I liked Tribute, as I like all of Nora’s books. They’re well-written, well-researched escapes into romance. Lately however, certain well-used literary devices have started to bug me.

1. While I have enjoyed Foolish, Mo, Spock, and Lump – the “dog-as-character” device is becoming old hat.

2. While the word “lavish” is a good, strong word, every book has someone doing things lavishly. They kiss lavishly, hug lavishly, and in the latest book, the dog peed lavishly.

3. The first time I saw her reference a song lyric in a sentence, I thought it was neatly done. Now it’s done in almost every book. Something along the lines of “…and with Mick complaining about getting no satisfaction, she cruised into town.”

I will be the first to admit that I might be alone in feeling this way. As Ms. Roberts graciously stated, book elements strike different people differently. It certainly won’t stop me from buying and enjoying her books.

Firstly, Nora, loved Tribute. Thank you Jane for posting this review b/c I sooooooooo wanted a place to let Nora know how much I enjoyed it.

Secondly, re Cilla and her father, I assumed there was backstory there, a history if you will. Cilla knew her half sister enough to like her and knew some things about her stepmother, so it felt, to me, that she and her father HAD a relationship, even if it was mostly superficial. So I bought their interaction.

Thirdly, re Ford, was a great character. So unlike Nora’s usual heros, which I enjoyed. Not that I don’t love Nora’s other heros, cause I do, but it shows Nora’s strength that she can make a, mostly, geeky guy as a hero and have me buy it. Also, I know great looking guys in their 30′s who play video games and know their comics, so there wasn’t anything there that seemed unreal or forced, for me.

Fourthly, TOTALLY did not see the end. Not at all. I was totally surprised. yay! And actually, I both laughed out loud and nearly cried, several times, during the read, so viscerally, it hit all my emotional buttons.

Fifthly, re the sexxoring. I wasn’t sure how to state this and my prior post was maybe all over the place, as I just drove from DC to Philly, but I’ll try it again. I like my heroines to not be virginal. One, I think it puts all the power in the hero’s almight magical penis, which I hate (just as much as I hage the magic hoo-ha). Second, for contemporaries, I don’t buy it. For historicals, ok. I’ll buy that, even though usually only the middle-class was overly concerned with virginity. But women of today, taking ownership of our own sexuality has been a long struggle for women, a struggle we continue to have today. And by somehow praising virginity, while ostrasizing a woman who’s had sex, really bites my ass. (no, this part isn’t going quite right and for that I apologize) Essentially, I don’t necessarily need to read about the sex, but I do want my heroines to have experience in the bedroom. I don’t know if this makes sense…damn. ;)

Don’t even get me started about Ford. He’s the kind of guy that I wouldn’t have looked twice at when I was in school. Now that I am in my 30′s I TOTALLY see the appeal.

For me, this book worked. It pulled me in and kept me there with Cilla and Ford. I hated to see them go.

I never thought of Ford as stalkerish; he seemed like a grown up nerd. For me, his video gaming and Star Wars/Superman obsession fit his character. I know several guys (& a few girls) who would fit in with Ford and his buds. As for Cilla’s father, I had the impression their relationship was a work in progress. He certainly knew he had failed in his role as her father, but I felt they both wanted to build a relationship.

I also liked Bob, the renovation details AND the quotable line from a familiar romance blogger :)

Obviously, I didn’t struggle with the characters or their motivations so this is a solid B/B+ for me.

And, as usual, all this disagreement has got my fingers pushing One Click and buying the book!

The thing I've noticed in the last few NR titles is the total carelessness with which the female characters view sex. It's kind of like, well he's there and I'm horny so why not? To me, that's completely unsexy and a big respect blow towards that character.

Clearly “mileage will vary”, cause this is one of the reasons that I read NR!!! Her heroines seem like real, normal people to me. Finally women I can relate to in romance! I don't trust a lot of contemporary authors to deliver heroines that I like, but NR is usually spot on for me.

And that's what any author needs to remember when reading and/or commenting on a review.

And THAT’S why I went to the Sony site five minutes ago and purchased a copy of this book. There are a growing list of Authors I will never read again because of their appalling on-line behaviour. So it only seems fair to respond positively to gracious author behaviour by ADDING the names to my ‘must be read’ list. Don’t know whether the book will be to my taste or not, but Ms Roberts is definitely to my taste so I’ll take the chance.

Personally if you do not want the jump into bed right away issues etc, romance may not be the genre for you. Nothing against anyone else but I do not think the romance genre(NR or anyone else) puts a negative sterotype on women, it's fiction, an individual does that on their own.

I have been reading romance for years, and it’s only in the last few years that this trend has been cropping up. If you read some of the romances from pre-2001, this wasn’t an issue. The heroines were more respectful of themselves, there was more sexual tension, and the emotional plotline played out better because it wasn’t all about S-E-X. It was about a genuine loving connection between two people.

Don’t get me wrong, there are some great stories out there right now, but I know I’m not the only one who has expressed dissatisfication about the quality of the romance genre in the last year especially. And yes part of it is the push by the publishers to have more on the shelves, hit the trends and have more money coming in, but a large part of it is that a lot of writers are missing the emotional resonance of previous romances that made me want to read, and yes, write them as well.

Jane and others can’t relate to or just don’t much like Ford (for instance). Others can and do.

And all are absolutely right. It’s all about how a story or a character resonate with the individual. Or doesn’t.

I’m really sorry the book didn’t work well for Jane, and delighted it worked well for those it worked well for. Nothing I can do either way but, well, be sorry and delighted. And that’s what any author needs to remember when reading and/or commenting on a review.

But anywho, I found Ford a bit stalker-ish in the beginning but as his character developed it made sense, as far as playing video games..he writes graphic novels, he better play video games! I loved the fact that he didn’t know anything about tools and yes a Cutlass is an Oldsmobile which falls under GM, someone should have caught that one. Bad editor, bad editor 50 lashings with a wet noodle for you;)

Cilla developed throughout the story so by the time the living room was being painted she had come to the point of forgiving and accepting love without strings attached. It did not take her 2 weeks to get to that point, the timeline was there IMHO for that kind of change.

The dog was awesome and the quick wit that went on between Cilla and Ford had me laughing in the middle of the night and scaring my own 200lb dog that was soundly asleep!

I agree with Throwmearope:

Really enjoyed it. I loved watching the house get rehabbed in my imagination. And usually with whodunnits, I figure out fairly early whodunnit, but this one stumped me which is always a plus.

I was surprised on who the whodunnits were, a bit quick on closing that part out though, not knowing what happened to the whodunnits(trying not to spoil here) but knowing everything about the original “suspect” that carried on throughout the story. All in all I could have done without the Janet/Cilla dreams, and wished the end was a bit more tied up but still was a great book and will pass it on to my neighbors…B:)

Naming the hero after a Ford Cutlass almost has to be ironic (did his mother name him, and she knows nothing about cars?). If not, it’s a big oops — editors should catch things like that. Hell, even as a lowly page-proofer, I would have called that to someone’s attention. Fortunately I’m sure Nora knows that we don’t expect perfection, just a good read!

This book is right on top of my TBR list, as soon as me and my Borders bucks get to the store. Yay for 40 percent off hardcovers!!!

The thing I’ve noticed in the last few NR titles is the total carelessness with which the female characters view sex. It’s kind of like, well he’s there and I’m horny so why not? To me, that’s completely unsexy and a big respect blow towards that character. And for those who are thinking, well, that’s how young women today are, here’s your reality check: I’m 23 and I definitely don’t feel that way. Maybe that has to do with some of my other extremely heavy baggage, but the honest fact is that not all twenty-something women in the 21st century bed-hop and treat personal relationships so cavalierly. And as much as I love SJP and Carrie Bradshaw, I blame Sex and the City for this entire movement.

And then, to top it all off, Ford plays video games. Sigh. I had to close my eyes and shake my head. I was totally disenchanted and disappointed by this huge cliche. That was a big point off his favor, but overall I wasn’t creeped out by him. In fact, he’s probably my favorite character.

All in all, I’d give it a C+.