Survivor in Death, etc.

Ah....the In Death series. I love this series. I'm not sure why I like it, but it may be that I don't seem to consider it a series with individual titles. In my mind, it's one continuous story with the books acting more like episodes. I honestly can't tell you what happens in the individual books, nor can I really give you titles other than the first, a few in between, and the latest. Yet I really really love this series. Strange.

Started Survivor in Death on Friday, but only got a little ways in before exhaustion forced me to sleep (and a headache and the Tylenol PM). So I was determined to finish it yesterday. Read it on and off all day and then finished it in the evening. Is it a testament to Nora's writing that I got cried (well, teary-eyed) twice? Or was it just a bad emotional moment that had nothing to do with the book? Who knows, but I did really feel for the kid in this book and all the awfulness she had to endure.

Now, I've only read the J.D. Robb books and have never read Nora as Nora. I admit I wouldn't even be able to know where to start. Something new, something old? Somewhere in between? I'd hate to start off my Nora reading career with one of her more 'bad' books, or at least boring. I'm not much for straight contemps, but I seem to realize that I'm sort of missing something in the romance world by not reading Nora. I get the same gasps of disbelief when I mention not reading her that I also seem to get when I say I've never read Linda Howard (now what happens when I say I don't read Christine Feehan is another thing, another entry). Yeesh. Still haven't read Linda Howard, though I do have To Die For on my shelf that someone gave me.

So, if anyone's reading this and has read Nora Roberts, what should I start with? Probably wouldn't get to reading it anytime soon, but I'd like to know for future reference.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love Nora. I'm not as big a fan on the In Death books as I am of her other books. Of course, she has a million books out all the time, but one of the latest I've read by her is Birthright, which came out in paperback recently. I have the Key trilogy and Blue Dahlia, which are pretty new, but I haven't read them yet. I loved Birthright. She really gets into the subject of her books, so whether I like a book or not sometimes depends on how interested I am in the subject. Like, I didn't like The Villa as much (wine industry). Birthright was about an archaeologial dig, so that appealed to me more. I'd recommend looking at the subject matter of some of her recent books and finding one where the "research" part of her book is going to be interesting to you, then you're more likely to end up enjoying the story. Oh--I almost don't really like her "family saga" type stories where she'll do a trilogy about a family (though obviously a lot of other people love them!). I prefer the romantic suspense ones.

Nicole said...

Thanks Suzanne, yours is just the kind of post I was looking for. I'm not big on "family saga" types either, one reason I'm just getting into straight contemporary (reminds me too much of the drama movies that I avoid). I think I'll look for Birthright. I know someone somewhere mentioned that the archaeology bits were a bit off, but maybe I can gloss over that (I was once an anthro/arch major).

Anonymous said...

One of my fave Nora books is Montana Sky ... a family saga.

Nicole said...

Jill, I'll add that to the list too. Everytime I say I don't like reading something, someone comes along and writes whatever it is I dislike really well. I'm flexible. :-)

Nicole

Alyssa said...

I'm a big fan of the Chesapeake (spelling?) Bay series. It starts with Sea Swept. It stands alone, too, so if you decide you don't want to read the others, you won't be left in the air.

:)
Alyssa

Sasha White said...

I read To Die For last week, and enjoyed it. It's been a while since I've read a LH book. As for Nora, her Donavan Legacy ones are my faves!

Nicole said...

Thanks everyone. I think you've been quite helpful!

Anonymous said...

I'm bloghopping & came across yours on RTB. Thought I'd put my two cents in on Nora. I'm a huge fan of the In Death and love her as Nora too. I've just finished reading Blue Smoke for the second time. It's her latest & it's excellent! I haven't liked some of her newer books, but this one was great!!! :)