Background:
Iona Sheehan had detached parents as a child, never completely receiving their undivided attention and care, but had her grandmother, a woman who not only loved her the way her parents should have, but taught her about her magical ancestry.
As an adult, Iona finally responds to the call she has been feeling her entire life – visiting her cousins in County Mayo, Ireland.
Branna and Connor O’Dwyer are both extremely powerful witches. They are quite keen to train Iona, but know that the arrival of the third Dark Witch would not go unnoticed by the enemy that has stalked their family for generations – Cabhan, the evil force that was forced into half existence by their ancestor. Cabhan is an abhorrent force that preys on the weak and innocent, and hates the entire O’Dwyer clain because their ancestor banished him.
Iona meets Boyle McGrath when she applies for work at his stables. Boyle has known Branna and Connor his entire life, and thus accepts witches as a day to day thing. He and Iona has a spark, but he feels that colleagues shouldn’t be bed mates. Eventually, Iona works around his opinion, and they start up a relationship, which isn’t easy because Boyle seems to discriminate only against one witch’s powers – hers. When Iona overhears Boyle in a rage suggesting that she put a spell on him, she is righteously offended and very hurt. He immediately takes back his words, but it is too late. Will Iona be able to forgive Boyle? Can she help stop Cabhan?
Rating: 5.5/10
Disappointment: the feeling of sadness or displeasure caused by the nonfulfillment of one’s hopes or expectations
A disappointment is when you have been itching to read a series from the second you saw it was on sale. A disappointment is when you thought something written by your favourite (and generally excellent dispite a few blunders to her name) author would produce her usual funny, witty, sweet, interesting books. Disappointment is when a book feels like it was written for obligation and not love.
My first problem came two pages in reading the book: there are nearly FORTY pages of preface. Ten pages, maybe. Twenty pages, if you must. FORTY?
Iona Sheenan was an unsatisfactory character. She came across as vacant and silly, on the hunt for some fun but not really caring if it happened either way. The babbling, the constant apologising irritated me to no end.
The ways the Irish people speak in the books are so forced. I am very sure that no one ever speaks like that, and it was such an “Oh, a foreigner!” act that became old very quickly. The dark force Cabhan wasn’t scary at all, didn’t give me a moments jump or anything like that. I’ve read many other Roberts books that had horrifying antagonists and gave me chills, but this evil man felt forced and not very powerful.
Nora Robers has many outstanding books to her name but this, like her book just before this, Whiskey Beach, is too long, too forced and unoriginal to boot.
Life of this city girl 