The Obsession in Audiobook Junkies

Mar 12, 2016 ☕️Kimberly (Caffeinated Reviewer) rated it it was amazing

Five Caffeinated reasons to read The Obsession

The Obsession was riveting from the very first pages as eleven-year-old Naomi Bowes follows her father into the woods and discovers a young woman trapped in a root cellar. Naomi unwittingly saves the young woman and reveals to the world one of the most notorious serial killers of our era. The story follows Naomi and her family as they grow up under the shadow of their now famous father. The first part of the book focuses on life growing up in the Five Caffeinated reasons to read The Obsession

The Obsession was riveting from the very first pages as eleven-year-old Naomi Bowes follows her father into the woods and discovers a young woman trapped in a root cellar. Naomi unwittingly saves the young woman and reveals to the world one of the most notorious serial killers of our era. The story follows Naomi and her family as they grow up under the shadow of their now famous father. The first part of the book focuses on life growing up in the shadow of their father and Roberts really allows us to get to know Naomi, her brother Mason and her Uncles. I loved the depth Roberts put into the story and the characters making the story very surreal.
Roberts gave us such a strong, talent and resilient heroine. Naomi is flawed and fears being discovered. This has caused her to wander and until now she has never called a place home or had a serious relationship. While taking photos in Sunrise Cove she stumbles across a rundown house overlooking the bay and surprises herself when she buys it. She does not really expected to stay and I loved watching her befriend townsfolk and unknowingly begin to grow roots.
The romance is slow building and incredibly hot despite being closed-door. Our hero Xander Keaton is sure to curl your toes. Xander is a sweetie, and not the outwardly romantic type. Which just makes it even sexier when he does something swoon-worthy. He does not have a clue how romantic he can be, and I found it refreshing. The man is yummy to look at and can fix your car too. I loved the chemistry and "tug and pull" of their relationship. Naomi is skittish and Xander determined creating a wonderful, genuine romance that felt like the forever kind.
Since the first part of the book dealt with Naomi’s dad, I was not sure how the suspense angle was going to play out, but we soon have a threat in Sunrise Cove. Roberts skillfully created a tension-filled suspense and I loved that moment when the past threaded with the present. The plot felt very plausible, I enjoyed the way secondary characters, Naomi, and her past tied into this suspenseful murder-mystery.
I feel in love with the characters in The Obsession and despite what happened I would love to visit Sunrise Cove and these characters again. Roberts made them all very real to me, even the secondary characters. I became emotionally connected and found myself laughing aloud, swooning, biting my nails and holding my breath. Well-paced with an ending that left me in my happy place, The Obsession is a book I will recommend to all.

Copy provided by publisher This review was originally posted on Caffeinated Book Reviewer ...more

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Mar 17, 2016 Kathy Martin rated it it was amazing

Eleven-year-old Naomi Bowes followed her father into the woods one late night and walked into a nightmare. Her father had a young woman locked in an underground cellar beside a burnt out cabin. He had raped her and tortured her and would have killed her like he had killed countless others before her if Noami hadn't rescued her and taken her to the sheriff.

That act of courage changed Naomi's life. She and her brother and her mother became almost as notorious as her father. They couldn't escape th Eleven-year-old Naomi Bowes followed her father into the woods one late night and walked into a nightmare. Her father had a young woman locked in an underground cellar beside a burnt out cabin. He had raped her and tortured her and would have killed her like he had killed countless others before her if Noami hadn't rescued her and taken her to the sheriff.

That act of courage changed Naomi's life. She and her brother and her mother became almost as notorious as her father. They couldn't escape the media frenzy until her mother's gay brother and his husband swooped in to rescue them. They moved first to Washington, DC, and than later to New York City. Each time Bowes wanted something from prison, the media frenzy kicked in again, and the family moved again. Naomi's mother couldn't deal with the situation and took her own life when Naomi was in high school. Naomi and her brother Mason changed their name to Carson which was their mother's maiden name. But determined reporters kept finding them ... when the tell-all book came out, when the movie was released...

Naomi grew up to become a photographer who traveled almost constantly. She didn't set down any roots or let anyone into her life except her brother and her uncles. But then she arrived in Sunrise Cove on the West Coast and fell in love with an old house that needed major renovation, very reluctantly found herself adopting an abandoned dog, and found a man to love too. Xander Keaton was born and raised in Sunrise Cove, owned his own garage, played in a bar band, and wouldn't let Naomi keep him at a distance.

Only, though Naomi didn't know it, she had attracted a stalker who had followed her to Sunrise Cove and who committed a couple of murders that were eerily like those committed by her father. Her first instinct was to run because that was what she was used to doing. Xander convinced her to make a stand and try to end the problem once and for all.

I loved this story. The relationship between Naomi and Xander was so well written. Neither one of them was looking for love but love had a way of finding them. I loved watching Naomi become part of the Sunrise Cove community and make some good friends. I think that this building of community and connections is a hallmark of Nora Roberts' writing and it is done very well here.

Fans of romantic suspense and Nora's fans won't want to miss this excellent story. ...more

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Jul 24, 2016 Darcy rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: romantic-suspense, audio-book, 2016

The opening to this one was horrible, I hated that Naomi had to go through what she did, it made me admire her. That a little girl could be so brave, even knowing the consequences was astounding. I did find myself getting a bit bored as she grew up and as she found her new home. It seemed that the brave girl at the beginning was gone, instead was a woman with super high walls and not all that interesting. It was only as those walls came down and Naomi started to become a part of the town that th ...more

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Oct 14, 2015 Talya rated it really liked it

Shelves: nora-favorites, contemp-romance, steamy-sexy-time, mystery-suspense, nora-jd-robb-2016

Nora's still got it. Very good romance and mixed with the suspense. I think the first third of the book was interesting, as it was basically a prologue, but it worked. I really liked Xander, classic Nora alpha-beta hero, and Naomi was great. And Tag was great too. ...more

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Jan 04, 2016 Denise marked it as dnf-for-now

I just can't seem to get through this book. The beginning told me this was going to be an awesome story, but after all the excitement, I quickly got bored. It started to feel like NR's Boonsboro Inn series with all the technical details about building and lighting etc, but now its all about photography, mechanics and any other profession of whatever person happens to be in focus. Then there is all the bartering of her photos... not very believable. It just totally takes away from the story itsel ...more

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Mar 03, 2016 Liza rated it really liked it

I had gotten away from reading many of the single titles released by Nora Roberts in the last few years, but was excited to read The Obsession as soon as I read the blurb. I was absolutely hooked from the very first page.

Naomi is such a strong character. Not only did she discover what her father was doing to women when she was only 11 years old, she actually helped his last victim and reported everything to the police. I absolutely loved her from the very beginning and think getting to see her g I had gotten away from reading many of the single titles released by Nora Roberts in the last few years, but was excited to read The Obsession as soon as I read the blurb. I was absolutely hooked from the very first page.

Naomi is such a strong character. Not only did she discover what her father was doing to women when she was only 11 years old, she actually helped his last victim and reported everything to the police. I absolutely loved her from the very beginning and think getting to see her grow up in the first part of the book gave the reader a better understanding out how the past shaped her present. I absolutely love her uncles and her brother and also think their love was a big part of helping her get past so much of the ugly in her past.

While I thought it was a little out of character for Naomi to put down roots and buy a house that needs to be totally renovated, but I got it would speak to a photographer once I read the description of the area and the town. I loved meeting all the people in Sunrise Cove as well. I absolutely fell in love with Kevin and Jenny and have to say Xander was the perfect hero. Not only is he a successful business owner, but he loves to read, is friends with everyone in town, rides a motorcycle, and is in a rock band. Seriously over the top with him, but I loved him. I liked that Naomi and Xander were attracted to one another from the very beginning, but she was flat out honest about not doing relationships. I liked watching their relationship move from friends to an honest to goodness relationship. They had amazing chemistry and they totally worked as a couple for me.

Of course, Naomi's past never is far behind and murders start happening in Sunrise Cove. While I hated the reason, I loved that Naomi's brother Mason, who is an FBI agent, came to town I have serious love for Mason and would love to see him get his own book. I did figure out who was behind the murders pretty quickly. I honestly didn't get why there was an obsession with Naomi really. Honestly that was my only problem with the book and the reason it was a 4 star read. I guess you never really know what will set a serial killer on their path, but it really didn't see it with the killer.

I enjoyed reading The Obsession. I want to share there are rape and torture in this story and if it is a trigger for anyone, you need to consider before reading. I felt like Ms. Roberts did a very tasteful job in handling both the rapes and the tortures, but it could be an issue for others. I'm glad I gave The Obsession a chance and look forward to reading future single title books from Nora Roberts.

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