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Black Hills

Nora Roberts

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What Members Thought

Oct 13, 2008 jenjn79 rated it really liked it

Shelves: reviewed, info-full, genre-romance-suspense, format-hardcover, stars-4, published-2009, author-nora-roberts, 2009

Solid 4-stars, maybe bordering on 4.5. This was just an all around solid book for me. There were two things that kept it from being a 5-star read, and neither of those were critical issues. But overall, I have to say I enjoyed this book a lot (and I'm trying not to be a biased Nora Roberts groupie when I say that).

Cooper Sullivan was just eleven years old when his parents sent him off to his grandparents farm in the Black Hills of South Dakota for the summer. For Coop, it was like being sent to Solid 4-stars, maybe bordering on 4.5. This was just an all around solid book for me. There were two things that kept it from being a 5-star read, and neither of those were critical issues. But overall, I have to say I enjoyed this book a lot (and I'm trying not to be a biased Nora Roberts groupie when I say that).

Cooper Sullivan was just eleven years old when his parents sent him off to his grandparents farm in the Black Hills of South Dakota for the summer. For Coop, it was like being sent to prison and he hated it. But a talk with his grandmother convinces him to give it a chance so he does and befriends nine-year-old Lil Chance in the process. Over the years their friendship grows until, in their late teens, it becomes more. Lil thinks they are starting their future together, but after a while it all falls apart and they go their separate ways.

Now twelve years have passed. Lil has fulfilled her lifelong dream of opening a wildlife refuge and everything is going well for her. Then Coop, a retired detective, returns, this time for good. Coop broke her heart once and Lil is determined to not let him do it again. For Coop, seeing Lil is a painful reminder of the hardships of his life. The two come to an unintentional truce of leaving each other alone. But then danger threatens Lil. Someone is messing with her Refuge, pulling "pranks" and then killing a cougar.

Coop can't sit by while Lil is in danger, especially when it becomes clear that Lil is in real danger. He also realizes that it's time to clear things up between them personally. He loves her, always has, but now he has to regain her trust. And hope to keep her safe from a madman who loves the thrill of the hunt.

I've read quite a few comments already about hot the animal/nature aspect of the book didn't do anything for the reader...but for me, I loved that part of the story. Of course, I love nature and animals and all that. So it was interesting to read about the Refuge, how things worked, the animals, etc. And I loved the bond between Lil and Baby the cougar. So sweet. Especially how the ending worked out. Realistic? Probably not! But very interesting to read and a great way to resolve the suspense part of the story. All in all, this part of the story just worked for me.

I also liked how the beginning of the book was done. The story goes back to when Coop and Lil are kids and meet for the first time and progresses through some key scenes. Roberts has done "time progression" stories before (and I've always loved them), but this one is not quite as involved. The "flashback" part is only about 80 pages. So the past doesn't overwhelm the story. But I thought those first 80 pages were nice to read; gives you some great insight into the characters and the bond between them.

As for the relationship between Lil and Coop...I liked it, but I can't say I loved it. There was definitely chemistry between them and a strong bond, but there was something just a little bit off and I can't put my finger on it. The two were enjoyable to read overall, though. There were some really sweet scenes and I liked how Coop worked to show here he was back for good and that she could trust him.

There's also a secondary romance between Farley and Tansy. Enjoyable to read. Farley was a cool character. Very "aww schucks!" And Tansy was like his polar opposite. So their romance was interesting.

I have two somewhat minor complaints about the book:

First, the identity of the bad guy is reveals fairly early in the book and I found that rather annoying. It deadened the suspense angle somewhat and made things a bit less intense. It didn't really make sense to me why Roberts just flat out gave away the identity. I would have rather there been more of a guessing game, more trying to figure out who was trying to hurt Lil. So that took away a little bit from the book, for me.

And secondly - and this is may be more personal preference than anything else - I would have liked it if Coop had had to face his family issues within the present part of the story. There's some reference to Coop "coming to peace," so to speak, with the way things were, but to me, things between Coop and his parents felt rather unsettled. And because Coop's family dynamics played a role in what happened between him and Lil, it took a little away from their relationship (that unsettled feeling between Coop and his parents). So yeah, I wouldn't have minded something happening on that front.

Overall, though, this was a solid book from Roberts. I'm not sure it would qualify in my top ten of favorites, but it's definitely a book I wouldn't mind reading again in a year or so. It was fun to read, very nature-centered, with a nice romance, and a pretty good suspense angle. ...more

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Jul 08, 2009 Amar rated it liked it

I liked the book overall, loved the romance between Lil and Coop...and the supporting characters Farley and Tansy. I love how the book starts out when Lil and Coop met as kids but felt like NR rushed through their childhood-falling-for-each-other phase...I wasn't as 'into' their initial romance/breakup as I could have been. Liked how she handled their romance as adults.

Liked the suspense/thriller aspect, spooked me a bit as I was up late reading...made me decide I will never go hiking alone or e ...more

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Mar 25, 2009 Suzanne rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2012-alphabetical-challenge

Black Hills

Nora Roberts is still a magnificent storyteller and entertainer.

Black Hills, South Dakota is the destination for this storyline. Coop is a young boy, aged 11, who is sent to his grandparents' farm for a few weeks in the summer while his parents try to save their marriage. He is from New York and is bored by country living. His grandparents are neighbors with a family who has a daughter,Lillian, and is around Coops' age. He is enchanted with her and soon learns to ride horses and fin ...more

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Oct 11, 2009 Ally rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2010, 2009

This is Nora Roberts 2009 Romantic Suspense, I first read it in 2009 and enjoyed it just as much now as I did then. The beginning of Black Hills, the first 92 pages is the background on Lil and Coop, about how they met as children and how they grew from friends to lovers and then broke up. I found it really sweet and compelling as well as sad at the end of their relationship.

I really loved Lil I thought she was a great heroine and she was so motivated right from the start of Black Hills about wh This is Nora Roberts 2009 Romantic Suspense, I first read it in 2009 and enjoyed it just as much now as I did then. The beginning of Black Hills, the first 92 pages is the background on Lil and Coop, about how they met as children and how they grew from friends to lovers and then broke up. I found it really sweet and compelling as well as sad at the end of their relationship.

I really loved Lil I thought she was a great heroine and she was so motivated right from the start of Black Hills about what she wanted from her life and what she wanted to achieve. She really wanted to build her refuge and she did. Lil never got over Coop and no-one else ever seemed to measure up although she tried. So when Lil found out Coop was back she knew she had to try and keep the friendship between them that they had when they were younger. Coop, also had never gotten over Lil but he had to prove his self worth to himself before he could be happy but he never seemed to have been happy. He always missed Lil. So when Coop learns that Lil is single and isn't involved with anyone he decides they have some unfinished business to settle.

I didn't like Coop as much, I thought he was a bit too arrogant when he thought he could get Lil back into bed again after everything he'd done to her. Although he was a sweetheart in trying to protect Lil from the murderer and prove that he loved her and would never leaver her again.

I think he should have had to grovel because all he did was buy her flowers, make her diner and seduce her.

Favourite Quote: "The penis is here to stay, so those of us without them must learn to appreciate, exploit, ignore and/or utilize them, depending on our own needs and goals." Lil Chance.

I really enjoyed the secondary romance, and wish it could have had a bigger part in the story as I thought it was interesting and sweet.

As always Ms. Roberts provides an interesting insight to the murderer and shows the madness lurking within this character quite well

If you liked Angels Fall, Northern Lights or Blue Smoke then you're going to love Black Hills. If you haven't tried any Nora Roberts this is a great place to start. ...more

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Jul 12, 2009 Ruth rated it really liked it

Shelves: romantic-suspense

This book had so much depth in the character development, the suspense was well crafted. I don't know about the black hills but the background rang true although one review said it wasn't. NR as usual touched me with poetry and emotion in the way she strings ordinary words into an extraordinary reading experience. ...more

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Sep 13, 2009 DeAnna rated it liked it

Shelves: romance_novels

Pretty standard Nora Roberts novel, so a fun light read but not one I will return to. I wish half stars were available, because I would reate it 2.5 given the choice. I enjoyed Vision in White much more.

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Nov 24, 2010 Shannon rated it really liked it

This book was very suspensful - which is what Nora Roberts does best. I like her romances too - but the mystery/suspense romance is definitely her genre.

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Jul 09, 2009 Pat rated it really liked it

This is a good book, where the mystery outshines the romance. It took me a while to warm up to the hero, Cooper Sullivan, because at first he comes across as too full of himself; but as the story developed I can see why he comes across that way ("mad & sad"). I really liked the ending...not very believable but very satisfying. ...more

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Jan 08, 2011 Ilean rated it it was amazing

Shelves: romance, roberts-nora

I thoroughly enjoyed "Black Hills". It was covered in up in my tbr pile and rediscovered last week. It was the most enjoyable Nora Roberts book that I have read in quite some time. ...more

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