Hidden Nature is a twisty tale that showcases Nora Roberts’ blend of mystery and romance. The story follows Sloane, a resilient heroine recovering from a serious injury, as she navigates a new career path and becomes entangled in the unsettling mystery of a string of disappearances.

Roberts does a fantastic job with character development—each character feels fully realized, adding depth and emotional weight to the unfolding suspense. The romantic undertones woven throughout the narrative enhance the story without overshadowing the central mystery.

However, the detailed focus on Sloane’s recovery and her home renovation, while perhaps meant to ground her transformation, sometimes felt overly drawn out. These slower sections occasionally disrupted the pacing and shifted attention away from the more compelling elements of the plot.

Despite this, Hidden Nature remains a solid, enjoyable read. While it could have been more concise, the strong characters and mystery kept me turning the pages.

I will never not enjoy a Nora Roberts book! Her writing is a comfort to me and I will always love her characters, their relationships (significant others, family, and friends), and the settings are always so enjoyable! While the pace of this one was a little slower than normal (we start off with a bang, then we dip for quite a bit and it's just day-to-day life, then the suspense and relationship building really kicks into gear around 60%), I still enjoyed it! Nora always has a way of sweeping me away into the worlds of her books and this one was no exception.

The suspense plotline was interesting (and by that, I mean the motivations behind the crimes) and not one I was totally on board with, if I'm being honest, but I still enjoyed the story and how it was interwoven throughout the character arcs and their storylines.

So while this is not my favorite Nora Roberts book, I still really liked it and enjoyed my time listening to it!

Hidden Nature is a fast paced suspense thriller/romance. If you're a Nora Roberts fan, you can't help but enjoy her latest about Natural Resources police officer Sloan and her new guy Nash. Her sister and his brother Theo are also a couple so there's lots of family interaction and support of one another. I thoroughly enjoyed watching Sloan figure out who was behind the serial killing she started to research during her recovery after a shooting. Great setting as usual. Nora Roberts is always a must read for me!

Many thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read/listen to the audio and review. January LaVoy did an amazing job like always! All opinions are my own.

Publication date: 27 May 2025

A romance and thriller all in one! While this one by Nora was a bit formulaic and had a hint of her alter ego JD Robb's FMC Eve Dallas. It was a nice, easy-to-read book that had me picking it up whenever I had a spare moment. Thanks to Netgalley for an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

another 5 star read from nora roberts! love the story and the twists! characters are wonderfully relatable and you can see yourself in the story

I really enjoyed this story, like the majority of the stories by Nora Roberts. The main charachters Sloan and Nash are very enjoyable, and relatable. They both have histories that have shapped them into who they are today. Along with plenty of trauma that they have and are working through. I liked that they build up to their relationship was not a quick one but grew as they actually got to know eachother. That was nice to see, and also they are both really nice people who care for and show thier love to their family.

The mystery in this story doesnt really come into the last half of the story, thoguht you do see peaks of it early on in the story. The mystery is one that is the disapperance of seemingly random people with initially no connection to one another. But Sloan being who she is pulls it all together.

The ending of the story, did seemed to be a bit rushed to me. But that could also be beacuas of the long lead up to Sloan and Nashs relationship. And all the amazing supporting charachters who showed up. This is the only downside to the story for me, and its really not a big one. The ending wrapped up the story very nicely.

If you enjoy Nora Roberts books, you will like this one for sure.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC.

I have been in a tiny bit of a reading slump, so I skipped ahead and read this ARC before a bunch of others I have. Nora Roberts writing style is comforting and never fails to please. The way she describes the setting in her books soothes me. The characters, their stories always gets me invested. And this one had a bit of a mystery involved.

I loved the descriptions of the houses, the renovations and could actually picture the cottage in the woods. Sloan was a great main character, and I loved her story! I loved watching her recover and grow and reunite with her family. I loved watching her fall in love with Nash, who was overcoming his own past, and watching them grow together as a couple. I loved the secondary characters as well. The siblings were amazing, and of course the dogs.

This one was a solid 4.25 stars for me. It felt a tiny bit repetitive, too similar to some other books, in a few places. And it took me just a little longer to feel hooked than many of her other books. But by the end I was totally invested and stayed up late to finish the last 20% of the book.

A little sluggish at first, but then fully kicks into the serial killer romantic suspense that I love from NR. We got close family dynamics, we got home reno porn, we got a heroine with witchy eyes - basically my comfort bingo card

Nora Robert's latest romantic thriller is a winner. Hidden Nature starts with a bang, slows down just enough to meet the characters, then ratchets up the tension with a serial killer mystery.

Hidden Nature began with a bang and kept the intensity going for the entire novel. For Sloan Cooper this is a story of second chances and she’s happy for the opportunity. She welcomes the chance to recover from her injuries surrounded by family. I loved the inner strength she relied on and it’s apparent where she came by it – her family.

Once Sloan is ready to go back to work she is offered a new position that she happily accepts. It will keep her close to home and now is the time for that. She also meets a new man who lives not far from her. He’s a contractor and it just happens that her family’s resort business needs a new contractor. If you’ve read a Nora Roberts novel chances are it included heavy doses of home renovation projects. I’m a fan of all that. But, the focus of the novel is Sloan making a connection with a rash of unexplained disappearances of people in a tristate area. Roberts reveals to the reader the gruesome details and POV of two serial killers and their deluded, righteous motivation. I found that very creepy. If you can get past that you will probably find Hidden Nature as hard to put down as I did. It’s a good Romantic Suspense novel.

Hidden Nature by Nora Roberts is a romantic thriller, but not a mystery because we know who is perpetrating the crimes. Sloan Cooper, who after taking down some criminals with her partner, walks into a convenience store where a robbery is taking place and is shot, point blank in the chest. After a long hospital stay, she heads to her parents home/resort in Maryland to finish her recovery and rebuild her strength. Realizing she wants family around her, she resigns her old position and takes a position in her hometown police department. She meets Nash, a former Wall Street worker turned local contractor and develops feelings for him. But when she starts investigating the disappearances of several local women, will she be putting him, her family and everyone she knows in danger? I really enjoyed this novel, Nora Roberts has done it again, but with a little different twist than her usual novels. Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

Another reviewer could not have said it better "Spine chilling murder mystery. A tale I've never read before. Just the right amount of awful to be riveting. Great characters, even the bad ones." This book literally starts off with a bang as our h is shot, but not in the line of duty. She almost dies, but is saved and starts the long road to recovery. I really enjoyed that part of the book the most. I was actually too scared by the case she is working and the parts with the bad guys to read before bed. I'm so glad i have finally finished and it is only 7:45 pm so I can start another book. It will have to be a light-hearted one for sure! Well done, 5 stars. Thank you NetGalley and Nora Roberts for an advanced copy.

I do enjoy a good romantic suspense, and while this isn't a favorite of mine I did really like it. I liked the build up, watching Sloan figure out her life, while falling for Nash, as well as watching her investigate all these missing persons that have popped up. I loved the family aspect. They are all so close and all had their own rolls in the story which I was here for. The pacing was at times a bit to slow for me which kept pulling me out of the story but man the farther I got in the more invested I became especially towards the end. All in all this is a solid read and think others will enjoy it.

Are you ready for some of Nora Roberts' creepiest villains yet? My jaw was on the floor multiple times! Hidden Nature is an engaging romantic thriller that never lags. I love all of the family connections in the story, but Nash and Theo were my favorites with their complicated history. This is definitely one of my top picks of Roberts' standalone novels! I was worried there in the beginning that we weren't going to get our signature cokes, but she came through ;)

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for access to this arc!

I’m a big fan of Nora Roberts books in general, more so of the crime or magick storylines. Those almost always get 5 stars from me. Romance? I can take it or leave it. I’m not a fan of spicy chapters so I never base my reviews on any of that. This one fell a little short for me because of the bad guys. Villains? Religious nut cases? You can call them all of these things.

I loved the characters of Sloan and Nash, as well as all of the extended family involved. I would move to Heron’s Rest and rent one of their cabins in a heartbeat if I could also be invited to family dinner. (And the home renovation amazement performed by all of them? HOW DID THESE THINGS HAPPEN IN SUCH A SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME?!)

The bad guys though, they didn’t do it for me this time. Usually we get some canny criminals who come close to outsmarting the MC. These two just seemed kind of…weird. A mismatched couple that just struck me as a young man following around an older religious nut, but she was also kind of submissive at the same time. And the *SPOILER* addition of a certain substance to their meals just seemed like it was reaching too far.

I honestly was expecting this book to become a series, because the story went so far without looking like it was coming to a resolution. I was totally expected a cliffhanger and another book to come by about 93%. With that being said, I feel like the ending should have felt rushed but somehow didn’t. The book description definitely made it feel like Sloan was facing danger, but she honestly knew nothing about it until it actually happened. This was just a case she was working that suddenly went awry on her front door step. I do think it ended how it should have, I’m not sure I would have had it in me for another book of Clara and Sam.

Thanks to Nora Roberts, St Martins Press and NetGalley for the advance readers copy!

This was a solid thriller with a hint of romance. Sloan is recovering from a gunshot wound at her family home. During this time she begins to investigate a couple of local disappearances on her own. I really liked Sloan's method of investigation. I thought it added to the way the plot was able to develop. I liked the romance sub-plot; although, I wish we got to see more of Sloan's relationship. This was fast-paced and a good book to read if you need to get out of a reading slump.

If you've never read Nora's alter ego JD Robb, then I think this book will work for you. Unfortunately for me, Hidden Nature felt exactly like an Eve Dallas mystery book rather than the standalones I'm used to from Nora.

There was also very little romance for the main couple. It was a slow burn which is fine but I felt like we got more of the secondary romance than the primary.

I enjoyed being in the mind of the killers but again, it read like a JD Robb because this is a technique she uses in that series and for.Hidden Nature, it was front and center. Disappointed.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of Hidden Nature by Nora Roberts. I have only recently started reading Nora's books. This one was pretty heavy.

At this time, I don't want to ruin what or why the people start to go missing. Sometimes I feel like I just pick a book to read because it is an author I like. But sometimes I should do more research into what I am getting myself in to. This book definitely had a creepy vibe. Times I just wanted to skip by some things. I am glad I stuck through it. I will update my review more once it has been released.

I did appreciate the strong female lead character. Loved the animals in the book Tic and Mop. Kind of a cheesy romance but I enjoyed it.

Hidden Nature by Nora Roberts is an engaging mix of romance and suspense that keeps you interested throughout. The story centers on Sloane, a tough Natural Resources Police officer, who is recovering from a serious injury while trying to solve a series of disappearances. The slow-building romance between Sloane and Nash adds an extra layer to the story, while their siblings' relationship provides a nice contrast. Roberts skillfully combines personal stories with suspense, gradually revealing how the victims are connected to Sloane. The vivid descriptions and family interactions make the book even more enjoyable. I received this book for my review, and I highly recommend it to anyone who loves romantic thrillers.

Hidden Nature features two very strong individuals. They don’t overpower each other, as they complement and mesh together perfectly. They have a slow burn romance which is enjoyable to read. There is a fantastic brother relationship and fantastic sister relationship, as well as a wonderful family unit.
The bad guys – no mystery here as you know who they are and they are a very creepy couple. It didn’t seem like Nora’s writing at all to me, but the creepiness of them added to the story.
I loved the detailed descriptions. I also loved the house remodel components. Hidden Nature was a hard-to-put-down read and I recommend it.

Review will be posted on release day to various sites as well as on blog www.comfychairbooks.com