Rating: 
Summary: I fell in LOVE!
Review: Amazing! This was the first Romance Novel I have read in many many years. I thought it was written wonderfully. I was completely captivated from start to finish. I not only fell head over heels in love with Aidan, but I also fell in love with Ireland as well. I found myself dreaming about going to Ireland and meeting Aidan myself! I have read Tears of the Moon, and it was Wonderful as well, but my true love sticks with Aidan even though Shawn is as cute as a button. *L* I can't wait to read the 3rd book in the trilogy!
Rating: 
Summary: Jewels of the Sun
Review: First of the Trilogy, so fun to read. I was immediately ready for the second, Tears of the Moon. I was so pulled into this story, I had to find the second of the trilogy immediately (and we were on vacation). Mystical, Fairies,the Irish folklore, tears, Irish tempers, just makes you want to pack your bags and travel to Ireland to experience the people and places.
Rating: 
Summary: A tragic legend provides an intriguing backdrop
Review: Jude Frances Murray has traveled across an ocean to retreat to and make use of Faerie Hill Cottage, a bequest left to her grandmother from a deceased relative. Disillusioned and disappointed by the course her life has taken, she embarks on a journey of self-discovery in the village of Ardmore in Ireland's County Waterford. From the moment she sets foot in his family's pub, proprietor Aidan Gallagher is taken with Jude's quiet beauty, lack of vanity, and shy manner. Determined to open up the spirit he suspects she is repressing, Aidan romances the insecure psychologist while contributing to her pet project with his knowledge of local folklore. Despite their knowledge of an old and tragic legend and its curse, Aidan and Jude never suspect that there is more at stake in the fate of their relationship than just their own happiness. Nora Roberts has written an adequate story that is interwoven with a splendid legend. The premise of Jude's self-discovery is a promising one but never seems to pan out successfully. Insecure and somewhat convinced of her mediocrity, Jude allows herself to bask in the glow of the praise of her newfound friends in Ardmore. This contradicted her search for self-validation because she was happy to let others validate her. Because of this, I was never convinced of her development as a character. Aidan, however, is a solid and steady hero who helps to move the story along with his wealth of knowledge when it comes to the local folklore. As Roberts ably shows, he has a knack for telling a tale. Readers will find themselves falling into the rhythm of his tales. The stories themselves are the true strength of this book and are beautifully written. The legend of Carrick and Lady Gwen is tightly drawn and fluidly written and is frequently woven into Aidan and Jude's story both in context as well as character.
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Summary: Get prepared to wish to go to Ireland...
Review: If you read _Jewels of the Sun_, that is what you most certainly want to do. I've had _Jewels of the Sun_ and _Tears of the Moon_ in my "to be read" pile for about a month. I didn't really forget about them, I just had a whole bunch of other things to do. One thing led to another, and pretty soon they were gathering dust. Well, the other day, my mom came home all flustered. I asked her what was the matter, and she told me that one of her friends was moving to Ireland to live with a man she barely knew. They were giving her a going away party, and my mom wanted me to help her wrap up the gifts they were giving to her friend. My mom pulled out a little box of Lucky Charms cereal, a box of Irish Spring soap, some Irish beer, and a couple of brightly packaged Trojans (she was going to be living with a man after all). As I wrapped the Lucky Charms and watched my mom strap condoms to some beer, I started thinking about _Jewels of the Sun_. The whole scenerio seemed rather like Jude's plight to me, and as soon as my mom left for her friends going away party, I was reading Nora Roberts' wonderful book. Jude Frances Murray decided that she must be crazy. Being a shrink, she ought to know. She had just quit her job as a respectable teacher-- that's right, she up and quit! no sabatical, she's now unemployed-- and was now traveling to Ireland to try and find herself. She was planning to stay in her granny's little cottage on Faerie Hill and do some work on a paper she was planning to submit to the school board. Little did Jude know that she was entering a land of faeries and myths and that her life was about to change forever. Aidan Gallagher has finally come home to the little village of Ardmore. After his years of globe trotting, he's decided that staying in the village that he was raised in and becoming the head of the family pub is the life for him. Aidan has a soft spot for lonely hearts, and so when Jude breezed into his pub one day, his heart was hers. He sees that they were meant for each other, and he wants to show it to Jude. Jude is blown over by the Irish automosphere of the town of Armore. She can see why her granny speaks so fondly of the sleepy little sea side village. As Jude starts to come out of her shell, she falls in love with Ireland and her new life there. She's making friends with the local girls, and the Gallagher family feels like her own... not to mention she's falling in love with Aidan. So, Jude's path to slef discovery thickens, but can she and Aidan overcome the obsticals in their lives to be together? After a couple weeks of reading books that were okay, I finally found a book that I LOVED... and it was _Jewels of the Sun_. With Nora Roberts, I always feel like she brings the settings of her books alive, but with _Jewels of the Sun_, she took it to another level. I felt like I was in Ireland... it was amazing! Jude was a character that I could really relate to. Her fears of failing is something we all deal with, and it made me feel a kinship to her character. I took one of her sayings to heart... "If you have courage enough to try, you have courage enough to fail." Aidan, well, he seemed like a man from another century, but hey, this is fiction. It's a good way to get away from your life for a while. I really enjoyed the bonding that went on between Jude, Darcy Gallagher, and Brenna O'Toole. The way the three of them formed as friends and bonded was truly lovely. I could see the friendship they had, and I was amazed at how close it was to the bonding that I have with my friends. Plus, the backdrop of faeries to Jude and Aidan's love was truly speial. Through out the trilogy, there is this mystical backdrop, and I fell in love with it in _Jewels of the Sun_. So after reading this book, I hope that my mom will one day be wraping a box of Lucky Charms for me. Nora Roberts has written a book worth a pot of gold.
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Summary: Get a cup of tea and have a seat, It's a wonderful tale!
Review: I have to say that Jewels of the Sun is a warm, touching, funny, feel good story that could warm your heart on the coldest of days. It leaves you day dreaming of Irelands tranquility and excellent hospitality of your neighbors. It's a story of a woman named Jude, who lived stressed out in a big city, and found "home" in her family's cottage on an enchanted hill in a quaint town in Ireland. Love were her neighbors in each direction. And peace of mind she found in it's hills. Although almost 30, her life was now only beginning. A romance finds her, for the first time she has true friends, and most importantly, she finds herself. This wonderful story must be read. Thank You Nora Roberts for bringing joy into my life.
Rating:
Summary: I Want to Visit Ardmore!
Review: This was only the 2nd Nora Roberts book I had ever read and it definitely will not be my last!! This is the best Romance novel I have ever read. I too flew through this book in about 2 days and fell in love with Ireland and Aidan! I felt like I could really relate to Jude. If only there were more men like Aidan in real life. I bought Tears of the Moon the first day it came out. Though it was also a good read, I didn't think it lived up to the first. I thought Jude and Aidan were much more interesting characters than Sean and Brenna. However, I can hardly wait for the 3rd installment with Darcy and the rich businessman from America. Seems like just her cup of tea!
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Summary: Lucky to be Irish
Review: I swear that Nora Roberts writes with a brogue. I can hear the lilt in the lore peppering this book and I love every bit of it. This book is like having an intimate conversation with Brenna, Aidan, Shawn and Molly. Even Jude's visions of Lady Gwen feel like my own. What a wonderful book. I can hardly wait to get into "Tears of the Moon"!
Rating: 
Summary: Jewels of the Sun
Review: What a wonderfully romantic book! The sequal Tears of the Moon was even better if that was at all possible. I reccomend this book highly for all you romance readers out there.
Rating:
Summary: I really enjoyed this book
Review: I have read most of Nora Roberts' books and find this one is right up there with others like Montana Sky. I really enjoyed the Irish connection here...the magic of faeries and ghosts. It was a terrific read. I think what I enjoyed most was the interaction between all the young women in the story. At times I laughed out loud. Their banter was affecting. I look forward to the next in the trilogy
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Summary: This is the Nora Roberts writing I love...
Review: Nora Roberts can write a billion more books like this one. I most enjoy her romance books. When she goes into mystery or plots where the romance is secondary I haven't enjoyed those books as much. In fact I was concerned the author was taking a break from the romance genre. I love the characters, a woman running from an unsatisfying life and finding love and herself in the process. Who wouldn't fall in love with the wonderful man in the book. We can all dream these guys exist (and stay that way!). I look forward to reading the other two stories in this trilogy. Nora Roberts' book trilogy featuring the Quinn brothers was also enjoyable reading. Check it out if you haven't read them. Thanks Nora for another fine romance!
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