I really enjoyed the second story about serenity smith. All of them were fantastic. ( )

God, it felt like I was reading that forever. I should have flounced the last two books but I wanted to see how the mystery elements would be resolved. (Lamely, if you're asking.) It's a good thing Nora Roberts's stories have improved immensely in the last 20-30 years.

This Magic Moment: I generally liked the characters in this book. Pierce did a couple of things that had me side-eyeing him but he wasn't bad. Ryan's name continually confused me. I just couldn't get used to it being a female name. I liked that there were points where they could have had typical misunderstandings that would cause their separation but instead they talked about it (though Ryan was being somewhat unreasonable). The issue that did drive them apart in the end was ridiculous. Again, I think Ryan wasn't using her head and Pierce wasn't being clear. But the story did have some seriously romantic scenes that I really liked. 3 stars

Search for Love: This story was pretty much nonsensical. The entire premise was strange. But I could have been okay with that if it weren't for the "Hero" Christophe. I guess he wanted to deny his feelings for the Heroine, Serenity, so he basically treated her with nothing but anger and violence. She wasn't passive and would yell right back at him and everytime she did he would grab her and kiss her violently. The word "bruising" was used everytime. It was obvious he was using violent kissing as a substitute for actually hitting her into submission, but then he'd go so far as to confirm that in words after he was done. Of course, his "bruising" kisses zap Serenity of all sense and she doesn't consider them what they actually are nor does she focus on his words afterward. It seriously goes in this vein throughout the entire book until suddenly out of nowhere she's in love with him. What in the bloody hell?

At one point they're about to have sex, and he is being kind of violent with it and she tells him she's scared because she's a virgin. He, of course, gets pissed at her. Then at the end he tells her he's "taking what no man's ever had before" throws her on the ground kissing her and groping her and continues even though she's struggling against him but then when she decides that she actually likes it and is ready and capitulates he stops and rolls off and says he realizes he's 'hurt her again and he just can't control his baser instincts with her.' And she's like, 'that's cool.' I almost threw the fucking book against the wall. At that point after he finally admits he loves her he's all sweet and tender and loving. So, basically he was violent toward this girl falling just short of actually hitting her and raping her, because he loved her from the moment he set eyes on her but didn't want to admit it? Yeah, okay. Oh, and he really needed to stop reminding everyone that they're cousins. It's through marriage, they're not close to being blood relations so it wasn't squicky but the calling her cousin wasn't helpful. Sticking around for the resolution of the promised but often-ignored mystery wasn't worth it. It was incredibly contrived. 1 star

The Right Path: This story was much more compelling, so was the setting. I didn't regret sticking around to find out the end of the mystery as much. Same problems with the characters though. Nicolas didn't want to fall for Morgan so he was a jerk to her. It could have come back from their first meeting due to the extenuating circumstances, but he just continued with the behavior even though he'd then lament how much of a dick he is to her and not wanting to hurt her. Then, after she's gotten shit-faced drunk and his cousin (who she was out with at the time) made a point of taking her home as to not take advantage of her, Nick, of course sleeps with her. And is violent about it since he's pissed he's losing control. Morgan, of course, calls it all her fault and is upset when he seems to regret it. He spends an entire long paragraph going on about how he took advantage of her. OH, SO YOU KNEW IT WAS WRONG. Jesus. They have a back and forth I want to like but she acts like a ditz and he's too demanding. She falls in love in like three days and her other suitor who is super sweet and attractive is just not enough. Then suddenly near the end she decides she wants to stand up for herself at all the wrong times about the the wrong things. When she does the first time he says, 'if I had the time I would beat you, but since I don't...' and he kisses her. You have got to be kidding me. But he gives into her. She then swan dives into Too Stupid To Live. I was hoping she'd die due to her stupidity in the end. Ugh. 1.5 stars
*****

I just want to add that I know I sure want a man who threatens to beat me anytime I don't do as he wants me to do. I'd chalk it up to the fact that all of these were published originally in the early 80s but since it's 2012 and the most passed on, talked about "book" out there right now heavily features a man threatening to beat his girlfriend anytime she disobeys him it is unfortunately not an 80s thing. It's a frighteningly idiotic notion of romance thing. And it is disgusting. ( )

Pretty awful. Will dump the book because its not worth a reread. ( )

Enjoyable stories. ( )

This is a compilation of three of Roberts' works.

This Magic Moment is the tale about a world-renowned magician, Pierce Atkins, and the producer of his first TV appearance, Ryan Swan. They meet and begin a relationship that is somewhat complicated by their lack of true parental figures as children. I enjoyed this story; it didn't have a lot of the whole gender discord that a lot of romance novels have. There weren't any really awful misunderstandings, and what misunderstandings there were were quickly dealt with. The main argument occurred because of a dangerous stunt that Pierce wanted to do, and Ryan was incredibly worried. She had to eventually come to terms with what he does and who he is, and then the path was clear. It was a decent story.

The second tale was about the Count de Kergallen, Christophe, and Serenity Smith. The basic plot was pretty good (Serenity's parents die suddenly, and she is invited to her never-before-heard-of grandmother's estate in Brittany, where she discovers that her grandmother is still angry over a stolen painting from over two decades ago), and I enjoyed watching Serenity get to know her grandmother, who is quite the character. Reading about the countryside and how peaceful it was was relaxing, and I also enjoyed the secondary characters. Serenity and Christophe, however, baffle me. I didn't understand almost any of their interactions. This story was highly based upon the idea that the male/female genders don't understand one another at all, even with the simplest of concepts. The two fought constantly, and I could never understand what the fight was about. And they were totally and utterly high-handed and arrogant with each other. Why they put up with each other, I have no idea. While I enjoyed aspects of this story, I didn't really like the two main characters and the development of their relationship at all.

The third story is about Morgan James, who while visiting a friend in Greece is attacked by Nicholas Gregory, who is not what he seems. This story has more intrigue and violence in it than the previous two, as Morgan has several brushes with death and near-death, both her own and that of others. It strikes a decent balance between the previous two stories in terms of the gender dissonance that can occur, leaning slightly towards less than more. The backgrounds of Morgan and Nick aren't as well-fleshed out as the previous two stories; we know little of their parents and families, only that Morgan is over-worked and just out of a relationship that was in a rut and that Nick got into smuggling a little over a decade ago and is now getting out. I also felt like some of this story was a bit cliche, particularly a few of the characters. However, the development of the relationship between Morgan and Nick was fun to read, and I enjoy romances with a bit more depth than just they met, they fell in love, there's this one roadblock that's overcome, and everyone's happy.

All in all, it was a decent book. I don't know that I would have bought it had I read it first as a library book, but I'll probably keep it and delve into it every now and again, particularly the last story. I recommend it for Roberts fans, but I don't know that many others would particularly enjoy it. ( )