Three Fates

Rating:
Summary: Not her best!
Review: A little different then what I usually read, but interesting none the less. I like the way Nora followed the fates from I THINK it was the 1800 to present day. 3 tiny silver statues impact the lives of several people, 8 of which we get to meet. Fate is definitely a factor here in showing that some things are just MENT to be and not always a coinky dink. Not overly mushy on the romance which was good for me and pretty darn cool on the suspense and search for these statues. Funny too, what more could you ask for in a good novel.

Rating:
Summary: Hurrah!! -- more than one plot line without a trilogy!
Review: As an avid fan of Nora Roberts, I was delighted to see the story of the Three Fates start and end within the pages of one book. It must have been tempting to split the story line into three lucrative and separate entities, but instead the reader is treated to real interaction between each pair of lovers. In fact, this interaction between all the players is one of the strengths of this book.

Ms. Roberts has once again given us engaging characters. Her depiction of Cleo, especially, was beautifully drawn. The reader is allowed to see the entire woman, not just the hot stripper. The Irish contingent is Nora Roberts at her best -- lovable, laughable, and a family truly united. Her villian, Anita, is almost a cardboard cut-out of evel personified, and does not really have an impact on the story line, other than to act as a catalyst for the other characters.

An exceptionally enjoyable read!

Rating:
Summary: Not Nora's best book
Review: I began to read Nora Roberts back in the early 1990's. Back then I always looked forward to her books. In the two or three years I haven't read any of her books because I thought that she was not writing at her best. Well, I got a copy of the "Three Fates" hoping that she had improved. Well, she hadn't.
The "Three Fates" tell the story of the Sullivan Family how a past family member came to posession of a small statue after the sinking of the Lusitania. After having it stolen from them, The Sulllivans will stop at nothing to bring the Three Fates back together again.
This was a slow book, that had simple characters, who had a hard time holding my interest. The only reason that I finished it so I got it off of my bookshelf and into my used bookstore bag.

Rating:
Summary: Not worth the work
Review: I could not get through this book which for me is very disappointing. I am an avid Nora Roberts fan. To me this book started okay but was too boring to keep going. It is rare that I will stop reading a book before the end. My time is valuable and I felt it was being wasted . I hope others do not judge Nora Roberts based on this book.
My favorites of hers are:
The Three Sisters Island trilogy
The Irish Trilogy
The Donovan Legacy
Midnight Bayou

Rating:
Summary: my favorite Nora Roberts book
Review: I don't know why some people don't like this book that much. It is my favorite out of the all the ones I have read. The group of six, Cleo and Gideon, Tia and Malachai, and Rebecca, and Jack, are great as a group, believable as couples, and completely independant and able to hold there own as individuals. You truly hate Anita Gaye by half-way through the book. It as Jack says - "you have the classy blonde (Tia,) the sexy brunette, (Cleo,) and the gourgeous red-hed (Rebecca.) The story takes place in Ireland, and New York for most of the book. And has a thrilling end.

Rating:
Summary: Not Nora's Best...
Review: I love all of Nora's books, but this was not her best works.

Three Fates is the story of a trio of Irish siblings and their American lovers as they fight to reclaim three ancient statues.

Nora Roberts has a distinct gift for writing character driven plots, but the Three Fates did not showcase this ability. Instead we get three implausible love stories crammed into a single volume, with not enough attention paid to each couple.

Several characters even fall into the 'unlikable' category, (at least for me). Ex-Ballet-dancer-turned-stripper (Cleo's) constant sarcasm and phrases such as 'slick' etc. Grated on my nerves. Gideon, and Mal, the two brothers had no personality and were virtually interchangeable. Jack was a cardboard cutout. Also,I was surprised at how quickly all the characters jumped into bed with their respective partners. There was harldly any romance at all! =-(

The best character in the series was Tia. The slightly anxious mythologist. Nora should have written the book about Tia and Mal, and left out the four other characters.

Overall, a disappointing read. I would recommend only to diehard Nora Fans.

Rating:
Summary: Too much of the same thing...
Review: I'll have to admit the book cover sounded interesting enough, but it seems NR gets into everything by threes, and it gets to be a bit much. I thought the women in this book were as goofy as all get-out, as well as an embarrassment to the female gender. And I never cared much for that. She had all the couples climbing into bed together too soon. The plot surrounding the Three Fates was a great idea, but the prose failed to follow through. I still think NR's first books were some of her best, and I still believe she's one of the greatest romance writers of all times. I'm just not big on this book. I've read much better with NR's name on the cover.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Romance Suspense Novel
Review: This is one of my favorite Nora Roberts books. It's also one of the best books I've ever read. I truly enjoyed the characters and how they interacted with one another, and following the exciting plot with it's twists and turns. This book is a page-turner and well worth the read.

Rating:
Summary: No more Nora for me
Review: This is the second Nora Roberts book that I have read and it will probably be my last. This decision is prompted in great part by the fact that I am not a fan of romance novels. (Excuse me; the cover calls Ms. Roberts a write of women's fiction. And please, get another photo that makes you look less like a .... well makes you look a bit more plesant.) At any rate, for me to read a work of "women's fiction" there needs to be more there than a love story. Well in the case of this book, it's three love stories; and amazingly, between three siblings. And of course they are all trying to unite the three fates. The trilogy thing gets overworked, as does the analogies to the three fates.

The three fates are three women from mythology. The first spins the thread, the second measures it, and the third cuts it. By the middle of the book, whenever one of the characters, usually Tia, went into another one of their soliloquies about "weaving-the-thread-into-a-tapestry-and-we're-all-destined-to-be-together" rants, I just skipped to where the story actually started again.

At any rate, Ms. Roberts' attempts at injecting some form of meaning or depth into her fiction are shallow and contrived.

As another reader pointed out the Prologue was good, and then, the book falls flat on it's face. I have always been amazed at how in "women's fiction" people manage to fall in love at first sight. In reality, I just don't think that happens. We have six people in this book, three of which are related, and they all fall madly, head over heals in love within hours of meeting their soon to be partners. The chances of that happening are slim to none. And the pairings are so bizarre. We're to believe that a healthy Irishman who runs a boat tour company in Ireland is going to fall for a neurotic, wealthy PHD; that his younger brother is going to fall for a rebel, ex-exotic dancer, who is also rich but has had a falling out with her family; and that their sister falls for a wealthy self made man in the security business. Of all the romances, the last was to me the most believable.

Bottom line: not really believable, not literary, not worth your time.

My star ratings:

One star - couldn't finish the book
Two stars - read the book, but did a lot of skipping or scanning. Wouldn't add the book to my permanent collection or search out other books by the author
Three stars - enjoyable read. Wouldn't add the book to my permanent collection. Would judge other books by the author individually.
Four stars - Liked the book. Would keep the book or would look for others by the same author.
Five start - One of my all time favorites. Will get a copy in hardback to keep and will actively search out others by the same author.