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Burke Black wanted something he could live with, but ended up finding someone he could live for. Book 1 of Jamesville Dani O'Rourke has had the responsibility of raising her two brothers, Patrick and Shamus, since the death of their parents. As sole owner and operator of O'Rourke Cleaning Services, she is no stranger too hard work, but she is a beginner when it comes to men. Burke is a very rich and successful businessman whose brush with death has made him question his priorities. He's traveled to Jamesville for peace and quiet while he plans the rest of his life. Their lives collide when Burke accuses her of breaking into his cabin to steal from him. Their attraction to each other is immediate, and after a series of misunderstandings he finds himself caught up in the lives of Dani and her brothers. But can this gentle, giving woman get a man as hard and cynical as Burke to believe in the power of love? Or will Burke leave town without ever discovering the wonders of life with Dani?
Average Rating:
Rating:
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This was a decent weekend read. I liked the conflict development within the story, but overall it fits to typical romance format. If you want something fun and mindless to read in a day or two, this is a good choice.
Rating:
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This is a slow moving, but sweet story of a wounded man both in spirit and physically, Burke Black and his journey to find love with skittish Dani O'Rourke. Their first meeting has Burke mistaking Dani for a man and the second meeting has him mistaking her for a thief and suggesting she pay him to not call the police with her body. Inspite of the rocky start, Dani and Burke embark upon an old fashioned love story.
I must admit when I saw who the publisher for this free Kindle download, I was expecting explicit sex or love scenes. I kept waiting throughout the book for one to suddenly pop up. I liked the book well enough to download books two through seven in the series. Warning--if you like the old fashioned love story in this book, by book three, The Return of Patrick O'Rourke the scenes are hot and steamy! Although this has nothing to do with the book(s), I must admit as a marketing professional, I found myself wondering about the logic of having books one and two being rather tame shall we say, and then suddenly with book three we see explicit steamy love scenes. It seems to me that the two formats attract different readers.
The story is simple and sweet and grows on you. The rest of the series provides additional glimpses into the lives of Dani and Burke and her brothers!
The other books in the series are:
Jamesville: Discovering Dani (Book 1)
Jamesville: The Way Home (Book 2)
The Return of Patrick O'Rourke
The Seduction of Shamus O'Rourke (Jamesville)
A Legal Affair: Book 5 of the Jamesville series.
By the Book: Jamesville, Book 6
Past Promises: Jamesville, Book 7
Rating:
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This was a wrenching experience from letter one.
Shallow and insipid, the characters made me want to drink myself to oblivion, just to forget the part where the wounded millionaire insults the main female character -- a housekeeper whom he mistook for a man at first; romantic, n'est-ce pas? -- by offering her money to sleep with him. This after she'd invited him -- a stranger who manhandled her and accused her of theft -- home for Christmas dinner and bought him presents -- a SWEATER WITH A HAND-KNITTED SNOW SCENE THAT HE CLAIMS TO LOVE, thus proving he is not like any man I've ever seen, met, or heard of -- on two days' acquaintance.
Please.
I wish I'd never started this book. I'm only glad I didn't pay for it! I didn't finish it.
Rating:
-
I wanted to like Discovering Dani, I really did. Unfortunately, the lack of depth in plot and one dimensional characterization made that impossible. The romance between Dani O'Rourke and Burke Black was actually painful at times, with the dialogue and action wavering between stilted and cliched through the whole of it. And don't get me started on Dani's inability to even function when the first of the inevitable issues crop up with Burke. I'm sorry, but some backbone would be appreciated. And any twenty-five year old woman who'd lost both parents, dropped out of High School to raise her brothers alone, and started her own cleaning business to make ends meet has all sorts of backbone. It's a true pity that she was such a damsel when her heart gets dinged. There were a couple of scenes that were just off-putting - like Dani getting hurt (again) and when she gets home, she collapses on the kitchen floor and curls up into a nearly catatonic ball without even shedding her winter coat until her brother comes home to take care of her. And that was my biggest problem with Dani. I couldn't respect her. I respected her past achievements, but as soon as Burke sets up in her heart, she becomes a needy, emotionally naive cliche of 80's style romance novels.
And then there were the aspects that just flat out didn't make sense. There's a scene towards the end (and it's just not important enough to be considered a spoiler) where Dani asks Burke about whether the snooty rich-bitch spoiled brat that vies for Burke's affections and causes all sorts of trouble will continue to be a threat...and then proceeds to provide evidence of her own (including a conversation with the woman) that answers that question...and by then I didn't even care enough to wonder why she bothered asking if she already knew the answer. That's just...weak storytelling by the author who, I can only assume, wanted some closure on that thread.
I DID like Dani's relationship with her brothers, and while they were no more fleshed out than Dani and Burke, they were pleasant enough despite the lack of anything resembling layers. Beyond that, the book just wasn't everything I hoped it would be. I don't believe I'll be reading any more about Jamesville.
Rating:
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Oh My Goodness! What a book! This book will capture your interest immediately.
I couldn't put it down! N.J. Walters is a new author for me, but I can promise this will not be the last book of hers I read! A must read!
