Blood Magick by Nora Roberts

4 STARS

The Cousins O'Dwyer - Book 3

And that's a wrap! :) The trilogy is finished and all's well that ends well and I am a contented reader.

Blood Magick, the finale of the trilogy, focusses on Branna - who is really the head witch - and Fin, the man she's loved since they were children. But, Fin bears the mark of Cabhan - the baddie - and as well, is part of his bloodline, so he and Branna can never be together, the main reason being that they refuse to pass the curse on to any innocent children they might have.

Yes, the whole trilogy is filled with what I term Nora Tropes and follows a predictable plotline - but it's the journey that I love, what she does with her tropes and the way she writes her characters, the banter, the loving, the no-nonsense and the sweetness. I love how she incorporates family pets into the story - although I would LOVE to have seen a little more of Bugs and Merlin in this one, seeing as we were getting Fin's story.

So, yes, I am replete with satisfaction at the end of this trilogy. I basically knew what was going to happen (Nora Tropes), but there were indeed a few surprises for me, and I was brought to tears a couple of times too. Yes, I am a sap. *LOL*

So overall, I would give the trilogy 4 stars, with the 2nd book being my favourite (4.5 stars) .

Shadow Spell by Nora Roberts

4.5 STARS

The Cousins O'Dwyer - Book 2

I enjoyed the second of the trilogy even more than the first! To be honest, I think it's because it was told mostly from Connor's POV and I DO love Nora's men. (I would absolutely over the moon were Nora to write a m/m romance, but she's said that she doesn't think she could do it justice, so....)

So yes, this is the story of Connor and the woman he's loved pretty much all his life, now that he's smart enough to realise it. Her name is Meara and she is a glorious, short-tempered, large-hearted, warrior princess. I liked her because she did have an explosive temper and because she had a believable set of insecurities beneath her warrior-like exterior. She was good enough for Connor who is pretty much my favourite of the six.

I think maybe I relate to Connor so much because he IS so positive and filled with faith that things will just turn out all right. :) He has the soul of a poet and the heart of a true romantic. He's sweet, thoughtful, loves women, loves men, loves life period! But when he gets angry... it takes one helluva lot... but oh, when it blows, take cover! And he's a falconer! I have a thing for birds, you see. And Connor's 'guide' is Roibeard, the falcon, the gorgeous, lovely, majestic protective Roibeard. :) Yes, I have a bit of a crush on him too.

So yes, this book hits all my buttons even more than the first one. There were passages that I must admit I teared up - Nora portrays the love between friends and families and lovers so well! The threat of the evil Cabhan is sneaky and insinuating, striking at the deep-seated inner fears of all our characters and even though they seem to hurt him again and again, he keeps coming back stronger and angrier and even though we know he will be bested in the end, it's the journey that's important. The journey of these six people finding love and bringing joy to the reader. At least that's how I see it.

Now, all the while I was reading, I was seeing this guy as Conner. From the very first pages. He's an Irish actor by the name of Eoin Macken and he is currently starring in The Night Shift on NBC and the upcoming TV movie Killing Jesus for the Nat Geo network. He also played Sir Gwaine in the BBC's Merlin. He just IS Connor O'Dwyer in my head.

 

Dark Witch by Nora Roberts

4 STARS

The Cousins O'Dwyer - Book 1

Nora Roberts is the equivalent of a romance comfort read for me. I love her books, be it the contemporary romances, the mysteries, the singletons, the trilogies, the long series or the magical paranormals. (It's funny because I'm not thrilled with J.D. Robb at all.)

Dark Witch is the first of the O'Dwyer trilogy, the book where we meet all the characters, the magic quest is set and the seeds of love are planted. Yes, there are three women and three men and you know that each couple is going to get their book to shine. The first of these three couples are Iona, fresh come to Ireland and her cousins from America and Boyle, the taciturn, blunt, gorgeous stable owner, longtime friend of these same cousins.

I think probably a lot of readers might not be so fond of Boyle - he's prickly and sometimes not very nice and he really doesn't stand out from the the other two, the brooding Fin or the utterly charming Connor, but I though the was so wonderfully guyish. Sometimes as dumb as a post, saying things that aren't quite what we'd call PC, taking things and Iona for granted at times. I liked him. :)

And I liked Iona. She made me chuckle so much with her non-stop talking when she got nervous. I loved how she loved the horses - a girl after my own heart. I was enchanted by her wonder at her 'newfound' family and I really do think that big, strong, quiet Boyle is perfect for her.

So yes, a very enjoyable read for me from one of my favourites. Hits a lot of my buttons, as Nora always seems to do. And I think I'll be right on to the next book in the trilogy!