the hoahoa. Yeah. That is it. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 13:56

That's where it ended.

SPEAKER_07 13:58

So I know like I personally have found her writing timeless and comforting through my life. Fair. But that did not come across for you guys. No. Very much not. It's confusing. So this is a little MMC book talk or book talk boyfriend. Emotionally stable carpenter versus shadow daddy assassin. Shadow daddy. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 14:18

Yeah, 100%. Assassin kills people. Swift. Ninja-like abilities. Emotionally stable carpenter. Jesus?

SPEAKER_02 14:31

I think Jesus too. Jesus is up there, you know? But he doesn't want a girlfriend. I'm his daughter.

SPEAKER_00 14:39

I will say, the Jesus in The Chosen, not too shabby on the eyes. Jonathan Roomy? Not too bad on the eyes.

SPEAKER_04 14:47

Yeah. He just portrays Jesus so well. Anyway, let's get back to Nora. I could go on about the chosen forever.

SPEAKER_07 14:53

I can't. So left sealed. We're bringing it back to some of our previous comments, another episode, but Nora is 75. She was born in 1950. Sorry. 19s. She's in the 1900s.

SPEAKER_00 15:07

1950.

SPEAKER_07 15:11

That was close. But when we're talking if she's aged out of romance, does her age really matter?

SPEAKER_04 15:15

Yes.

SPEAKER_07 15:16

Like can authors stay culturally currently if they try.

SPEAKER_04 15:20

If they well, I don't know if the author could say culturally current, especially because there's so many debut authors coming out all the time. It's really hard for I think an author to have constant buzz around their books. If anything, after a long writing career like that, it would mostly just be loyal readers who would keep up to date with her books.

SPEAKER_00 15:38

Yeah, I agree.

SPEAKER_04 15:39

I don't think her age matters really. It's more so the length of her career. And if she's actually trying to keep up with the trends, which she's not, or her, you know, writers.

SPEAKER_07 15:49

Now, on the flip side, can readers age out of authors?

SPEAKER_04 15:53

Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah, 100%. If you read a book when you're a teenager and then you mature out of that, you're not gonna go back to it really.

SPEAKER_07 15:59

It's kind of like when people have started talking about uh The Little Mermaid, and they're like they watch it with their kids, and then she's like, Daddy, I love him, and he's like, You don't even know him, and you're saying they're like as a parent, being like, Yeah, you don't know. Growing up, you're just like, Man, that like King Triton was mean. Now you're like, no, no, he was justified. Oh yeah. I understand. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 16:22

Watching that movie back, there's so many things wrong with it.

SPEAKER_07 16:25

And I think there's you do have maybe the nostalgic reads Harry Potter, Twilight. I think those are ones, but have you guys read Harry Potter recently?

SPEAKER_04 16:33

Uh yeah.

SPEAKER_07 16:34

No.

SPEAKER_04 16:34

I've read uh the sec well, I read the first book this year, I think, and then I read, or maybe around Christmas time last year, and then I read the second book, but I haven't continued on in the series.

SPEAKER_07 16:44

Is it like is it a nostalgic read for you? Like, do you does it bring you back, or do you feel weird reading about children?

SPEAKER_04 16:50

Uh no, like I never really read the books before. I watched the movie first, so I'm I'm more nostalgic with the movies, but I never read the book. So I was like trying to go and see what the books were like. I do think that like it's just a little juvenile for me at this point in my life. Like, I'll read it, but like I'm not gonna enjoy it as much as I like enjoy books that I choose to read.

SPEAKER_00 17:11

Yeah, I think the movies have become more nostalgic to me than watching the movies, yeah. Yeah, that's fair. Personally, same with Twilight. I could put Twilight on right now and still be like, oh, this is so good. Today's a good day for an act. Today is a good Twilight day. Yeah, it is.

SPEAKER_07 17:28

It's just so you guys know, it's a miserable. It's raining consistently. It looks like forks outside. Yes. People forget how to drive in the rain. Yes, yeah. And that sometimes your brakes don't work right. There's that. Do you guys think that there is pressure on women to stay young in a way that male authors don't experience?

SPEAKER_04 17:54

Yeah, I mean, I don't think Stephen King has any screen. That's kind of who I was thinking of. Everyone reads Stephen King, really.

SPEAKER_00 18:00

Because Stephen King is just so good. I don't know what it is about him. He's just a mastermind. Like his books, they're I don't know, they're timeless in a sense. Like we grew up with it. Yeah. The shining. Also not me. You're a pet.

unknown 18:17

Oh you were a little bit younger.

SPEAKER_04 18:19

No, I'm just too scared.

SPEAKER_00 18:21

Pet cemetery. Gerald's game, Pet Cemetery. And to me, like his newer books are still fantastic reads.

SPEAKER_07 18:28

One of the things that like I that kind of kept popping up was that male thriller, and I think maybe just male authors, are allowed to write the same books for 30 years, but female romance authors are expected to constantly evolve.

SPEAKER_00 18:41

It is true, but it's a different genre. I think it's it's it's different. It's a different you can't, it's a different ball game.

SPEAKER_07 18:47

Well, thrillers do change. I think they have changed with the times. Yeah, for sure. But so has romance. I think maybe romance has changed a lot more. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 18:56

People want different things in a romance. Thrillers, I feel like, are mainly all the same.

SPEAKER_00 19:01

There's also been a huge like explosion with romance novels.

SPEAKER_07 19:06

So I also think some things have really shaped them in different ways between social media and the Me Too movement have really changed, I think, what people are expecting in romance books. Certain things have kind of changed. And this was something that one of our members, Fable Club members, had talked about was that in the book, like he was like this like smoker and stuff. And most of us don't really read about because not a lot of people smoke cigarettes, not to the extent that they did in the 80s.

SPEAKER_04 19:35

Yeah, back then it was like cool. Yeah, you know, people be vaping.

SPEAKER_07 19:39

Yeah, that's the cool thing. Not for me at all.

SPEAKER_00 19:42

Neither do you, but yeah.

SPEAKER_07 19:44

So I think some of those things have really changed too, like in what people expect in in romances. Yeah, yeah, definitely. So, do you guys think that Nora Roberts could survive like a modern book talk review?

SPEAKER_04 19:56

No, no, the people in book talks are not even reviewing her books at this point, and they are harsh sometimes. Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 20:03

I mean, we've been harsh. Oh, for sure. I was gonna say we try and be a little bit more diplomatic. Depends on the book. Yes, depends on the book. Some people, though, are way more harsh than we are.

SPEAKER_07 20:13

So I I took some of her top books and we're gonna do a little game called Viral or Flop. Okay, perfect. So if you didn't know anything about Nora Roberts or that whole side of things, say she was a new author, if you heard about these books right now, would you think they would go viral or would they be a flop? Okay. All right, let's go. So I'm gonna read the synopsis. So flops, a few different ones. Grab my drink. Okay. So first one, I actually had this set at home. Vision and white, book one of the Bride Quartet. Nora Roberts quarterly, I include this because it's part of the all the books. Quarterly invites you to meet childhood friends Parker, Emma, Laurel, and Mac, the founders of Vows, one of the Connecticut's premier wedding planning companies. After years of throwing make-believe weddings in the backyard, flowers, photography, desserts, and details are what these women do best. A guaranteed perfect, beautiful day full of memories to last the rest of your life. With bridal magazine covers to her credit, Mackenzie Mac Elliott is most at home behind the camera, ready to capture the happy moments she never experienced while growing up. Her father replaced his first family with a second. And now, her mother, moving on to yet another man, begs Mac for attention and money. Mac's foundation is jostled again one month before an important wedding planning meeting when she bumps into the bride-to-be's brother, an encounter that has them both seeing stars. Carter McGuire is definitely not her type. He's stable and he's safe. He's an English teacher at their high school alma mater. There's something about him that makes Mac think a casual fling is just what she needs to take her mind off dealing with bridezilla's and screening her mother's phone calls. But a casual fling can turn into something more when you least expect it. And with the help of her three best friends and business partners, Mac must learn how to make her own happy memories.

SPEAKER_04 21:54

You know, I was when you mentioned the bride to be's brother, I was like, oh, okay, this has viral potential. But then she said safe and stable. Stable.

SPEAKER_00 22:02

That's like her philosophy as well. And when you said yeah, when you said the brother, I was like, but then the safe and stable, I was like, flop.

SPEAKER_04 22:11

Up until then, flop, viral potential. Flop again.

SPEAKER_00 22:15

Yes. It was a roller coaster. I was like.

SPEAKER_04 22:18

Yeah, you should see my face up.

SPEAKER_07 22:21

Yeah. All right. Brings us to the witness. Daughter of a controlling mother, Elizabeth finally let loose one night, drinking at a nightclub and allowing a strange man's seductive Russian accent lure her to a house on Lakeshore Drive. The events that followed change her life forever. Twelve years later, the woman known as Abigail Lowry lives on the outskirts of a small town in the Ozarks. A freelance programmer, she designs sophisticated security systems and supplements her own security with a fierce dog and assortment of firearms. She keeps to herself, saying little, revealing nothing, but Abigail's reserve only intrigues police chief Brooks Gleason. Her logical mind, her secretive nature, and her unromantic viewpoints leave him fascinated but frustrated. He suspects that Abigail needs protection from something and that her elaborate defenses hide a story that must be revealed. With a quirky, unforgettable heroine and a pulse-pounding plot line, Nora Roberts presents a riveting new read that cements her place as today's most reliably entertaining thriller and will leave people hungering for more.

SPEAKER_04 23:21

I think that one has viral potential.

unknown 23:23

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 23:23

Yeah, potential. The the police chief's Brooks, that's a good name. That's a good name for Brooks Brooks Gleason. Yeah. A male main character. That is a good name.

SPEAKER_00 23:33

Brooks is a good, you know.

SPEAKER_04 23:34

Yep. Potential. And he's fascinated but frustrated. Is he sexually frustrated?

SPEAKER_00 23:39

Knowing Nora, probably not. Yeah. But if I didn't know Nora, perhaps. Perhaps. So I'm gonna, I'm not gonna say viral for sure, but I'm gonna say potential. Potential. It has potential. Has potential?

SPEAKER_07 23:50

It has potential. All right. Moving on. Northern Lights. The town of Lunacil, Alaska was Nate Burke's last chance. As a Baltimore cop, he watched his partner die on the street. She strikes the cops, eh? Yeah, she does. Okay. Actually. And the guilt still haunts him. With nowhere else to go, he accepts the job as chief of police in this tiny remote Alaskan town. Aside from sorting out a run-in between a couple of motor vehicles and a moose, he finds his first few weeks in the job a relatively quiet. But just as he wonders whether this has been all a big mistake, an unexpected kiss on New Year's Eve under the brilliant northern lights of the Alaskan sky lifts his spirit and convinces him to stay just a little longer. Meg Galloway, born and raised in Lunacy, is used to being alone. She was a young girl when her father disappeared and she has learned to be independent, flying her small plane, living on the outskirts of town and just her huskies for company. After her New Year's kiss with the chief of police, she allows herself to give in to passion while remaining determined to keep things as simple as possible. But there's something about Nate's sad eyes that get under her skin and warms her frozen heart. And now, things in Lunacy are heating up. Years ago, on one of the majestic mountains shadowing the town, a crime occurred that is unsolved to this day. And Nate suspects that a killer still walks the snowy streets. That took a turn. His investigation will unearth the secrets and suspicions that lurk beneath the placid surface as well as bring out the big city survival instincts that made him a cop in the first place.

SPEAKER_00 25:14

I'm still gonna say flop.

SPEAKER_07 25:16

Yeah. And his discovery will threaten the new life and the new love that he has finally found for himself.

SPEAKER_00 25:21

I'm gonna say flop. Yeah. Just doesn't catch my eye.

SPEAKER_04 25:24

And there's one point where I was like, it has to be a thriller or a romance. It can't be a mix of both. No, no, that's a lie.

SPEAKER_00 25:31

And well no, if it's done properly, it can happen. I I bring us back to the mindfuck series. That's true.

SPEAKER_04 25:38

Oh, really?

SPEAKER_00 25:39

That is true. That one was very well done. That one was very well done. Yeah. It had thriller, had cops, romance, revenge, strong FMC, a blonde MMC. Yeah. That everyone. Yeah. That is true. And she did it real well.

SPEAKER_04 25:56

Right, so I got two more. Wait, wait, wait. I have a note. Oh, okay. I think she talked too much. Sorry. Um, I was gonna say, when it says the first few weeks on the job are relatively quiet, that means she's gonna drag on. It's gonna drag on forever. You're right. That's what I was thinking when she said that.

SPEAKER_00 26:11

You're very right.

SPEAKER_04 26:12

I was like, oh, it's gonna be half the book the slow weeks.

SPEAKER_01 26:20

So right. So I'm gonna finish with.

SPEAKER_07 26:21

But we don't know Nora.

SPEAKER_01 26:22

We're not supposed to know her.

SPEAKER_07 26:24

You don't know Nora. I still think you guys would think it's a flop.

unknown 26:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 26:28

Yeah? I think it's a flop just reading that. Okay, but we all agree on that one. Yeah. So I've decided to finish with two. So this one is one of her newer works. Okay. And this actually is probably one of her more fantasy-based books, and apparently brought in a new group of readers. I'm sure it did.

SPEAKER_00 26:48

I'm sure it did.

SPEAKER_07 26:50

And then I went with her, her, the other one that she does, the her thrillers that she does writes under her pen name. Oh, okay. I threw that into the mix as well. Alright, year one, book one of Chronicles of One, it began on New Year's Eve. The sickness came on suddenly and spread quickly. The fear spread even faster. Within weeks, everything people counted on began to fail them. Oh, so COVID.

unknown 27:11

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 27:13

The electrical grid sputtered, law and government collapsed, and more than half of the world's population was decimated. Where there had been order, there was now chaos. And as the power of science and technology recedes, magic rose up in its place. Some of it is good, like the witchcraft worked by Lana Bingham practicing in the loft apartment she shares with her lover, Max. Some of it is unimaginably evil and it can lurk anywhere, around a corner, in feted tunnels beneath the river, or in the ones you know and love the most. As word spreads that neither the immune nor the gifted are safe from the authorities who patrol the ravaged streets, with nothing left to count on but each other, Lana and Max make their way out of a wrecked New York City. At the same time, other travelers are heading west too, into a new frontier. Chuck, a tech genius trying to hack his way through a world gone offline. Arles, a journalist who's lost her audience but uses pen and paper to record the truth. Fred, her young colleague, possess burgeoning abilities and an optimism that seems out of place in this bleak landscape. Rachel and Jonah, a resourceful doctor and a paramedic, who fend off despair with their determination to keep a young mother and three infants in their care alive. In a world of survivors where every stranger encountered could be either a savage or a savior, none of them knows exactly where they are heading or why. But a purpose awaits them that will shape their lives and the lives of all those who remain. The end has come. The beginning comes next.

SPEAKER_00 28:34

Even the synopsis dragged on. Why was there so many characters in the synopsis?

SPEAKER_01 28:42

I don't know why.

SPEAKER_07 28:43

I don't know why.

SPEAKER_04 28:44

It's too much. That was that was what they put out there to bring the people in. Cass's expression, I had to take a photo of because we were just too good.

SPEAKER_02 28:53

We're gonna have to post that when this comes out. Oh yeah. That could be the like the new episode out. Cass is exhausted. I just horrified.

SPEAKER_00 29:02

I think I fell asleep for a minute there. That was so long. Is this supposed to be a fantasy? That was supposed to be the synopsis too. Of just book one.

SPEAKER_04 29:10

It's a series of fantasy. How long is this book? I'll look it up one second.

SPEAKER_00 29:15

I feel like she didn't need to go into all the like the extra characters. Too much. She'd be doing how many parts how many pages?

SPEAKER_05 29:24

It says 419 to 448. It's too long. It's 400 pages too long.

SPEAKER_07 29:30

Yeah. I enjoyed the series, but it did give me COVID by Walking Dead vibes with magic.

SPEAKER_00 29:37

You want to know what her problem is? She dabbles too much. She'd be out here doing too much. She's got one formula for writing and 75 different genres she dips her toes into.

SPEAKER_03 29:50

Yeah. In one book.

SPEAKER_00 29:53

One book. We've got all genres.

SPEAKER_03 29:55

That's exactly. We've got dystopian.

SPEAKER_00 29:57

We've got fantas thrillers. We've got fantasies.

SPEAKER_03 30:00

Cozy fantasy with the dash of COVID. All right. Well, let's finish.

SPEAKER_07 30:06

That's a flop if you didn't get the book. Naked in Death, which is the first of her in-death series. That one's the 20 plus book series that I said I just gave up on it.

SPEAKER_04 30:18

20 books, Nora. You gave up on it. That tells us enough.

SPEAKER_07 30:22

Well, because there's 20 books. 20 plus books in the series. At least we agree on that. So this was the one that she when she exodiac, she dove into thrillers she wrote under the pi the pen name JD Robb. So here's the novel that started at all, the first book in JD Robb's number one New York Times best-selling in-death series, featuring New York homicide detective Lieutenant Eve Dallas and Cork. It is the year 2058, and technology now completely rules the world. Here she goes. But New York City detective Eve Dallas knows that the irresistible impulses of the human heart are still ruled by just one thing: passion. When a senator's daughter is killed, the secret life of prostitution she's been leading is revealed. The high profile case takes Lieutenant Eve Dallas into the rarefied circles of Washington politics and society. Further complicating matters is Eve's growing attraction to Rourke, who is one of the wealthiest and most influential men on the planet, devilishly handsome and the leading suspect in the investigation. Flop.

SPEAKER_00 31:21

Yeah. None of these are grabbing me. Yeah. There is some of her top notes. Wow. People actually look the people. Synopsises. Is that a word?

unknown 31:36

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 31:36

It's a word.

SPEAKER_07 31:37

Synopses. I can say for a fact, knowing elder readers in my life, that once they find someone that they like, they will read every single book.

SPEAKER_00 31:45

Yes. That's like my dad with um My mom's like that. What's that guy? Clive.

SPEAKER_04 31:50

Oh, um Nate had a lot of things. Clive Owen. No. Starts with a J. There's a J in there.

SPEAKER_00 31:55

Custler. That's the one.

SPEAKER_07 31:57

And pictures that has like a train on the front that just keep pictures in my head. He did um Sahara, the movie. If you've read you've seen that movie with uh Michael McConaughey. I haven't. No? It's a good movie. Michael McConaughey. Michael. Or Michael Matthew McConaughey. I was like, is that his older brothers?

SPEAKER_01 32:15

This brother Michael. This podcast is so unserious. We know nothing. And we're like, hey, we'll listen to the podcast. We know everything.

SPEAKER_05 32:28

And yet we know everything.

SPEAKER_01 32:30

We're here for the vibes. All our knowledge.

SPEAKER_05 32:32

And roasting each other. That's that's all. Yeah, honestly, though. Love that for us.

SPEAKER_07 32:36

So let's finish this segment. Yes, we with should veteran romance authors, or even just veteran authors, adapt to trends, or should they keep writing for their audience? The loyal. Yeah, that's what I think. And that could be why Nora hasn't grabbed new readers. She's got her formula, her people like it.

SPEAKER_04 32:59

Well, she's got her writing voice. People like it. And then if she's writing books, especially at 75, those who are loyal to her, like she doesn't need to change her writing voice and reinvent herself all over again. Or she could just simply retire.

SPEAKER_07 33:12

She's made it. But maybe she loves. I still wonder if she has retired. Let's dive into your guys' favorite topic when it comes to Nora Roberts, her writing style.

SPEAKER_04 33:25

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 33:25

Wait, what?

SPEAKER_04 33:27

The writing style of Nora Roberts' books. The thing that made me throw a novel that Beth gave me. I had to carefully throw it to make sure I didn't ruin it.

SPEAKER_00 33:34

I would have done it and then just bought her a new one.

SPEAKER_04 33:37

Yeah. Well, for me.

SPEAKER_00 33:40

Although I had a backup one at home. I didn't know.

SPEAKER_04 33:43

The writing style for me was just like very confusing, over descriptive, but like the way she would like place things in the sentences just didn't make sense. And she had M-dashes in weird places. That and um she wrote this gay character. It was just a lot of other people agreed with me in the reviews. I looked at the lowest reviews, and it was, I think it was the awakening.

SPEAKER_00 34:03

Yes, it was.

SPEAKER_04 34:04

And yeah, and the gay character that she wrote just kept saying girl constantly. Yeah. And I read too many girls before I threw the book. It was just such a stereotypical gay guy, and a lot of people in a good way. Yeah, in a bad way.

SPEAKER_00 34:15

Like she put all she was like, Well, he's gay, so he must say girl a lot. Yeah. So I didn't notice that.

SPEAKER_04 34:23

Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_00 34:24

That's one of the things. Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 34:25

Well, I said it, I notice it all the time. Because I went into I read it last after you guys. I actually didn't notice that.

SPEAKER_04 34:31

That was the last straw. I texted Cass about it so much about this girl thing. I was like, I can't. If he says girl one more time. Like I have a couple gay friends and they do not use girl that much. I have a gay hairdresser. He does not say girl.

SPEAKER_07 34:43

Yeah. So some of the things when I was looking through the reviews that readers were struggling with recently was the pacing. They found her pacing really slow. Um, some of them actually even talked about pacing was like uneven, I guess the best way would be. Like slow and uneven. Yeah, it was slow and then was fast at times. Like, and then the parts where it like went fast, it was like almost too fast. Like the buildup to it was just like and you're just like womp, overly descriptive at times. At times, the whole time. Now, this is like all of her books, like not just this book. I can imagine it's all of her books. There wasn't a lot of banter. No, bantering, but a lot of dialogue.

SPEAKER_00 35:21

That's one dialogue, but it was all empty dialogue, yeah.

SPEAKER_07 35:24

It was even all dialogue. So in The Awakening specifically, I would say the bantering was not bantering. Like she I think she wanted it to, but it wasn't. It just came off very flat.

SPEAKER_04 35:34

Not bantering. You have to insult him a little, insult them each insult them tired each other. I can't talk. Dang it. Tradition.

SPEAKER_07 35:40

I must talk. I can't stop. So she relied heavily on traditional gender dynamics. Yep. Not a lot of viral quote writing. So, like, none. There wasn't a lot of quotes that stood out in her writing. It was all just kind of I didn't highlight a single thing. Um with that, they said there wasn't a lot of like emotional chaos. Like there wasn't like your heart wasn't being ripped out, or you weren't crying reading her books. Like you, it was just like, which kind of goes with how some people like it because you just you stay on a heavy or a heavy like a steady, even keel through the book. I can't do that.

SPEAKER_00 36:14

I cannot.

SPEAKER_07 36:14

I want to feel something.

SPEAKER_00 36:15

Make sure something.

SPEAKER_04 36:17

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 36:17

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 36:18

Other than other than rage.

SPEAKER_00 36:19

Other than rage, like not in a good way.

SPEAKER_07 36:21

Yeah, not in a good way. So I gave you guys both homework, which I believe was not done.

SPEAKER_00 36:26

But let's dive into the in the direction of the book on my dresser.

SPEAKER_07 36:30

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_00 36:30

Yeah. Yeah. I passed by it every time I looked at the book.

SPEAKER_04 36:34

No, I opened it and then I DNF'd and I put it back on my TV record. You did read it. I read a little bit, yeah. I read like 50 pages, I think.

SPEAKER_07 36:40

Did you leave? You just looked on the outside of it. She hasn't started. No. Nah. So since we have all read The Awakening, we'll we'll look dive into that a little bit. Okay. Now, if you're part of our fable book club. Unfortunately, you're part of this. This had people feeling some type of way about that on there. They chose. It's their fault. They did choose, but it's Beth's fault. I read it in 2020, and again, as we've said, I'm a nostalgia Nora Roberts reader, and so she is given much grace.

SPEAKER_00 37:09

And you tossed them off a cliff.

SPEAKER_04 37:11

We were on such a good streak, too.

SPEAKER_00 37:13

Yeah, we were. Just decimated it.

SPEAKER_01 37:17

Smithereans. I don't know what you're talking about.

SPEAKER_00 37:20

What did you guys rate The Awakening? I didn't even finish it. So zero.

SPEAKER_04 37:26

No.

SPEAKER_00 37:26

And even if I did finish it, zero.

SPEAKER_04 37:28

Wait, did I read it? I gotta read it. I think I did. You did. I thought you finished it.

SPEAKER_00 37:32

I finished it.

SPEAKER_04 37:33

No, I didn't. Oh no, you didn't. You didn't.

SPEAKER_00 37:35

You got farther than I did.

SPEAKER_04 37:37

Yeah. I don't think I did a review for it.

SPEAKER_07 37:42

I thought you were singing. I gave it a 2.5.

SPEAKER_00 37:46

Baby. Yeah. Now that I found you, I can't let you go. You guys guess that we've been in a off-campus coma.

SPEAKER_04 37:56

Yeah. Oh, yeah, I didn't I didn't review it at all. I didn't want Beth to know I DNF'd it, so I didn't review it. I also did not put it in my DNF like she quite you DNF'd.

SPEAKER_01 38:06

Yeah. She quietly DNF'd it.

SPEAKER_04 38:08

I just did none. I didn't even put it in the did not finish section. I was just like none. So it didn't show up on your feed. You can do that.

SPEAKER_00 38:14

No, you didn't do that. You DNF'd it. And then you DNF'd her second book, and you didn't know that it showed up on your list until I said I texted you and I said, Did you? I was like, you DNF'd it? And you're like, how did you know? And I was like, it shows up on your list. I was like, Beth won't know.

SPEAKER_07 38:31

She won't know. I thought I would I would read some of the comments that our Fable members had when it came to this book. Marina said, if it helps Beth, I don't mind the book, lol. I decided that even wanted to see what happened next and served the second. There are some Nora Roberts books that are very good and some that just aren't. And this one fell somewhere in the middle. Her writing isn't always the most sophisticated, and her characters are always a little too perfect at everything that they do. And the ending is always pretty predictable. The good guys always win, the main characters always end up settling down, married with kids, you know, that kind of thing. There's a strange kind of comfort in that predictability, which does kind of make this feel like a bit of a cozy read. Although every now and again, a small part of me does kind of wish that the bad guy would win. Maybe a couple of main characters die or just break up because someone leaves their socks on the floor or their toilet seat up. Yeah. Yeah. We have Amber. Hi Amber. Hi Amber. Uh Amber is the one who came for Nora in one of the DNF episodes. Alright. I'm excited. So she said, I have finished. Once again, I enjoyed this book. So on to the second. I agree with Mira. She has a formula she sticks with, but the predictability provides a cozy read. She has been tooted as one of the best-selling authors, not just romance author or female author, but author the dabblin.

SPEAKER_00 39:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 39:44

In the world. She has a huge backlist of books in the hundreds, and her books are always bestsellers because of her huge loyal fan base. Her books are also routinely translated into many, many different languages. She is an easy, cozy read. Her books don't need to be dissected and critiqued, like we all had to do in English class. They're for pure enjoyment, turn the brain off, and just enjoy. I read enough other books with heavier topics which make me think and give me pause. Nora Roberts, JD Raw books are my chill out books, vacation books, the book that cleanses my brain palette between the others. Like others here, I don't like all her books, and if you haven't heard, I have even DNF'd her books on occasion. But I keep coming back for more. Just for the chill, cozy romance vibes that always have a happy ending. Thank you for choosing a Nora book. I had the next club read ready to go. Thanks to Libby. No commented uh at Amber redeeming herself. Me? Yeah. Because of the DNF. She was sucking up.

SPEAKER_04 40:35

Oh yeah, you were so mad.

SPEAKER_07 40:38

Karen shared her review with the club. She gave it two stars. This wasn't for me. The pacing felt extremely slow with a heavy focus on the mundane and too many details about everyday life that didn't add much to the story. I found myself wanting more progression and less repetition. I also felt like it really lacked romance, which made it harder for me to connect with the story. The writing style and wording didn't quite click with me either, so overall it was a bit of a struggle to stay engaged. Yes. That said, I am a little curious about where the story goes next. So I might still give the other two books a chance, just not rushing to pick them up. I don't think this author is for me overall, but I'd be open to trying a different book by her in the future.

SPEAKER_00 41:11

Karen, did you pick that book back up? Did you get the second one?

SPEAKER_07 41:14

So Brandy and actually, if you guys remember Brandi and Alua started reading this early. Yes. Oh, we were. And Alua was like losing it. She kept sending like dramatic memes about it. As Alua does. Yes. And Brandy went through all three books by the time like everyone got to the first. Yeah. So she said to Karen, I read all three books and things don't change. Oh Brandy. Just in case people want to read this series and the next books, I won't read because she goes into a little bit of things there. McKinsey said, I kept waiting to see what was so appealing about this book and never found it. Was it life-changing? Far from it. But it did keep my attention. I was curious about what was going to happen. It was a bit slow, but not painfully. It was a whatever read for me, but I might actually finish the series at some point. It has piqued my interest for Nora Roberts as a writer, and if she has better books, I might actually read them. I won't be raving about it to friends, but I'm also not mad I read it and it did not feel like a waste of time. Oh, that's good. Maybe I'll leave the people with the Brandies. I finished the whole series like an idiot. She shared this. Outrage. Outrage everywhere. Yes. So this is gonna bring us to some of Beth's favorite Nora Roberts books. Oh, very good. But we're gonna read a five-star review and a one-star review. Susie, I'll have you read the five-star review. Just make sure you're splitzerland when you're reading it. She won't be. I want enthusiasm. I'll try.

unknown 42:46

Okay.

SPEAKER_07 42:48

Cass can bring her negative Nancy to the one-star review. Yeah, buddy. I'd much rather be the negative Nancy. So I will give you the book. I'll give you the synopsis. And then we've got we we start strong with our five-star and then we go to the one-star. Okay. Okay. So this is my all-time Nora Roberts nostalgic read. Oh boy. I decided I'd start strong and hurt my feelings early. Okay. Okay. It's the Key of Light, book one. Mallory Price's life plan has hit a snag. She's in danger of losing her job managing an art gallery in Pleasant Valley, Pennsylvania. A welcome distraction comes in the form of an invitation to a cocktail party at Warrior's Peak, an infamous estate overlooking the town. But no one else she knows has been invited. There are only two other guests, Dana Steele, a librarian, and Zoe McCourt, a single mother. On the surface, it seems the women have nothing in common until their mysterious hosts tell them a story and offer them a challenge. Legend has it that the souls of three demigoddesses, one an artist, one a bard, and one a warrior, have been locked in a box that has three keys. Now it's up to Mallory and the others to find the keys. The reward a million dollars each. It all seems too bizarre to be true, but none of them can ignore the financial windfall they stand to gain. And now, Mallory. With her soul of an artist and eye for beauty, she must find her key first. She soon discovers that whatever locked the soils away is dark, powerful, and greedy, and it doesn't want the woman to win.

SPEAKER_04 44:11

Alright, here's the long five-star review. That's so long. We can kind of do it. She just wants this to be validated. If Nora Roberts is my ultimate comfort author, which she is, then this trilogy is my ultimate comfort trilogy. Of the dozens of trilogies and quartets I've read from her, the key trilogy is my favorite.

SPEAKER_07 44:30

I didn't read I didn't write this, but same.

unknown 44:32

Oh.

SPEAKER_07 44:33

Are you sure? Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 44:35

I think she did. There are others that I love that I also return to again and again for comfort, but then there are those that I really respect, such as The Chronicle of the One. But this trilogy I respect and admire and love deeply. It just really resonates with me, and I can't believe I've never reviewed it. I love the way Nora describes art, the power of it, the making of it, the love of it. She's had many novels featuring artists and those who work with art, and I'm always wowed by the way she weaves the love for her character's feel for art and the magic of the art itself into her stories.

SPEAKER_00 45:03

I can only imagine how long she goes on about these art pieces.

SPEAKER_04 45:06

As with all of Nora's books, there's a strong romantic element. I have no notes for this story. It's an incredibly subjective five five stars, yeah. I just love the key trilogy so much. It's something I can sink back into anytime I need something cozy. And it's a story that I think about frequently. If you've ever thought about reading a Nora Roberts trilogy but don't know which one to try first, start here.

SPEAKER_07 45:29

I don't know if I would agree with that part.

SPEAKER_04 45:31

Okay.

SPEAKER_07 45:31

Just because it is one of the older ones. Interesting.

SPEAKER_04 45:36

I'm bunker. Switzerland no more. Let's go.

SPEAKER_00 45:39

Dear Miss Roberts, I totally believe that two people who have spent a whole summer jumping out of planes and escaping death by fire together on a daily basis might fall in love and get married after knowing each other for only a few months. It also seems plausible that you might fall in love with a guy who had a crush on you in high school or even possibly your car mechanic, but deciding to marry this random dude with an annoying dog three weeks after you meet him just because you went on some wack-a-doo fairy quest with him and had sex on an ugly couch, unplausible. Also, stuff like I can walk three miles in these heels. I'm a professional female, vom. No love, Jenny. I like her attitude. Professional female. I thought you would.

SPEAKER_04 46:19

I'm a professional female too, but I can't walk in heels at all.

SPEAKER_07 46:22

Not anymore.

SPEAKER_04 46:23

No.

SPEAKER_07 46:24

No, I'm a giraffe. Yeah. Sneakers are my heels. Alright, so this brings us to Morgan's Cross Book One in the Circle trilogy. In the last days of high summer, with lightning striking blue and a black sky, the sorcerer stood on a high cliff overlooking the raging sea, belting out his grief into the storm. Hoyt McCoyneth rails against the evil that has torn his twin brother from their family's embrace. Hoit.

unknown 46:46

Hoyt.

SPEAKER_07 46:47

Her name is Lilith. Existing for over a thousand years, she has lured countless men to an immortal doom with her soul-stealing kiss. But now this woman, known as Vampire, will stop at nothing until she rules this world and those beyond it. Hoyt is no match for the Dark Siren, but his powers come from the goddess Morgan, and it is through her that he will get his chance at vengeance. At Morgan's charge, he must gather five others to form a ring of power strong enough to overcome Lilith, a circle of six. Himself, the witch, the warrior, the scholar, the one of many forms, and the one he's lost. And it is in the circle, hundreds of years in the future, where Hoyt will learn how to strong his spirit and his heart have become. Surely likes the group of people. She does, yeah. That's a central theme in her books. It's gotta be Especially in the fantasy ones, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 47:32

Yeah, it's like the Avengers. Nora Roberts' version of the Avengers. Five star review.

SPEAKER_07 47:38

No.

SPEAKER_04 47:38

Switzerland flag. Five-star review. Nora Roberts is the queen of epic fantasy battles. This book hit it on all levels for me. She does her core group of six people really well. They band together to have amazing journeys, and as a core, the group develops into a warrior group. Her world building is so well done. I love the fact that this book is set in Ireland. It's a place I hope to go visit one day. This book was so incredible with the setting and the plot. Glenna, Hoyt, Moira, Larkin, Blair, and Cien. Love them all. You have a 12th century sorcerer and vampire, a witch, a scholar, and a man of many shapes. You have time travel, witches, demons, vampires, and epic battles all rolled into one. I mean the next book immediately.

SPEAKER_00 48:16

Nora and her dabbling in all Beth approves. One star. I don't know why I bother with Nora Roberts anymore, but she's as formulaic and predictable as Roberts and in her guise as JD Robb. I think I used to like her when I was 16. Maybe that's because she actually came up with new ideas back then. Total yawner. And if you changed the names, you could see any of her other recent trilogies shaping up in this short novel. Six characters, three relationships warming up. It is as if she just changed the setting and the action bits rather than any of the relationship and conversational stuff. It would be even more boring to re-reiterate how each of her gambits resembles previous books, so I won't bother doing it. I don't know what compelled me to get this from Amazon. I'm pretty sure it was because I wanted to get the four for three special and couldn't find a last book. But despite the fact that my refund will be less than the price of medium mail, I'm returning this to Amazon just so this crappy author won't get another dime because of me. I like her. I thought you would.

SPEAKER_07 49:18

She is spot on. So this was the book I gave Cass as homework that she did not read. Okay. So this is Blood Brothers. She did not one of the Signs of Seven trilogy. In the town of Hawkins Hollow, it's called The Seven. Every seven years, on the seventh day of the seventh month, strange things happen. It began when three young boys, Caleb, Fox, and Gage, went on a camping trip to the Pagan Stone. It is only February, but Caleb Hawkins, descendant of the town founders, has already seen and felt the stirrings of evil. Though he can never forget the beginnings of the terror in the woods 21 years ago, the signs have never been this strong before. Cal will need the help of his best friends Fox and Gage, but surprisingly, he must rely on a stranger as well. Reporter Quinn Black came to Hawkins Hollow hoping to make its eerie happenings the subject of her new book. She too can see the evil the locals cannot, somehow connecting her to the town and to Cal. As winter turns to spring, they will shed their inhibitions, surrendering to a desire that will grow and form the cornerstone of a group of men and women bound by the fight against what is to come from out of the darkness.

SPEAKER_04 50:23

Okay. Five-star review. This is one of my all-time favorite Nora Roberts series, last trilogies. It's like Nora decided to write a creepy Stephen King horror story with romance, and it works.

SPEAKER_00 50:34

That's why I thought Caspid Lake. I can't compare anyone to Stephen King. Especially Nora. That's an insult. There's at least two reviewers who said Stephen Robin. That is an insult. Nora Roberts to Stephen King, the king of thrillers? Insulting. And I'm about to prove that with this one-star review. This book was hands down the most boring book I have ever read. Ever. I attempted to force my way through Blood Brothers, but after an entire month of suffering, I have finally accepted defeat. The story dragged, and the author provided background information, the entire story. Where's the excitement, lady? Even the romance stunk, and I wouldn't call care if Cal ditched Quinn and she became a nun. To put it lightly, Nora Roberts is just not for me. Did I pick up the wrong book, or is everything she writes this bad? Because I just hated this book. I plan on giving the entire trilogy away. It's everything she writes is just this bad.

SPEAKER_04 51:28

I'm surprised they gave it an entire month.

SPEAKER_07 51:30

I mean, I get it, because I started Cleanlands February 1st and I just finished it.

SPEAKER_00 51:34

You guys like just DNF. She has gotten better. Yeah. I'm talking about everyone else that can't DNF. Just do. It's so liberating. I don't know because I still I'm still like, eh, eh, it's gotta be pretty bad.

SPEAKER_07 51:47

This is my my final one. My homework? This was Susie's homework that she DNF'd. Rightly so.

SPEAKER_04 51:54

And you're gonna make me read a five-star review of it?

SPEAKER_07 51:55

Yes, I am, ma'am. That's torturous times two, Mary. Okay, do you want me to read the five-star and you can read the synopsis? No.

SPEAKER_00 52:01

No, you read it and then disagree with everything this person says.

SPEAKER_07 52:04

Alright, Stars of Fortune, book one of the Guardians trilogy. Sasha Riggs is a reclusive artist, haunted by vivid dreams and nightmares that she turns. What? Another artist. That she turns into extraordinary paintings. There's gonna be a group of people desperate to understand her visions. She finds herself drawn to the Greek island of Corfu. She's only just arrived when she encounters Bran Killian. What is one? An Irish magician with a warm charisma and secrets dancing in his eyes. Sasha has never met Bran before, but she knows him only too well because this is the man from her dreams. The man she has painted over and over again. The man she seems fated to be with. If she can find the courage to accept who she really is, Sasha soon discovers that four other strangers that have been lured to the island. Like Bran, they're all desperately searching for a mysterious jewel known as the Firestar before it falls into the wrong hands. Together they might just succeed, but first they must learn to trust one another and reveal their deepest secrets. On the sun drenched island of Corfu, love and magic are sparked into life, and for Sasha, nothing will ever be the same again.

SPEAKER_00 53:14

You know, if I had known these were the books you enjoyed, I don't think I'd ever take a book recommendation. Ever.

SPEAKER_04 53:22

They're all the same. Thankfully. Artist cops, a group of six going on a quest. Always. You need one of each person.

SPEAKER_00 53:30

And there's magic, dystopian, there's not only that.

SPEAKER_04 53:33

But within the first 50 pages, they went to the island. They met their group, and they're just like, everyone's just like, yeah, let's do this quest, even though I just met you two seconds ago.

SPEAKER_00 53:42

You know what Nora does? Here's her formula: a hot dog. All the bits and pieces. And she just throws it into the story. To make a wiener. To make a wiener of a story. It's just a giant hot dog. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 53:56

Five-star review. It was my third or fourth reading of this pretty book. Four times? I will say the cover is pretty. That's why I was like excited to read it. But third or fourth re-read dang. Okay. I mean, I probably have read it at least that many times. You're just as bad. Stars of Fortune will probably never get old for me. Nora's talent for creating fantastic friendships is truly in the spotlight because that's all she writes. She doesn't write anything else. She's perfect in it at this point. Has she though? No. Add perfectly beautiful surroundings, awesome dogs. Another dog.

SPEAKER_00 54:30

She does like dogs. I mean, she's not a good person. I can't blame her.

SPEAKER_04 54:34

Yeah. Mountainful wealth flowing wine. And you have an escape in this world fraught with anxiety. Who doesn't need that once in a while? This book and the two which follow let readers fly away. Who doesn't need anxiety once in a while?

SPEAKER_00 54:47

I'm offended. To a world. I suffer with it every day. You would love to go away from it. This book could help you. No, it would give me more anxiety from the thing from the Noah it says that it in a world fraught with anxiety. Who doesn't Oh, I see what she's saying. Yeah. I thought it was Nora's world that was fraught with anxiety.

SPEAKER_04 55:05

No. So let's readers fly away to a world where problems are magically solved. Friends love you. Romance is real, and good always triumphs. Happy ending guaranteed.

SPEAKER_07 55:15

She is a happily ever after author.

SPEAKER_04 55:17

Yeah. Return.

SPEAKER_01 55:19

Please. I gave you two.

SPEAKER_00 55:21

This is so bad. So bad. I don't even have the energy to write a proper review for it. It was like a Hallmark movie with a sprinkle of magic. I nearly DNF'd this at least three times. Girl, just do it. But for some reason, decided to push through. I should have stopped after reading that prologue. This whole book was just one eye roll after another. One of the characters actually called their team the Avengers. I can't even. Point proven, the Avengers. You did say that. I did. You did say that. I got another one? Yeah. Oh, yes. Thought you would like that. What did I just read? Does someone else write under her name? So superficial with no depth and just cheesy. It was so cheesy, my eyeballs were rolling around like crazy. Yeah, I can relate.

SPEAKER_04 56:10

Thank you to both of those reviewers. That was torture. Having me read a five-star review of a book you know I did.

SPEAKER_07 56:17

It was one of my favorites. All right. Final verdicts. Is Nora Roberts still relevant? No.

SPEAKER_04 56:25

No.

SPEAKER_07 56:26

Yeah, unfortunately, I'd have to agree with that one. Would younger readers Okay. No. Younger readers would not connect with her.

unknown 56:34

No.

SPEAKER_07 56:34

Does her writing still hold up? No. No. Is romance better now or just difference? It's better. Better.

SPEAKER_04 56:41

There's no romance.

SPEAKER_07 56:42

Difference and better. And better.

SPEAKER_04 56:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 56:46

I had made some notes when I read the book. Subjective notes that I just want to share with the people. So I said I think some of us have gotten used to dual POVs done as chapters. I can see why you might not like her style of writing, but it's more like a movie. You have a narrator describing what's happening and you get both sides of the conversation. I did not mind it.

SPEAKER_04 57:10

You are entitled to your assessment.

SPEAKER_07 57:13

The transitions of POVs can be very abrupt if you're not used to her writing. In chapter three, there was a transition that I can see was very confusing for people. Some things I would say are outdated, even for this book only being six years old. Which for me, and even reading some of her older books, you can almost tell when they're like when you're reading it when that book was set. Like, you know what I mean? Like if it was from like the 80s or the 90s, whatever. Like she does make references to artists and movies, things like that that are popular at that time. Which I think when it comes to like reading these books, it does kind of age it.

SPEAKER_04 57:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 57:50

One of the examples I even brought up was that they have an iPod that they use for shared music.

SPEAKER_04 57:54

Oh.

SPEAKER_07 57:57

In her apartment with Marco. Asking Marco to stop the mail. I don't think that's even really something we'd we do. I did that when I moved, and that's the only time I've ever done that in my life. And they're only gone for two weeks. Usually you'd just be like, hey, if you swing by, I just grab my mail, so it's not sitting there. Yeah. Yeah. Selfies were a big thing, but they took a lot of selfies. And they were blogging, not vlogging. And tweets were still a thing because tweets tweets died in 2023.

SPEAKER_04 58:25

Yeah. Yeah. And it became X.

SPEAKER_07 58:27

Yeah. So those were, I found a lot of things rereading this six years later that I was like, this ages the book. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 58:35

This is not relevant anymore. Exactly. Was it ever relevant?

SPEAKER_07 58:40

So for our viewers, what are your thoughts on legacy authors? And what are your, I guess, even what are your thoughts on Nora Roberts and Nora Roberts as a romance author? And is she still relevant to you?

SPEAKER_00 58:52

No, she's not. But let us know in the comments.

SPEAKER_07 58:55

Well, Nora Roberts may not dominate online romance culture anymore, but she has helped create the foundation that it stands on. The bigger question might not be whether she aged out of romance, but whether romance changed into something entirely different. No, she's aged out of it. She aged out of it and it changed. Well, that brings us to our final segment of the episode.

SPEAKER_00 59:16

Linesy Loved.

unknown 59:20

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 59:21

That's so annoying. Just do it.

SPEAKER_00 59:23

No.

SPEAKER_04 59:23

You're so lame. No, you're lame. I'm gonna do Crown Yours, a Dark Fantasy Romance, The Heart String Duet Book Two by Liv Xander, page 154. Again, this is no spoilers for those of you who are reading it. Love and loss are on the same coin. One side warmth, one side ache, but the value never changes. And to carve out the grief would be to erase the love that made the memory. Oh. Yeah. That's cute. I like that. That's cute. I'm gonna send it to my Nana.

SPEAKER_07 59:50

Oh. Yeah. Go ahead, Beth. All right. So I did one from Hideway, Penelope Douglas, page 122. You're not still a virgin, are you? Yes, probably suspicious when it didn't answer. I mean, Damon took care of that a long time ago, right? Bile rose, swelling my throat, and I pushed his hands away. You're disgusting. I gritted out my eyes burning with tears. How could he be so vile? But he just laughed me off and walked back around his desk. That boy would fuck a brick if it was wet enough. Don't think Bial didn't know what was going on up in that tower.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:19

Oh interesting. Spicy. Spicy things are siblings. What? They're siblings? Half siblings. He's not the MMC. Oh, okay.

unknown 1:00:29

Fair.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:29

Your turn. Okay. Mine's from Fury Bound by Sable Sorensen. Page three. Oh wait. You've been an unhealthy fixation from the moment I laid eyes on you. I continue, voice low. And now I've tasted you and discovered my favorite flavor. You haunt me, you consume me, and it's sheer agony. Because whatever that was, it cannot happen again.

unknown 1:00:48

Yes. It's good. It's dark. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:50

He's so good.

SPEAKER_04 1:00:52

He's good. Oh yeah. Uh well that's it. That's it. You can find us on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube at Gwatwist Please Pod. We're also anywhere you can get your podcast. So make sure you're following or subscribed so you never miss an episode. If you love this one, hype us up a little. Leave us a comment, drop a rating or review, and tell us what you would like us to read next.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:10

Thank you so much for joining us on this episode.

SPEAKER_07 1:01:13

And as always, keep your glass, your bookshelf, and your TBR full. Cheers.

SPEAKER_04 1:01:19

Uh click the recording buttons. The red. Yeah, the red. And then that one is on.

SPEAKER_03 1:01:28

Oh no!

SPEAKER_04 1:01:29

Oh no!

unknown 1:01:32

Scary.