When we left Part Two of The MacGregor Grooms at the end of the third chapter, Catherine 'Cat' Farrell and Duncan 'Duncan the Blade' Blade where smoothly gliding down the Mississippi River on their way to eternal love and sassy bickering. As the fourth chapter began, however, what had once seemed plain sailing on calm waters had somehow turned to a perfect storm, with high winds of intrigue, tidal waves of emotion, undercurrents of refusal, preying sharks of unresolved family issues and Somali pirates of sexual tension. Duncan had bought Cat elegant, thoughtful gifts such as perfume and trinket boxes and made heartfelt, honest offers of candlelit dinner and candlelit sex over the course of one frustrating week, but every advance was thwarted by a swift rejection. As the Comanche Princess docks in New Orleans Duncan has begun to wonder just what he has to do to convince Cat to sleep with him. As always in romance fiction leaving the woman with no choice turns out to be the way to go. He takes her into town for authentic local cooking and then down a darkened alley for a sampling of authentic palm-reading. When the day is through Duncan is more smitten than ever, while Cat remains as beguilingly enigmatic as the plot forces her to be for the sake of narrative padding.
Shortly thereafter the twosome’s chemistry proves too great and as another evening of luxury, singing and gambling comes to a close Cat and Duncan indulge in a bout of unprotected sex and their lives are changed irrevocably. Duncan is just so glamorous, charming, handsome and wealthy that Cat is powerless against his roaming tongue, fancy suits and big words. Equally, Cat is available and has a tendency to call people Sugar inbetween sips of water, a combination that prove impossible to resist. Within minutes Cat has moved her clothes, gifts, perfumes and American sofa into Duncan's sizeable cabin and they are at the mercy of their unwavering attraction for however long it is before Nora Roberts returns to the story. Taking temporary respite from Duncan's manhood, Cat strolls about the boat in search of Duncan and a room with a lock. There she finds her hunky piece of masculinity with his arm around a gorgeous, svelte blonde and her romance is about to meet its first and only fleeting obstacle. Nevertheless, hold your raging, Cat, because this sophisticated young woman is in fact Duncan's mother, Serena MacGregor, and with her is husband Justin Blade, of family Blade, world-renowned arms dealers with absurd genetics.
Once the embarrassment fades into excruciating memory likely to haunt her forever, Cat surmises Duncan Blade comes from a mighty dynasty of fantastically beautiful people. Not only are Serena and Justin onboard, but The MacGregor and Wife also show up, due to the contractual obligations of the novella. Daniel Duncan 'Mac The MacGregor' MacGregor takes an instant shine to Catherine and she develops quite the crush on him too. Who wouldn't, of course, the devious silver fox and his excessive drinking have combined to seduce numerous women into his burgeoning legacy and soon enough Serena, The MacGregor and Anna have declared Cat suitable baby-making material. They then urge Duncan to continue what he has been doing for weeks already as they return to their memoirs of breath-taking reflections. While the male half of the couple is easily convinced Cat remains somewhat dubious for reasons that the author never bothers to explain. Perhaps she feels undeserving of such a glorious specimen as Duncan, or maybe she doesn't understand love, or she could possibly be holding out for more expensive presents. Then there is her dream of a singing career and perhaps a marriage aboard a boat, back and forth along the Mississippi, isn't as appealing as it is for Duncan Blade, the drunken gambler who loves boats.
Unbeknownst to Cat, and any readers not paying close attention, Duncan had sent her demo tape to Reed Valentine of Valentine Records and, to use musical terminology, Reed had flipped for that groovy jam. Duncan breaks the news with champagne and moonlight, and Cat is overwhelmed with joy and amorous gratitude. As Part Two draws to a conclusion there is only one final fight to be had, in which Cat attempts to break things off and fly to New York to be a professional chanteuse, only for Duncan to persuade her to marry him, live on a Mississippi riverboat and then fly to New York to be a professional chanteuse. At long last Cat realises she can have it all, love and a career, singing and gambling, copious amounts of food and a slim figure, a giant diamond wedding ring and no worries about anything ever again, because a man is here and he has money and all of life's answers at the bottom of a bourbon bottle.
While Part Two of The MacGregor Grooms is a woeful waste of time Nora Roberts appears completely aware of its absence of drama and compulsion. While Part One, concerning DC and Layna, showed enough glimpses of genuine hang-ups and personality clashes, there is so little standing in the way of Cat and Duncan the story instead represents everything that is wrong with modern romance fiction. The characters are unrealistically good-looking, to the point of parody, they are talented and without troubles, they move through life utterly at ease, all the while waiting for their perfect lives to improve with the introduction of idealised love, attained without struggle or sacrifice. Roberts needlessly shoehorns in Serena and The MacGregor, if only to break up the endless number of sex scenes, but with in-laws this perfect there is never any danger of conflict. Instead Roberts utilises the steadfast opinions of the impossibly youthful old people to further demonstrate how wonderful Catherine is and how canny The MacGregor's eye, as if additional proof were necessary or interesting to read of. It is more likely that the strongest appeal of the MacGregor series is the loveable rascal who dominates proceedings through meddling, sentimentality and a haze of cigar smoke. While Daniel Duncan MacGregor's cult of personality is the highlight of every story this isn't achieved so much through his magnificence, but rather through how hopelessly tiresome and predictable all the other characters are.
The MacGregor Grooms belongs to a bygone era when physically flawless billionaires were aspirational and therefore suitable for romantic heroes. Unlike the majority of similar fiction, however, Roberts comes unstuck with her male protagonists for numerous reasons. Namely, she is unable to write convincing male characters, and while the narrative jumps back and forth between viewpoints, the book's title and family theme will always draw the reader to respond emotionally to the hero, as Duncan and DC are the active pursuers with goals to achieve. Whereas a more conventional novel will see the poor, innocent heroine nurture the powerful, arrogant tycoon into the emotionally stunted mummy's boy hiding within, The MacGregor Grooms subverts the formula while retaining the archetypes. The reader is expected to empathise with the controlling playboy as his years of getting what he wants are momentarily delayed by a stunning woman who is as equally successful and purpose-built. Roberts then asks her fans to relax and enjoy the easy-going, passionate, tender romance as it builds toward a marriage proposal and endless offspring, foolishly assuming the truncated word count absolves her of a professional duty. Now Nora has one final opportunity to get things right, as Ian meets Naomi and somewhere, in a castle over-looking the ocean, a ninety-year-old shouts merrily at no one to bring him more whiskey. How canny that man is.
Shortly thereafter the twosome’s chemistry proves too great and as another evening of luxury, singing and gambling comes to a close Cat and Duncan indulge in a bout of unprotected sex and their lives are changed irrevocably. Duncan is just so glamorous, charming, handsome and wealthy that Cat is powerless against his roaming tongue, fancy suits and big words. Equally, Cat is available and has a tendency to call people Sugar inbetween sips of water, a combination that prove impossible to resist. Within minutes Cat has moved her clothes, gifts, perfumes and American sofa into Duncan's sizeable cabin and they are at the mercy of their unwavering attraction for however long it is before Nora Roberts returns to the story. Taking temporary respite from Duncan's manhood, Cat strolls about the boat in search of Duncan and a room with a lock. There she finds her hunky piece of masculinity with his arm around a gorgeous, svelte blonde and her romance is about to meet its first and only fleeting obstacle. Nevertheless, hold your raging, Cat, because this sophisticated young woman is in fact Duncan's mother, Serena MacGregor, and with her is husband Justin Blade, of family Blade, world-renowned arms dealers with absurd genetics.
Once the embarrassment fades into excruciating memory likely to haunt her forever, Cat surmises Duncan Blade comes from a mighty dynasty of fantastically beautiful people. Not only are Serena and Justin onboard, but The MacGregor and Wife also show up, due to the contractual obligations of the novella. Daniel Duncan 'Mac The MacGregor' MacGregor takes an instant shine to Catherine and she develops quite the crush on him too. Who wouldn't, of course, the devious silver fox and his excessive drinking have combined to seduce numerous women into his burgeoning legacy and soon enough Serena, The MacGregor and Anna have declared Cat suitable baby-making material. They then urge Duncan to continue what he has been doing for weeks already as they return to their memoirs of breath-taking reflections. While the male half of the couple is easily convinced Cat remains somewhat dubious for reasons that the author never bothers to explain. Perhaps she feels undeserving of such a glorious specimen as Duncan, or maybe she doesn't understand love, or she could possibly be holding out for more expensive presents. Then there is her dream of a singing career and perhaps a marriage aboard a boat, back and forth along the Mississippi, isn't as appealing as it is for Duncan Blade, the drunken gambler who loves boats.
Unbeknownst to Cat, and any readers not paying close attention, Duncan had sent her demo tape to Reed Valentine of Valentine Records and, to use musical terminology, Reed had flipped for that groovy jam. Duncan breaks the news with champagne and moonlight, and Cat is overwhelmed with joy and amorous gratitude. As Part Two draws to a conclusion there is only one final fight to be had, in which Cat attempts to break things off and fly to New York to be a professional chanteuse, only for Duncan to persuade her to marry him, live on a Mississippi riverboat and then fly to New York to be a professional chanteuse. At long last Cat realises she can have it all, love and a career, singing and gambling, copious amounts of food and a slim figure, a giant diamond wedding ring and no worries about anything ever again, because a man is here and he has money and all of life's answers at the bottom of a bourbon bottle.
While Part Two of The MacGregor Grooms is a woeful waste of time Nora Roberts appears completely aware of its absence of drama and compulsion. While Part One, concerning DC and Layna, showed enough glimpses of genuine hang-ups and personality clashes, there is so little standing in the way of Cat and Duncan the story instead represents everything that is wrong with modern romance fiction. The characters are unrealistically good-looking, to the point of parody, they are talented and without troubles, they move through life utterly at ease, all the while waiting for their perfect lives to improve with the introduction of idealised love, attained without struggle or sacrifice. Roberts needlessly shoehorns in Serena and The MacGregor, if only to break up the endless number of sex scenes, but with in-laws this perfect there is never any danger of conflict. Instead Roberts utilises the steadfast opinions of the impossibly youthful old people to further demonstrate how wonderful Catherine is and how canny The MacGregor's eye, as if additional proof were necessary or interesting to read of. It is more likely that the strongest appeal of the MacGregor series is the loveable rascal who dominates proceedings through meddling, sentimentality and a haze of cigar smoke. While Daniel Duncan MacGregor's cult of personality is the highlight of every story this isn't achieved so much through his magnificence, but rather through how hopelessly tiresome and predictable all the other characters are.
The MacGregor Grooms belongs to a bygone era when physically flawless billionaires were aspirational and therefore suitable for romantic heroes. Unlike the majority of similar fiction, however, Roberts comes unstuck with her male protagonists for numerous reasons. Namely, she is unable to write convincing male characters, and while the narrative jumps back and forth between viewpoints, the book's title and family theme will always draw the reader to respond emotionally to the hero, as Duncan and DC are the active pursuers with goals to achieve. Whereas a more conventional novel will see the poor, innocent heroine nurture the powerful, arrogant tycoon into the emotionally stunted mummy's boy hiding within, The MacGregor Grooms subverts the formula while retaining the archetypes. The reader is expected to empathise with the controlling playboy as his years of getting what he wants are momentarily delayed by a stunning woman who is as equally successful and purpose-built. Roberts then asks her fans to relax and enjoy the easy-going, passionate, tender romance as it builds toward a marriage proposal and endless offspring, foolishly assuming the truncated word count absolves her of a professional duty. Now Nora has one final opportunity to get things right, as Ian meets Naomi and somewhere, in a castle over-looking the ocean, a ninety-year-old shouts merrily at no one to bring him more whiskey. How canny that man is.
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