CW: The plot of this book deals with sexual assault and emotional abuse. Some graphic depictions of assault.
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| Photo by Viva la Feminista |
I have to admit that I read the description of this book when it was pitched to me pretty quickly. I am sure I was pulled in by the "heroic young woman moving past tragedy" framing because it did not really dawn on me that I was asked to review a
Nora Roberts book. And I didn't even really know who Roberts was, I mean I knew her name, but I didn't have all the parts of the math equation. Then when I got the book I put it off long enough I had to sprint through the book to get it done even close to my deadline. Suffice to say, this review is from someone who didn't realize she was reading a romance novel until she was done and read the author's Wikipedia entry. So the book...
As I said, I decided to sprint through
The Obsession by Nora Roberts to even get close to my deadline. Luckily this book grabs a hold of you so quickly that I would have sprinted through it even if I had started it a year early. The first few chapters document the first 20 or so years of Naomi's life that at one point I was pretty disappointed not to get more into those pivotal years. We go from Naomi learning the awful truth about her deranged father and saving a young woman's life to buying a huge house on Puget Sound, Washington that it was a bit whiplashy. But you soon learn that
The Obsession is a roller coaster ride and that was just the opening drop.
I want to stop and give major props to Roberts for her ability to describe the Puget Sound area so vividly. I have family in that area and have spent some time in that area, thus my photo at the top. If there is one area outside of Chicago I would move to in a heartbeat, it would be the Pacific Northwest. Roberts doesn't come out and say exactly where Naomi's house is, but from the small names dropped and description, I knew exactly where it was. I could smell where Naomi would hike to take her photographs. I envied her sunrise view cause I have seen the same views from my godmother's kitchen.
When Naomi moves to Washington, she was finally stopped running from her past as the daughter who caught this century's most notorious serial killer. After having been raised in New York by her gay uncles and enduring the suicide of her emotionally abused mother, Naomi finally settles down in an old bed and breakfast in much need of a rehab. She is making her living as a photographer - half artsy stuff that sells in NY galleries and half stock photos. While she has changed her last name, Naomi is always on high alert for anyone who might discover her real origins. This is in fact one reason she chose a sleepy small town to lay down roots.
Naomi quickly is drawn into this small town's social scene, especially after catching the eye of the town hottie/rocker/mechanic. See...it takes awhile for the romance to show up! You get how it took me awhile to realize I was in for some steamy love scenes. I have to admit that I felt the same as Naomi when Xander showed up. He is brash and overconfident in himself. Ugh, I thought. Then as he worked his way into Naomi's heart, he also did to mine.
When Roberts gets this roller coaster moving through the zero-G loops, you are racing through the pages again. I'm proud of myself for picking up on some of the foreshadowing to figure out a little of the ending. There were certainly times when I was thinking, "No, No..NO!! This is not how this ends up!" But Naomi's past does indeed catch up to her now that she has stopped running.
The actual conclusion of the mystery part of the book was only half-satisfying. But the ride was good enough that I would recommend this book be tossed in your beach bag this summer. It will keep you engaged as you take in some sun, but also a book you could conceivably leave for a few days and pick up without a problem. But....I highly doubt you'll be able to put the down long enough for that to happen.
After I did find out I had read a romance novel, definitely not my usual genre, I did a bit of a search on Nora Roberts. She is listed as a
feminist romance novelist. Indeed Naomi does mention feminism in the book. The manner in which the book treats Naomi's mother's abuse is honest and gentle in a very feminist way. In fact, I kinda felt that one conversation could had been ripped from an emotional abuse brochure. I would not be surprised if Roberts gets letters from women who say, "I didn't realize I was in an abusive relationship until I read this book." When Naomi discovers her father's secret life, the family moves in with her mom's gay brother and his husband. Their relationship is treated without much fanfare outside of moments early on where Naomi's mom and uncle have to talk out the contradictions between his marriage and the morals she came to believe under her husband's rule, especially since it is an interracial marriage. Naomi is a strong character who determined to not only support herself, but save herself from her father's sins.
Again, this is an excellent beach book for the upcoming summer. But if you buy it now, I dare you to make it past Memorial Day before you devour this book.
Please purchase your own copy of The Obsession from Powells or Indiebound and support Viva la Feminista.
Disclaimer: I received a review copy from a publicist. 
