Heaven and Earth (Three Sisters Island Trilogy, 2)

Rating:
Summary: Superb! Absolutely Captivating!
Review: "Heaven and Earth" is the second book in Nora Roberts' Three Sisters Island trilogy and it is utterly enchanting. NR's writing has reached new levels of excellence in this provocative romance. This book held me from the minute I picked it up, and I couldn't put it down until it was done.

Ripley Todd is happy with her quiet life on Three Sisters working as a sheriff's deputy. She enjoys life without complications, which is made difficult for her by the fact that she has incredible powers that confuse and frighten her. She has become great friends with Nell, who has just married her brother, Zack, and remains at odds with Mia Devlin, her childhood friend and the island's known witch.

When MacAllister Booke arrives on Three Sisters to research the stories of witchcraft, Ripley originally scoffs at him and his work. But Ripley's tough exterior doesn't prevent Mac from falling head over heels for her. Nor can Ripley deny that she feels something powerful for this handsome researcher. In addition to their intense attraction, Mac senses and soon confirms that Ripley is no ordinary woman. He is fascinated by her struggle to deny the power that she holds inside her and embarks on a journey to help her accept who she is.

When Mac and Ripley are together the scenes really sizzle. There are a number of highly sexy scenes that these two share, but their romance is also quite touching. As these two fall in love, the walls Ripley has built up around herself begin to fall down. But love isn't all Ripley's future holds. Something evil is coming their way, something that will be the ultimate test of Ripley's will and her powers. In order to fight this centuries old evil that threatens their island, Ripley must embrace her power and come together with Mia and Nell before it's too late!

This is one of the best books I have ever read. The characters are all complex and well-developed and the story is gripping. Mac is strong yet sensitive and he is a hero all readers will love. Ripley's road to self-discovery is fascinating and moving, and despite her flaws, readers will become very attached to this feisty heroine. This book will grab you right from the start and transport you to the haunting shores of New England where Nell, Ripley and Mia face their destinies. "Heaven and Earth" is a prime example of romance writing at its best. This book is NOT to be missed!

Rating:
Summary: A sure-fire Treat
Review: As before and all times, Nora Roberts continues to enthrall me and make my imagination run wild with her new series and second book.

Three Sisters Island has a Witches Past. One rought of the wrongful prosecution of witches in Salem. The three sisters who forged this island and called it home for a time. Three sister's whose souls are passed on to modern day women with exciting powers.

Ripley Todd has been an off-beat loner for a while. While she holds a deputy position on Three Sister's Island she is gruff and abrasive and often rude--trying not to show the emotion that she has inside.

With her brother Zack married to Nell from the first book, Ripley longs to get back to some peace and quiet and leave the love-birds to love and nest and croon when ever and however they wish with her not in the way.

When her long time friend and most-times rival Mia Devlin rents the yellow cottage Nell once lived in unknowingly to a stranger Ripley is frustrated that her plans were thwarted and that Nell knows what had lain in her heart--to escape; to be alone.

When "tenant" MacAllister Booke, a man with the personal wish and want to investigate paranormal and vastly strange events comes to take residence on the Three Sister's Island in the yellow cottage, after the spectacular and unclear event that took place between Nell (Helen) and her abusive "ex" husband he gets more than he bargained for with Ripley Todd.

We get to see Ripley soften with her dislike of magic in this book. And give in to what she was destined for and for a long time rejected. We get to see her happy and angry and we; in our own ways fall in love with her character and with Booke's as well.

Since we already love Mia Devlin, we cannot wait (perhaps I should say "I") until we see how much trouble she gives SAM. (...)

I love this series. Once again, Nora Roberts has made another trilogy of sisters that is loveable and makes us all dream of a close-knit family and or friends that we can only read about.

Rating:
Summary: A fantastic book filled with witchcraft and romance
Review: Heaven and Earth is the second book in the fascinating trilogy by Nora Roberts.
Ripley, the Three Sisters Island sheriff's deputy, lives a peaceful life, surrounded by her brother, Zack, and her two friends, the calm and nurturing Nell, who is married to Zack, and the annoying and frustrating Mia, the local witch.
But despite all this, Ripley holds powers that she loathes, and that she tries to hide from the rest of the world. Mia and Nell are the only one's to share her amazing power, but despite how many times they try to encourage her to use it, she stubbornly refuses to break the barriers that hold her powers firmly in place.
When MacAllister Booke,a clumsy but brilliant minded researcher, comes to the island to investigate rumours of witchcraft, Ripley scorns his work and feels more than a little annoyed that he has taken up residence in the cottage she was planning to move into.
But Mac is determined, despite Ripley's rudeness, to discover the power and magic that she has hidden inside herself, and soon, the two give in to the power of their physical attraction towards one another, and begin a passionate love affair.
As Ripley's feelings towards Mac deepen, she is confused to discover that cracks in her protective barrier are appearing, and she finds that her power is pushing her to go back to her days of witchcraft with Mia.
Dreams and premonitions convince the already scared Ripley that someone or something is coming, to hurt her and the one's she loves. Ripley soon realises, that she must use her own power, and the power of Mia and Nell, as well as her own love for Mac,
to fight another power, evil and deceiving, that threatens to take over the island she has always loved and cherished.

Rating:
Summary: Terrific Romance with a Dose of Paranormal
Review: In this, the second installment of the Three Sisters Island trilogy, Ms. Roberts has once again hit the jackpot in this clever mix of romance, wit, and witchcraft.

Deputy Ripley Todd was a little irritated. Outsider MacAllister Booke had just rented Mia Devlin's yellow cottage for the duration of his stay on Three Sisters Island, off the coast of Massachusetts. Bad enough that Ripley wanted to rent the cottage to escape her home and newlywed brother, Zack, and his likeable wife, Nell. But Mac is visiting to conduct research on witchcraft and its history on the island. As legend would have it, three witches who separated it from the mainland created Three Sisters Island. Nell, Ripley, and Mia are descendants of the original three, only Ripley shows great disdain for the power she was born with.

In a crafty mix of the paranormal complete with visions and dreams of the past, Ripley comes face to face with her ancestor and senses a dark force that could destroy all that she holds dear. As the romance between the bookish Mac and Ripley builds, she is forced to let down some of her tough gal defenses and learns to trust him and their love. And the steamy love scenes will melt the pages as Ripley's supernatural powers take her attraction to Mac to a whole new level. Only time will tell if Ripley will join forces with her fellow sisters, Mia and Nell, to bind together and repel the evil that threatens to destroy them as it did their predecessors.

Fascinating characters, a picturesque seaside town, and paranormal events form the foundation in this riveting read. Even the romance reader not enamored of the supernatural will find the allure in this latest from Ms. Roberts, who just keeps getting better and better.

Rating:
Summary: She who's Earth!
Review: This was a superb book. I started teh trilogy with this book and i do not regret it at all. Roberts does a great job presenting love,compasion and justice in it's most elemental yet most powerful ways. Ripley is truly a heroine. She's very down to earth, and stubborn as a mule, but you really love her from the 1st moment, b/c she's real she feels and bleeds and loves with an intense immensity. Mac is a perfect hero. He's not the perfect "Stud" as in many romance novels, he's so very real, and yes he's handsome to the bone, but he's not perfect which makes him even more appealing. He forgets things all the time yet is so sensitive so smart. He doesnt feel threatened by Ripley's authority and respects her. He doesnt mind her taking control, but he's no fool. And the Magik in the novel was greatly presented. I've read many things from the Wiccan and kept myself informed with their rituals and way of life and i beleive that ROberts does a great job at portraying many real things inside the fantastic. In short, I loved this book, from the cover to the back! I would give it 100 stars if i could.

Rating:
Summary: A page-turner, but not as good as the first novel!
Review: What can I say? Nora Roberts is the "Martha Stewart" of Romance Novels... And typically I love everything she writes... (Do you sense a 'but' coming?') If so, read on...

The latest installment of the 'three sisters' trilogy features the life of Deputy Ripley Todd. Deputy Todd, a skeptic, with a traumatic magic-related childhood experience, has refused to use her powers ever since. Enter the hero... Mac Booke. Mac is an 'absent-minded professor type' whose investigations into the paranormal has somehow landed him on Three Sister's Island.

As usual, Nora has the setting, the characters, and the culture of a small town down pat. Her main and side characters are endearing and engaging.. Particularly, her hero, Mac Booke.

But... In my opinion, her heroine, Ripley, just didn't seem to 'fit in' to a novel with a paranormal setting.

Ripley (okay, I kept thinking 'believe it or not') seems like she would be more at home in a novel with a small-town murder-mystery theme... Than as the third sister in a coven of witches.

While I suspect Nora, wanted us to feel sympathetic towards Rip for her reluctance to practice magick, instead I was frustrated by her pig-headedness. I found it hard to believe that someone like Mia wouldn't have given her a 'kick in the pants' or confronting her about her problem /ages/ ago.

My second problem with this novel was the villain. Bringing back the possessed ex-boyfriend from the first book was an unwelcome surprise. With so many challenges the girls might face, do we need to bring a possessed mental patient into the picture? This seemed heavy handed, even for Nora, who is quite notable for creating, exciting and believable villains.

Overall, the inclusion of Mac, and the return to 'three sisters island' made this book worth reading... But I had to deduct one star for the 'evil-ex-husband ™' and for the 'Ripley' character which I just could noth sympathize with.