Holding the Dream is an Excellent Read

A Review of a Nora Roberts Novel

As you are probably aware, I am an avid reader. One of my favorite authors is none other than romance goddess Nora Roberts. This woman, who has also written as J.D. Robb, absolutely amazes me with her writing prowess. The woman is a machine when it comes to publishing books, yet there is nothing mechanical about any of her stories. There are 210 entries on Epinions for Nora Roberts. Unreal.

The latest book I read by Roberts is Holding The Dream, book two of The Dream Trilogy. Unfortunately, when I purchased this book at Walden Books, I didn't realize that it was a part of a trilogy. I just wanted a book to read on my flight to Minneapolis. My good friend Dionne grabbed this one and handed it to me. I thought it looked interesting, so I was happy. Hey-- I haven't been too let down by any Nora Roberts book...

THE PLOT
Kate Powell is an accountant at a large firm. All she wants to do is make her adoptive family proud by becoming partner. When she is accused of embezzling funds of $75,000 from the firm, her world comes crashing down around her. The person that catches her is none other than Byron DeWitt, a long time friend of the family who happens to have his eye on Kate. Together, they discover who framed her, as well as fall in love along the way.

Okay, so the plot seems a bit wishy-washy. It definitely isn't Roberts' bet, that's for sure. But, it's easy to identify with the different characters, as Roberts spans the personality spectrum for her male and female characters.

Which leads me to...

THE CHARACTERS
Katherine "Kate" Powell is the adopted daughter of the Templetons. She was adopted when she was just 8 years old, after her parents were killed in a car accident. Now, Kate is aspiring to become partner at the accounting firm where she works, Bittle & Associates. Kate is very determined, practical, stubborn, focused and nervous. She obviously has some sort of gastro-intestinal problem, which proves important later in the book. Roberts did a good job making Kate a "real" person. She is well rounded, and all of her actions and reactions are justified by her personality and history that is established in the book.