A quick fun read, but what a cliff-hanger…
I’ve read and liked many of the “In Death” mysteries that Nora Roberts has written using one of her pen names, JD Robb. But I have never read any of her romances or romantic suspense books. So I was excited to be offered an advance review copy of Inheritance, which is the first in the new Lost Bride trilogy. And I found the book to be thoroughly enjoyable – until, that is, it ended in a whopping cliff-hanger about the size of the Cliffs of Moher. Of course, I do understand that longer multiple-book story arcs will necessarily have to stop with some elements unresolved, and even have some stuff specifically teed up for the next book. But this was such an abrupt and annoying end that I kept checking to see whether somehow the story continued, even after it became clear I really WAS at the end.
Other than the far-too-cliff-hanger-y ending, however, Inheritance was a fun quick read and hard to put down. Although the plot is a bit of a trope (unknown relative leaves younger relative a haunted mansion, on condition they come live in it), Roberts does a nice job of adding a fresh slant here-and-there. And, after all, tropes exist because they do work! On the character side, Sonya and Cleo are strong protagonists, and their different personalities mesh quite nicely, while also providing some moments of humor. There are some other engaging folks too, including three generations of the Doyle family (Sonya’s uncle’s attorneys, and also, apparently, his found family), and the dogs: Mookie, Yoda and Jones. And it doesn’t hurt at all that the youngest Doyle, Trey, is both a thoroughly nice guy, and thoroughly nice to look at…
But there’s more going on than just a modern-day romance. Lost Bride Manor has a murky past to disentangle, and readers get to follow along as Sonya and Cleo figure it out. If I had to give Inheritance a genre, I’d call it light-hearted Gothic. Sure, there’s a centuries-old family curse, and a very scary evil ghost. But there are also some fun and friendly mystical presences – including one who proves to be a particularly apt DJ on Sonya’s iPad; another who seems to enjoy (!!!) cleaning the huge mansion, thereby saving Sonya some money; and yet another who turns out to be an excellent dog-sitter, managing to teach Yoda more than one new trick.
All-in-all, absent the cliff-hanger, Inheritance would be a solid four-star read for me: lots of fun, and definitely recommended, but not a book I’m going to go back and re-read, and then re-read again. And, although I debated bumping it down a bit more just for the cliff-hanger, in the end, I decided that a warning would be enough. So, consider yourself forewarned, and if you hate cliff-hangers as much as I do, you might want to wait until all three books in the series are available before starting this one! Otherwise, read away…
Oh, and my thanks to St Martin’s Press and to NetGalley for the review copy!
Buy: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon Canada | Kobo US | Kobo UK | Kobo Canada
Excellent review! Spot on! That cliff hanger just about killed me! Can’t wait for the sequels to solve the mystery/mysteries. Hopefully 2 & 3 of trilogy come out soon.
Yes, and luckily this is Nora Roberts, who writes quickly, and so they probably will come out soon. And although with new or less established authors, I worry that if the first book in a series doesn’t sell well, the next books might just never get published, again, with Roberts, that’s not much of a worry – I’m sure she has an ironclad contract for all three!
BTW, I just recently read an interview with her in the New York Times. It’s titled “The Critics Scoffed. Nora Roberts Just Kept Writing.” and I thought it was pretty interesting and well worth the read. And as a bonus 😊, Inheritance is mentioned in it as her newest book.
Here’s the link if you’re interested: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/18/books/nora-roberts-romance-interview.html
Read this book after it being recommended by my niece. Hated the ending. Could not believe it. Beryl Nissen
I agree, the ending was super-frustrating, after I liked the rest of the book. I’m hanging on to read the next in the series before I give up on it though. But…as I said in my review, if you hate cliff-hangers, you probably should wait until all three books are out!
I just finished the book inheritance, leaving me stuck in the ending. There better be next one to be continuation!!!!!
Great story! I can’t wait until the sequel comes out, it left me hanging !,,,,
Hi Nora,
Please advise when Book 2 will be available. I do not want to continue book 1 if there is no book 2 or 3
Hi Ruth,
Apologies, I’m not Nora ☹, just a book review blogger. If you want to reach Nora, try her website here: https://noraroberts.com/
BTW – the next book is now up for pre-order on Amazon US, at least. It’s titled The Mirror, but sadly won’t be available until November 19, 2024. You can find it here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CQHMMC9P
Sue
Inheritance is £0.99 in the UK right now. And the links in the OP are still good…
I actually just finished reading Inheritance and couldn’t put it down either. Perfect book for me to read approaching Halloween season. How annoying it is with a cliff hanger like that. Luckily it is October 2024 and book 2 is scheduled to be out in a month so I don’t have that long a wait.
Luckily, Roberts writes quickly, so we didn’t have to wait too long. I was a little less thrilled with the middle book, but it is notoriously hard to write middle books. I’d be interested to hear what you think of it once it comes out!
I have read both Nora Roberts and J d Robb books. I have read all of her Death series and quite a few of her Nora Roberts books.She is an excellent writer. However I can’t only wish in her Death series she would get Eve pregnant in order for Eve to grow and Roaks too. I know she says this would end the death books I can’t agree. Eve needs to focus on other things besides Death all the time. Just my opinion.
Interesting thought. I know some couples who are very happy with kids, and some very happy without kids. Hopefully they both agree on it, though! 😀
Just finished The Mirror, very good but now I NEED book number three. Felt The Mirror was much more of an abrupt and unsatisfying cliff hanger the The Inheritance (#1)
Also just an additions. I’ll bet most readers on The In Death series would like a much more in depth telling of Dallas/Roarke wedding day, including all the usual characters. This series does character development the best. Would love to see and hear them all in their wedding finery and with their usual conversations.