The Obsession by Nora Roberts – a Review

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Description:
“She stood in the deep, dark woods, breath shallow and cold prickling over her skin despite the hot, heavy air. She took a step back, then two, as the urge to run fell over her.”

Naomi Bowes lost her innocence the night she followed her father into the woods. In freeing the girl trapped in the root cellar, Naomi revealed the horrible extent of her father’s crimes and made him infamous. No matter how close she gets to happiness, she can’t outrun the sins of Thomas David Bowes.

Now a successful photographer living under the name Naomi Carson, she has found a place that calls to her, a rambling old house in need of repair, thousands of miles away from everything she’s ever known. Naomi wants to embrace the solitude, but the kindly residents of Sunrise Cove keep forcing her to open up—especially the determined Xander Keaton.

Naomi can feel her defenses failing, and knows that the connection her new life offers is something she’s always secretly craved. But the sins of her father can become an obsession, and, as she’s learned time and again, her past is never more than a nightmare away.

Review;

I just love a good Nora Roberts book.  She may be known in the world of literature as a romance writer, but her books are so much more then the romance between her hero and heroine.  The Obsession is a perfect example of this.  It’s a riveting, suspenseful, yet charming story.  Yes we have our romance between Xander Keaton and Naomi Carson(Bowes), but weaved into this romance is a mystery that involves  danger, murder and death.  All these elements had me sitting on the edge of my seat waiting and praying that on the next page I’d find out who this person is that’s stalking Naomi and praying on the people around her.  Every time I thought I had an idea of who this mystery man was, Nora would drop another clue and I’d change my mind.  I will admit I never expected who the culpit was, I should’ve, the clues were there upon hindsight, but Nora was successful with the element of surprise for this reader anyways. 

No matter how hard Naomi has tried to put her past behind her, it’s always hovering on the edge of her life, causing her to keep her distance from people and living a quiet life.  However, things were about to change, and change for the good where Naomi is concerned.  Enter Xander Keaton, mechanic and lead singer of the town band The Wreckers.  I must confess I loved Xander from the get go.  He’s your typical alpha male on the outside, but underneath that macho stuff lies a man with a heart of gold.  Oh Xander………swoon, thud, ouch, rubs her backside, gets back into chair, resumes review. LOL!!  Yes okay Xander had me swooning on a few occasions.  His personality just jumps off the page and it’s hard to miss the connection and chemistry that Naomi and Xander have from their first meeting.  Xander is pretty much like a dog with a bone, he sets his sights on Naomi and vows to make Naomi his.  Just like Tag, the dog Naomi and Xander wind up rescuing from the side of the road and he talks Naomi into caring for him till he’s healthy.  She winds up keeping the dog, or is it the other way around? Tag winds up keeping her?  Sneaky Xander, that was step one to getting Naomi to open up and trust again.  I absolutely loved Xander’s pursuit of Naomi and watching him slowly but surely break through her defenses and bring her into the light and land of the living. Naomi is kind of like her photographs she takes, she’s developing into a whole new, more confident, trusting and courageous women.  Their romance is a sweet and steady climb, that just keeps building, all the while letting the reader learn more and more about our pair as individuals and as a couple. They really are well matched for each other. 

The cast of secondary characters is a strong, supporting and lively cast.  They help advance the story and bring an extra part and life of it’s own to the story.  The cast of characters is also instrumental in helping Naomi develop this new sense of self she possesses by books end.  She learns that even non-blood ties can become family if you only stop long enough to allow them too. 

If you are a Nora Roberts fan then you can’t go wrong with The Obsession. It’s a fast paced novel, with plenty happening all around.  A good solid romance, suspense, and murder to keep the reader on the edge of their seat soaking it all in to the very end. 

Until next time, happy reading everyone.

Reviewed by Marcie

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