Title: Stars of Fortune
Author: Nora Roberts
ISBN: 9780425280102
No. of Pages: 336
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Origins: Berkley/NAL
Release Date: 3 November 2015
Synopsis:
“Sasha Riggs is a reclusive artist, haunted by dreams and nightmares that she turns into extraordinary paintings. Her visions lead her to the Greek island of Corfu, where five others have been lured to seek the legendary fire star, part of an ancient prophecy. Sasha recognizes them, because she has drawn them: a magician, an archaeologist, a wanderer, a fighter, a loner. All on a quest. All with secrets.
Sasha is the one who holds them together—the seer. And in the magician, Bran Killian, she sees a man of immense power and compassion. As Sasha struggles with her rare ability, Bran is there to support her, challenge her, and believe in her.
When a dark threat looms, the six must use their combined powers—including trust, unity, and love—to find the fire star and keep the world on course.”
Thoughts on the Novel: Reading any novel by Nora is like slipping into a hot bubble bath. There is something so utterly comforting about them, if only because fans know that they are going to read a great story with fantastic characters, steamy romance, and some intense suspense. One can always count on a Nora novel to improve one’s spirits.
Excluding any novels published under J. D. Robb, Ms. Roberts’ novels generally fall into two categories – her stand-alone romantic thrillers and her supernatural trilogies. Both are excellent, but this particular reader feels a special affinity for her supernatural trilogies. Thankfully, Stars of Fortune falls into the latter category. With its highly unusual group of six, the battles against a vengeful goddess, and Ms. Roberts’ usual witty dialog and gorgeous descriptions, there is a lot to love.
This does not mean that Stars of Fortune is a great novel. In fact, there are plenty of weaknesses that more discerning readers may question. The predictability, the rapidity of the plot pacing and the lack of character development are just some of the issues that may bother readers. However, most readers are not reading Ms. Roberts’ novels with a critical eye. Fans read them for the romance and the thrill, and there is plenty of that to go around in this latest trilogy opener.
In spite of its weaknesses, Stars of Fortune is a fun novel. As with her other stories, Ms. Roberts makes readers care about the characters. She has no need for cliffhangers because she creates characters about which readers want to know more. The desire to follow their story lingers long through the waiting period for the next novel. The same is true with these characters. Even better, Ms. Roberts uses the predictability of her novels to her advantage by cleverly building it into the storyline. In the end, readers get exactly what they expect from Ms. Roberts in Stars of Fortune – a fast-paced novel that is fun to read and thoroughly engaging.
I adore Nora’s trilogies, and this one was no different.
