Home :: Books :: Mystery & Thrillers  

Arts & Photography
Audio CDs
Audiocassettes
Biographies & Memoirs
Business & Investing
Children's Books
Christianity
Comics & Graphic Novels
Computers & Internet
Cooking, Food & Wine
Entertainment
Gay & Lesbian
Health, Mind & Body
History
Home & Garden
Horror
Literature & Fiction
Mystery & Thrillers

Nonfiction
Outdoors & Nature
Parenting & Families
Professional & Technical
Reference
Religion & Spirituality
Romance
Science
Science Fiction & Fantasy
Sports
Teens
Travel
Women's Fiction
Heaven and Earth (Three Sisters Island, 2)

Heaven and Earth (Three Sisters Island, 2)

List Price: $9.99
Your Price: $8.99
Product Info Reviews

<< 1 2 >>

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A good follow-up to a GREAT story
Review: This book was not as good as the first in the series (Dance Upon the Air) but it was still a great read. I do recommend it in addition to Dance Upon the Air.

Rating: 5 stars
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: 4 stars
Summary: Nora Roberts Creates Earthy Magic
Review: Three Sisters is a small, rocky island off the coast of Massachusetts. Legend has it that the island was once a part of the mainland. Back in the late 1600s, during the Salem witch trials, three sisters, good witches all, known as Fire, Earth and Air, conjured the island and made it a haven against persecution. Unfortunately, the sisters did not fare as well as their island. All three were doomed by unfortunate relationships and a misuse of power. Before the last sister died she cast a spell to keep the island safe for 300 years. At that time she prophesied a reunion of three sisters, descendants of the original three, who would join together to redeem their ancestors, right the wrongs of the past and save their home from destruction.

Fast forward 300 years to Three Sisters Island. Ripley Todd is the town's deputy sheriff and she's an earthy, practical, no nonsense kinda gal - not at all the type one would peg for a witch. And make no mistake, Ripley is a witch although she tries very hard to deny her powers. Handsome, scholarly MacAllister Booke comes to the island to research the legend and to interview the one inhabitant he knows possesses magical powers - Mia Devlin, owner of the local bookstore cafe, and direct descendant of the original sisters. Booke has studied, recorded and witnessed the impossible for over 12 years. "He'd interviewed witches, ghosts, lycanthropes, alien abductees and psychics. Ninety-eight percent of them were delusional or con-artists. But the remaining two percent...well, that kept him going." Imagine his surprise when he discovered that Three Sisters Island is the home of three witches, all descending from the original line - Nell Channing Todd (Ripley's new sister-in-law), Ripley and Mia.

He is immediately attracted to Ripley, who goes out of her way to be disagreeable to him. She wants nothing to do with magic or with anyone who is interested in the supernatural. However, the island's 300-year anniversary is coming up and Ripley has to come to grips with the powers that terrify her if she is going to help break the centuries-old curse and save her beloved home. Dr. Booke, Mia and Nell are behind Ripley all the way as she learns to manage her energy and fear.

"Heaven and Earth" is Nora Roberts' second book in the Three Sisters trilogy. You don't have to read the first book to enjoy this one, although it is a delight to continue with the story of Nell, Mia and Ripley. Ripley is a more difficult character than the other two sisters. She is abrasive, stubborn and initially did not fit my image of a witch. However, once the story is underway and Ripley's frailties are exposed, she becomes quite believable as a woman and a sorceress. Ms. Roberts creates a wonderful relationship between Ripley and Mac, as well as between the three woman. I wish the source of evil, thrills, chills and suspense were more original, and not something/someone dredged up from book one. The plot works well enough as is, but the novel would have been so much better with a new villain. The novel still makes for a wonderful light read, perfect for a rainy evening.
JANA

Rating: 4 stars
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.


<< 1 2 >>

© 2004, ReviewFocus or its affiliates