Customer Reviews
Wow. One of Nora's best - a must read. - By: norarobertsismyqueen, 05 Oct 2008 
IMO one of the best books NR has ever written. From the moment I read the first sentences I was hooked up in the story & felt like I was actuallly part of it. The feeling was the same when I first read "Angels Falll" & that's another one of my favs.
The book is acout Cilla McGowan who just recently bought her grandmothers old farm to renovate it & finallly build up a home for herself. Cilla's family is not an ordinary one with her grandmother being a famous Hollywood legend who comitted suicide, a mother who tries to step in the old ladies shoes but can't fill them, a father Cilla hasn't met too often & Cilla herself who was pushed in the spotlight buy her ruthless mother but is more interested in finding her own way.
In the present Cilla plans to live in her fathers hometown hoping to get some roots there, a better relationship with her dad & she also plans to start her own business (renovating & selling houses). That's a lot to work on even for a strong woman like Cilla but fortunately for her she has one sexy new neighbour, Ford Sawyer, who is more than willing to help her out whenever he can.
Ford is not you typical alpha hero, he is so much more than that & way better than an alpha. He's always there when Cilla needs his strong shoulder to lean on but he also knows when to step back because Cilla needs to manage a situation by herself. He is also funny, intelligent, in a great shape & has the weirdest dog ever - to make this short, he is perfect for Cilla.
Cilla is not to sure about where her future is going to take her but she can't resist Ford's charm & realizes that he may be a big part of her new life.
All could be perfect if not for one very annyoning mother, an old family enemy & mysteroius events taking place at Cilla's new home which threatens her & her beloved ones.
But with the help of Ford, her father & some old & new friends Cilla is the woman to solve the mysteries surrounding her grandmothers life & death.
This book is so perfect that I already read through it several times & I can recommend it without reservations to everyone who loves a good romance. The main characters are awsome (I love Cilla & Ford, they are one of my favourite couples) & the minor characters (especiallly Cilla's ex Steve is the hit) are great too. Cilla's new family & her friends are one great group.So alll in alll Nora did it again & wrote a book that is so special & good that for me there is no doubt why she is the queen of romance.
Hurry, get yourself a copy & read on.
Enjoy.
S.M.
An Unlikely Romance Amid Old Grudges - By: Donald Mitchell, 18 Sep 2008 
I picked this book up expecting that suspense would be the book's main element. Instead, Tribute is a pretty standard romance involving reasonably original characters, former child star Cilla McGowan turned general contractor & house-rehabber-for-profit & graphic-novel artist & author, Ford Sawyer. The physical attraction is strong from the beginning, & much of the suspense merely relates to when chemistry will overcome caution. In the background, local people hold strong grudges against Cilla's grandmother, Janet Hardy, a star who died from too many pills & too much booze at 39, but who also never saw an attractive man she didn't want, & Cilla's dead uncle who helped some others to an early grave.
The real heroine of the book is Cilla's grandmother's house that Cilla is "restoring" for her own use. If you love the idea of restoring & living in an old family home, this book will probably have above average appeal. If you aren't into home restoration details & graphic novels, you probably won't like this book as much as I did.
Cilla McGowan makes an unusual & poignant heroine. I hope that Nora Roberts will write about her again. I also liked Ford Sawyer. He offers a lot of potential for future books, as well.
The suspense parts of the book were the weakest. In fact, the threats, violence, & problems seemed artificial & the characters' reactions to those events also didn't ring very true.
But alll the world loves a lover, & there's a lot to love in this romance.
Adored geeky Ford but... - By: P. Lewis, 18 Sep 2008 
Yes, I enjoyed Tribute, BUT... I feel I should have enjoyed it more. Maybe I'm tiring of the homely, charming smalll town atmosphere that is so often an intrinsic part of Nora's romantic novels? The backdrop to the story has burned-out child star Cilla restoring her grandmother's house (her grandmother was a Hollywood legend & is believed to have killed herself at the house). There is a lot about the process of restoring & fitting out of the house & her relationship with the builders/contractors is unrealisticallly idyllic - nobody does a botch job, doesn't turn up, etc. In the same way Cilla's neighbour, Ford, is unrealisticallly patient & good natured with Cilla. Mind you, I absolutely adored Ford with his geeky tendencies & I found myself reading just to find out more about him (plus his doggy sidekick, Spock -a great canine character).
Overalll, I'd say that fans of Nora Roberts will enjoy this tale even though it's unlikely to be a favourite because to me it lacked tension. Perhaps the problem was that the only character I empathised with was Ford (plus Spock the dog) & there was little plot tension where he was concerned. I'd have liked a little more spark/edge & less polite smalll town good naturedness (maybe the problem is mine - I'm a city girl!).
Another winner from Miss Roberts - By: Claire Maxwell, 27 Jul 2008 I had been waiting for this book for ages & when i finallly got it, i consumed it in two days. As the above review said, it does follow the same story line as her others (women trying to overcome her past, meets a handsome & caring guy, but someone is out to hurt her) but this doesn't seem to matter. She manages to create charactors that you cant help falll for & they seem unique when you read the book. I loved the charactor of Cilla, strong, able to care for herself, but over time she accepts that its okay to be vulnrable. Ford & his dog were a perfect match for Cilla & you could fully believe how they would click & falll for each other in such a short time.
I loved following the restoration of the 'Farm',and Ms Roberts makes you care for the house & Cilla, that you feel annoyed & angry when 'villian' starts to terrorize the house & Cilla. Even though you may get an idea of who you think it is, you'll enjoy finding out the why's & how's.
Thats why i Love her books, you get drawn in, so much to the point that putting the book down seems impossible. She may stick to the same format but it's a winner.
after a long wait.. - By: S. Begum, 14 Jul 2008 I have been waiting with anticipated pleasure for this book for a long while, & finallly I had it. I was expecting to falll in love with her characters as I would expect with any Nora Roberts book. Although the book had the usual charm of her style of writing, this one had the re-curring character of lead male/romantic interest that we saw in Nora Roberts previous 2 stand alone books, i.e. High Noon, Blue Smoke. The type of male lead that we saw in those books i.e. boyish charm, funny, sweet, but happy to see the woman lead characters play the hero/heroine & slip into their shadow, we see again in Tribute. The same can be said for the lead female role, you again have the independant, feisty, warrior female. Although this is nice, 3 in a row becomes tedious with none of the excitement that you find with new male & female characters in her books. Its a good read, but somewhat repetitive, with recurring themes, a brief summary of the book is as follows:-
A failing actress wants to come to terms with her past & tries to do so by restoring the house of her famous actress grandmother, & whilst building the house, also builds relations, new & past, & meets her cute, sweet neighbour next door (images of Blue Smoke come to mind). They falll in love, she decides on her new future career as a contractor, also battles a villain who wants her to flee the town, & finds herself & finds a home rather than just a house.
I reallly hope Nora Roberts comes up with something new in her next standalone book, please! It would be nice to see some character changes in the lead male & female roles. I remember when I read Public Secrets & Private Scandals back-to-back, now those were two books that you could not say were similar, & you definately could not confuse the characters and, both were amazing in their own right. Lets hope that we see more of the Nora Roberts books we so loved in the past.
