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Tuesday, September 4, 2018

Book #Review: Black Hills by Nora Roberts

Book Title: Black Hills
Author:  Nora Roberts |Website| Facebook|
Publisher: Jove
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Series/Standalone: Standalone
Format: ebook
Cost: $7.99
Pages: 545
How I got it: Borrowed From Library
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Publisher
Publication Date: July 7th, 2009
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Synopsis:
#1 New York Times-bestselling author Nora Roberts takes us deep into the rugged Black Hills of South Dakota, where the shadows keep secrets, hunters stalk the land, and a childhood friendship matures into an adult passion.Asummer at his grandparents' South Dakota ranch is not eleven-year-old Cooper Sullivan's idea of a good time. But things are a bit more bearable now that he's discovered the neighbor girl, Lil Chance, and her homemade batting cage. Even horseback riding isn't as awful as Coop thought it would be.

Each year, with Coop's annual summer visit, their friendship deepens from innocent games to stolen kisses, but there is one shared experience that will forever haunt them: the terrifying discovery of a hiker's body.As the seasons change and the years roll, Lil stays steadfast to her dreams of becoming a wildlife biologist and protecting her family land, while Coop struggles with his father's demand that he attend law school and join the family firm. Twelve years after they last walked together hand in hand, fate has brought them back to the Black Hills when the people and things they hold most dear need them most.

An investigator in New York, Coop recently left his fastpaced life to care for his aging grandparents and the ranch he has come to call home. Though the memory of his touch still haunts her, Lil has let nothing stop her dream of opening the Chance Wildlife Refuge, but something . . . or someone . . . has been keeping a close watch.

When small pranks and acts of destruction escalate into the heartless killing of Lil's beloved cougar, recollections of an unsolved murder in these very hills have Coop springing to action to keep Lil safe.Lil and Coop both know the natural dangers that lurk in the wild landscape of the Black Hills. But now they must work together to unearth a killer of twisted and unnatural instincts who has singled them out as prey.
I went into this one like I do all the Nora books on my shelves without reading the synopsis. I was confused for a little bit but then I let myself sink into the story and it did not disappoint. It flew by and before I knew it I was hooked and reading every chance I got until I was done.

This starts off as a sweet coming of age story, with the two kids meeting, him a city kid who was angry at being sent to stay with relatives he barely knew existed; much less had been with and Lily being a town girl who knew what she wanted to be the second she was old enough to read and study.  She befriends him and wins him over because she had a baseball cage in her backyard, and they became fast friends.  Returning to his grandparents home every summer become's Coop's little bit of happiness and as he and Lily grow so do their feelings.  Before long they are making plans and racing towards adulthood, then life pride and fear steps in.

It's year's later and these two are finally back in the Black Hills having made something of themselves separately.   They failed at being a couple but they have succeeded in reaching their respective dreams. When an accident calls Coop back to the Hills, Lily is hoping she can avoid him, then she hopes she can just be friends again. Coop's not happy with it, they try and avoid each other, but finally, Coop confronts her and from there we get a pretty awesome story.

The unfolding of the mystery and what is going on takes a while. It pulls on their mutual history and then escalates quickly. The crazy of the stalker comes out fast. Because really he was playing an extremely dangerous game.  As the danger increases Coop andLily get real clear on their boundaries then break them and keep changing where they want them to be.  We see great female friendships and the development of another romance alongside their own.  I was rooting for the other couple as well.

The banter between Coop and Lily was awesome to read. They went back and forth and yet each of them conceded when it meant getting closer to the goals.  I loved reading about the sanctuary that Lily created and how she aided the animals especially the big cats.  I really enjoyed the friendships that were displayed and for a while was afraid the other couple wasn't going to get their happy ever after because of the crazy person. I was anxious to find out who it was, and then when we had an idea I wanted to know more, like why did he go off the deep end. I was anxious and nervous as the remaining pages dwindled and the danger kept escalating.  As the final scenes unfolded I was on the edge of my seat and trying to read faster.

I really enjoyed how the location was used as a backdrop and as a character as well.  As the seasons changed within the Dakotas it brought with it not just more of the mystery but a change in the characters as well. I loved how the development and improvement of the sanctuary also brought along a change for relationships that developed and even how the characters themselves began to change.  Nora's writing was very descriptive about the sanctuary and the Hills and it felt like I was there. I was completely absorbed by the story and in love with the location even more.

I really enjoyed this one being based in the Dakotas, as well as the fact that it deals with big cats, because for many a year I have loved the cats, with the Siberian Tiger being my favorite.  To read a book that features some of my favorite animals?? Yeah I was seriously stoked.  I highly recommend
 ★★★★1/2☆
RECOMMENDATIONS

  • The Krewe of Hunters Series by Heather Graham
  • Julie Garwood's Buchanon/ Reynards series

Have you read this one my loves?? Have a favorite Nora Roberts you think I should grab and read?? Share in the comments down below.  Let me know what you think if you pick up Black hills.  Happy Reading my loves, 


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