The Welcoming

by Nora Roberts

A New York Times Bestseller He had never known the warmth of a home -- until he found his way to Charity's charming Seaside Inn. But Roman DeWinter had come looking for a criminal mastermind and to expose a criminal organization that was based in the inn -- and all the evidence pointed to Charity. He didn't expect he would learn to care for Charity, and want something more with her. They both have fallen in love. Has Roman made a mistake by not telling Charity the truth.

Genres: Romance, Fiction, Romantic Suspense, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary, Suspense, Mystery

292 pages, Hardcover

First published October 9, 1989

About the author

Nora Roberts is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than 200 novels, including Hideaway, Under Currents, Come Sundown, The Awakening, Legacy, and coming in November 2021 -- The Becoming -- the second book in The Dragon Heart Legacy. She is also the author of the futuristic suspense In Death series written under the pen name J.D. Robb. There are more than 500 million copies of her books in print.

Reviews

[Leo · Rating 4 out of 5]

It seems from other reviews that this is not one of her better works mostly because it's a bit old. However I found it quite pleasant to read. An decent half serious half fluffy read. Not a favorite but I liked it

[Anita · Rating 4 out of 5]

Classic Nora romance with a touch of mystery/suspense. It was a great way to pass the time and I enjoyed it a lot. This book is 36 years old and as with all truly good books it stands the test of time, except for the smoking. I enjoyed how Roman was in a tough place: he had a job to do but fell in love with his lead suspect.

Charity Ford inherited her inn on Orcas Island and works really hard to make is successful. She does just about everything and likes to think she knows every in and out of her business, but that may not be true. When a dark brooding stranger changes her flat tire, she makes a snap decision to offer him a handyman job at the inn. She just didn't know she would end up offering him her heart.

FBI Agent Roman DeWinter is undercover when he meets Charity, and everything works like a charm to get him in place at Charity's inn where he can dig deep into his assignment to uncover a criminal mastermind. It doesn't take long for him to become convinced that Charity has nothing to do with why he is really there. It also doesn't take long for him to surrender his heart to the beautiful innkeeper.

[Lena · Rating 3 out of 5]

If this book was a color it would be mediocre.

I picked this up for the setting and the author but it was clear, from the smoking, that these were early days, the beginnings of her golden formula.

Everybody starts on bumpy roads, lol.

[Ashley Daviau · Rating 3 out of 5]

This wasn’t quite up to Nora’s usual standards but it was still an enjoyable read nonetheless. I thought the idea was really interesting and wish it had been expanded on more, it felt like everything happened so fast and the story was in a rush to be over. And because of that I didn’t get a chance to connect with any of the characters which very much affected my enjoyment of the story. It’s much easier to get into a story when you genuinely care about the characters and what happens to them!

[Tessa Visschedijk · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was... something.

[Heidi Rice · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was a newish book, it wasn't... The moment the hero - FBI agent Roman de Winter posing as a handyman at our sweet heroine Charity's picaresque Washington inn - had to sneak out in the middle of the night to phone his contact, I figured out this was a very old book. Once I had got over that disappointment (and the fact the hero was a chain smoker! Yuk!) I enjoyed the book. Obviously it's not new Nora with all the ways in which she's improved as a writer in the last 30 years - the couple fell rather suddenly into love for example - but it was still a cute and sexy little story with a nice helping of suspense and passion at the end. Not bad, not bad at all... I wish my early books were as good.

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ha sido el libro que menos me ha gustado de la autora hasta ahora. Además, justo antes de empezarlo me había terminando un libro que me encantó.
En general, los personajes me han parecido poco desarrollados y el instalove lo tengo demasiado visto. Además, era bastante obvio como iba a acabar y además había demasiados clichés.
Lo bueno que le veo a este libro es la forma de escribir de la aurora, que como siempre es magnífica. Usa una prosa poetica preciosa y un lenguaje lírico casi musical que embauca a cualquiera.

[Ximena · Rating 2 out of 5]

Me encanta como escribe pero creo que le ha faltado más profundidad, en todos los sentidos... Me ha decepcionado la verdad, recuerdo haber leído algo escrito por ella, y me habían gustado mucho, este no fue el caso...

[Maura · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a pretty decent little book - nothing earth shattering or spectacular but it kept me entertained and I enjoyed reading it. The story focuses on FBI Agent Roman DeWinter who has come to Charity's inn on the Orcas Islands to investigate something...only he's undercover, since Charity is also under suspicion. So he poses as a handyman and as surly as Roman is, Charity starts falling in love with him. What I enjoyed about Roman though is that, despite his gruff and sometimes rude behavior, once he realizes he's in love, he embraces it. There was a great deal of foreshadowing regarding the angst potential in this relationship. Charity ended up having to fire one of her employees for calling in sick when she wasn't, and Charity kept crying about how upset she was that her employee LIED to her. Well, that says it right there. Charity is going to have a pisser of a conniption when she finds out Roman is lying...I'm surprised he didn't see it coming to that degree. And she was really frustrating about it, refusing to use any logic or common sense when looking at it. She was angry because he supposedly played her for a fool and pretended to fall in love with her when he really didn't - what reason would he have to lie to her that way? He could have just pretended to be her friend...he didn't have to take it all the way to a marriage proposal. By that time he already had her trust and cooperation. So she was beyond irrational and it frustrated me. There were other times when her behavior was somewhat aggravating too, but it by no means ruined the story for me. Overall, it was a fun read.

[Bryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not her best but enjoyable. I love a bit of chick lit, romance and adventure

[Srivalli (Semi-Hiatus) · Rating 3 out of 5]

It wasn't really Nora's best book. I don't usually like my heroes smoking so that was one minus point. The imagery of the locations and Nature were great. Overall, an entertaining book.

[Tiffany López · Rating 1 out of 5]

les cuento... la prota trabaja en una posada en una isla de los eeuu y el prota viene de washington como agente encubierto porque aparantemente la prota está metida en asuntos turbios.
La tipa se enamora en una semana y el tio que noooooo que el no se enamora nunca. pues nada, que al final el tipo se enamora en una semana y un dia
y luego se super enfadan porque la tia descubre que estaba haciendo el tio en su posada y cancelan hasta la boda. pues el aparece unos dias despues y le dice que perdon y se casan

que guai todo,no? ojala nora escribiera mi vida amorosa porque vamos, la mia es semejante mierda

[Dee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review haiku:
Inn on Puget Sound.
Smuggling and counterfeiting.
True love overcomes.

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25 just okay, I'd skip it... not really her best work.

[Skittles Jones · Rating 2 out of 5]

So now I’m back to my Nora Robert “craze days”. Can’t lie, I’ve been a big fan of hers since I was in high school, and her description and smooth transitions are evident even in her older novels like this one that most of her books I give a chef’s kiss to.

However, this did not stir the pot for me, so to speak. The heroine is gullible and the hero is hardened. Charity is self-sufficient and very industrious, working herself off in a quaint inn that she inherited from her grandfather in a town called Orcas (since orca sighting is big thing there); enter our FBI agent Rowan who was assigned to investigate Charity due to alleged counterfeit money and people smuggling and he was working undercover and just had to keep her in the dark every step of the way.

Love at first sight. Then a love affair that we know would go sour because of Rowan’s secrecy. Charity is too charitable. I wanted more grovel. 12 chapters and I anticipated that heart-flipping grovel but it came with an anticlimactic smack in the face.

2.5 stars. Next.

[Patricia (Irishcharmer) Yarian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Of course, Nora Roberts is one of my absolute favorite writer,I will find this another stunning story!! And yes,I am from an area not far from where the setting for this story is set,found her description of Orcas to a tee!! Personally,I haven't stayed at the Inn, but have visited the island on a day "cruise"( there are plenty of these every day on the ferry). I digress, the story is well written, you too will find it to be so also!! It's been republished in a 2for1- called the Storm. And Roman.... well, what can I say!!--loved the book --P/

[Jacqueline Seewald · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Welcoming is a romantic suspense novel by a master of the genre. Charity runs an inn inherited from her grandfather. Roman DeWinter is an FBI agent who has been sent to investigate some illegal doings connected with the inn. He soon discovers that his suspicions regarding Charity are ill-founded and in fact falls in love with her. They are both well-developed characters and the book is a page-turner. There are some inconsistencies but readers will want to overlook them. Roman, for instance, mentions a previous marriage but not a divorce--a bit off-putting. Overall, very entertaining.

[Tania Martins · Rating 2 out of 5]

Já li melhor da autora, Roman e Charity apaixonam-se in the glimpse of an eye, muito insta love para mim! Tudo muito rápido e floreado talvez por se passar nos anos 80...fraquito!

[Karen Jarvis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Predictable.

[Barbara · Rating 2 out of 5]

Frustratingly shallow. And IMHO poorly paced. The “baby” endearment does not fit the personality/ies. I wanted to like it, but no.

[Tina Arnold · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good Read

Strong story full of wonderful characters that draw you in and wanting to know what is next. Nora Roberts is always a GOOD READ!

[Marie Christensen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good

[Teresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Early book, great story of redemption, forgiveness and how love can change even the most jaded. Believe.

[Erin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I usually enjoy a good Nora Roberts mystery but I didn’t realize this was an earlier one when I picked it up. It felt like it was written in the 80s where everyone was still smoking all the time and it wasn’t my favorite plot line but as I told my husband.... I’m pretty proud of myself for finishing it so I could add it to my year book goal.

[Judy Churchill · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a simple story. It is not sophisticated or unique, but just a sweet story.

[Christine · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars. Quite a fun, light, easy read, but rather formulaic and predictable

[carla langham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another page turner

Another page turner by Nora Roberts.. I just
love the truths and hopes she shows in her books Each book I read is my new favorite at the time

[Megan · Rating 2 out of 5]

SOA Listening Challenge 2012, Track 4: Contemporary 1/4

This is a fun but forgettable listen: while you run, do dishes, drive, basically, while doing something else.

PLOT:
FBI Agent Roman DeWinter goes undercover at a bed-and-breakfast inn on Orcas island to uncover a counterfeiting and smuggling ring. Suspicion is on the Inn's attractive upbeat owner, Charity Ford, who is heavily involved in all aspects of running the Inn.

It becomes quickly clear to Roman that Charity is not a suspect. He finds she is full of charity herself, and falls in love with her. He stays his Secret Agent self, however, even after confessing love to each other, in order to discover and trap the villains.

NARRATION:
This is my first listen to Christian Rummel. He was great with the villains. He got threatening and fearful all at the same time. And when the villain is whining, he totally got the grating intonation down. For the hero Roman's voice, though, the narration was jarring. I kept hearing a smirk. Maybe Roman is supposed to be smirking all the time. It might have been meant to be sardonic, but man, it came across as smirking.

[Heidi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Roman DeWinter is on an undercover FBI assignment to take down a counterfeit and smuggling operation at an inn in Puget Sound. The owner of the inn is Charity Ford who, believing Roman is an in-need drifter, hires him to do handiwork around the inn. Roman and Charity have a strong attraction right away, but he doesn’t want that complication, particularly as she has no idea why he’s really there. As the danger ramps up, Roman struggles with him growing feelings and finishing the job. But can Charity forgive him once the truth is revealed? The tone, pace, and focus of this book is a bit different than other Nora's, but it's worth a read. To hear a full discussion of The Welcoming listen to Season 2, Ep. #13 "Nora Roberts: 1989 Romances" of Romancing the Shelf, a Nora Roberts podcast: https://romancingtheshelf.libsyn.com/

[Leah Ford · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a Sunday, in the garden, lazy read. I thoroughly enjoyed the story and read it in one sitting.
It was a little predictable but it didn't spoil the story.
The characters were interesting and the storyline was written in a way that makes you want to keep reading.
Noras descriptions of characters and the area where the story is based are are always so amazing. I can really imagine who and where they are.
I would definitely recommend this book if fancy a great short read.