Meredith had a lot to deal with so I hate to pile on, but she was kind of a drama queen so that made it hard to get into her story. She was obsessed with lingerie, but not in a good way. She also set out to find true love but when she finds a guy who drives her absolutely crazy, she wants nothing to do with him. There was lots of insistence that she “can’t” date a journalist because her cheating ex with the hooker habit is a journalist but that’s so stupid and didn’t fit with the character at all.
Tanner was likeable and it was easy to sympathize since he’s being blackmailed. The mystery aspects of the plot were pretty good and it was suspenseful with a HEA, so it checked a lot of boxes for me. I enjoyed the story and the supporting characters but one thing that disappointed was the miscommunication blowing up their relationship cliché. There were a number of different ways that could’ve been done well, but her seeing an incriminating text and shunning him completely without allowing him any opportunity to explain isn’t one of them.
I wish Meredith had a bit more depth instead of so many quirks. She doesn’t quite fit the story and drags down an otherwise interesting and exciting book.
Nora Roberts Land on Amazon
Nora Roberts Land
by Ava Miles
Dare Valley book 1
Published 2013
Journalist Meredith Hale’s ex-husband claimed her Nora Roberts addiction gave her unrealistic expectations about marriage, and she believed him. All dreams of happily ever after—or Nora Roberts Land as her mother calls it—went up in smoke. But when her family asks her to temporarily help their Dare Valley, Colorado newspaper, she decides it’s time to change her life and prove her ex wrong. She’s determined to find her own small-town Nora Roberts hero, prove that true love exists, and publish a story about her quest.
War correspondent Tanner McBride has just returned stateside to work for a major newspaper, and the last thing he expects is blackmail. Yet, before he can even unpack, he’s headed to Colorado. His assignment? Make his boss’s ex-wife fall for him and then break her heart. Her article about discovering love à la Nora might air dirty laundry about her marriage to the media mogul, threatening his senate run. The mogul wants Meredith stopped, and he makes sure Tanner has no choice in the matter.
When the two meet, the sparks between them are undeniable. Meredith, who vowed never to date another journalist, begins to succumb. Could Tanner be her Nora Roberts hero? As they work together to uncover the truth behind a suspicious death, the depth of their feelings unfolds and both realize they’ve kept their secrets for far too long. But before the truth can be revealed, their investigation takes a deadly turn, one that might make Meredith’s personal Nora Roberts Land go up in flames.
