Going Home by Nora Roberts
3 different stories about different people, all Silhoutee books.
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Unfinished Business
Vaniessa, a concert pianist, and her mother Loretta are together again. Van is visiting at her mother's house.
She remembers all the pianos but they are all gone. Van is brought up to date with her best friend-back then, and her brother Brady Tucker who's also a doctor now.
She meets with not only her friends but learns of the things in her own mother's life and the reasoning behind why her mother gave her up to her father.
Tender scenes and shocking ones...
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Island of Flowers
Laney Simmons travels to Hawaii to meet her father. She finds out that in her 15 year absence much has changed even that her father owns the plane company that is flying her in.
The pilot, Dylan O'Brien, half owner, sees her as an upscale princess and treats her as such. She studies him while he's conducting business and sees how surprised he is to see her.
She learns the truth about her education and how her father had paid for it all and then some...
Loved hearing of the scenery as she realizes what is really going on...
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Mind Over Matter
He turns to a fortune teller in hopes to make his job easier by learning more about the career.
David Brady is producing a show on the paranormal. Because of her involvement with the VanCamps he wants her to help bring their case to the forefront.
Clarissa Bass is the fortune teller. She hopes to protect her mother and their life.
He fantasizes about her and learns more about her life and her family. Her mother was involved with finding others who had been kidnapped or murdered.
Lots of background information about the production of a documentary series. Hot steamy sex scenes.
I received this book from National Library Service for my BARD (Braille Audio Reading Device). ( )

Unfinished Business
Good little story about a world renowned musician, Vanessa Sexton, who returns home after her father's death to the mother she hasn't seen or heard from in 12 years. Not only does she have to deal with understanding why her mother let her go and didn't go after her, she has to deal with her high school love, Brady, who she thought unceremoniously dumped her the night of his senior prom. I'm glad there was time spent on Vanessa's relationship with her mother. I just didn't like her mother much. I really liked her relationship with Brady. The pacing was somewhat fast but for the most part the way they came together, got to know each other again, and reignited their love was well done and sweet. Vanessa's internal conflict was understandable and not overdrawn. Although I did kind of want to smack her around every time she denied her health issues. I ended up buying this twice, once in ebook form for twenty-five cents and in this compilation and I enjoyed the story enough that doesn't bother me (not that $1.25 truly would, haha.) 3.5 stars.

Island of Flowers
This one was a rage-fest from beginning to end. And super similar to the premise of Unfinished Business (down to similar actions by the deceased parent). Laine's mother took her from her father when she was seven. He never heard from her again even though he had been writing and sending presents. Cut to 15 years later and Laine goes to visit her father to get to know him and get some answers after her mother's death. From the second she gets there she was treated like a gold digging scam artist. Everyone told her 'it was about time she showed up'. And she got a ridiculous amount of hate from Dillion, her father's business partner. He acted as though she used her father for money while never contacting him, and money was the only reason she showed up there. I was livid throughout most of this book because who in their right fucking mind thinks it's the child's responsibility to maintain and salvage a relationship with her parent? No one tried to understand what she had been through. No one questioned why her father (a man with an airport, by the way) didn't jump on a plane to Paris to find her and find out why his seven-year-old child was angry with him (if that's what he thought). Why did she have to gain his trust and love? I started throttling the book on this one it was angering me so much.

The whole point of Laine's trip was to get to know her father but for some reason very little time was spent with him. Most of it was her getting kicked like a puppy by Dillion yet falling in love with him within a couple of days even though he treated her like absolute crap. It was ridiculous.

Even though he performed a couple of assaulting kisses early in the book I was still blindsided by Dillion being rapey in the end. I'm not sure why he made the assumptions he did but I especially don't understand why that prompted him to get incredibly close to raping her. And of course the resolution in the end was way too easy and an info dump that didn't feel like it resolved anything.

Actually, I amend my $1.25 statement above. If I had ended up buying this book twice, even for such cheap prices, I would have been angry. 1 star.

Mind over Matter
I really liked this story. Even with the paranormal elements. I felt all of the characters were well drawn and likable even when they were being frustratingly stubborn. The pacing of the story was damn near perfect. We got to see the evolution of David and A.J.'s relationship and I could easily buy their feelings for each other. It was so easy to root for them. The super eighties settings and clothing notwithstanding, I wouldn't mind reading this again. 3.5 stars. ( )

Unfinished Business is the first of three stories in this Nora Roberts omnibus that I am currently reading.As I have already said, I'm not much of a romance reader, but it was sitting there asking to be read, so I picked it up. I enjoyed the story, not enough to reread, but it was a nice light afternoon sit-down. For me personally, I liked the push and pull relationship of the main character, Vanessa Sexton, and her book beau, Brady Tucker.

Good, read in May 2006

I'd break down the rating of this omnibus this way:

Unfinished Business 4 stars
Island of Flowers 2 1/2 stars
Mind Over Matter 4 1/2 stars

so I gave the whole 4 stars. Island of Flowers was ok, but not enjoyable enough to reread (one of my main standards for judging). I loved Mind Over Matter, with its paranormal element. And after reading a large number of Nora Robert's romances in the last month, I've found I appreciate the fact that so many of her characters inhabit the same world and show up as supporting characters or walk-ons in other books, so I was pleased when the main character of Unfinished Business visited Cordina. What makes Ms. Robert's stories for me are her characters and the humor found throughout, and overall, Going Home delivers. ( )