CR -- not interested in the premise/characters

Overall I enjoyed this book. The storyline dragged me in despite the issues that I had with the character descriptions in the beginning. Carter Wessex's issues with her rich father and how they affect her life and self and how the bits were written seemed too drastic of reactions. As a result of how drastic the results were, I thought that the bits that were focused on (the necklace and the mirrors) would mean something later on but they didn't. Nick Farrell was unrelenting in what he believed was right (in all things) and came across almost too arrogant and calculating to be liked. The storyline, the search for archeological evidence, was interesting and that is what saved the story for me.

There was good characterization with the main and secondary characters. The issues and complications were well thought out. The character traits made the characters seem real. Nick was a little high-handed for my taste in heroes but he was well written. The villain was not as menacing or prevalent in the story to make him seem like a true threat. His actions hardly seemed to match the response from the other characters.

Dopo ormai tanti romanzi della Ward ho la certezza che questa donna non ha mai conosciuto fame e miseria. Ogni singolo libro trasuda soldi e ricchezza ereditaria, ed è evidente che è un ambiente nel quale si muove con disinvoltura. Dopo questa amena osservazione, che lascia il tempo che trova, passo al giudizio vero e proprio.
In linea temporale Hearth of gold è il secondo romance scritto dalla Ward, quando - per sua stessa ammissione - ancora non sapeva cosa stava facendo. Tuttavia io non ho avuto l'impressione che l'autrice fosse in difficoltà e che arrancasse per ideare una trama convincente e creare personaggi credibili. La mia impressione generale è molto positiva, considerando che il romance non è il genere in cui la Ward è ferrata.
Hearth of gold è la storia di Carter, archeologa di buona famiglia ma auto-esiliata, e Nick, potentissimo uomo d'affari. La vicenda prende il via sulla terra di Nick che, come proprietario, decide se dare o meno la possibilità agli archeologi di scavare. In linea di massima Nick è un grandissimo pezzo di m...ehm è scontroso è antipatico, caccia via a male parole tutti, fregandosene completamente se effettivamente nelle sue montagne posso trovarsi dei reperti. Carter, però, non si lascia influenzare dalla cattiva reputazione di Nick e si presenta a casa sua armata di un sano atteggiamento combattivo. Abituato com'è a persone che si piegano a 90° ad ogni suo ordine, Nick rimane spiazzato e intrigato da Carter, che lo manda a quel paese e gli urla dietro senza troppi problemi. Il fascino che Carter esercita su di lui lo porta a sviluppare una vera ossessione nei suoi confronti: vuole passare tempo con lei, parlarle, guardarla e tutto perché - oltre ad essere bella - è indipendente, intelligente e con un nucleo di acciaio. Ovviamente Nick è restio a lasciarsi andare ai sentimenti e cerca di camuffare l'amore con la passione, usando parole dure e cattive, un atteggiamento scontroso che crea un forte tira e molla emotivo. Carter, invece, è molto realista e non si nasconde dietro a finte parole, piuttosto si tira indietro per paura di soffrire. Appena si rende conto che il sentimento è più forte della passione e che Nick è la realizzazione dei suoi desideri, si ammorbidisce e accetta di cambiare la sua visione delle cose pur di avere una possibilità con lui.
Il contorno, in questo caso, è molto importante per lo svolgimento della storia perché la maggior parte degli incontri/scontri tra Nick e Carter avvengono nel bosco e nel campo allestito per gli scavi. La montagna è lo sfondo perfetto, selvaggia e incontrollabile come la loro passione, e aiuta tantissimo anche lo svoglimento dell'episodio giallo che semplifica e giustifica il lieto fine. Il cattivo che compare da un sentiero nascosto, la fuga dei ragazzini, la tempesta collaborano nel rendere la storia più complessa e ricca, con diversi spunti che ritmano la lettura e non annoiano il lettore.
In generale il romanzo è riuscito, scorrevole e avvincente ma - soprattutto - intenso dal punto di vista emotivo: Nick e Carter sono due personaggi con una presenza scenica forte, catturano completamente l'attenzione e coinvolgono nella lettura. Aiuta molto il fatto che la Ward, secondo romanzo o meno, è una brava scrittrice e il suo stile è sempre una garanzia, per me. Hearth of gold è un romance riuscito, con i tipici elementi del genere ma con quel qualcosa in più che lo rende speciale.

One very enjoyable read.

This is a Contemporary Romance novel, you don't find too many books that concentrate on Archaeology. Carter Wessex (am I the only one that finds Carter as a weird name for a girl?) is an archaeologist, interested in putting together a dig on land owned by Nick Farrel. Nick Farrel is a Corporate Raider, he cares for his nephew Cort. Nick have an instant dislike for each other. Nick doesn't like anyone going up on his mountain. Nick has a pretty rocky relationship with Cort, he seems to think he has to be a dictator in order to keep Cort out of trouble and keep Cort's diabetes under control.

I really enjoyed the parts about Carter's archaeology dig. I find it fascinating when I have a chance to read about jobs I'll never be able to do. The further I got in Heart of Gold, the more I disliked Nick. I understand that a good romance has to have some friction between the two, but he was just down right mean and nasty. There was an attempt at a change in attitude toward the end, but it was abrupt and a little unbelievable. Carter has issues with her father which contribute to her reluctance to be in a relationship, to me this is believable.

Like I said before, I liked the parts where it concentrated on the dig. The story behind the part where they were doing the dig was really cool to learn, whether it was real or not. On the other hand, I didn't like the scenes where Nick has decided that he can't let him and Carter get any closer so he starts being nasty and mean. For me it was over the top, and unnecessary. I get that it was almost like a defense mechanism, but just a little much. There was a couple of parts that had me giggling, but it isn't written solely to make you laugh.

I've always enjoyed books written by J.R. Ward, so I figured I would try some of her Jessica Bird books. I liked the writing style. The story had a nice flow to it. This book, as far as I know isn't part of a series. It seemed pretty stand-alone to me. While there were parts of this story that I didn't like, overall it was a nice read.

Now that J.R. Ward has found rousing success with her Black Dagger Brotherhood and Fallen Angels series, it looks as if she is delving into the writing past and bringing back her early works with new, pretty covers.

Only problem is, she's not bringing them back in order. :(

Heart of Gold is the second of four books Ward first wrote under her maiden name of Jessica Bird, and none of these books belong to a 'series' per se, but they are all connected to each other in some fashion, although you can read them out of order like I did and be none the worse for wear.

If you would like a complete reading list, in the story line's chronological order (not publication order), check me out here.

But as for Heart of Gold, what do you get when you cross a centuries old murder mystery, a smart and sassy socialite-turned-archeologist and a dark, brooding corporate raider?

Well, one hell of a love story for starters.

Here we are introduced to Carter Wessex, the estranged daughter of a millionaire who like to get down and dirty with history. Then we have Nick Farrell, millionaire playboy with a shuttered heart and a dark past, who just so happens to own a mountain in the Adirondacks where a boatload of gold was supposed to have gone missing in the late 1700's during America's civil war, along with some redcoats and revolutionaries.

Now normally Mr. Farrell is not one to take kindly to people digging up the mountain, searching for gold he believes to be nonexistent, but how can he resist the daughter of a business partner who intrigues him from the first?

Toss in some explosive hormones between our hero and heroine of the hour, a sociopath on the hunt for the gold as well, and some budding young love to boot, and you have Heart of Gold.

I loved it. Couldn't put the darned thing down to save my life once I started it, and I had it finished in less than 24hrs. All I did was eat, sleep and read it was that good. For me at least.

The only downside is you don't really get the motivations of the sociopath. He's a nemesis of our heroine who seems to have an unhealthy attachment for her, and there are hints as to why he does what he does to her and throughout the book, but there's definitive reason aside from him being bat shit crazy.

Ok, minor spoiler here: He kidnaps Carter and hold her for ransom because he needs to get out of the country right quick and in a hurry, and this is all after he threatens her life, her home, the lives of her friends, as well as her virtue when they are alone together. There are also strong allusions that he's got a serious psycho crush going on for her, but after her rescue complete with the aid of local law enforcement, no police report ever surfaces detailing the how, whys and wherefores of his motivation which is what I for one am used to seeing.

But aside from that, I think it was really well done.

And I really should learn to do a bit more research with these things, especially when I know full well going into it that it's a reprinting of an earlier work. The completionist in me gets a little rankled when I read things out of order. *sigh*

Ah well. It's still a good book.

Enjoy folks.

3.5 stars. Another well written and developed contemporary romance from JR Ward writing as Jessica Bird. No faults.

DNF @ 54% liked everything about this books besides the romance.

3.5 stars.