Book Title: Carolina Moon
Author: Nora Roberts |Website| Facebook|
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Series/Standalone: Standalone
Format: Mass Market
Series/Standalone: Standalone
Format: Mass Market
Cost: $7.99
Pages: 468
How I got it: Traded on Paperbackswap
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Paperbackswap
Publication Date: April 1, 2001
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Synopsis:
I actually saw the movie first and because of it, as I was reading I kept flashing back to the movie and actresses voice was Tory's in the whole book. I really loved the movie and so I loved the book just as much, this was a little more fleshed out because we got to see the motivations for the characters actions which we can't see in the movie.
This is an absorbing story about a young girl with a gift that scares the adults around her so much that they abuse her. The system failed her because the people who should have stood up to protect her didn't and the ones that tried were blocked by those too lazy to challenge the status quo. Tory was gifted with a strong empathic psychic gift that allowed her to read emotions and see when things were going to happen. This has been a curse for her because it's the excuse used to abuse her violently and on one of these days she witnesses the death of her best friend.
When she has a chance Tory runs and while she's gone she builds a successful life for herself and even falls in love. Even that falls apart due to her gift not working how she wanted it to. Running again she rebuilds herself in Charleston and then when she feels ready decides she's going back home. From there her coming home sends a killer into a spree. She challenges the towns' matriarch, reunites with the side of her family that tried to help her, and comes to the attention of Cade, her best friends' older brother.
Tory is trying her best to move on and confront the past on her terms. She stays away from her mother because she understands that the relationship was super toxic and she can't help someone who is hell-bent on ignoring all her options. As she builds her store and runs into the past, be it classmates or memories of places and things, she finds herself trying to avoid Cade and his pursuit. Cade kept tabs on Tory after she moved away and became successful. He never got over the day his life changed and having Tory back in town brings that day into focus. He's also dealing with the town believing he's going to cause their collapse because he's changing how the farming is done. He's known his whole life he was going to take over the family farm and knows he's responsible for taking care of the town as well and he's trying to show everyone that organic isn't bad. In Tory, he finds something he never knew he was looking for, and he's even more determined to protect it and her as the danger around her escalates.
As the story progresses and Tory and Cade continue to circle each other, the past comes to visit several times. Each time it brings with it newer information about the death of Tory's friend and Cade's sister. Faith the remaining twin is still struggling to find herself now that she's the remaining daughter and the one her mother wishes had died. She's bouncing from relationship to relationship and never settling down. Tory coming back into town pushes her in a direction she's not sure she's ready for. And because Tory is back relationships she took for granted are being challenged.
I loved the story. I got so absorbed into the story that time flew by and I didn't even notice. I do have to say I docked it a star for the description of the Sheriff Carl D. because when you read other books by Nora whenever she describes an older man she generally does it in a nicer way, Normally when she's saying that the person isn't classical handsome she does in a way to make you know they are interesting to look at anyway and handsome in their own way, nope not for the black guy. Even the town drunk was described better. O-o
Despite her abysmal description of the town's sheriff, he did a fantastic job being sheriff and even knew when to have a pissing contest with the Feds and when to use them to keep his town safe. Which I greatly appreciated. That's one of my pet peeves when the local law wants to pretend they can do it all on their own. Like no, get help when you need it.
Even though I had seen the movie I had forgotten who the villain was and up until the reveal kept going back and forth between two or three characters. I really enjoyed and would recommend for the mystery lovers out there. Do be warned sexual violence is discussed as well as predatory behavior.
Publication Date: April 1, 2001
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Synopsis:
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Nora Roberts—an utterly spellbinding tale about a woman who, though battered in both body and spirit, can never lose Hope…
Tory Bodeen grew up in South Carolina, in a small run-down house, where her father ruled with an iron fist and a leather belt—and where her dreams and talents had no room to flourish. But she had Hope, who lived in the big house just a short skip away and whose friendship allowed Tory to be something she wasn’t allowed to be at home: a child. After young Hope’s brutal murder, unsolved to this day,
Tory’s life began to fall apart. And now, as she returns to her hometown, with plans to settle in and open a stylish home-design shop, she is determined to find a measure of peace and free herself from the haunting visions of the past. As she forges a new bond with Cade Lavelle—Hope’s older brother and the heir to the family fortune—she isn’t sure whether the tragic loss they share will unite them or drive them apart. But she is willing to open her heart, just a little, and try. Living so close to those unhappy memories will be more difficult and frightening than Tory could ever have expected, however. Because Hope’s murderer is nearby as well…
This is an absorbing story about a young girl with a gift that scares the adults around her so much that they abuse her. The system failed her because the people who should have stood up to protect her didn't and the ones that tried were blocked by those too lazy to challenge the status quo. Tory was gifted with a strong empathic psychic gift that allowed her to read emotions and see when things were going to happen. This has been a curse for her because it's the excuse used to abuse her violently and on one of these days she witnesses the death of her best friend.
When she has a chance Tory runs and while she's gone she builds a successful life for herself and even falls in love. Even that falls apart due to her gift not working how she wanted it to. Running again she rebuilds herself in Charleston and then when she feels ready decides she's going back home. From there her coming home sends a killer into a spree. She challenges the towns' matriarch, reunites with the side of her family that tried to help her, and comes to the attention of Cade, her best friends' older brother.
Tory is trying her best to move on and confront the past on her terms. She stays away from her mother because she understands that the relationship was super toxic and she can't help someone who is hell-bent on ignoring all her options. As she builds her store and runs into the past, be it classmates or memories of places and things, she finds herself trying to avoid Cade and his pursuit. Cade kept tabs on Tory after she moved away and became successful. He never got over the day his life changed and having Tory back in town brings that day into focus. He's also dealing with the town believing he's going to cause their collapse because he's changing how the farming is done. He's known his whole life he was going to take over the family farm and knows he's responsible for taking care of the town as well and he's trying to show everyone that organic isn't bad. In Tory, he finds something he never knew he was looking for, and he's even more determined to protect it and her as the danger around her escalates.
As the story progresses and Tory and Cade continue to circle each other, the past comes to visit several times. Each time it brings with it newer information about the death of Tory's friend and Cade's sister. Faith the remaining twin is still struggling to find herself now that she's the remaining daughter and the one her mother wishes had died. She's bouncing from relationship to relationship and never settling down. Tory coming back into town pushes her in a direction she's not sure she's ready for. And because Tory is back relationships she took for granted are being challenged.
I loved the story. I got so absorbed into the story that time flew by and I didn't even notice. I do have to say I docked it a star for the description of the Sheriff Carl D. because when you read other books by Nora whenever she describes an older man she generally does it in a nicer way, Normally when she's saying that the person isn't classical handsome she does in a way to make you know they are interesting to look at anyway and handsome in their own way, nope not for the black guy. Even the town drunk was described better. O-o
Despite her abysmal description of the town's sheriff, he did a fantastic job being sheriff and even knew when to have a pissing contest with the Feds and when to use them to keep his town safe. Which I greatly appreciated. That's one of my pet peeves when the local law wants to pretend they can do it all on their own. Like no, get help when you need it.
Even though I had seen the movie I had forgotten who the villain was and up until the reveal kept going back and forth between two or three characters. I really enjoyed and would recommend for the mystery lovers out there. Do be warned sexual violence is discussed as well as predatory behavior.
★★★★☆
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Happy Reading my loves,
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