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Montana Sky

by Nora Roberts

3.94 · rating details · 11,217 ratings · 374 reviews

When Jack Mercy died, he left behind a lot of enemies . . .and a ranch worth nearly twenty million dollars. Now his three daughters - each born of a different marriage, and each unknown to the others - are gathered to hear the reading of the will.Willa, the only one who knew her father, boldly expects that everything will be hers. Tess, who has reluctantly flown in from Ho...more

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Published June 27th 2006 by Brilliance Audio (first published March 12th 1996)

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Feb 03, 2008

Ciara rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: No One!

I read it all the way through, but I hated it. There were so many ridiculous factual inaccuracies that I could write a novel on this novel! How incredibly annoying to someone who actually lives this life that she would butcher/romanticize it to this extent! Booo! Boooo!

Most notably:
In the very beginning, the main character's love interest hears a shot and goes running to find the main character butchering a bear she just shot. Apparently, she shot it because it was attacking he...more

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Mar 26, 2011

Tracy rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: romantic-suspense, non-series-stand-alone-novels

The death of her father took Willa Mercy by surprise - he hadn't even told her he was sick. Finding out that the cold man who she'd tried her entire life to please had left a will that took away the home she'd grown up in and the ranch she'd worked on for her entire life and split it between herself and two half-sisters she'd never even met, demanding that to get anything, they all had to live together on Mercy ranch for a year, is a betrayal that she can't even process. Then, still reeling from...moreThe death of her father took Willa Mercy by surprise - he hadn't even told her he was sick. Finding out that the cold man who she'd tried her entire life to please had left a will that took away the home she'd grown up in and the ranch she'd worked on for her entire life and split it between herself and two half-sisters she'd never even met, demanding that to get anything, they all had to live together on Mercy ranch for a year, is a betrayal that she can't even process. Then, still reeling from that affront, Willa stumbles across the butchered carcass of one of her cattle. And the only animal who would do something like that...is man. As three strangers struggle with each other and the legacy of the unbending, frigid man who was their father, a psychotic killer stalks Mercy and threatens them all.

It was 1997 when I first read Montana Sky. I'd never read anything quite like it, and it turned me on to the exquisite blend of romance and suspense and mystery that Roberts is so acclaimed at writing. Since then, I've read almost every book Roberts has published, regardless of genre.

Montana Sky is, at its core, a story about the bonds of family - those shared through blood and those born and nurtured through affection, dedication, and love. Three sisters first meet, then spark off each other as they start to know each other, eventually like each other...mostly, then love each other - unquestionably. As those tentative family bonds are laid, so too are the bonds with three impressive men who love them. It's heartwarming and horrifying at turns, and despite its age, has a timelessness that keeps it from feeling dated. It's still one of my favorites of Roberts, despite having a few issues with it as a whole.

It's quite long, first of all, and despite Roberts using that length to develop every aspect of the plot sufficiently, I still felt like there were some parts that could have been trimmed down and streamlined in the plot and in the narrative. A few superfluous scenes bogged down the pacing from time to time. I would have also preferred to have Willa and Ben be the sole romance, as the relationships between Adam and Lily and Tess and Nate were quite clearly not the focus of the story and weren't given enough room to really expand into three dimensions, either. And despite the fact that Willa and Ben's relationship is the backbone of the romantic aspects in the book, the conclusion of that relationship arc felt a little less satisfying than those of Lily and Tess and their loves. That's personal preference and opinion, of course.

Despite those few issues, Montana Sky is a compelling, sweeping saga - still a compelling and sweeping saga, actually, and is rich and decadent with the benefits of Roberts' lyricism of prose and her unparalleled ability to draw a reader into the scenes of the book so completely that you can smell the snow on the mountain peaks after a blizzard and feel the trickle of sweat down your spine when the characters are stringing the fences. I loved revisiting this book after so many years and so many fond Roberts' memories.

A caution to sensitive readers: there are scenes that dip into the deranged psychosis of a killer's mind and detail the savagery of his crimes - not to gruesome levels (though that's subjective), but definitely far more than just glossing over them. This is not simply a contemporary romance and does have brutally dark edges more commonly found in romantic suspense or thrillers. It may be too graphic in some places for some readers.

~*~*~*~
Reviewed for One Good Book Deserves Another. (less)

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Nov 13, 2011

Debbie rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: brain-candy

Mean old Montana rancher Jack Mercy dies and leaves the ranch to his three daughters, born of three different mothers, none of whom have ever met before. The catch is that in order to inherit their third of the multi-million ranch, they all have to live on the ranch for one year with no more than one week away.

Californian screen writer Tess is mad, fleeing abused wife Lily is grateful but scared, and rancher Willa is furious. And not only do they have to adjust to each other and their ...more

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Jul 20, 2010

Chinablue_25 West Bostedor rated it

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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. So I thoroughly enjoyed this one. In this one, the book starts out at a funeral. You find out that the funeral is of Jack Mercy, a real SOB. He ha three daughters. Only one of them, the yougest Willa, actually grew up with him on his ranch because her mother died when she was a baby. The first daughter, Tess, lives in LA California writing screenplays. The second, Lilly, is from Virginia, but has been moving around a lot hiding and running from her abusive ex husband. She arrives at the f...moreSo I thoroughly enjoyed this one. In this one, the book starts out at a funeral. You find out that the funeral is of Jack Mercy, a real SOB. He ha three daughters. Only one of them, the yougest Willa, actually grew up with him on his ranch because her mother died when she was a baby. The first daughter, Tess, lives in LA California writing screenplays. The second, Lilly, is from Virginia, but has been moving around a lot hiding and running from her abusive ex husband. She arrives at the funeral with fresh bruises from his latest attack. She took three different planes to throw him off track to come to her father, whom she never knew, funeral.

Willa grew up on the ranch working it and putting in her blood sweat and tears. When the will is read by the family lawyer/friend Willa just about flips out. Her father leaves the ranch to all three daughters, with a very big stipulation. They have to live together on the ranch for a year. If any one of them refuses to adhere to the stipulation they forfit their piece of the pie and ultimately everyone elses. If they don't all follow through with the requirements then the land is to be donated to a wild life preserve organization. During that year, Willa is to be in charge of the ranch with the supervision of Nate (family lawyer and friend) and neighbor Ben McKinnon. Ben McKinnon runs the ranch next door with his father and brother.

Tess agrees to staying the year because she wants her cut of the ranch (the ranch is worth 18-20 million) Lilly jumps at staying because she finds it peaceful and wants to hide out there. Tess ends up going after Nate to help pass the time. Meanwhile, Willa's older half brother, Adam, is spending his time working with Lilly to open up, trust and she learns the horses with him. They end up falling in love.

Willa and Ben hook up. During all this, animals have been ending up dead. One cat, couple cows, and 8 calfs the night after they were born. All of wich were cut up and gutted. Two people were killed as well in the midst of all this. One of the men who work and live on the ranch, and some 16 year old run away that no one knew.

Through all this you also as the reader know that Jesse Cook, Lilly's ex husband, has been working for Ben all this time and nobody knows who he is. This leads you to believe that he is the murderer. He ends up prematurely (he was waiting out the year so Lilly would get the inheritance first) kidnapped Lilly because her and Adam decided to get married and the wedding day was fast approaching.

He ends up taking her up into the mountains and hides out in a cave. It was snowing when he took her and practically a blizzard by the time they got to the cave so she was freezing. He wouldn't start a fire cause he didn't want to draw attention. She ended up passing out and he drank himself stupid. By the time Adam, Ben and Willa find the cave and her, they find a fire was build and Jesse is dead (cut up and gutted and scalped like the other murders) and Lilly is delerious with a high fevor.

After a week in bed, Lilly is fine. Wedding plans continue. The day of the wedding, Lilly finds a note slipped under the door in the kitchen telling her that she is not to worry and that he doesn't plan to do anything on her wedding day and that she doesn't have to worry about her sisters or Adam.

More time goes on and one hot day Willa noticed one of her men, Ham, (who she knew all her life and considers her real father cause he was always there for her in a way her real father never was)burning up and not looking too good. She decided to make him turn in for the day and he essentially threw a fit and stalked off saying he wanted his final check. That evening, he came by the main house and they talked it out. She told him how she really felt about him and basically that she was afraid to loose him. They have a moment and they make up. As he was leaving he thought he heard something so thought he would check it out. Turned out it was the murderer in the middle of slicing up a cow. The murderer turned out to be one of the men who worked on the ranch, named Jim. He stabbed Ham because Ham found him with the cow. Then after he stabbed Ham Willa happened to come upon them looking for Ham to tell him one more thing. She first just saw Ham on the ground and ran to him then she saw Jim with the knife and he punched her out.

She comes to, tied up and thrown over a horse. He takes her all over the place trying to back track and throw off the scent. Finally he gets to where he wants to go and sits down with her to try to talk her into understanding everything. He tells her that he is her brother and that Jack Mercy had knocked up his mother and told her he would take care of her but then refused to. Her being a single mother with no help from the father forced her to become a whore. When she died of a drug overdose, Jim was 16 and came straight to Mercy Ranch to confront his father. Jack ended up laughing at him then telling him he would give him a job, and if he lasted a month then he would have some job security. When he turned 21 Jack gave him a really nice knife. It is the knife he had used to kill all of the animals and people. He then tells Willa that he likes to kill and that he gets that from Jack. Then he reminds her of when Willa was little she had a cow that she helped birth and got to sorta keep as a pet. She won ribbons for her cow and had named it Blossom. When she was 12, he forced her to watch him kill her pet cow to teach her that this was a ranch and cows are not pets but beef. Jim thought that Willa would accept him as her brother and forget all the horrible things he did. When she tried to lie he could tell and he sorta went crazy on her. Then Ben showed up, and Jim had a knife to her neck. Ben being an excellent shot, shot him right between the eyes. Happy ending!

(less)

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Jul 02, 2009

Akemi Joy rated it

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Shelves: a-bit-of-fluff

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Sep 28, 2011

Margarida Cruz rated it

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Shelves: own, segredo-dos-livros

Estar tanto tempo longe das histórias de Nora Roberts fazem-me esquecer o quão maravilhosas são. Os Céus de Montana, concretamente, é um livro que superou, de longe, as minhas expectativas e ao qual fiquei inteiramente rendida.

Confesso que ao início me assustei. Cowboys, ranchos, rodeos... Definitivamente não era a minha área. Mas surpresas das surpresas: estou perdidamente apoixanada por cowboys, por ranchos, Montana e tudo o mais com que Nora Roberts nos brindou neste romance.
...moreEstar tanto tempo longe das histórias de Nora Roberts fazem-me esquecer o quão maravilhosas são. Os Céus de Montana, concretamente, é um livro que superou, de longe, as minhas expectativas e ao qual fiquei inteiramente rendida.

Confesso que ao início me assustei. Cowboys, ranchos, rodeos... Definitivamente não era a minha área. Mas surpresas das surpresas: estou perdidamente apoixanada por cowboys, por ranchos, Montana e tudo o mais com que Nora Roberts nos brindou neste romance.

Os cenários são um autêntico sonho. As montanhas, os céus, o rancho Mercy, a casa de Willa, as pastagens, as cercas... Tudo! Montana é-nos apresentado com um autêntico paraíso. Um retrato divinal, perfeito, imaculado. A sua beleza inigualável. Sinto que nunca as descrições de Nora Roberts tiveram um impacto tão grande em mim enquanto leitora dos seus romances. Nunca me senti tão presente num lugar apresentado pela autora como desta vez. A verdade é que o trabalho da autora em termos de descrições do local da acção é de tal modo bem conseguido que não me lembro de nenhuma cena em que não me tenha sentido precisamente em Montana, a ver, mesmo na minha frente, as personagens em acção.

Embora tudo me tenha encantado em Os Céus de Montana, não posso deixar de referir o meu carinho especial pela protagonista, Willa Mercy, cujo carácter me encheu inteiramente as medidas. Willa é, talvez, o alter-ego de muitas mulheres. Destemida, inabalável, forte, trabalhadora, crítica. O seu mau feitio e a faceta de "durona", ironicamente, cativaram-me ainda mais. Não conseguia evitar um sorriso sempre que chamava "Hollywood" à irmã, Tess. Achei, efectivamente, que foi uma personagem muito bem conseguida e em tudo apelativa. Tal como Ben, que é quase o seu reflexo, mas no masculino.

A história em si é fantástica. Willa sempre viveu no rancho Mercy. Contudo, quando o pai, Jack Mercy, falece, vítima de cancro, vê-se na posse de uma carga de responsabilidad es inimaginável: herdar e tomar as rédeas da propriedade. Ainda assim, as coisas estavam muito bem, comparado com o que adivinhava. Antes de morrer, Jack Mercy escrevera um testamento onde estipulava que as suas três filhas teriam de partilhar e comandar o rancho durante um ano se alguém quisesse continuar na posse dele. Caso o pedido não fosse cumprido, o rancho criado por gerações e gerações de Mercy seria gratuitamente cedido ao Estado. O problema é que Willa não conhece as irmãs, fruto dos dois primeiros casamentos do pai e vê, de um momento para o outro, um sonho (o rancho) nas mãos de duas estranhas.

A relação que floresce entre as três irmãs é simplesmente hilariante. Enquanto Lily aquece todos os corações e mais alguns, Tess arrelia e faz muita gente perder a cabeça e soltar gargalhadas com as suas futilidades e manias hollywoodescas, uma vez que estava habituada à vida de Los Angeles, onde passou toda a sua vida. Os três romances são igualmente eternecedores, principalmente o de Adam e Lily, onde o amor que Nora nos descreve é do mais puro que podemos encontrar. Já Ben e Willa... bom, que momentos emocionantes passamos com eles. Nora Roberts não cria só suspense com os frequentes homicidios em Mercy. Ela consegue transformar a história de amor de duas personagens igualmente sufocante e hipnotizadora!

Para mim, perfeita seria a palavra mais adequada a aplicar a este caso. Nora Roberts misturou suspense, romance, drama e horror e conseguiu uma receita extraordinária. Largar o livro era um martírio. Cada vez que me via obrigada a trabalhar e a abdicar do meu tempo de leitura entrava num estado de ansiedade tal que, quando dava por mim, tinha Willa, Ben, Tess, Lily, Adam e Nata na minha cabeça. Sonhava com eles. Perguntava-me como iria terminar a história. Imaginava-os no rancho e punha-me a pensar como seria bom visitar aquele sítio.

Em suma, Os Céus de Montana é um livro simplesmente fantástico, de uma leitura frenética e ao mesmo tempo deliciosa. "A Dama Negra" estava isolada no top de livros desta autora. Ainda não foi superado, mas graças à majestosidade de "Os Céus de Montana" tem agora um forte rival e encontra-se num empate que não me sinto capaz de resolver.

Não quero acreditar que já terminei esta leitura. Mas como só está nas mãos da autora a continuação da história dos Mercy, vou optar por uma outra via: ver o mais depressa possível a adaptação cinematográfica , reencontrar estas personagens inesquecíveis e reviver esta fabulosa história.(less)

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May 20, 2011

Heather rated it

· review of another edition

Montana Sky takes place on Mercy Ranch. It was owned by a selfish, cruel man, but he's dead now. Now the main players are his children. The catch? They've never met. This book has it all: birth, rebirth, growth, love, romance, murder, mystery, suspense, desire, guns, bonding, surprising plot twists, hard work, dedication, jealousy, tough decisions, joy, revenge, divorce, sex, fear, elation, sisterhood, brotherhood, friendship, loyalty, family, money, redefinition, women's roles, morals and ...more

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May 07, 2010

Alexis-Morgan Roark rated it

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I actually liked this one. I get tired of the trilogies. Or the stories that involves six or seven books, same storyline/structure with a slightly different twist.

It was a little violent, but I can be a bit squeamish; so, take that with a grain of salt.

Like some other reviewers, I do not believe it was one of Nora's "best," but it was still a good read. Pun intended.

I also agree with another reviewer who stated there was too much emphasis on one roma...more

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Oct 02, 2009

Dee rated it

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Typical Nora Roberts, which means a decent romance, though not her best.

Three half-sisters who have never met are forced to live together on a Montana ranch in order to inherit it from the uncaring father who'd never shown any love. Of course there are three incredibly handsome and wonderful men in the picture.

And there's a crazy afoot, killing and carving up first animals and then people with his knife. Some pretty good suspense there.

What makes this, to me, ...more

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Dec 22, 2010

Bronwyn Rykiert rated it

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Shelves: romance

This is a story about 3 women, Willa, Lily and Tess who inherit a Montana Ranch from their deceased father who never laid claim to any of the 3 women. Willa was the only one left on the ranch and assumed she'd inherit until the will was read. In the will Jack Mercy, their father, stated that the only way any of them would get a piece of his pie was if they all lived on the ranch for a year together. They had never met before this day.

This is a story of family, love, trust, and murder. ...more

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Jun 18, 2009

Gems rated it

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This is the one book by Nora that I will continue to come back to again and again. It's just not the usual love story though it follows the usual formula. I love that it's based on a ranch in montana because that's something I've never really experienced before through reading and I loved westerns as a child, so maybe that's what appealed to me. Plus being a farmer's daughter, I just really felt like I could relate to everything happening: the daily chores, the frustration and the hard work that...more

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Oct 16, 2009

Stacey rated it

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Shelves: 2009-books, audio-book

I was really disappointed with this book. I've loved all the other NR books I've read but this one did nothing for me. I started to quit listening to it several times but thought, no, I'll keep on, it has to get better. It never did.
I don't know if I didn't relate to the characters or if I just disliked all of them from the beginning. And as long as the book was, I never figured out what happened to strengthen the sisters relationship. It was as if one day they found out they all had ...more

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Aug 01, 2010

Sharon Falk rated it

· review of another edition

I read this book because it was part of a challenge to read a book with the name of a state in the title. If it wouldn't have been part of the challenge, I'm not sure that I would have kept reading it after the first few chapters.

I typically get engrossed in Nora Roberts books quickly, but this one was a hard sell for me. I liked that there was a twist in the plot and, by about 2/3 of the way through, I was definitely interested in what was going to happen to the characters.
...more

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Jun 10, 2010

Katie rated it

· review of another edition

whatever happened to strong female characters who didn't need a man in their life? it seemed as though the men had no flaws, and all they did was point out to the women that the women had flaws and the women fell in love with them anyway. and a woman who just came out of an abusive marriage meets and marries someone else in less than 9 months? i feel like the characters started out strong in the beginning but then instead of growing, they declined. and i don't like it when authors bounce fro...more

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Jun 23, 2011

Sally rated it

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This was my first Nora Roberts and I was quite surprised, considering that this was one of my Grandma's favorite authors - pleasantly surprised! I got this book fromt eh library to listen to while on a recent roadtrip, but I had to return it before I could finish and I immeaditely got it on my Kindle, because I was just that hooked!

Montana Sky is an intriguing look into a very complicated family situation. One made even more disatrious with murder and mystery thrown in. Honestly, it...more

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Jan 24, 2011

Kaylynn Johnsen rated it

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I really went back and forth between 2 and 3 stars. 3 because the story was good and the characters were interesting and 2 because I just didn't want to waste so many pages on sex.

The story of 3 sisters who've never met who have to spend one year on their father's ranch or lose their inheritance was wonderful. Each of the sisters was unique and their discovery of each other was interesting. The violence perpetrated against the sisters and the ranch made for some tension and I'm gl...more

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Mar 21, 2011

Richard Hayes rated it

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Shelves: favorites

Ms Roberts paints a very vivid picture of the location, no matter where she is writing about. In this story, about 3 sisters who will inherit a large ranch but only if they live there together for a year; this despite the fact that they have never even met each other before as all have different mothers and same father. This story describes their trials, loves and just plain trying to get along with each other.

One thing, I would not recommend this book for readers under 16 or 17 due ...more

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May 31, 2009

Tabatha rated it

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This book was about a man named jack who left behind 3 daughters, from three different mothers. they had never know each other until his funeral. in his will he said that they would have to live on the ranch together for a year or else the farm would be given to a organization.as they were living together animals started being killed and they started to be stalked. i loved this book because even when you tought that you knew who the killer was it was not.i think anyone who likes a prolonged myst...more

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Mar 05, 2009

Carla rated it

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Shelves: nora-roberts, mystery-suspense, romance

Fantastic book - I had never read Nora Roberts prior to this book. I got hooked into the story immediately, and I loved the interaction between the characters. It was one of the few books I have read that I really felt the characters as real people. The mystery was very good, and it made a nice backstory to the character development.

I tried to find similar books afterwards, but honestly I did not find her other books (yet) to compare favorably. I am still hoping, and I look forward ...more

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Dec 08, 2011

Ne rated it

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Shelves: biblioteca

A vontade não falta, mas o tempo parece que foge e por isso só quando surgem pequenas oportunidades é que posso pegar nos livros da Nora.
Apesar de a capa ser a minha menos preferida (visto que todas são preferidas!) e a sinopse não me ter chamado minimamente a atenção (foi a primeira vez), como andava numa fase de ler e ver coisas de cowboys decidi ler este entre os outros todos que cá tenho.
Em relação ao Montana Sky, sendo o título português Os Céus de Montana, ainda estou indecisa...moreA vontade não falta, mas o tempo parece que foge e por isso só quando surgem pequenas oportunidades é que posso pegar nos livros da Nora.
Apesar de a capa ser a minha menos preferida (visto que todas são preferidas!) e a sinopse não me ter chamado minimamente a atenção (foi a primeira vez), como andava numa fase de ler e ver coisas de cowboys decidi ler este entre os outros todos que cá tenho.
Em relação ao Montana Sky, sendo o título português Os Céus de Montana, ainda estou indecisa em relação à minha opinião final.
Por um lado gostei do facto de haver dois vilões e de ambos estarem tão escondidos nos actos um do outro que só me apercebi disso quase no final, ou sejam, quando ficam reduzidos a metade; por outro achei que a autora podia ter aproveitado melhor as outras relações paralelas e presentes, principalmente no que se refere à dupla Lily e Adam. Tive pena que a escritora não tivesse descrito ou até desenvolvido os momentos mais marcantes da relação destes últimos, refiro-me ao primeiro beijo, que foi de certa forma tapado, e ao momento de "fazerem" o filho. Fiquei bastante desiludida, porque normalmente Nora Roberts não desaproveita estas oportunidades para fazer a sua magia, mas desta vez penso que acabou por ser muito vaga, tanto neste caso, como nas outras relações, incluindo a principal. Fazendo com que a empatia diminui-se ao longo do livro.
O final acabou também por ficar um pouco aberto demais, não que não tenha gostado, apenas acho que devia ter um ponto final mais definitivo e não umas longas reticências. Gostava de ter acompanhado a uma possível gravidez de Willa, mas à semelhança da obra Levado Pelo Mar não gostei muito do par principal, tendo acabo por preferir o par Nate/Tess.
Penso que o estragou mais foi mesmo o facto de ter visto o trailer do filme deste livro. Os actores escolhidos não eram nada do que estava à espera ou tinha imaginado, acabando por substituir o que tinha na minha cabeça e tornando tudo muito menos bonito. Não vou ver o filme com toda a certeza.
Apesar de todos estes pontos menos positivos continuo a gostar bastante do livro. As descrições, tanto dos cenários como das situações mais misteriosas ou românticas continuam a transformar todo o livro e a manter Nora Roberts no topo do meu pedestal.(less)

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Sep 21, 2011

Amy A rated it

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My grandmother handed me my first Nora Roberts book about seven years ago. She loved romances so much. I remember when I was little not understanding why exactly. I do read PNR, but other than romances dealing with the paranormal I don't rea them much if at all. Nora Roberts is another matter altogether. I hold a special place for her because my grandma introduced me to her. I haven't read a lot of her books. Montana Sky is only the 4th Nora Roberts book that I've read (no, I'm not including the...moreMy grandmother handed me my first Nora Roberts book about seven years ago. She loved romances so much. I remember when I was little not understanding why exactly. I do read PNR, but other than romances dealing with the paranormal I don't rea them much if at all. Nora Roberts is another matter altogether. I hold a special place for her because my grandma introduced me to her. I haven't read a lot of her books. Montana Sky is only the 4th Nora Roberts book that I've read (no, I'm not including the In Death series right now as Nora Roberts). I think I'm a little hesitant to read them more often because I think they will start to get repetative and then they'll lose that magic for me.

I thought that Montana Sky was really good. True, it followed a lot of cliches, but when I opened the book and started reading I was immediately engrossed in the settinga and the characters. I mean I really wanted to be on a ranch in Montana.

I liked the development of the relationships. I mean it was pretty apparent from the start who would be paired with who. That allowed me to focus more on the people forming these relationships and how they would eventually get together rather than guessing who it would be with. I didn't really have a favorite character or couple just because I think that Roberts did a good job having each couple represent a different situation.

Besides the male / female relationships I really liked seeing the sisters grow to accept and love one another. So much changed from the beginning of the book to the end, it really felt like a year had passed. Roberts did well at encompassing the changing of the seasons although I admit to being sad whenever I would turn the page and a new season section would begin because I knew the end was just creeping up.

I've never read any of Nora Roberts' series (again not including the In Death series here), and I can see where this story could have benefitted from being split into three novels each one focusing on one sister, but I like that we were given this whole story in one sitting as the case may be. It wasn't an overly long novel by comparison to some I've read, but it was a more lengthy novel than most and I think that was a good thing. It kind of solidified the whole year stipulation. I think if this was split into three books (or however many) unless they were all released at the same time it wouldn't have felt so confined to that year. Even if the books were released within months of each other, this is a story that needed to be kept together.

Really, the story followed a basic formula and there was a lot that was predictable about it, but that doesn't mean that it wasn't a good book. But it made the other situations in the book (like the killer and Lily's ex-husband) seem more crazy because they were not as predictable. I went back and forth between theories on who was the villain. In the end one could only narrow it down so much. Roberts did a pretty good job of writing from the villain's perspective and nt giving any hints, towards the end there was one hint the eliminated quite a few people so it could only really be one person.

This is a book that I can see myself going back and re-reading. To me, that's one of the indications that a book is a success. (less)

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Aug 09, 2008

Jazzypom rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: an introduction to Nora Roberts - without the committment of a trilogy

If you really want a primer for Nora Roberts, as in more than Mills and Boon penny dreadfuls, but less committment than a Trilogy, then this dense one shot is for you.

Three sisters, one ranch. Jack Mercy has died, and left the ranch to the three sisters, with the caveat that they all have to live on the ranch in the same house for a year or else the will's forfeit and they only get $100 each. This is more tricky than not, because Wilma has grown up on the ranch while Lily and Tess ar...more

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Oct 21, 2008

Cyrisse rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: romance readers

Recommended to Cyrisse by: n/a

Shelves: nora-roberts

Jack Mercy has always been a manipulative and domineering man. Even in death he makes all the rules and that is that all his three daughters should stay in the ranch for three months before they each can get a share of their inheritance.
Tess Mercy has no feelings for the man who they said has been her father. A struggling Hollywood writer, both she and her mother has learned to live without Jack Mercy. When she learns of his death and later the stipulation of his will, she sets out to bra...moreJack Mercy has always been a manipulative and domineering man. Even in death he makes all the rules and that is that all his three daughters should stay in the ranch for three months before they each can get a share of their inheritance.
Tess Mercy has no feelings for the man who they said has been her father. A struggling Hollywood writer, both she and her mother has learned to live without Jack Mercy. When she learns of his death and later the stipulation of his will, she sets out to brave the three months just to get her money. In the ranch, she receives adversity both from her sisters particularly Willa and from nature. Always a social person, the lack of social activities in the ranch slowly drives her out of her mind. She saves herself from going crazy by seducing fellow ranch owner and lawyer, Nate Torrence. With Nate, she discovers the peaceful and beautiful side of ranching. However whatever her feelings for him, she knows that they are temporary because she'll always be a city girl… or so she thinks.
Lily Mercy comes to the Montana ranch to pay respect to her late father. She also arrives at the ranch to hide from an abusive husband and heals from the physical and emotional abuse she has received from him. In the ranch she finds the serenity and protection that she needs. She also finds Adam Wolfchild to be the anti-thesis of her husband. With Adam, her trust on men and especially on herself has been restored. Adam slowly and patiently shows her that she can once again love.
If Willa Mercy has been a man, she could have gotten the approval and pride from her father, Jack. But no matter how hard she works and makes a difference in the ranch, Jack only ignores her effort. She has been furious with the content of his will. Even in death Jack still cheats her out of her inheritance. However when she sees no way of going around the will, she concedes in letting her stepsisters stay and help out in the ranch as long as after three months the ranch will all be hers. Trying to keep the ranch afloat by herself, she clearly doesn't welcome her neighbor ranch owner and her father's appointed overseer, Ben McKinnon's supervision. But with the disturbing and unknown destruction of Willa's cattle, Ben, who has a long-standing admiration for the woman, decides to help her whether she likes it or not. When the destruction escalates into murders however, Willa and the other women become alarmed. The three sisters band together to watch for each other and the ranch while Ben, Adam and Nate try to catch the murderer and at the same time protect the women they love.(less)

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Jul 16, 2008

Paula rated it

· review of another edition

I had heard about this book; King Lear was mentioned in connection with this book - the idea of dividing the spoils among three daughters. This is a similar plot, apparently (I'm only on chapter 7 so far). The reason this description piqued my interest was that I took an advanced writing institute course many years ago when Jame Smiley's book A Thousand Acres came out with a similar theme. (I have since viewed the Michelle Pfeiffer movie adapted from Smiley's book and, as always, the book was...more

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Apr 07, 2008

Ally rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: Any Nora Roberts Fans

Shelves: 2008

When Jack Mercy died, he left behind a ranch worth nearly 20 million dollars. Now this three daughters - each born of a different mother, and each unknown to the others - are gathered to hear the reading of the will. But the woman are shocked to learn that before any of them can inherit, they must live together on the ranch for one year. For Tess, a sophisticated city-girl who just wants to collect her cash and get back to L.A., it's a nightmare. For Lily, on the run from her abusive ex-husband,...more

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Oct 13, 2011

Tess Mertens-Johnson rated it

· review of another edition

This is the second Nora Roberts book I have read.
This is the story of three women who come together after their father dies. If all three stay on his ranch 12 months they split the inheritance.
All come from different women and aspects of his life. All have their own very strong personalities.
Nora weaves a story of the women getting the know each other, fall in love and solve a mystery.
It was a good read and kept my attention.
It did seem similar in plot to the other N...more

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Jan 24, 2009

Sueij rated it

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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

like 1 like

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Jan 26, 2009

Marla rated it

· review of another edition

This book is about three sisters unknown to each other. They are children of three separate marriages. When their father dies, the deal to inherit the estate is to be able to live and work together for a year. The ranch they live on is isolated, mysterious, and violent. The sisters are bitter at each other and their father. Someone is determined they won't inherit the ranch and many deadly incidents begin to occur. A good mystery that lets the ladies be the heroines.

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Dec 29, 2010

Kathy Davie rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: homey, romance

Sweet romance revolving around three sisters from completely different worlds who have never met and are brought together by the father they share. The father who has put some pretty tight strings around them forcing them to interact with each other and the characters surrounding them on a ranch in Montana.

They way Roberts tied all three romances together into one story with Montana Sky is what I wish Jaci Burton had done with Bound, Branded & Brazen.

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Jan 02, 2009

Nicole rated it

· review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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About Nora Roberts

Nora Roberts (b. Eleanor Marie Robertson), is a bestselling American author of more than one hundred fifty romance novels. She was the first author to be inducted into the Romance Writers of America Hall of Fame. For the early part of her career Roberts wrote for the category romance line Silhouette which produces short romance novels. Her first full length release was the book "Hot Ice"...more

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Dance Upon the Air (Three Sisters Island, #1)

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“Men didn't respect beauty...they used it.” — 26 people liked it

“Being dead didn't make Jack Mercy any less of a son of a bitch” — 4 people liked it

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