A classic middle book…
Like many folks who read Nora Roberts’ Inheritance, which is the first in the Lost Brides trilogy, I liked that book a lot, until it ended on what was, to me, a totally unacceptable cliff-hanger. So I’ve been waiting for the next book to come out, in an somewhat annoyed, but also curious, mindset.
And now I’ve been able to read an advance review copy of the The Mirror, which is the second in the series. It’s a “middle book” through and through, filling in some backstory and advancing the story-line, which is exactly what middle books are supposed to do. But I’m far from sure there is going to be enough story for a three-book set, because much of The Mirror felt kind of inessential to me. (If you don’t mind minor spoilers, see way down below…) So, partway through, I found myself wondering if this might be a duology and not a trilogy. Although, of course, all of the background could turn out to be essential in the third book, and then the joke will be on me.
On the other hand, it was fun meeting some new characters, such as Cleo’s grand-mère, Imogene Bea LaRue Tamura. And meeting Grand-Mère made it pretty obvious where Cleo came from! The evil presence we met in the first book put on a tantrum, or two, or three, some of which were pretty impressive. And I really liked the found family aspects of The Mirror, and watching Sonya and Cleo grow in their personal and professional lives. So lots of good stuff too, and hopefully the third book will be quite a firecracker. Oh yeah, and the end of The Mirror isn’t as cliff-hanger-ish as the end of Inheritance, which is also a good thing.
But for now, for me, The Mirror was a bit of a yawn. It was an enjoyable yawn, and even a necessary yawn that moved things forward. And in fact, it flowed well enough that I read it until late into the evening, without physically yawning at all 😁. But I’m now definitely looking forward to the third and final book, hoping that it wraps things up in a more exciting way. And finally, my thanks to Net Galley and St. Martin’s Press for the review copy.
Pre-sale now for publication on 19 Nov 2024: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon Canada | Kobo US | Kobo UK | Kobo Canada
(And see the minor spoiler way down below if you wish…)
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[minor spoiler]
Roberts spends a lot of The Mirror kind of marching through the histories of the previous brides, in a way that comes to seem repetitive. But I’m not sure we need all the details for all of the brides. Hopefully I’m wrong, though, and it will all be relevant to the third book…