Book Review: Tribute by Nora Roberts

Read and Reviewed in 2013

It has been a long time since i have read a Nora Robert's book! I had almost forgotten Ms. Robert's writing style but when i started with Tribute, i was so enthralled by the depth of her story and depiction style that i was not able to put it down till i finished it. Ms Robert writes romance novels with a strong storyline, not the 'falling in love at first sight' romance but 'falling in love with time by knowing each other' romance.
Tribute is exactly such a novel about people, their pasts and relationships. The book is a romantic-suspense with keeping a perfect balance between romance and suspense, neither high-intensity suspense or highly-emotional romance.

Book Summary from goodreads:

Cilla McGowan, a former child star, has found a more satisfying life restoring homes. So she comes to Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley to save the dilapidated farmhouse that once belonged to her grandmother, a legendary actress who died of an overdose more than thirty years ago.

Plunging into the project with gusto, Cilla’s almost too busy and exhausted to notice her neighbor, graphic novelist Ford Sawyer. Determined not to carry on the family tradition of ill-fated romances, Cilla steels herself against Ford’s quirky charm, though she can’t help indulging in a little fantasy.

But it’s reality that holds its share of dangers for Cilla. A cache of unsigned letters found in the attic points to a mysterious romance in her grandmother’s life and may be the catalyst for a frightening, violent assault. And if Cilla and Ford are unable to sort out who is targeting her and why, she may, like her world-famous grandmother, be cut down in the prime of her life.

I love Nora Robert's books about how efficiently she describes both nature and people. You will get a real look and feel of the situations. When you read the below lines, you will understand, its so sweet!. This is one of the thing that is best about this book...lot of beautiful descriptions of nature and house renovations.

Quotes from Tribute:

Cilla describes about her little farm:

"SHE SAT on the lovely patio with the view full of the pretty pond and the green hills that rolled back to the blue mountains. Roses and lilies stunned the air with perfume that had the bees buzzing drunkenly and a hummingbird, bold as an emerald, darting for nectar. The sun poured strong and bright out of cloudless skies to wash everything in the golden light of fairy tales. Birds sang their hearts out in Disneyesque harmony."

Ford is describing about Cilla:

"She was a ride on a dragon, a flight through space, a dive into the deep waters of an enchanted sea."

Cilla McGowan is on a journey to find herself, who she is and what she exactly wants in life. Coming from a long line of actors, she was a child actor for a TV series, then did lot of commercials but was never happy with her work. Thirty-five years later after her grandmother's death, Cilla  has just purchased her grandmother's beloved little farm in Virginia from her difficult mother, Janet Hardy's daughter. Cilla seems drawn to the farm and decides to take the terribly neglected farm and make it once more into a home of beauty and charm as in its past as a tribute to her grandmother. Cilla is determined to do the all the hard-work needed to repair and renovate the little farm house but, she also has a vulnerable side which craves for love and care, which she has never got from anyone in her life. She shares a close relation only with her ex-husband , forever best friend, Steve. When she comes to little farm, her father and his new family tries connecting with her but, as she has never received any affection till now, she is confused about her feelings. But, she is unable to resist the affection and care shown by her neighbor,Ford and his ugly but charming dog, Spock  at her good or bad moments.

Ford is a graphic novelist, a geek, charming, funny, irresistible, easy-going and caring ..wow...i loved him! He is full of positive attitude towards life. At times, he is little bit dominating but only when Cilla was being stubborn not wanting anyone's help when she needed it. But i loved his character, as Cilla is saying that Ford is someone who cared enough to get pushy and bossy about her welfare and she is happy to be flexible or accommodating sometimes. For Cilla, Ford is always a stable guy and she wonders how she has connected with someone so blessedly stable! Ford is very protective towards Cilla and he is not afraid to let her know how much he loves her, and he makes certain that she knows he will keep her safe and never leave her alone. He is sometimes so sweet and endearing, like when he says about construction work "Tools and I have a long-standing agreement. We stay away from each other, for the good of mankind." He is happy to observe while watching Cilla work with power tools on her house renovations and he is always ready to provide her moral support. When Ford's pictures comes in tabloid with Cilla after an attack on Cilla, and she is described as reincarnation of Janet Hardy and Ford as seduced by the lonely, trapped spirit of Janet , he reacts so unexpectedly, he takes it as funny, not at all bothered by it, just explains his unique thought process. Excellent work with Ford's character...he is my favorite hero! He is a perfect guy for Cilla who needs someone like him in her life to help her "find" herself.

Cilla and Ford are attracted to each other from the first but more than the way they find each other attractive on the outside, they are attracted to each other's smartness, intelligence and strength. When they develop a romantic relation, it is sweet and tender. I loved Ford and Cilla's relationship, the affection and understanding between each other they were having from the first and slowly how it develops into true love. The conversations between Ford and Cilla were really sweet and funny. Even though both of them fall in love with each other, Cilla is not convinced to take the next step as she is scared due to her past history of Hardy women but, eventually Cilla falls for Ford's persuasiveness once she realizes that Ford has seen her true self and loves her unconditionally.

The suspense part of the story is fairly good as we keep guessing from the first who is the mysterious lover from Cilla's grandmother's past who has written the letters she has found in the attic. It was obvious by the first half of the story that someone hates Cilla and her family and is causing harm to her and her property. And Ms. Roberts did a superb job of throwing suspicion around and kept me guessing throughout nearly the entire story as to who the antagonist was. At the end, Cilla decides to find the 35 year old truth which she thinks she owes to her grandmother as a tribute, with Ford's help and that is when the suspense unravels.
One of the odd things about the book which i did not like much was the dreams Cilla use to have where she is conversing with her late grandmother. I was little bit unsure about it but one thing was clear as Cilla was living and rehabbing her grandmother's favorite farm, she is closer to her than ever and she was trying to connect to Janet through her dreams.
All in all, Tribute was an entertaining read. The most part of the book is about the rehabbing of the farm by Cilla, her construction and landscaping crew.  There are lot of jargon and dialogues based on house renovations and Minute details about sinks, tiles, shower blocks, paint, and trim.

A quote from Tribute where Cilla is thinking about Ford and her love relation:

"They could take some time, couldn’t they, to build on that? To restructure, to decide on tones and trim? They could take a good look at the foundation, evaluate. Because hers was so uneven. Lots of cracks there, she mused, but maybe they could be shored up, supported and repaired. Since his were so solid, so sturdy, there had to be a chance to make the whole thing stand. To make it last. She so badly wanted to make things last."

There is one quote Cilla describes about Ford, it is really a fabulous one....

  "A slow leak, unchecked, eventually eats through just about anything. Stone, metal, wood. It doesn’t make much noise, and it’s a long way from the big gushing flood. But it gets the job done."

It is interesting  right? But,for someone who doesn’t like home renovations, it might be a bit boring. As i love reading about home stuffs, i loved it...each and every dialogues!! And there is also Ms. Roberts way of describing each and every small thing beautifully, you just can't resist getting interested!

One of my favorite quote from the novel:

Ford's dialogue to Cilla's dad

“She needs me. She needs someone who understands and appreciates who she is, and who she’s decided to be. And I need her, because who she is, and who she’s decided to be are—big surprise to me—what I’ve been waiting for all my life.”

Tribute was just a great, enjoyable read and i enjoyed reviewing it!!