Less of a Stranger is Less Than Nora Roberts' Best

Less of a Stranger takes place in Myrtle Beach, SC, a place I spent many of my summers as a teenager. Roberts captures the charm of the people and the place in this book. I was very impressed with the wonderful detail of the beach: She brought me back like I was there yesterday, not a decade ago. Then again, Roberts is incredibly descriptive and can form a picture in the mind of even the most unimaginative reader. You can hear the sounds of the ocean and the theme park, taste the lobster and wine, and experience what the characters experience.

The two main characters are Megan Miller and David Katcherton. Megan is an orphan raised by her grandfather, who happens to own one of the theme parks in Myrtle Beach. Meg has lived in Myrtle Beach for her entire life, working with her grandfather at Joyland and sculpting in the room above the garage in her spare time. Katch is a dashing, wealthy, handsome business man who goes after and gets whatever he wants. This time, Katch has set his sights on Joyland... and, of course, Meg.

Pop, Megan's grandfather, has had enough of running the theme park. He wants to retire and fish, like any other old man in Myrtle Beach. Megan, however, is sentimental and doesn't want to let go of the park. Once Katch sweeps her off her feet, Megan thinks that he did it just to get control of the park. She soon finds out that his intentions for her are real.

There are a lot of underlying plot lines in this story, most of which aren't fully developed. In the very beginning, there is a hint at a conflict between Meg and the Bailey twins, but that quickly dies down. There is good potential for an interesting conflict, but it never gets explored. The same goes for other potential conflicts.

We never really get to know Katch and how he thinks. All we know is that he swept Megan off her feet and how Megan feels about it. We never get into the minds of anyone besides Megan. In Roberts' later novels, she begins delving into the minds of her other characters.

If you have never read a book by Nora Roberts before, Less of a Stranger is a good place to start. If you have, like me, you're going to find yourself a bit disappointed in this one.