Whiskey Beach

Eli Landon has come back to Bluff House in Whiskey Beach, beaten down and troubled after a traumatic year in Boston. His grandmother Hester, who has lived in the home for years, is recuperating in Boston after a fall one night that left her without her memories of what had transpired.

The big old house is filled with sentimental objects and reminders of the family legacy. Abra Walsh, his grandmother's housekeeper, has taken on the project of helping Eli recover from his horrendous year, and her little reminders of healthy living in the form of post-its are amusing and delightful. Will a special connection develop between these two?

What Eli must try to piece together is what really happened to his wife Lindsay, who was found murdered in their Back Bay home. One bulldog cop named Wolfe is sure that Eli killed her, but neither he nor the DA have been able to make a case. But that doesn't mean he didn't do it, is Wolfe's line of thought.

Starting over in Whiskey Beach will become complicated by some troubling events that happen soon after Eli's return. A break-in, an assault on Abra, a P.I. who is investigating Eli, and then the death of that same P.I.

And who is digging trenches in the Bluff House basement? What is the truth behind the legend of Esmeralda's Dowry, a supposedly buried treasure? Are all these events somehow connected? And what long buried secrets will be unearthed?

I loved this book! This is a small town grumpy/sunshine story. Abra and Eli’s story is so cute! The storyline was great! The banter had me laughing out loud. The character development was great. I loved the mystery of finding out who did it. I loved watching Eli and Abra’s relationship grow throughout the book. I liked watching Eli find himself. I also liked watching Abra grow as well. I loved Barbie, I know want a dog like her. Nora nevers disappoints.

Favorite Quote: “I know how to take care of myself.” “No question. You know how to take care of yourself and everybody else. You don’t know how, apparently, to let someone take care of you. That’s conceit.” She slapped the glass on the counter. “It’s independence and capability.” “To a point, it is. Then it tips over into conceit, and stubbornness.”

Let me just say.. NORA's BACK.. the last couple of stand alone Nora Roberts books have been good but for me they haven't been Great.. Yeah I know it's Nora of course they are great.. but I expect something undefinable from Nora and missed that in the past few books. Of course that is going to happens when you write as many books as Nora does. Not everyone is going to fall head over heels for every book.. and that's ok. But Whiskey Beach puts Nora back on top with me!!

Eli Landon has had a really bad year. Right in the middle of a "civil" divorce he finds out his wife has been having a pretty serious affair for a large part of their marriage and he blows it. Unfortunately he also is the one to find her body that same day.. Of course he is the main suspect.. even when no evidence is found he is still living under a cloud of suspicion. The main detective is sure it's him and borderline harasses him, he looses his job as a Criminal Attorney (sure we will defend you but we won't employ you) and finally his grandmother is in a serious accident. Things just have to start looking up. Because he needs a reprieve, an escape he heads to Bluff House, the family home in Whiskey Beach. Ready to find a way to get on with his life.

Abra Walsh has known some serious hard times herself but instead of letting the negative stuff win she has learned to create a life where she can help others and find positive in her world. When one of her Yoga students is injured and forced to go live with family until she recovers, Abra is asked to help look after the house.. and eventually Eli. Grins yep, Eli has hit that stone wall..

Nora does an excellent job of weaving legend with reality. A Gripping story that takes two separate issues and blends them into a wonderful story of insanity, temptation and yes love. When you read a book like this, written by a master, it's hard not to fall in love.

I have a longtime love of Nora's Heroines, she writes these rich, complete, complex individuals that actually live life. They fight their own battles and win their own wars.. and stand readily on their own two feet to support those they love. I think part of Nora's true gift comes with her ability to write about real women. Women who have loved, lost, battled, been betrayed, been victorious and totally earned their right to say here I am.. in short real women. Abra, fits into that category with a resounding bang. She is driven by her own personal power and she is a force in this book.

Eli plays the wounded warrior to perfection. He has been battered and bruised, life has been hard on him but he has a family that loves and suports him. His home town accepts him and even the police are starting to come around. All he needs is time to come back to life and when he does.. he comes out swinging.. You just want to cheer when he is finally peeved enough to take a stand and shut all the idjiots down.. Yay Eli!!

What a wonderful book.. all you NR lovers will want to put this one at the top of your lists.. and those three people (mom) who have not read NR.. well check her out!!

Shauni

"I learned to accept I was a victim, but I didn’t have to stay one."

YES! Another Nora Roberts and romance winner! I'm all for her series but this stand alone was fantastic.

The story did drag in some parts, but I loved the slow burn romance between Eli and Abra. It was wonderful seeing their relationship go through different stages, how they lived every moment and there was no need to rush. They got to know each other, trust each other, and talk with each other. Couples who communicate are my favorites. Seriously, we don't always need the keep-secrets or misunderstanding cliché. Trust and communication are essential for a relationship to work, and Eli and Abra proved it.

Yes, yes! I loved them individually and apart. I loved how they developed throughout the book, especially Eli. He started as an extremely broken man after being accused of murdering his wife. Thanks to Abra, he slowly got ride of his walls and became the man he was always meant to be. I absolutely loved him. And her. And both! THEY WERE THE CUTEST! AND FUNNIEST! AND SWEETEST!

Another great aspect of the book was the mystery surrounding the book. I guessed the killer of one of the mysteries pretty early on (yes, they're various but they're connected and make sense in the end) but that didn't lower my enjoyment to see Eli finding out.

**OVERALL:

Though Nora Roberts' newest books had either been a hit or miss with me, there's no denial that when she hits the jackpot, she's the best.

'Whiskey Beach' was a wonderful, heartbreaking, mysterious, funny, romantic, lovely, and incredible journey. Eli and Abra won me from the very first page and it was sad to see their story ending. Luckily, I can always go back and re-read it.

Definitely recommend for fans of: slow-burn romances, couples who communicate and scarred main characters that finally get their HEA.

I'm a big fan of Nora Roberts and have been reading her books for years and one of the things that she's always exceptional at is bringing you into the characters' emotions, feeling the chemistry, getting pulled into the story. Even when there are flaws in the story that's usually there. But in this case, that's the one thing that was really lacking.

The story of the characters' personal trials and development, the story of the house, the murder mystery, all that was interesting. And overall everyone was well written. But I felt like the emotion of the book was deadened. The main characters felt more like just friends and you didn't get a feeling of the growth of their connection at all.

I think it was an interesting change for NR, going more into a murder mystery. It had elements of her past work: a past hidden story, blah, blah, blah. I had this feeling though throughout the story that literally a word here, a sentence here to give us a sense of the characters' views of each other and growing interest is what was lacking. I wouldn't say it felt like it was rushed, but rather as if someone else was writing in the style of Nora Roberts.

I enjoyed it but I definitely put it down here and there and didn't feel compelled to read it. Usually I devour her books and can't put them down, but this one...I was interested in how it turned out but not really drawn in. Because of that it felt like a very, very long book that took a long time to get going.

I liked both characters, though if I'd been Eli I'd have been really annoyed by meddling Abra at the beginning, and she seemed a bit disconnected as a character, her past and her present not meshing into one person. Obviously there was a point to that, that you could see she wasn't happy in her old life, but Eli's character you could see doing both, though being happier in current. Abra - even giving her a hippie name, but then saying she had this totally different kind of life before, just didn't jive. I think that may have been a fatal flaw in the story...you felt for Eli, you believed in him, you believed him as a human being...but Abra seemed disconnected and you didn't always like her. Not that you hated her, but she was irritating at times.

Not a bad read, but definitely NOT worth the price that the publisher tagged onto it for the Nora Roberts name...