Tribute | Nora Roberts | Nora Roberts creates another strong heroine!

Tribute | Nora Roberts | June Nolen author of In Reverse Time

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Tribute

	Tribute Nora Roberts Putnam Adult, 2008 - 464 pages average customer review:based on 80 reviews view larger image
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Virginia?s Shenandoah Valley is a long way from Hollywood. And that?s exactly how Cilla McGowan wants it. Cilla, a former child star who has found more satisfying work as a restorer of old houses, has come to her grandmother?s farmhouse, tools at her side, to rescue it from ruin. Sadly, no one was able to save her grandmother, the legendary Janet Hardy. An actress with a tumultuous life, Janet entertained glamorous guests and engaged in decadent affairs?but died of an overdose in this very house more than thirty years earlier. To this day, Janet haunts Cilla?s dreams. And during waking hours, Cilla is haunted by her melodramatic, five-times-married mother, who carried on in the public spotlight and never gave her a chance at a normal childhood. By coming east, rolling up her sleeves, and rehabbing this wreck of a house, Cilla intends to find some kind of normalcy for herself.
Plunging into the project with gusto, she?s almost too busy to notice her neighbor, graphic novelist Ford Sawyer?but his lanky form, green eyes, and easy, unflappable humor (not to mention his delightfully ugly dog, Spock) are hard to ignore. Determined not to perpetuate the family tradition of ill-fated romances, Cilla steels herself against Ford?s quirky charm, but she can?t help indulging in a little fantasy.
But love and a peaceful life may not be in the cards for Cilla. In the attic, she has found a cache of unsigned letters suggesting that Janet Hardy was pregnant when she died?and that the father was a local married man. Cilla can?t help but wonder what really happened all those years ago. The mystery only deepens with a series of intimidating acts and a frightening, violent assault. And if Cilla and Ford are unable to sort out who is targeting her and why, she may?like her world-famous grandmother? be cut down in the prime of her life.

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Nora Roberts creates another strong heroine!

As all of Ms. Roberts' books, this one has lots of romance, very real and likeable characters, and a surprising twist thrown in for good measure. In this case, a child actor (Cilla), now grown and searching for more from life, goes to fix up a home once owned by her famous, movie-star grandmother. Cilla has to rehab the house, deal with her feelings over the supposed suicide of her grandmother thirty years earlier in that very house, and figure out what her attraction is for her closest neighbor, graphic artist Ford. Only someone doesn't want Cilla there digging into thirty years of history, and someone may even kill to keep her from finding out what really happened to her grandmother. Ms. Roberts creates another strong heroine in Cilla McGowan, and another sexy hero in Ford Sawyer. When you add in the spectacular love scenes, the intriguing paranormal twist, and the murder mystery to boot, Ms. Roberts' fans will be once again paying "tribute" to a remarkable author.

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June Nolen author of In Reverse Time

I bought Tribute in large print which I always look for. Nora Roberts is an outstanding author. There is no question about that.
When Cilla, a child star, returns to her grandmother's home in Virginia, she has left Hollywood and her mother behind to lead a quieter life. She has learned to FLIP houses and is a whiz with tools. She meets Ford, who lives across the street with his dog, a real character, and they become involved. Her grandmother commited suicide in the house. In the attic she finds old letters that point to the fact that her grandmother was pregnant at the time of her death and that the father, possibly someone from the community, didn't want the baby.
I love a mystery and the found letters were a mystery to solve. I personally got lost in all the different characters and how they were related to each other. I stayed confused and had to re-read a lot of the book, back-tracking to find out who was who. I don't believe this is a book I will keep or re-read but I did like the main characters very much.
Not one of Nora Roberts best but enjoyable all the same.

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An Unlikely Romance Amid Old Grudges

I picked this book up expecting that suspense would be the book's main element. Instead, Tribute is a pretty standard romance involving reasonably original characters, former child star Cilla McGowan turned general contractor and house-rehabber-for-profit and graphic-novel artist and author, Ford Sawyer. The physical attraction is strong from the beginning, and much of the suspense merely relates to when chemistry will overcome caution. In the background, local people hold strong grudges against Cilla's grandmother, Janet Hardy, a star who died from too many pills and too much booze at 39, but who also never saw an attractive man she didn't want, and Cilla's dead uncle who helped some others to an early grave.

The real heroine of the book is Cilla's grandmother's house that Cilla is "restoring" for her own use. If you love the idea of restoring and living in an old family home, this book will probably have above average appeal. If you aren't into home restoration details and graphic novels, you probably won't like this book as much as I did.

Cilla McGowan makes an unusual and poignant heroine. I hope that Nora Roberts will write about her again. I also liked Ford Sawyer. He offers a lot of potential for future books, as well.

The suspense parts of the book were the weakest. In fact, the threats, violence, and problems seemed artificial and the characters' reactions to those events also didn't ring very true.

But all the world loves a lover, and there's a lot to love in this romance.

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