Review: Stars of Fortune

Author: Nora Roberts
Series: The Guardians Trilogy
Released: November 5th 2015
Publisher: Piatkus
Length: 302 pages
Source: Publisher for review
Buy: The Book Depository

To celebrate the rise of their new queen, three goddesses of the moon created three stars, one of fire, one of ice, one of water. But then they fell from the sky, putting the fate of all worlds in danger. And now three women and three men join forces to pick up the pieces…

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 fire star. 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.

But Sasha and Bran are just two of the six. And they all must all work together as a team to find the fire star in a cradle of land beneath the sea. Over their every attempt at trust, unity, and love, a dark threat looms. And it seeks to corrupt everything that stands in its way of possessing the stars…

When someone is often referred to as the world's greatest storyteller, you can be sure, even before you open her new book, that you're in for a treat. This always stands true for Nora Roberts, who is famous for her exciting plots, unforgettable settings and steaming hot romances. Regardless of whether she writes contemporary romance, paranormal fiction or even futuristic crime fiction as J.D. Robb, the underlying recipe remains the same.

Stars of Fortune is the first in Nora’s brand new paranormal trilogy set on a small Greek island and filled with mythology and ancient mysteries. We meet six very different individuals brought together by fate itself for one common goal – to find three stars forged by three ancient goddesses and protect them from evil forces.

Nora takes her time with these six characters, building each of them into such interesting well-rounded individuals. My favorite, of course, was Riley, because I can’t resist a woman with brains and guts both, but each of these characters has an interesting story to tell and I strongly suspect that three books in their company might not be enough.

Nora wouldn’t be Nora without a very strong, utterly convincing romance. Her relationships always progress at a rapid pace, but she knows how to create strong bonds in a very short time. As a seer, Sasha has foreseen her relationship with Bran long before she ever laid eyes on him, but when she does, she doesn’t trust herself or him enough to let go, at least not at first. Bran has his own secrets to keep and he too works on convincing himself that there are more important things than this woman he’s drawn to. We’re certain, however, from the very first page that they won’t be able to stay away from each other, and the sheer magnetism between them is almost unbearably strong from the start.

The paranormal mystery itself has a lot more to give and the villain Roberts created is powerful enough to make us genuinely afraid for our group of heroes. Dark caves and evil bats are just one of the hardships these six have had to face, with so much more ahead of them in the next two installments. Roberts has written hundreds of books, but it only takes one for a reader to become her loyal fan. I count myself as one and I can’t wait for more of this trilogy and anything else she might decide to write.

A copy of this book was kindly provided by the publisher for review purposes. No considerations, monetary or otherwise, have influenced the opinions expressed in this review.

On a side note: no, I am not dead, and yes, I missed you guys like crazy. But life has a way of messing up our best laid plans and the harder we try to swim, the faster we sink under its weight. Hopefully, I'll be around much more in days to come.