November has been a hot mess for me reading-wise. I'm working on a bit of a project that is taking up a lot of my reading time and I blinked and tomorrow is December first.
I have read a few of Nora Robert's trilogies over the years and I always enjoy them, and the fact that they are just a trilogy and not a series. I couldn't wait to read this, her newest trilogy that combines a bit of romance, a bit of history, and a bit of the unexpected in a family curse, an evil witch, and a whole lot of dead brides.
Sonya MacTavish lives in Boston and has just gotten out of a terrible relationship mere weeks before she was set to be married. It turned her world upside down, but she's moving on and making plans. Her plans are disrupted by a visit from a lawyer from Poole's Bay, Maine. He tells Sonya that she's inherited a majestic home and investments from her unknown until now Uncle Collin Poole. Collin and Sonya's father Drew were twins who were separated at birth; neither knew the other existed until Collin found out as an adult, but too late to meet Drew, who died in an accident. Now Collin is dead, and he's left the family legacy to Sonya. She has to move to Maine and agree to live in the home for three years--all expenses paid. Overnight she's become a wealthy woman.
With nothing to lose, Sonya moves to Maine and immediately falls head over heels for the home. She sets up her freelance business as a graphic artist and starts settling in, but quickly discovers some unsettling things about the home--it is haunted. Not by just one spirit, but by a whole group. And there is one nasty spirit who is determined to push Sonya out by any means possible.
So who are the spirits? The family history paints a terrible picture of tragedy after tragedy for generations. Once each generation, a Poole woman dies either on her wedding day, or within the first year of marriage. All manner of deaths--but each is a murder, and those murders are done by a woman who was rejected by the first Poole man for his true love. She's still in the house, and at night Sonya wanders the house, looking into the events leading up to each of the seven brides and their tragic deaths. What do they want with her? And why does the evil witch take the wedding ring off each woman as they lay dying?
This was just a fun read, and classic Nora Roberts. The house is fascinating; the premise of the family curse is interesting, and I have to say I do love the reaction of Cleo, Sonya's best friend, to the evil witch and her attempts to scare the women. A few "F*** You" quotes fly through the air, and honestly, if I was in Cleo's place, I'd probably say the same thing, too. This witch has had centuries to hang around, but she hasn't met any modern women--and she has met her match.
Sonya gets involved with Trey Doyle, a lawyer in town who has a family history with the Poole family and grew up and around the house. He's well aware of the history and the hauntings. Sonya's best friend Cleo is also a treat--and I suspect her relationship with Owen Poole, Sonya's cousin, will be the second book in the trilogy.
This one ends suddenly and boom! Done. Not even a teaser for the next book. I surely hope it comes soon, because it definitely left me hanging. So yes, suspend belief; enjoy the little dog named Yoda, the copious amounts of wine drinking between Sonya and crew, and the glorious home Nora Roberts created for us to enjoy. I can't wait to read more and watch Sonya destroy the family curse so she can live happily ever after and not become the next lost bride. Wrench those stolen wedding rings off that hag's hand, Sonya!
I don't see any dates or anything at all about the second book in the trilogy. Stay tuned.
Rating: 5/6 for sheer entertainment, a clever story, and characters that are easy to get to know and enjoy. The romance is light and sex is tastefully done and exactly what a modern grown up couple would do and say. I will be trying to wait patiently for the second book.
Available in hardcover, ebook, and audio.
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