Review: Sexy and smooth charmer of a tale
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 09 21, 2013
Reading MY NORA compares to a fine, but rare, single malt whiskey that you sip and savor as you experience the aroma and burn of subtle flavors and hinted undertones of that certain something that makes the senses come to life. It changes and coalesces into something more exciting and harmonious with every swallow and makes you want to make it last forever.Accomplished painter Nora Fredrickson moved to remote Chowan County in eastern North Carolina leaving Baltimore and a broken marriage behind. With plans to renovate the old farmhouse she'd purchased and concentrate on her art, Nora expected a quiet existence until neighbor Matt Vogel caught her off guard one afternoon while she danced with abandon in her barn. He was seeking permission to hunt on her land, but Nora had dealt with damaged windows from stray bullets in her old neighborhood in Baltimore and wasn't about to have to worry about feeling unsafe in her new home, so refusing  Matt's request came easy. After telling the cocky man he couldn't hunt on her land and needed to stay off her property altogether, Nora expected to have little contact with her nearest neighbor.As a self-described redneck country boy, handsome, strapping Matt is instantly smitten with his prickly new neighbor. He finds sassy, no nonsense Nora, with her petite curves and light brown sugar skin to be a turn on; so he immediately sets his mind on pursuing her. At thirty-five, he's interested in marriage, but he's yet to find the right woman. As he creates more and more opportunities to get to know Nora, he's convinced she's the one, but Nora will need to be convinced and Matt determines he'll take things slow in order to win her trust and, hopefully, her heart. However, he outright refuses to be subtle about his attraction to her, even if Nora's not sure what to make of his flirting and intentional kisses and caresses. As Matt falls in love with the complicated Nora, he pictures her pigeon-holed nicely into his dreams of a future marriage, even though they've never brought up the word love, much less discussed a future together.Holley Trent's timing is no less than superb; her dialogue and plotting flows so smooth and easy that I couldn't help but think of fine whiskey that's meant to be savored and respected. Her hero Matt is a down home kind of man with a gentlemanly southern confidence and swagger, perhaps a little reminiscent of Rhett Butler. Interesting secondary characters, like Norah's friend and agent Bennie, and Matt's sister Karen and grandmother Gerta, add amusing lifelike comedy and drama, while Matt's snarky sometime friend Chad, with his skirt-chasing, hound dog tendencies, makes a perfect foil for Matt's more discerning tastes and considerate southern blue collar charm.Heroine Nora is open-minded, feisty, and vulnerable enough that she won't accept another man in her life who refuses to understand her dedication to her art when her muse takes over, especially since her livelihood depends upon it. Matt enjoys his uncomplicated, small town existence and just wants to be with Nora on her terms for now, he doesn't need her undivided attention; he simply needs her in his life until he's ready to approach her about the future he has all planned out for them. Nora realizes that Matt accepts and understands her when the muse strikes and, and being in his life inspires her creativity and her love, even though she hasn't voiced it.Early on, Holly Trent uses conversations that Matt and Nora separately have with secondary characters, and her hero's and heroine's internal thoughts, to share their feelings with the reader, but she purposely withholds the all-important verbal communication between her two main characters to create later uncertainty for the reader and her hero and heroine. And, just when it feels like this couple is beginning to totally synch, Ms Trent throws that last curve ball based on assumptions Matt has made about Nora and her art career. And, of course, it's certain to be a game changer if Matt can't deal with this unforeseen revelation about the woman he's come to privately think of has his Nora and his own sudden feelings of self-doubt about the simple, laid back future he'd so wished for with her by his side.At 108 pages, MY NORA is a sexy, smooth charmer of a tale that's well worth the time investment.Reviewed by Angie Just Read...for TheRomanceReviews.com