Nora’s got a new trilogy out there, and I stumbled across the first book quite by accident right after it came out, like TWO YEARS AGO. And the first book just…ended, and it was the first time in awhile that I was mad at Nora for not having the others ready. It was a pretty big cliffhanger, even if I can’t remember all the details because it was a thousand years ago. And then she took SO LONG to get the second one out, and then of course I completely forgot about the third one coming out until I saw my sister reading it (thank you menopause brain), so I might be setting the record in how long it took me to read a Nora Roberts trilogy.
And so I’m counting this as three reviews because it’s three books but it kind of all blends together in my mind. This isn’t like other Nora trilogies where each book is about one person; these are like seasons one, two, and three of tv shows. So hopefully the CBR goddesses will let me count this as three!
Anyway, we open with a young graphic designer named Sonya discovering her jackass fiancé in bed with her equally jackass cousin. (Dude. You don’t sleep with your cousin’s boyfriend, no matter how hot he is. That’s girl code.) Anyway, turns out that Sonya also works with her fiancé, and through a series of events, she loses the fiancé (good) and the job (not as good) at the same time. She gives the boyfriend the boot, and a few nights later, a different cousin shows up at her house. Turns out, her late dad had a twin and good old Uncle Collin has left her his haunted Victorian mansion on the cliffs on Maine.
With no job and no man, Sonya decides she’s moving. So she packs up her stuff and drives up the coast, arriving at the windswept manse by the sea. (Side note: I live in Florida. We have waterfront homes. I know what a waterfront home is like. I can’t speak to Maine, but I’m not sure that houses are as waterfront as this one is. But what do I know… maybe coastal erosion is a thing with a 300 year old house.)
The big villain in our story is a 300 year old witch named Hester (not Prynne), who has killed seven brides (not for seven brothers) over the last few centuries, including Sonya’s grandmother Clover, who communicates through the Spotify account. Anyway, Hester’s been killing brides for as long as there have brides at Lost Bride Manor, and Sonya realizes that in order to get to keep Lost Bride Manor, she’s got to give Hester the old heave ho.
There’s a magic mirror, a cousin named Owen (who can also go through the magic mirror), Sonya’s best friend (an artist who moves in with her), and a hunky lawyer named Trey. Who, I swear to God, is the son of the town’s lawyer, who goes by Deuce. Who, again, I swear to God, is the son of the town’s like, first lawyer, who is named Ace. Ace is a flirt, and I liked him and pictured him a little bit like Donald Sutherland in that first John Grisham movie, even if Ace lived in Maine and Donald Sutherland was from the sweaty south. Anyway, I won’t tell you how long it took for me to connect the Ace, Duece, Trey dots. You’ll definitely think less of me.
Oh, and there’s a bunch of dogs and an imperious cat. And Sonya’s mom is pretty awesome.
Of course, the fearsome foursome (Sonya, the artist friend, Trey, and Owen, who has hooked up with artist friend, naturally) eventually beat Hester, hurling her in to the sea for the final time and all is well at the Lost Bride Manor, just in time for Sonya to become a bride herself.
It’s pretty classic Nora – some romance, some paranormal, a handful of wacky side characters, and some cute pets.
And here’s what I’ve decided. I could like in a haunted mansion by the sea in Maine, because let me tell you: Sonya had it pretty good, even with Hester slamming doors and belching black smoke. The place was crawling with ghosts of previous inhabitants. I don’t think Sonya ever did a dish (the ghost maid took care of that), she never had to entertain the pets (the ghost little boy did that), she never had to cut the grass or chop the wood (the ghost gardener did that), she never had a bad day at work (her ghost grandma Clover played just the right music at just the right time), and she never had to cook (her boyfriend Trey, her cousin Owen, and her BFF took care of that).
So really, what’s a little homicidal witch when you have all that?
