The Shadow Sister by Lucinda Riley

Star D’Aplièse is at a crossroads in her life after the sudden death of her beloved father—the elusive billionaire, affectionately called Pa Salt by his six daughters, all adopted from across the four corners of the world. He has left each of them a clue to her true heritage, and Star nervously decides to follow hers, which leads her to an antiquarian bookshop in London, and the start of a whole new world.

A hundred years earlier, headstrong and independent Flora MacNichol vows she will never marry. She is happy and secure in her home in England’s picturesque Lake District—just a stone’s throw away from the residence of her childhood idol, Beatrix Potter—when machinations lead her to London, and the home of one of Edwardian society’s most notorious society hostesses, Alice Keppel. Flora is torn between passionate love and her duty to her family, but finds herself a pawn in a larger game. That is, until a meeting with a mysterious gentleman unveils the answers that Flora has been searching for her whole life...

As Star learns more of Flora’s incredible journey, she too goes on a voyage of discovery, finally stepping out of the shadow of her sister and opening herself up to the possibility of love.

This is the third book in the Seven Sisters series. The story follows Star on her journey to discovering who she is. It is set in the present and also during Edwardian England as the story follows Flora MacNichol. 

I have to say this book was a HUGE disappointment. The premis had such potential, but it did not live up to it. My biggest hurdle in fully enjoying this book was Ms. Riley's style of writing. Throughout the whole book, both Star and Flora were the only characters who didn't seem to know their respective "big secrets" but every other person in the story seemed to. Instead of leaving tiny crumbs for the reader to discover and leading them slowly to the answer, it was a lot of "You mean you really don't know?" and then the subject would immediately be changed. When the big revelation occurred, there was no looking back and thinking, "Oh yeah! That all really makes sense now!" At the very end, we're left feeling cut short because there isn't really a resolution for Star. This may be due to the other 4 forthcoming books. Perhaps they will shed more light on Star's future. I slogged through because I really wanted to know what happened, but if I had been able to read the full synopsis and skip reading the book, I would have. Overall, I would not recommend this book. 

Eleventh Grave in Moonlight by Darynda Jones

My entire life can be summed up in one sentence: 
“Well, that didn’t go as planned.”
—T-Shirt

A typical day in the life of Charley Davidson involves cheating husbands, errant wives, missing people, philandering business owners, and, oh yeah...demons, hell hounds, evil gods, and dead people. Lots and lots of dead people. As a part time Private Investigator and full-time Grim Reaper, Charley has to balance the good, the bad, the undead, and those who want her dead.

Now, Charley is learning to make peace with the fact that she is a goddess with all kinds of power and that her own daughter has been born to save the world from total destruction. But the forces of hell are determined to see Charley banished forever to the darkest corners of another dimension. With the son of Satan himself as her husband and world-rocking lover, will Charley be able to defeat the ultimate evil and find a way to have her happily ever after after all?

***CAUTION*** Spoilers from Tenth Grave ahead. If you aren't caught up, proceed at your own peril!!

This book is what I would consider to be a bridge book. It moves the story along slightly as far as plot line, but fills in a lot of details about past, present and future events. And you're clearly moving towards something epic that requires a lot of ground work to be set. That being said, I THOROUGHLY enjoyed Eleventh Grave in Moonlight. And it is vital to the over-arching plot we've been following.

At the end of Tenth Grave, Charley regained her memory, trapped one of the 3 big bad gods in a god glass and learned her sexy, Son of Satan husband, was actually created from 1 of the other gods. Just another day in the life of Charley Davidson, PI/Grim Reaper/Goddess. Oh, and she also threatened the Almighty Jehovah that she was going to wrest his control of the world and take it over herself. Good one, Charley. Piss off God himself. You clearly didn't think that one through.

At the beginning of Eleventh Grave, Charley has taken on a case that Reyes doesn't approve of. As usual, Charley does what Charley wants, and somehow always manages to squeak by and be right. This case hits close to home and we all know how Reyes hates to drudge up the past. Pair that with a truly horrible situation happening to one of her favorite people, and it is clear that Charley can  never live a normal boring life. And if you think thought that was as bad as it is going to get, hang on until the last line of the book, "And then I realized the truth. I may have just made the biggest mistake of my entire existence. I may have unleashed hell on earth."

Once again, Ms. Jones has made us fall in love with every second of Charley's life. But it can't be understated how essential and wonderful are all of the other characters in her life. Charley wouldn't be half of what she is without her partners in crime. I can't wait to see they help Charley handle this latest kink in her master plan to take over the world.

Love conquers all, sure, but the future is looking pretty bleak for the Reaper, the Son of Satan and the Daughter of Light. 

Sixth Grave on the Edge by Darynda Jones

Sometimes I wrestle my demons. Sometimes we just snuggle.
—Bumper Sticker Most girls might think twice before getting engaged to someone like Reyes Farrow—but Charley Davidson is not most girls. She’s a paranormal private eye and grim reaper-in-training who’s known to be a bit of a hell-raiser, especially after a few shots of caffeine. Her beloved Reyes may be the only begotten son of evil, but he’s dark and sultry and deeply sexy and everything Charley could hope for. Really. But when the FBI file on Reyes’ childhood happens to land into her lap, she can’t help herself: She opens it...and then the real fun begins. First, Charley finds a naked corpse riding shotgun in her car. Then, a man loses his soul in a card game. Throw in a Deaf boy who sees dead people, a woman running from mobsters, and a very suspicious Reyes, and things can’t get any worse for Charley. Unless, of course, the Twelve Beasts of Hell are unleashed.

***CAUTION*** Spoilers from Fifth Grave ahead. If you aren't caught up, proceed at your own peril!!

Phew! This book was smokin' from beginning to end. We are anxiously awaiting Charley's answer to the question that any of us would say yes to in a heartbeat. I mean come on! Who wouldn't want to be married to the super sexy son of Satan? Obviously Charley wants to say yes, but something is hanging her up.

Charley has a tough time in this book. She has a naked guy in her front seat with a "prominent package", a huge secret she is keeping from her "almost fiance", and a father who is being oddly suspicious. To top that off, she has to win a soul back from a demon and interpret a prophecy about the Twelve Beasts of Hell. Never fear though, there is plenty of ha ha moments and plenty of swit swoo moments too. And the ending? Oh baby. I cannot wait until October when Seventh Grave comes out.

Most people said they liked 99% of this book, but 1% bugged them. I'm not sure what everyone else's 1% was, but the thing that bugged me, and has been bugging me, is that Reyes never answers her questions. Everyone wants to continue to keep her in the dark about what she is capable of, but it's getting slightly old. But that aside, the book is fabulous enough to not to put much of a damper on the awesomeness of the book.

The Collector by Nora Roberts

When professional house-sitter Lila Emerson witnesses a murder/suicide from her current apartment-sitting job, life as she knows it takes a dramatic turn. Suddenly, the woman with no permanent ties finds herself almost wishing for one. . . .

Artist Ashton Archer knows his brother isn't capable of violence—against himself or others. He recruits Lila, the only eyewitness, to help him uncover what happened. Ash longs to paint her as intensely as he hungers to touch her. But their investigation draws them into a rarefied circle where priceless antiques are bought, sold, gambled away, and stolen, where what you possess is who you are, and where what you desire becomes a deadly obsession. . . 

Now, I don't usually do reviews on Nora's books, because let's be honest, they are all fabulous and everyone knows she's fantastic. But, this book was by far one of my favorites in recent years. Lila Emerson is a house-sitter who has no home except wherever she happens to be working at the time. She lives her life out of 2 suitcases and loves it! She has house-sat all over the country and all over the world. If you ask me, that's a pretty glamorous job. What is one of her favorite things about house-sitting you might ask? People watching. Lila is also a young adult novelist and spends her time making up stories about the people she sees out her temporary windows. While on a job in New York, Lila gets to know the people who live in an apartment building across the street from her job. Each delightful neighbor has a story just waiting to be told.

Lila is having a grand time describing the life of a young couple who fight big and love big, when one day the fighting gets a little too big. She witnesses the young man killing the young woman. She calls the police and becomes the number one key witness to a murder suicide. However, the young man's brother, Ashton Archer, doesn't believe his brother could have killed his girlfriend and then committed suicide, but he does believe that his brother was into something dangerous. Ash convinces Lila to help him uncover the story behind his brother's death and they end up embroiled in a centuries long conspiracy involving rare missing artifacts.

We all know that Nora can tell a fantastic story with deep characters and rich world building, but something about the way she does suspense is so gripping. Lila and Ash are fantastic characters and their story is by no means boring, but the real gem is the mystery of the Faberge eggs. I love history, and the historical context of this book makes my heart happy. I listened to this one on tape, so I couldn't rush through if like I can with a paper book, and it made the suspense of the journey so much better.

I highly highly highly recommend this to Nora fans and newbies alike. 5 out of 5 stars. And be on the lookout for the conclusion to Nora's Cousins O'Dwyer Trilogy, Blood Magick, which comes out October 28th! You won't want to miss it.