Book Review - Carnal Innocence by Nora Roberts

I chose this book because I was unfamiliar with the genre of Romantic Suspense. I have enjoyed various romance novels in the past but this particular flavor, coupled with the mystery/thriller elements was new for me. I see these types of books ALL OVER the library, including on Overdrive, and in bookstores, including on Amazon. I knew Nora Roberts was a "classic" author in this genre, and since I've never read her I thought I would give this a shot.

The most fitting adjective I can think of to describe this book is "old-fashioned". Now, it does take place in the early 1990's and was written in the early 1990's, which as much as it pains me to say, was over twenty years ago. This book reminds me of mauve lace curtains. It's not vintage, quaint, or historic, just really out of style.

I liked the Southern flavor of this novel, I have enjoyed books that took place in that setting before. I really didn't care, however, for some of the casual racism used in the book that didn't seem to make a point. I don't shy away from coarse or offensive language if the author seems to understand it is coarse and offensive. Nora Roberts doesn't exactly seem to get that. There was an incident of racial healing that occurs in one of the more powerful moments of the book, but the racial slurs still got under my skin. One of the characters also refers to Shakespeare's MacBeth as "a fag" which I found unnecessary and unhelpful to plot development.

The main romance in the novel is somewhat engaging. The romantic leads are likable and their chemistry feels genuine even if it's not as fleshed out as I'd have liked it to be. The love scenes are steamy but not what I would call explicit. Maybe PG-13.

As far as the characters go, most of the women in the novel are promiscuous to an extreme. The men are mostly "good ol' boys." In general, there were so many characters it was difficult to keep them straight. I normally enjoy a story with intertwining characters but there were just an overabundance. Probably at least 5 characters could have been scrapped to the benefit of the overall story. 

One thing I can say about the novel is it did keep me turning the pages. While it wasn't a favorite for me, by far, the story was engaging and entertaining. I wasn't particularly chilled by the mystery, but it did keep me guessing until the end. This book was also much longer than I think it needed to be.

There were so many typos in the Kindle version of this book. I was honestly tempted to make a list and send them in to the editor. 

Overall, I have to say this book wasn't great, for me. It was okay. I would be interested in trying a Romantic Suspense novel that is more modern and a bit more intelligently written. If you have any suggestions, be sure to post them in the comments!