The Law of Love by Nora Roberts (2009)

Two of her Silhouette romances: Lawless (1989) and The Law is a Lady (1984). I recently read up on Roberts and found out she had started writing for Silhouette books and even after she started writing full length books, she sometimes likes to return to these shorter versions, good for a quick read by a busy mother. I also found out she writes 8 hours a day, even writing on vacations. I don't get her obsession with writing. I am sure she has no more financial concerns, so why be writing constantly, unless that is what she really likes to do. The other interesting fact I came upon, was that she researches most of her settings on the Internet, because she doesn't like to fly. She does visit Ireland, which is probably why her Irish books are so compelling, but I have found most of her other settings quite believable too - so she knows how to research.

Both of these books were about the West - Arizona in particular. Lawless was an historical story about a refined young woman Sarah Conway, who heads out West to be with her father, who is working a gold mine out there. She shows up finding that her father has died in the mine, and the large house he described was still a fantasy, and that all he had was a small cabin by the mine, but she finds her inner grit and perseveres, learning new skills and making friends in the small forgotten town. Jake Redman, a half Apache, listless man is fascinated by Sarah and keeps showing up just when she needs some help. Of course there is the slimy gentleman, who tries to win Sarah's hand, but she finds she is much more attracted to Jake. I kinda like the way this relationship played out, and I definitely liked the strong character of Sarah.

The Law is a Lady was set in present day Arizona, where Victoria is a lawyer temporarily the sheriff of the small town of Friendly, filling in for her sheriff father, who has died unexpectedly. Phil Kincaid is a Hollywood movie director looking for a small forgotten town as the setting for his latest film. I liked the way these two played off each other, and this book was full of other characters and situations - hapless deputy Merle, abused kid Tod, troublesome twins, distance with Victoria's mother, the daily grind of making a movie. So all in all a good read. I also liked that the love scenes were set in unusual places - a pond, hayloft, police cruiser. My only complaint is that I caught Roberts on a couple of very unrealistic details. As romantic as a hayloft may sound, hay and straw are very itchy and uncomfortable, and no way can a comfortable romp be had without a blanket to cushion it. Similarly with the car - OK, most of us have made out in cars, but do you remember how uncomfortable that was, and to spend a whole night? Maybe Roberts just hasn't tried these variations herself.