Status
Available
Series
Genres
Collection
Publication
Jove (1999), Edition: Reissue, 352 pages
Description
Fiction. Literature. Romance. HTML:The third novel in #1 New York Times bestselling author Nora Roberts' stunning Chesapeake Bay Saga, where the Quinn brothers must return to their family home on the Maryland shore, to honor their father's last request... Phillip Quinn has done everything to make his life seem perfect. With his career on the fast track and a condo overlooking the Inner Harbor, his life on the street is firmly in the past. But one look at Seth and heâ??s reminded of the boy he once was. Sethâ??s future as a Quinn seems assuredâ??until a stranger arrives in town. She claims to be researching the town of St. Christopherâ??s for her new book, but the true objects of study are the Quinns. Her cool reserve intrigues Phillip. He is determined to uncover her motives, but she is holding a secret that has the power to threaten the life the brothers have made for Seth. A secret that could tear the family apartâ??forever... Don't miss the other books in the Chesapeake Bay Saga Sea Swept Rising Tides Chesapeak… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member ADallasCat
I liked the romance between Philip and Sybill. It was a nice turn in the trilogy for her relation with Seth and she completes the family dynamic.
Definately one of my favorite Nora trilogies.
Definately one of my favorite Nora trilogies.
LibraryThing member rocalisa
Inner Harbour by Nora Roberts (9/10)
Romance. Again, lovely entry in a lovely series.
Romance. Again, lovely entry in a lovely series.
LibraryThing member Darla
I always thought that Sea Swept was my favorite book in this trilogy, but on this re-read, it seems to be Inner Harbor instead.
This is Phillip and Sybill's story. There's also the end of the trilogy arc--we find out Seth's history and resolve things with his guardianship. Phillip is the advertising
Seth's mother Gloria has contacted her sister Sybill with a sob story about how the Quinns have stolen her son and how she needs money to pay a lawyer to get him back. Sybill wants to help, but she doesn't trust Gloria and wants to check out the situation for herself. Phillip is attracted to her, and when he finds out her identity... You might expect the usual romance-novel cliches here: self-righteous accusations and the complaint "why didn't you trust me?" It's much more real and emotionally intense than that.
I was struck by how impressive Nora's characterization was in this whole trilogy. All 3 brothers' personalities were definitely formed in their various childhoods. Even though they all had horrible childhoods, there were slight differences, and differences as well in how they dealt with them, and that's reflected in their adult personalities.
That prologue.... You know, I normally hate prologues--I don't think they're necessary, and they tend to distract from the story. But this one. Damn, it was well-written, and yeah, I think it was necessary. She could have fit in Phillip's past in bits & pieces with the present-day story, but it wouldn't have had the same impact. Everything he says and does and feels in the book relates back to what we learned in that prologue.
Sybill's character is likewise very well-written. I never had trouble warming up to Sybill--I liked her right off the bat. It's a minority opinion, though, I think, from comments I've heard in the past. She's intelligent, but that's the only place where she has any confidence--and that's also well-supported by her past. She lives too much in her own head, and tends to view life from a distance--a consequence of focusing her life on her academic career. She cares, and deeply, but has trained herself to discount emotions because that's not something she can quantify, and because she's "learned" that they're irrelevant.
One thing that really pushed Inner Harbor over the top for me is that the heroine in particular is not perfect. Perfection is something that a lot of romance heroines have in common, and that's why I like Sybill more than her new sisters-in-law, Anna and Grace. Sybill screws up really badly. And she's still redeemable. She's still deserving of an HEA. I love this.
I always like intensely emotional stories, as long as there's a positive payoff at the end. I hate crying, and if an author's going to make me cry without making it up to me later, I'm going to feel angry and betrayed. Inner Harbor had tears literally rolling down my face for several chapters. Part of that is likely because Sybill's character does hit pretty close to home for me. Which also explains why I like & understand her so well.
This is Phillip and Sybill's story. There's also the end of the trilogy arc--we find out Seth's history and resolve things with his guardianship. Phillip is the advertising
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executive brother--the detail-oriented urbanite. Sybill is a PhD psychologist and author, and Seth's aunt, though she hides that fact at first.Seth's mother Gloria has contacted her sister Sybill with a sob story about how the Quinns have stolen her son and how she needs money to pay a lawyer to get him back. Sybill wants to help, but she doesn't trust Gloria and wants to check out the situation for herself. Phillip is attracted to her, and when he finds out her identity... You might expect the usual romance-novel cliches here: self-righteous accusations and the complaint "why didn't you trust me?" It's much more real and emotionally intense than that.
I was struck by how impressive Nora's characterization was in this whole trilogy. All 3 brothers' personalities were definitely formed in their various childhoods. Even though they all had horrible childhoods, there were slight differences, and differences as well in how they dealt with them, and that's reflected in their adult personalities.
That prologue.... You know, I normally hate prologues--I don't think they're necessary, and they tend to distract from the story. But this one. Damn, it was well-written, and yeah, I think it was necessary. She could have fit in Phillip's past in bits & pieces with the present-day story, but it wouldn't have had the same impact. Everything he says and does and feels in the book relates back to what we learned in that prologue.
Sybill's character is likewise very well-written. I never had trouble warming up to Sybill--I liked her right off the bat. It's a minority opinion, though, I think, from comments I've heard in the past. She's intelligent, but that's the only place where she has any confidence--and that's also well-supported by her past. She lives too much in her own head, and tends to view life from a distance--a consequence of focusing her life on her academic career. She cares, and deeply, but has trained herself to discount emotions because that's not something she can quantify, and because she's "learned" that they're irrelevant.
One thing that really pushed Inner Harbor over the top for me is that the heroine in particular is not perfect. Perfection is something that a lot of romance heroines have in common, and that's why I like Sybill more than her new sisters-in-law, Anna and Grace. Sybill screws up really badly. And she's still redeemable. She's still deserving of an HEA. I love this.
I always like intensely emotional stories, as long as there's a positive payoff at the end. I hate crying, and if an author's going to make me cry without making it up to me later, I'm going to feel angry and betrayed. Inner Harbor had tears literally rolling down my face for several chapters. Part of that is likely because Sybill's character does hit pretty close to home for me. Which also explains why I like & understand her so well.
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LibraryThing member kayceel
Meh. This book paints a romance between two uptight, elitist snobs, who find caviar and champagne proper picnic food, because they're soooooo sophisticated. *rolls eyes*
While I get the reasoning (she was brought up by cold, elitists, and he's trying to live completely opposite of his
And sooooo tired of the trope of cold, lonely woman meets man who will NEVER marry, yet they're instantly attracted and have the best sex ever together, so of course they'll fall in love, complete with bells ringing and angels singing. My head hurts from so much eye-rolling. Yet I'm the idiot who kept expecting it to get better...
While I get the reasoning (she was brought up by cold, elitists, and he's trying to live completely opposite of his
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petty-thief-living-on-the-streets past), it bored me. And their "combustible" sex seems downright magic, considering how much effort is put into emphasizing how uptight they are.And sooooo tired of the trope of cold, lonely woman meets man who will NEVER marry, yet they're instantly attracted and have the best sex ever together, so of course they'll fall in love, complete with bells ringing and angels singing. My head hurts from so much eye-rolling. Yet I'm the idiot who kept expecting it to get better...
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LibraryThing member miyurose
This was my second favorite of the Quinn Brothers novels (Ethan’s being my favorite). Nora Robert’s best skill is creating characters and complex family units that feel real, and this series is no exception. I liked this more in-depth look at Philip, and I also liked his romantic interest,
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Sybil, even if she is a bit cold and shut down for most of the book. Nora also does a great job pulling us into the setting, giving us a more clinical look at small-town life through the eyes Sybil, an outsider. The one element of this series I could do without is the ghostly Papa Quinn, especially since he is one of the few ghosts who have a solid form capable of giving someone a boost up a wall. But we all know that Nora likes a little bit of the supernatural mixed up in her love stories. The book does a good job of bringing resolution to the trilogy and answering some important questions, like Seth’s parentage and Ray Quinn’s connection to Gloria. This is one of her more solid series. Show Less
LibraryThing member CloggieDownunder
Inner Harbour is the third of the Chesapeake Bay series by Nora Roberts. Phillip, the third Quinn brother to be taken in by Stella and Ray, has come about as far as possible from the teenage thief who did drugs and prostituted himself: he’s now an urbanite, a respected executive in a Baltimore
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advertising firm. But he’s spending his weekends in the village of St Christopher on the promise to look out for the latest Quinn, Seth DeLauter as well as helping out in the new boat building business, Boats by Quinn. When attractive anthropologist, Dr Sybill Griffin, turns up in St Chris, Phillip is pleasantly surprised that she’s interested in him. But the outwardly friendly Sybill has a cold, calculating side and appears to have another agenda involving Seth, something of which none of the Quinns are aware. This instalment resolves the issue of Seth’s parentage and the circumstances of Ray’s death, and ties all the loose ends neatly together. The likeable characters from the first two books expand (Phillip has a few surprises for the reader), there are some hot sex scenes and the dialogue between the characters is, as before, a real source of humour. Readers keen to know what happens to Seth will want to read his story in Chesapeake Blue. Show Less
LibraryThing member SunnySD
Phillip Quinn is cut from different, more elegant cloth than his brothers, but under the skin he's still a Quinn. It's attraction at first sight the moment Dr. Sybil Griffin walks into the Quinn boat yard, but Sybil has secrets and her own agenda. Phillip may be skilled with locks - but can he get
The conclusion to the Chesapeake Bay trilogy, but not the end of the story.
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through the ones protecting Sybil's heart?The conclusion to the Chesapeake Bay trilogy, but not the end of the story.
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LibraryThing member ABShepherd
What can I say? It is Nora Roberts. She always has great characters and great stories to tell.
LibraryThing member Lost_Lenore
Funny, dramatic, lovely and of course a delight to read.
LibraryThing member Dawn772
Intriguing attention grabber but then it moved rather slow as the story built until about halfway when things picked up and the second half of the book was pretty good. Published author and psychologist Sybill is in town researching, especially the Quinn family, and advertising executive Phillip is
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attracted. Show Less
LibraryThing member justicefortibet
loved the trilogy
LibraryThing member Linyarai
The four books in this series are fantastically done, I love the strength and love between all the brothers and how they deal with their problems. I've read this series countless times and keep going back to it.
LibraryThing member MarthaJeanne
The German translation was not done by the same person as the previous book in the series, and it shows. The language is neither smooth nor do the characters' voices fit.
The original probably deserves a better rating, but the copy in my hands doesn't
The original probably deserves a better rating, but the copy in my hands doesn't
Subjects
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1999-01-01
Physical description
352 p.; 4.2 inches
ISBN
0515124214 / 9780515124217