The Calhoun Women return in #1 New York Times bestselling author Nora Roberts’s A Man for Amanda. Home renovations get complicated when a woman finds herself in unfamiliar territory with a skillful, hands-on contractor.
To keep their family mansion, the Towers, standing tall on the coast of Maine, the Calhouns have hired local architect Sloan O’Riley to perform long-needed repairs. Amanda Calhoun is responsible for overseeing Sloan’s work, and while he’s easy on the eyes, his pride causes friction with her perfectionism. Sloan proves more than capable of fixing an historical house. But when it comes to her heart, the walls she’s built around it aren’t so easily toppled, no matter how tempting it is to set herself free.
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.
I'd forgotten that 'A Man for Amanda' was my least favorite in the Calhoun series. Not a fan of her personality. It's a hate to insta-love romance, which was very popular in the '90s, with a HFN ending.
I still love the family and I'm looking forward to listening to the rest of the series on audio. Just need to put my '90s-tint glasses back on.
The romances in these books are sort of ridiculously fast, to be honest. Plus, all of the things that bothered Amanda about Sloan, bothered me even more. I felt she was completely justified in calling him on it all the time.
But I like the family dynamic and the setting, so...I can't help but keep going. *shrug*
The second book about the Calhoun sisters and their struggle to convert parts of their old mansion to a resort, find the legendary Calhoun emeralds, dodge evil treasure hunters and in the middle of all this find true love. This time Amanda and Sloane are the main ingredients. He is relentless in his pursuit and she is shy and not so experienced in the love game.
I read it back to back with the first book and I must say, it heightens the experience. I will dodge right into the third book!
Somehow felt that the entire series is hurrying along in a very fast pace. Amanda meets Sloan when she first bumps on him in the road and then finally finds out that he is the renovation expert hired by her brother-in-law Trent.
The chemistry is good. Sloan is a bit overbearing towards her but is soon put in place by Amanda. I wish the story had panned out a bit more before the HEA. More importantly, they do not really flush out the important issues that are in their relationship. Amanda's career dreams and how life would be after the marriage.
Bianca's emeralds are still missing and they are still searching for it. I think it will remain missing until a man for Suzanne turns up.
Still, it's worth a read. Go for it. At least there are no stupid seance scenes in this one.
It's been a while since I read anything by Nora Roberts. I found the hero annoying and borderline douchebaggy, and the heroine sort of neurotic. Roberts's later works are much better.
“Dete moje, Mendi, jedina stvar koju u životu ne možeš da isplaniraš je ljubav.”
“Možeš li da utuviš sebi u glavu da nisam zainteresovana?” “Ne.”
“Čovek nigde neće stići ako se povuče svaki put kad udari u zid. Mora da se popne preko njega, prokopa tunel ispod ili stravni zid sa zemljom.” “Ili nastavi da udara glavom o zid dok se ne onesvesti.”
“Kad se kačiš sa jednom od Kalhunovom, kačiš se sa svima.”
“Vidiš šta se čoveku desi kad se zaljubi? Poludi.” “Neke žene nas zauvek izluđuju.”
“Lud sam od ljubavi za njom, Trente, ali da mogu sada da je se dokopam, zadavio bih je.” “Kalhunove su talentovane za to.”
“Možda je patio za njom.” “Da je patio sačuvao bi sve.” “Možda ga je bolelo da se seća.” “Da ju je voleo, želeo bi da se seća. To bi mu bilo potrebno. Kada nekoga voliš, sve u vezi sa njim ti je dragoceno.”
Zanimljiv nastavak priče. Držala mi je pažnju i brzo se čita. U ovom delu saznajemo Amandinu priču, najodgovorniju sestru Kalhun. Jako mi se dopala. Prefinjena, samouverena i naporna, ali svakako jaka žena. Sloan, još jedan muškarac u nizu koji mi je prirastao srcu, zna da pokaže emocije, siguran u sebe. U ovom delu takođe imamo dodira sa prošlošću koja je meni ujedno najzanimljivija. U ovom delu ima više akcije i netrpeljivost između Amande i Sloana. Za sad mi deluje da će svaka sestra imati sličnu priču, ali opet je drugačije i nastaviću sa serijalom najviše zbog prošlosti. Jedino što bih zamerila je to neko naglo zaljubljivanje posle 2 nedelje… Razumem da su knjige kratke, ali mislim da bi bilo realnije da su se zaljubili nakon par meseci, to je moglo samo da se napiše i da knjiga zadrži 200 strana. Ipak, pošto meni Norine knjige dođu kao predah i odmor 4/5 ⭐️.
“Šta radiš?” “Pripremam se da te zaprosim, a da me ne gađaš nečim.” 💜
"A man for Amanda" is the second book of the Sloan series and the story of Amanda and Sloan. Amanda is the hotel manager in her sisters, and when the Towers need renovation- she comes across Sloan the architect and the attraction is instantaneous. It's a sweet but passionate love story- intermixed with the wedding of Catherine and Trent, shenanigans of aunt Coco, visions of Lilah, serenity of Suzanne and the continuation of the tragic love story of Bianca and Christian as well as the mystery of the missing emerlalds. The couple are head over heels, especially the H, who relentlessly pursues the h. Overall, a good story which will be further continued in the coming book. Safe 3/5
Книгата ми се падна от "Среща на сляпо с книга" и тотално не бях очарована. Това ми е първия розов роман в живот и последния ако не завинаги, то поне за много дълъг период от време. Чете се трудно, бавна е и е безумно лошо написана. Личи си, че преводачът се е опитал нещо да подобри ама... Историята е супер клише и безобрано претупана. Не е подредена както трябва като оформление и подскача от тема на тема и момент на момент без предупреждение. Имам си правило да дочитам всички книги, независимо колко не ми харесват и я довърших, макар че книжле от 170 стр. да го чета близо 6 часа и то не на куп... Категорично не е моя жанр и няма да продължавам, но си е опит.
As much as I love Nora Roberts and her books, I’m afraid I was rather disappointed this time. The main characters are unbearable - Sloan is an aggressive, toxic jerk, and Amanda plays hard to get, which annoyed me af throughout the whole book. Their relationship is pretty senseless as it develops too rapidly, depriving us of a pleasant tension building. I’m even getting the impression that male possessiveness is somehow sexualized in this book, and Sloan is supposed to be an example of the ideal man - strong, a bit crude (yet still romantic), possessive, passionate (I mean aggressive), and utterly handsome. Well, in my view, this picture of an ideal man is outdated and pretty detrimental. The only good thing is the Calhouns family, their beautiful house, and mysterious stories about some treasured family heirlooms.
Oh boy. This is an early one and it shows. The early books don't always make me want to slap the crap out of our leading lady, but this one certainly does. Geez. Okay, tick another Nora book that I hadn't read off my list. Onto the last book in this series.
i liked this book better than the previous one. main characters were more likable. i didn’t like how coco was so obsessed with her goal of marrying everyone so she closed her eyes on bad man’s red flags.
This doesn't read like the well plotted and well written Nora Roberts' books I've read until now. This is a mess. But still, it has something that makes me care about the sisters and makes me want to know what happens to the others. There is the main plot, laid back Oklahoma architect arrives to rehab The Towers and start building the hotel and falls in love with one of the sisters. This time is the prim and well organized Amanda. Until here, ok. But this relationship is bullshit. They start arguing and keep arguing until the end. This is not romantic, it's a totally flawed relationship and you can't sell that as romance. It instills abuse and jealousy a romantic flare, and it's not true. They aren't romantic. The subplot, the thief trying to steal a set of emeralds that haven't yet been discovered even makes less sense. I know it's a way to up the ante, but it doesn't make any sense. If women who have been living for a long time in The Towers, haven't found the emeralds, how a well known thief searched by the Interpol thinks he can get into the house casually and stumble upon them? And how a well known thief does this stupid thing of trying to get into the house and instead of apologizing, just uses a gun on the girl he was trying to date? He's built a perfect cover just to blow it off? Nah, that's stupid. It could have been a journalist trying to steal a story and it would have made a lot more sense. But the thief? If he is so well known he should steal them once they are found. Not before. Anyway, not happy with this summer read.
If you enjoy romance with strong female characters, these books are for you! I love the bantering between the main characters and the splash of mystery involved too. A nice, not to deep, read!
Not as good as book 1 in this series as far as the 2nd Calhoun sister goes, but still some funny moments and I love how the backstory of Bianca and Christian is evolving.
Was listening to the unabridged version. Didn't check when this book was written. Male protagonist was too sexist for me to be able to complete first CD.
Horrible. Trite. Flat. The relationship came off as predatory. Language felt forced and creepy. Felt like a chapter in a larger book - now that I see it is part of a series that makes sense.
Hace unos días terminé con este libraco que contiene las 4 novelas de la saga Las Calhoun. En esta oportunidad Nora nos relata la historia de cuatro hermanas, bastante dispares, que viven en un viejo castillo. Por problemas económicos tienen que ponerlo a la venta muy a su pesar, a causa de esto y de una leyenda de un collar de esmeraldas, estas cuatro hermanas no solo van a encontrar el amor, sino que también van a tener que descifrar el misterioso paradero de las mismas mientas se enfrentan a un despiadado ladrón que hará de todo para encontrarlas. Me gustó mucho esta saga, cada historia va complementado a la anterior, además del romance de cada hermana, a media que va avanzando la historia vamos descubriendo qué pasó con Bianca, esa pariente lejana que vivió un desamor muy grande y escondió las esmeraldas antes de suicidarse saltando de la torre más alta de este pequeño castillo. A pesar de ser un libro largo, se lee muy rápido, por separado las historias no son largas y no tienen relleno innecesario, cuando te queres dar cuenta ya te leíste las cuatro y descubriste el misterio.
I've reread this a few times and finally now leaving a review, I went through the other reviews. Suffice it to say, my experience each time with this book is one of favorability and that I liked the characters and the story they share. I mean, yes, there are aspects of their personality that can be annoying for some but why they have to apologize for being themselves? In any case, I liked Amanda because I recognize characteristics she has that I have. In fact, I'd say I feel I identify which aspects of each of the Calhoun sisters so they're all in my heart. And the guys they fall in love with, they're idiots for part of the story but they make up for it later. Maybe after reading it so many times, I've mellowed my expectations because, at the heart of it, they're all decent men. Anyway, I liked the drama and romance spread in the span of a few days or a week or two. I know this likely doesn't happen in real life and that I can see how this story can take place easily in the span of time it is written in as well as over a few months. Overall, nice story!
Nora Roberts went through this period early in her career where she liked to compare women to horses. Here's another one to add to the list.
This is the second in the Calhoun sisters series. Amanda is the career-minded one, the manager of the BayWatch hotel, and Sloan O'Riley (the most romanciest name that ever romanced) is the "now listen here, young lady" southerner architect who comes to town and sets his sights on her. Amanda resists at first, but since it's a Nora Roberts romance, she doesn't *really*. This is a simple matter of the woman being headstrong and the man just not giving up. This is a tried-and-true Nora Roberts plot device. It's classic Nora Roberts. She's written better stuff, of course, but this was Silhouette era, and a light, fluffy read. Besides, like everyone else, I'm here to find out what happened to the emeralds.
Why? Why did I love this one even more? I must have scoffed at Sloan's behavior 50 times. Just up and kissed her? Who does he think he is?
Yeah, so if I was so upset why was it so impossible to put down? I think I must be secretly a Coulhoun. I felt exactly like Amanda did through the whole story. How was I gushing over this macho overconfident cowboy? But he had a ton of sweetness too. Giving the kids piggybacks, checking after Fred, he was chiseling away at my reserves as he did the same to Amanda.
I've always loved the macho antihero. I thought I was evolving past that, but Amanda and Sloan proved that wrong.
The whole time I could not wait for the William/ Amanda/ Sloan showdown and it did not disappoint.
Also I love Bianca's tale woven through all of this. It keeps the mystery tantalizing.
Just like the first book, this one was also engaging. I was a bit hooked to Mandy (Amanda) and Sloan's love story. They were quiet the opposite which was the reason they had been attracted to each other. Sloan was very manly, ruggedly handsome architect and he doesn't cringe acknowledging and verbalizing his love for Mandy. That made him most attractive.
As for Mandy, I don't like her much, as much as CC. She seems too uptight and well organized but she cannot organize her thoughts and feelings.
The subplot about the thief was a bit lousy. It can be totally erased from the story because it doesn't add much.
I think I am liking Bianca and Christian's love story more. It is becoming more interesting.
Sloan O'Riley is glad when his friend Trent calls and asks him to be the architect for the Towers project, turning the Calhoun family mansion half into a hotel and updating the other half for the family to live in. He's happy to help his friend and, if he can get to know the Calhouns a little bit, so much the better. But he's not expecting to literally run into Amanda Calhoun nor to feel an immediate attraction for her. Nor is he expecting the complicating factor of her attraction to him.And if that's not enough, someone is lurking around, trying to get their hands on the still-lost family treasure. Originally published as a Harlequin series book in the 90s, there's not a lot of time to develop character but Roberts does a nice job within the pages she had.
Decent book but pokey storyline,, snore. This novella was the second of four. I won’t read the last two. Nora Roberts a great, interesting story teller, this book is blah blah and I won’t read the lasttep shorts on the family members. Clearly I need a strong story with family likeable characters. This mashup of a family was confusion and yet indicative of other stories with the same happenings.if you’re a big Nora Roberts fan then my all means read it. If you’re on the fence stat withthe first chapter with and her romantic interest. Or better yet start with another book of hers.many others . Now onto WWII and code breakers. Probably no romance or lus but a hello da story. I thin c a I woo belf
Roberts writes a god Love, I’m red so this knight night gebfttg
3,5 Tenía muchas ganas de continuar con la serie, y aunque la historia me gustó bastante y las hermanas me siguen cayendo muy bien, el romance entre Sloan y Mandy se me quedó flojo; siento que con los años, la autora consiguió mejorar el desarrollo de sus historias amorosas, porque justo ahora es lo que me falla, quizás si hubiesen más páginas, el romance me hubiese gustado más, pero bueno, no sólo eso es lo que me dejó inconforme con la historia, ya que realmente sorpresas hubieron pocas. No obstante, continuaré la serie y tengo mucha fe puesta en las Calhouns y el collar de perlas, que me parece un misterio interesante.