Under Currents: A Novel

Ugly story told in a tiresome and ugly way. Don’t buy this book!!

I had a great time with this book. I read quite a few books written by Nora Roberts years ago but had not picked up any in recent years. I am now questioning my decision-making skills because I have clearly been missing out. This was a book that started with a bang and was nearly impossible to put down. I honestly enjoyed the experience of reading this book.

The book opens in Zane's childhood. He is a teenager that shows a lot of promise in baseball. He hopes to use his skill in the sport to escape his home life. Things are not as perfect at home as they might appear to be to others in their little town. His mother has served as the school's PTA president and his father is the chief surgeon at the area hospital. Zane, his sister, Britt, and their parents live in the largest home in town and have a very large lifestyle. Unfortunately, the reality of their family includes child abuse and domestic violence.

I was completely captivated by this book at the start. The descriptions of everything Zane and Britt had to endure in their home were so vivid that they felt real to me. I felt the pain right along with this group of characters and prayed that things would work out for them. The book then jumps in time and it was nice to see Zane and Britt as adults. Well adjusted adults with new problems to face.

Darby is ready for a new start. She is a skilled gardener and landscaper and wants to start up a new business in town. Her first client happens to be Zane's aunt. Darby forms bonds with the people in town very quickly and is soon an important member of the community. When she starts working on Zane's house, things heat up quickly.

I really liked the characters in this book. Zane and Darby have both overcome terrible events from their past. They seem to fit together almost perfectly and have great chemistry. I liked how honest these two were with each other and how they seemed to know when to give the other some space. Zane is part of a huge family and I really enjoyed seeing those characters both in the early scenes during his teen years and the section that took place in his adulthood.

This book was exciting. Maybe a bit too much in a way. I really did enjoy the story but I felt like some of the things that happened were just too unlikely. I guess everything in the book could be possible but it felt like more was going on than was necessary. It is a work of fiction so I just ran with it but I couldn't help but think about how remarkable it would be to have all of these things happen in such a short time frame.

I would highly recommend this book to others. This book does deal with both domestic violence and child abuse so it might be a difficult story for some readers. I thought that the situations in the book were vividly told and handled very well. I definitely plan to read more from Nora Roberts!

I received a review copy of this book from St. Martin's Press.

This is a sadistic story. I read about 60 pages of a teenager being tortured by his sicko father, and pages of vicious, yet consented-to sex between the aforementioned father, and the equally perverted mother. And Ms. Roberts' writing is dreadful. The book made me queasy. Why anyone would publish it is beyond comprehension. Will not read any of her future novels.

I'm a huge Nora Roberts fan, but this one totally missed any mark for me. The plot was ridiculous (is everyone in this small town connected to violent domestic issues?), the female lead character unbelievable and unlikable, and there was poor character development. I skimmed through the last third of the book. Nora went the overly dramatic (and unbelievable) route of killing all of the offenders off. Not worth your time.

Definitely not one of Nora’s best. After the first 10 chapters there was so much potential for twists and unexpected events but it flattened out and had way too much filler just to get to the obvious ending. Nora is my favorite and her writing is fabulous but this book is one of my least favorite of her works. Side note: yet another character that Nora names Fiona in this book. Why is she so obsessed with this name? Surely she can find new names? Just stop!

This book started out very well; however, one loses interest after the parents are held accountable for abuse. Roberts veered off in a direction totally unrelated to Zane and his sister Britt. The topic became landscaping, interior design for the home, office decor, then back to landscaping. How did any of this fit in to the issues at hand? Roberts lost her focus with nonstop page after page of gardening and wallpapering. Book became too tedious to finish. If I want to read about interior design, I will get Good Housekeeping.

If you are interested in reading about landscaping and a few pesky details of a plot thrown in then this is the read for you. There is no build up to anything, unless its to what the main character plans to do landscaping. I can honestly tell you I don't even remember the title characters names, that's how weakly they were written. But I know one carries a baseball around and the other does landscaping.
To summarize if you read the first chapter, then skip to the second to last chapter you will probably have a pretty good story and none of the endless landscaping drivel in between. Oh and did I mention LANDSCAPING!!!
Very disappointed with whoever is ghost writing for Mrs. Roberts now a days. I used to devour her books because they were so intense and gripping. Now I get watered down foodie and gardening reads with a tiny bit of “story line” thrown in.

I have been reading Nora Roberts ever since she became a published author, and this is the first book that I've been extremely disappointed with. My opinion is that she phoned this book in. There is no depth to the story, no development of characters. Where did the father come from? What made him the way he was - other than just a "monster." Events that should have been written about in depth such as Zane going to jail for the false assault of his family were just glossed over and wrapped up in a matter of a few pages. I hope Ms. Roberts is back in full force with her next book. This wasn't it.

I liked this book, but I didn't love it, especially the last 50 pages or so. I agree with another reviewer who says that Roberta' meaty stories seem to be a thing of the past. And she's not saving her meaty plots for the J. D. Robb series either.

I agree with the reviewer who said that the main character (indeed seemingly all the characters) all have unlimited funds to buy homes, buildings, remodel, do expensive landscaping, etc. The main character was a public servant--where did he get all this money?

I also agree up to a point that these bad guys are just bad because they're bad. It's true that sometimes people are just bad, but Roberts used to have something of a back story for the bad guys. Too often lately she relies on bad guys who are just horribly bad, and I don't think all bad guys are.

I liked this book, though I found it lacking compared to other Roberts books. The hero was flat, and the heroine almost overly colorful to compensate.

I own more Roberts books then I can count. I've read ALMOST everything she's written. And I have to say that her writing in the last couple of years is a little tired. For example, the final conflict in this book was resolved far too easily. A good beach read, but not really worth owning. Get it from your library.

Good story, not up there with the best. Too unrealistic at times. Could have been amazing but lazy writing and poor character development and too much drama spoiled it. Get a better editor and pre readers Nora!