The 10 Greatest Nora Roberts Books of All Time (or Just For Beach Season)

Midnight Bayou is a creeping, almost Gothic romance set against the background of vibrant Louisiana. Roberts delights in delving into the loving restoration work that her hero, Declan Fitzgerald, does on the crumbling Manet Hall, but the real draw here is the fiery chemistry between Declan and the mysterious Angelina Simone. The two would-be lovers are intrinsically drawn to the house and to each other for reasons that tend toward the supernatural in the best possible way — and the marriage of HGTV-style home renovations with a steamy romance is quintessential Roberts through and through.