Abby is working hard to make a comfortable live for herself and her two little boys. She owns a little farm in Virginia, where she has just started breeding horses. Her husband was a famous race car driver, but their marriage was far from perfect. Chuck Rockwell swept her off her feet when she was 19, and their married quickly. She followed him around the world, until she got pregnant with their first son, Ben. His mother never approved of Abby, as she was just a third rate entertainer, and living with her for a while, was not easy for Abby. So she persuaded Chuck to buy her a little farm. But Chuck was not a man to settle down, he craved the racing world, the speed, the fame, the women. And after he died, his mother, who still ruled his trustfund, cut Abby and her children of without a cent. It has not been easy repairing the house and getting the farm up, but she managed it. And now this journalist wants to write about her husband, she will have to keep the ugly truth from him, to protect her sons... They don’t deserve to know everything about her husband ...Dylan has this completely wrong idea about Abby: he pictures her as a money grabber who snatched herself a rich and famous husband and then stopped supporting him during his races. He expects a big wealthy ranch and lots of servants. After all, he has seen all those pictures of Abby in Monte Carlo, Paris, New York, wearing jewels and furs. He could not be more wrong ... To write the book, and interview her, he will have to live in her house for a while. But he refuses to acknowledge what he sees. Sure she must be leading him on. All women are born deceivers, his ex-wife taught him that. But he will get to the bottom of the truth, he has interviewed other people already, like Chuck’s latest mistress. What he does not expect, is falling for her boys, and for Abby herself...I know I have read and enjoyed the other O’Hurley books, but I can’t remember anything about this one, and I am sure I have read it before. I have the Dutch books in one big trilogy after all. I liked Abby, she has always been the strong and dependable one of the triplets. She has built a good life for herself and her sons, and she wants to protect them from the uglier side of their father. She is not used to anyone taking care of her, apart from her mother, so when she gets sick and Dylan steps in, she doesn’t know how to react.But by bit, Dylan gets the truth out of Abby. She did not know about his drug abuse, but she did know about his many girlfriends. She is the one who filed for divorce though...I had a hard time liking Dylan, as he is a typical 80’s hero. Take charge, and just grab the woman if she doesn’t do what you want. Sure Abby is attracted to him, but she won’t just sleep with him because of that. And he doesn’t want to accept that. He wants her in his bed. And when she tells him she loves him, he doesn’t know how to handle that. He is a free spirit, he doesn’t want to settle down, or does he?It was fun when Abby’s whole family descended upon the farm though, her bond with them is so great. Her father who doesn’t want to lift a finger if he doesn’t have to, who is a born entertainer, as is her mother. And her famous sisters Chantel and Maddy, they do pitch in, just like old times. But they all love Abby, and will protect her from Dylan if necessary. A nice little romance, and I liked it. Perfect for a rainy afternoon.
Half-truths never get you anywhere, that's what I learned from Abby's story. Abigail O'Hurley Rockwell is a strong character for me. A mother who raises her children in the best possible way or in a way she knows how. Making ends meet with the little resources she has and a woman, a rock of a woman, who rose above it all and smiled at the challenges life threw her way. I loved to picture Abby on her barn with the bucket full of eggs on one hand. Abby has the 'middle-child curse', she knows how to take care of others, she knows how to do what is expected of her, she knows how to make things work out with what she's got and she doesn't know how to take care of herself. And I liked how Dylan fit the bill of taking care of her not just physically but emotionally.Dylan is a cynic who saw far too much of the world to gloss it over with glitters and neon lights. I liked that he was strong because Abby needed that. I loved how he couldn't resist crossing the grey area and the way he handled it. Panic I think is not on Dylan's vocabulary but that's okay. I fell in love with him when he carted away a truckload of horse manure, romantic I know, especially when he did it so Abby won't even if at the time he thought the worst of her. I loved the way he interacted with her children and the way he took over when he could have left them alone.Abby and Dylan's story is a simple reminder of the phrase "the truth shall set you free". Sometimes facing reality and admitting 'what is' and forgetting about 'what should have been' is the best way to move forward. That second chances really do exist if you have the heart to take a chance on it.
What do You think about The Last Honest Woman (1988)?
Abigail was 18 when she married a famous race car driver, but not long after their "happy ever after" it became a nightmare. He cheated constantly and didn't hide it. He Flaunted his many women.A race car crash ended his life 5 yrs ago. Now she's agreed to do a biography with journalist Dylan because she needs the money. Also, she has an unreasonable need to have her children grow up with an altered image of who their father was.Dylan thinks she is nothing but a spoiled rich girl, can't imagine any other reason she would have stayed besides the money. Unbeknownst to him, she received nothing from her spouses death, all of this fortune going to her mother in law.As Dylan realizes Abigail is more than she appeared he is intrigues and desperate for find out who she really is and what makes her tick. Another Great book by Nora Roberts.
—Rebekah
Disclaimer: I'm reading this because it is a) available as an audio download at the library b) was 'in' last night when I was looking for a short book to listen to while waiting for the book I really want to turn up at the library and c) is short: less than 7 hours worth in fact. Ugh. Some books I feel are too smart for me: see Snow for example. This book... I thought was not smart enough. The hero was annoying beyond belief. If this is supposed to be an Alpha male I don't want one - he came across to me as a bully, and a stupid one at that. For an investigative journalist he seemed weirdly unable to give up his assumptions in spite of pretty clear evidence to the contrary. The dramatic climax of the book was so clumsily signalled in the first couple of chapters that I spent the entire last third of the book anticipating it. I can only assume that Nora Roberts has come along as a writer since the '80s.
—Darkpool (protesting GR censorship)
Well-written sweet romance. I had my own issues with the motivations of the main characters (what kind of professional biographical writer jumps to conclusions based on an old photo? What kind of impoverished widow who's been wronged doesn't feel bitter against the people responsible for her circumstances?) but it didn't annoy me enough to pull me out of the story. Roberts has a magic touch for writing secondary characters and familial and platonic relationships, so that they have a sense of being just as important as the romantic relationship that's forming between the pages. The way Abby and Dylan came together didn't feel rushed or forced, the family made me want to read more about the secondary characters and the setting was beautiful and harsh so that it played it's own important part in the story.
—CaroB
