Dark Witch (Cousins O'Dwyer Trilogy, #1)

by Nora Roberts

[EBookObsessed]

Iona Sheehan has come to Ireland to find an acceptance and an understanding which she has never before known. As the only child of very cold parents, Iona has never known the love and closeness of family. The only time she came close is when she would spend time with her gramdmother, Nan.

It was Nan who told her the stories of her ancestor Sorcha, the Dark Witch, and how she gave her magick to her children and gave her life and her blood to destroy the sorcerer, Cabhan, who would steal her family’s magick with his dark powers. But Sorcha knew if she was not strong enough to destroy Cabhan, it would fall to her children and their descendants to combine their magick and kill Cabhan. Sorcha’s three children have animal familiars: a horse, a hawk and a dog.

When Iona arrives at the door of her cousins Branna and Connor O’Dwyer, she is surprised to find herself so welcome into their home and into their lives. They arrange for Iona to move in and find her a job at the local stable working for their good friend Boyle McGrath. Iona has always had such a way with horses that she knows what they are feeling.

But by coming to Ireland and meeting Branna and Connor, Iona has closed the circle of the three–the three descendants of Sorcha and Iona must quick learn to polish up her magick because Cabhan has been waiting for 750 years to face the three again and take their combined magick so that he may return to corporal form. The three witches, and their friends, will be facing a vicious darkness and they need to finally destroy Cabhan because their failure is just too frightening to contemplate.

THOUGHTS:
As with any Nora Roberts novel, it was a easy read, the characters were likeable and it was a well written story. I think by default, a Nora Roberts novel probably gets a five star rating as compared to most authors.

My only real issue here is that the whole premise of the story is very similar to her Circle Trilogy which I had greatly enjoyed. I am also noticing a trend in her trilogies: the first book is new acquaintances, the second book is friends to lovers (always my favorite premise), and the third usually involves a couple who fight their attraction since book #1.

There is no question that Nora Roberts knows how to write a good story. Nora is to romance what Stephen King is to horror. But it is not a good thing when I am being pulled out of the story to note that “this is just like that trilogy” or “these two remind me of _______.”

If you are a fan of romance with a paranormal twist or simple a fan of Nora Roberts, you will definitely enjoy this story. There’s no question of her talent as an author. I just think Nora needs to shake up her storytelling a bit since they are starting to get a bit predictable. With a discounted price tag of about $10, a reader shouldn’t feel like they already read the story.

Received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

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