This book contains mature content and may not be suitable for younger readers. A resiliant heroine, a steadfast hero… and a chilling villain THE STORY: Former Army brat Morgan Albright has found stability in a friendly neighborhood near Baltimore. With the help of her roommate Nina and her job as a bartender, Morgan is making ends meet. However, their lives take a horrifying turn when Luke, a charming IT guy Morgan met at the bar, attends their dinner party. The house is robbed, Nina is murdered, and Morgan's car is stolen. Morgan soon learns that Luke is actually a con artist named Gavin, who targets women, steals their assets and identities, and ultimately kills them. Devastated, Morgan is forced to flee to her mother's home in Vermont. She meets Miles, a genuine and unassuming man, who provides some solace as she tries to rebuild her life. Meanwhile, Gavin continues his hunt for new victims, and Morgan lives in constant fear that she is the victim Gavin is hunting. That’s the situation Morgan Albright finds herself facing in Identity, the newest romantic suspense novel from Nora Roberts. Gavin Rozwell is a charming conman and cold-blooded serial killer, who sees Morgan as his one failure—a failure he is determined to rectify.

He's responsible, and grumpy, and magnetic, and full of so much kindness. I don't think either Miles or Morgan realized how lonely they were until they met the other. I don't think they were looking for someone until they recognized each other's hearts. Love that glows when you surround yourself with each other's worlds... well, that's more than just special. As well-written and consuming as any Nora Roberts story I’ve ever read—and there have been many— Identity is romantic suspense at its slightly disturbing and engrossing best. And so she does. And what a joy it was to be a part of it. One of my absolute favorite things about Nora Roberts is how she makes the mundane feel exciting. I loved bar-tending with Morgan. I love spreadsheets so much that every time Nora brings them up, I want to make a million more for my own sanity. I love the three generations of Nash women, the roots, the joy, and the love between them.Luke is already wanted by the FBI. If losing her best friend was not enough, Luke also steals Morgans’s identity. She is on the brink of losing everything. It would be a nightmare to have your identity stolen and all the complications that follow are just awful as well. I also enjoyed the three generations of Jamesons that run the resort. I come from a strong, loving, supportive family myself, one that is remarkably free from conflict and drama, so it was a real pleasure to see that kind of love and mutual respect in both Morgan’s and Miles’s family, instead of the dysfunctional families so common in both fiction and, sadly, in real life. I suspect Nora Roberts has personal experience with the kind of family depicted here; you can see it in some of her other books as well, particularly The Liar and the Inn Boonsboro books. The book could have been shorter. My main problem was that I got no connection between the main characters. I understood it was supposed to be there based on what was said, but I could not feel it.

But then fast forward to the middle and it was just the same thing over and over again. Then the romance element came way too fast and what seemed like out of nowhere. One second she's thinking he's cute, next second she's jumping his bones. Also, why is everyone talking to their family about their sex lives??? WEIRD! Like girl, don't be tellin your grandma and mom about doing the dirty with your new boyfriend. THEN HE DOES THE SAME THING. I was over it. Anytime I see January LaVoy listed as the narrator, I’m more than interested. She always makes it seem like there are multiple narrators, skillfully handling a host of characters, delivering an outstanding performance on every level including great storytelling. FYI, she’s tied for the #1 spot on my list of favorite narrators. This is an intense story. The author gives us plenty of breaks to show us how Morgan’s new life is shaping up—then brings Gavin in again just to let us know he’s still on the hunt and things aren’t as rosy as we want to believe.

About Emmalita

If you’ve never experienced identity theft, count your blessings. It is stressful, traumatizing, and doesn’t end with filing reports. The complete upheaval to Morgan Albright’s life due to identity theft was so incredibly realistic, I forgot that I was reading about a fictional person for a bit. Morgan attempts to restart her life in a new location with a new job. She cautions her new employer about her legal difficulties, then finds that they’re incredibly understanding, supportive, and protective. Despite the support emotional support Morgan receives from friends and co-workers, she still has feelings of guilt over Nina’s death due to her actions. Needless to say, Morgan has difficulty trusting her judgment, especially with regard to a new romantic relationship, but she does eventually begin one. A new location, new job, new career, and a new man seem to be all it takes for her identity thief to decide that Morgan’s continued successes at rebuilding her life are why he isn’t having as much “success” with his “job.” I found it to be a fast-paced and wholly engrossing read. I enjoyed the characters (yes, even the bad guy) and the action. The storyline was highly believable and the characters realistic, even with their flaws. I had some seriously strong emotional responses to the stress and trauma Morgan was going through. (I truly felt for Morgan and her situation due to a family member going through a similar ordeal with identity theft, the ongoing reporting issues and trauma, and the emotional fallout from the entire process.) For those of you that love Nora Roberts, I know I don’t have to urge you to grab a copy of Identity to read, but I will anyway. For those of you in the market for a suspenseful read with a bit of romance, I encourage your to grab a copy of Identity. I’ll be getting a copy for the 88-y.o. book diva in my life, aka Mom. This book is not just a non-stop thrill ride. It is a portrait of strength, of the importance of family and friends, and even a romance. This book is quite long and I actually found myself so highly engaged that I could not stop reading. So instead of doing the work I was supposed to be working on, I was reading all day. Also, I loved that our heroine worked as bartender/manager of a bar, another part of the book that was really well researched and put to paper. This story is long, yes, but I was never bored. I loved the way the suspense stuff, which was appropriately creepy, blended amongst the everyday happenings in Morgan’s new life in small-town Vermont.

This was my first Nora Roberts novel and I really enjoyed it! It was the perfect mixture of romance and thriller for me. I was engaged the whole time. The love story was definitely of lesser focus than Morgan and her fight to rebuild a life for herself post-trauma, but it needed to be. Miles, the love interest, was likeable enough but I was thankful their budding relationship didn’t overshadow the seriousness of the threats still at hand. The plot was really great and I think the flow worked great. The book takes place over a year plus which I applaud. It always used to drive me crazy when romance books had the hero and heroine fall for each other in like a week and then pivot to an epilogue like 3 months later and the heroine is pregnant. It makes sense in terms of what Morgan goes through why this had to be a slower burn romance. I had a bit of a struggle with this one. I had this in my shelf for a long time but I could not get into it. I tried, put it away, tried again and finally made myself reading it (to be done with it). Big thanks to Nora Roberts, St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinions.

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Below are my play by play thoughts while reading the book — though I don’t think I’m spoiling anything they could be interpreted I suppose as spoilers. Soon, a horrific truth emerges: It was Morgan who let the monster in. "Luke" is actually a cold-hearted con artist named Gavin who targets a particular type of woman, steals her assets and identity, and then commits his ultimate goal: murder.

She was where I am in my life right now, always ready for the next thing. Excited for the adventure waking up brings. And then something terrible happens. She loses so much in a moment, falls into that endless grief, only to realize it is so much worse than she could have imagined. So, another great book by one of my most favorite authors, and I'm already exited about the next one. Morgan finally settled down after a life on the move, her father was on the military. She has a tight plan of what she wants to achieve. She bought her house, pays off mortgage and works two jobs. Her roommate Nina is also her best friend. Morgan Albright has been uprooted her entire life as an Army brat, but now outside of Baltimore, she works two jobs and has a roommate to own her own home. Morgan and Nina have become very close and are more than just roommates, they feel like sisters. When they decide to have a dinner party at their home, Morgan does not realize the charming man she has met at the bar she works at is not an IT executive but a conman and killer, who targets a particular type of woman.

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However, I read Identity without triggering my anxiety or nightmares, thanks to Nora Roberts’s skilled writing, and to the fact that the violence was generally short-lived and easy to skip past. Although some scenes are told in close third person from the killer’s POV, they focus at least as much on his methods of fleecing his victims financially as on his motivations, and I was able to skim or skip the more upsetting bits.