★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆
Nora Roberts has constantly been making her appearance known; anyone who reads romance will certainly see her name come up one way or another. I never hung around her books. I tried her book once, though I can't remember which, and remember that I didn't like it, dropped it, and that was the end. But a friend of mine, who also has a taste for romance, recommended this to me. She really loves this series. It's a little sad that I don't share her sentiments.
The MacGregors is a family of high-achievers, rich, smart and well-rounded. This story is about one MacGregor in particular. After having earned herself multiple degrees and graduating from college earlier than those of her age, Serena decided it was time to move on to something more challenging. She applied to be a dealer on a cruise. That was where she met Justin Blade.
I have to say, though, that this match between Serena and Justin cannot be better. They're both clever and so... classy. The relationship between them started out a little rocky though, and there was a moment when I really didn't like Justin. When women say no, they really meant no. Serena had made herself known countless times, and there he was, just pushing and pushing. Perhaps there are others who like this trope, but it didn't quite work for me. It was also almost like lust at first sight. Justin couldn't seem to stop thinking about taking her to his bed.
The characters in this story, I drank them in. Despite how vexing Justin's behaviour was, I still found his character interesting, along with the others, especially Serena's father. The way he showed his love and concern for his daughter was on another level altogether. He's such a sweet dad.
Characters aside, I did have a problem with the writing style. If there is one thing I absolutely dislike, it's the abrupt changes between the third-person POVs of characters. At one time, we would be reading about Serena's thoughts, then all of a sudden, Justin's. And this, ladies and gentlemen, does not stop there. We can also get into the heads of the detective, the father, the mother, the brothers, Justin's assistant, his staff, etc. without warning. It made my reading experience very unpleasant and choppy. And I recall this was the main reason why I didn't stick by Nora Roberts' books.
Not only that, I found that I didn't really care much about the story. Yes, the gambling may be fun, and so did immersing myself in the world of the rich, but I couldn't find myself enjoying the plot. It was rather bland, and it could barely hold my attention. I was so glad that this was a short book. It couldn't get any more obvious that I wouldn't be touching the rest of this series.
P.S. Because this book was written in the 80s, I was honestly surprised by the mention of telegrams. It was really interesting!