Nora Roberts is a renowned storyteller, and INHERITANCE is a fabulous beginning to a new series that will keep you spellbound – as always!

Reviewed by Annetta Sweetko for Fresh Fiction

Complete review: W: https://freshfiction.com/review.php?id=84704

4 rocky Maine stars

I feel like I know just what to expect from prolific Nora Roberts. She always writes characters that I get to know over the course of the book. Her books in a series are good because I get more of these characters; often they were minor characters in the first book! This one feels a little different because it ends on a cliffhanger. Now I can’t wait to read the next one!

Sonya McTavish is a graphic designer engaged to a co-worker. We know that’s never a good idea! As she gives him the boot (for good reason), her life takes a dramatic turn as she discovers that she has inherited a gorgeous coastal house in Maine. I could go for that sort of inheritance!

She discovers a quaint village, some gorgeous men, and a fantastic house with just a few catches. The house is haunted; she must commit to living there for three months, and there’s a curse on brides each generation. There are a few otherworldly guests at the house. A few I would welcome, and one I could do without!

I will have to wait until the next book to see if Sonya can break the curse and keep the house!

Sometimes life throws you a curveball or two. For Sonya – the first was catching her fiancé in the midst of cheating on her. The second thing was discovering her cousin betrayed her. The third was dealing with a work atmosphere that was tainted with the lies and betrayal of her former fiancé.

Each of these life altering events were the catalyst Sonya needed to make changes in her surroundings. When a solicitor for an unknown uncle presents Sonya with an inheritance with ‘strings’ attached, she uses the opportunity to make significant changes in her life. As the new owner of an estate in Maine, Sonya decides the mandatory three year ‘live in’ clause might not be so bad after all. The request allows Sonya to leave the turmoil of her past behind and learn more about a family that she never knew existed prior to the inheritance.

Sonya quickly discovers that there is more to the Victorian estate than first meets the eye. From unexplained music playing in the night to items that seem to move on their own, Sonya quickly learns the legacy of the lost bride that plagues her family estate. With the help of a few friends, Sonya decides to uncover the mysteries hidden in the walls of her new home. That curiosity could come at a cost, one that Sonya is determined to uncover for the sake of her father.

Inheritance is the first book in a new series by Nora Roberts. I quickly found myself glued to the pages of this novel and the secrets that lurk in Sonya’s family history. The plot was interesting, a bit unique and had me hooked from the moment that Sonya decided to move to Maine. The cliffhanger ending left me eager to uncover all the chaos surrounding the lost bride. What happens when the past and present collide?? Only time will tell if Sonya is the key to a legacy that sprawled across centuries.

This is the first book in The Lost Bride Trilogy. This is a fabulous paranormal romance. I loved all the ghost and how they interacted with the occupants of the manor. The characters were well developed and the pace kept me reading when I should have stopped. I can’t wait for the next book.

Inheritance is the first novel in the Lost Bride Trilogy. There are two timelines in 1806 and present day where two characters seem to have separate stories before pieces start to come together. In 1806, Astrid Poole is getting ready to be married in Maine. Unfortunately, the day turns tragic when she is stabbed to death by a mysterious jealous woman. The groom, Collin, finds her and the scenes then transition to present day. Here, the reader meets the main character, Sonya MacTravish, a graphic designer, has discovered that her uncle, Collin Poole, has left her everything he owns. There are some caveats to the inheritance, but Sonya is ready for a fresh start after breaking off her engagement. She makes the move from Boston to the small town in Maine, but the experience is nothing that she expected.

Sonya is going through heartbreak at the beginning of the story as she catches her fiancé in bed with her cousin. On top of this, he worked in the same office as her and tried to make her work life tough. This was a great introduction to the character where the reader can see why she would love to move away. Once she arrives in Maine, she meets the local family of attorneys, Ace, Deuce, and Trey. The attorneys were a nice addition as Trey is the love interest while Deuce has a great tie-in since was Collin’s best childhood friend. As a love interest, Trey was great. My only qualm was the timeline. I did not enjoy how quickly, it seemed, that Sonya seemed to recover from heartbreak and move on with someone brand new. For me, I felt their chemistry was believable, but I wish that there was more recovery from the break-up plus build-up to this new relationship.

The Manor is described well where the reader can easily imagine the spooky nature. The house itself has mysterious and creepy occurrences plus its history with the seven brides that have died within their first year of marriage adds some great horror elements to the story. I enjoyed this curse aspect as it added great mystery to the story. The story is cut off with a cliffhanger that feels sudden like watching a movie and the screen turns black just when you think it will keep going. With all these elements together, this novel was a great introduction to the trilogy; however, I do believe that there were some pieces that could have been better developed. There is a lot of great potential, and I will read the next novel. Overall, this was a great Roberts novel, and I cannot wait to read more of her extensive published list.

**I give a special thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this entertaining novel. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.**

Inheritence is the 1st book in a new Trilogy by Nora Roberts.

Sonya McTavish comes home from planning her wedding to find her fiance in bed with her cousin. Not the most auspicious beginning to a life together. She kicks him out but sadly they work together and he makes her life miserable. Sonya quits her job to go freelance, and then her luck really changes when a lawyer shows up at her house and tells her that she has inherited a 200 year old mansion in Maine from an uncle she never knew she had. The caveat? She has to agree to live in the mansion for 3 years, oh and it is haunted. Sonya leaves her mother and best friend Cleo in Boston and moves to Maine. The mansion is lovely, huge and welcoming, well mostly. There are several ghosts, most are helpful and benign ( can I please have the housekeeping ghost) and then the not so benign ghost. The ghost of the witch who murdered Astrid Poole on her wedding day and has murdered 6 other Poole brides since, stealing their wedding rings and cursing all the 1st Poole brides of every generation. Then there is dashing lawyer Trey Doyle and his delightful family. Throw in a few adorable dogs, the mystery of the 7 murdered brides and their missing wedding rings and you have an intriguing book..The only downer is that since this is a trilogy, the book ends on a cliffhanger. I am looking forward to the remaining books to see if Sonya and Trey can solve the mystery of the evil ghost and the missing wedding rings and end the curse on the Poole brides once and for all.

Thanks to Netgalley, St. Martin’s Press and the author for the chance to read and review this book.

Sonya MacTavish's life seems to be getting away from her. While planning her extravagant wedding in Boston that she really didn't even want, she catches her fiance in bed with her cousin! After calling off the wedding, Sonya also finds out that her deceased father was a twin and she just inherited a house in Maine called Lost Bride Manor from his recently deceased brother. Since her father was adopted, they had no idea of this other family.

Thinking she needs a change of scenery, Sonya decides to head to Maine and check out the house. From the moment she sees the huge house, she falls in love. Even after she learns that the place is haunted, she doesn't care. Shortly after Sonya arrives, Oliver Doyle III, aka Trey meets up with her. His family's law office is handling the estate. Sonya is instantly attracted to Trey but isn't quite ready for a new relationship. Trey walks her through everything, even going over the ghosts that live there. Sonya doesn't really believe this but quickly comes to realize that there are strange things happening. When Sonya's best friend Cleo Fabares comes to visit, she immediately feels the spirits. Cleo is from New Orleans and has experience with these things. Cleo decides she is going to move into the house with Sonya. In the meantime, things between Sonya and Trey start to heat up.

As things start to get a little crazy with all the spirits, especially Hester Dobbs, a dark spirit, Sonya gets pulled into the past and starts to understand what happened in this house over the last few centuries and is now determined to help solve the mysteries that are happening. Sonya, Trey, Cleo and Trey's friend, Owen (who happens to be a cousin to Sonya) are trying to figure things out. Just when Sonya thinks she has finally found her answers, her and Owen are brought into something totally unexpected leaving Trey and Cleo wondering what the heck just happened.

I am freaking LOVING this historical, modern day, romance with a twist of spiritual added in. I didn't realize it was going to end on a cliffhanger and now I CANNOT WAIT to get my hands on the next book! I just adore all of these characters. I love all the crazy things that are happening and I cannot wait to see how this is going to end.

Ooooh! This one has a gothic vibe to it, and I am soooo intrigued. But sadly, this isn't a gothic. But it is a ghost story with some really talented and helpful ghosts and one really nasty witch ghost. To say that the Lost Bride Manor is haunted would be a gross understatement. I'd say it is overrun with the undeparted. I don't care for the vampire/werewolf paranormal, but I do like a good ghost tale and this one is very good. I just have two problems with this book. The first is NR's use of sentence fragments like we are supposed to know what she means. I found that annoying. The second is that I feel she keeps her readers at an emotional distance from the characters, especially the hero and heroine. I didn't feel a real connection there and I didn't feel the terror with some of the things that happened I thought I should have. Since this is the first book of the trilogy it did a great job of setting up the story, but resolved nothing, which was disappointing. It also ended with a cliffhanger, also disappointing.

Sonya MacTavish, a successful graphic designer, has had her world rocked. She caught her fiancé in bed with her cousin and since she worked in the same company, awkward, she decided to go to freelance work. On closer inspection of her emotions, the fiancé was no big loss, they didn't seem to want the same things. Then her world is rocked again with a visit from an attorney from Maine which changed everything she thought she knew about her father's family and made her an heiress.

Since Boston held bad memories and a new start was promised, Sonya is off to Poole's Bay, Maine and the Lost Bride's Manor with a host of ghostly inhabitants. Now Sonya will have to unravel the family mystery and attempt to end the family curse. Lucky for her she will have help because she has surrounded herself with people who support her and want to see her stay in Poole's Bay. That includes, her best friend, Cleo, who moved from Boston to be with her. The son of the estate attorney, also an attorney, Trey, who finds himself drawn to her strength. Her rescue dog, Yoda, who is small but fearless. With a team like that how can she not stay and fight the evil witch ghost who has plagued her family for generations.

My thanks to the Publisher and the Author for providing a complimentary digital Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this novel via NetGalley. This is my fair, honest and personal review. All opinions are mine alone and were not biased in any way.

First, I would like to thank Net Galley for an e-arc of this book in exchange for a review..

The Inheritance is a story that follows Sonya who inherits a house from her deceased fathers twin brother that he never knew he had. Cue spooky haunted house vibes, family secrets, and an attractive lawyer helping her out. Also, this is a murder mystery TRILOGY so first warning is to not go into this expecting a standalone-wrapped-up-with-a-bow ending... With that being said, I enjoyed reading this book and I am excited for the next installment to see how it continues.

As a fan of Nora Roberts I was very excited about this book, but my only issue is that I sometimes had a hard time remembering that the book is set in present day because the way the characters act and talk makes them seem like this is the 1960s and not 2023. For example, do you know any men under the age of 50 who would say the phrase "she seems like a capable and self reliant woman"... I personally do not...Also she talks about promoting businesses on Facebook...do people still do that?

Overall a solid read for anybody who enjoys a mystery romance with the thrill of magical realism.

Sonya McTavish walks in on her fiancee and her cousin doing the deed in her bed in her house. She throws them both out and begins to rebuild her life. An estate lawyer shows up on her doorstep to tell her that her father had a twin he knew nothing about and she was due to inherit his estate, worth millions, not to mention a haunted house in Maine. Only catch...she has to live in the house for three years. As Sonya begins her life in Poole's Bay, she quickly meets the ghosts of the house. Most of them are benign, inclding Molly, the housemaid, who turns her bed down at night and cleans up the dirty dishes. Or Astrid Poole, killed on her wedding day, who plays the piano and weeps. She was the first lost bride. Sonya's best friend, Cleo, moves to Poole's Bay to live with her and together they plan to end the hauntings, along with help of two ruggedly handsome men. A real cliffhanger ending and some very entertaining characters makes this one of the better Nora Roberts' books I've read in a while. Highly recommended and it's the beginning of a trilogy.

A fantastic first book in this series! The well-developed storyline, the engaging characters, the mystery, the romance and of course, the ghosts! While planning her wedding, Sonya MacTavish learns that her fiancé, who is also her coworker, has been cheating on her. Eager to move on, she decides to start her own graphic design business. Inheriting a Victorian house in Maine was a shock as was learning that the home belonged to the unknown twin of her deceased father. Saddened that her father never knew he had a twin, she is eager to learn more about her new found family. She feels comfortable and attracted to attorney Oliver Doyle III aka Trey, as he offers his assistance with what she will need to know about her new home. The house is believed to be haunted and Sonya soon finds this out for herself. Unfortunately, along with the friendly ghosts who seem to take care of her every need, there is the evil Hester Dobbs. Hester was accused of ending the lives of seven previous brides and she can’t allow Sonya to remain. Having her best friend Cleo move in with her helps her in her attempts to rid her home of Hester. An ending that I didn’t see coming…stay tuned! Loved it! I received an advance review copy at no cost and without obligation for an honest review. (paytonpuppy)

Another great trilogy starter!
If you’ve read any other series by Nora Roberts, you won’t be disappointed with Inheritance. She can write an interesting, suspenseful book with great characters and spectacular locations. This book is a contemporary paranormal fantasy from the very start. With two great main characters of Sonya McTavish and Trey (Oliver Doyle III) the lawyer son of Sonya’s lawyer Oliver Doyle II. Add in additional secondary characters and you find that you are reading an intricate and well-developed story. The ending of this book is a cliff hanger, quite a surprising one, but it will only make you want the second book RIGHT NOW! I can’t wait to read book 2.
I was given an ARC of this book by NetGalley, and this is my honest opinion.

Inheritance, the first book in the Lost Bride Trilogy - I have been reading Nora Roberts for many years. She has easily changed styles, decades, and genres, but her series are always the hook that gets me every time. I love every one of her books, every genre, and “Inheritance” does not disappoint. Sonora is a very resilient woman, as the story unfolds she deals with some life-altering things, one right after the other. She ends up in Maine, living in a house she inherited from an uncle she never knew she had. The mystery slowly unfolds around the curse on the family and her daily life in the haunted manor.

Every character is meticulously developed and engaging. You can almost smell the saltwater in the sweeping scenes from the manor looking over the sea. As the story unfolds the evil that inhabits the manor along with the good escalates, and the story takes on added suspense which can get a bit chilling. This novel is extremely engaging from the very beginning. It was hard to put down, the only thing is…..yeah, a cliffhanger - when is the next book in the series coming out? I can’t wait!!!

This is book 1 in the Lost Bride Trilogy. 1806: Astrid Poole sits in her bridal clothes, overwhelmed with happiness. But before her marriage can be consummated, she is murdered, and the circle of gold torn from her finger. Her last words are a promise to Collin never to leave him. Graphic designer Sonya MacTavish is stunned to learn that her late father had a twin he never knew about―and that her newly discovered uncle, Collin Poole, has left her almost everything he owned, including a majestic Victorian house on the Maine coast, which the will stipulates she must live in it for at least three years. Her engagement recently broken, she sets off to find out why the boys were separated at birth―and why it was all kept secret until a genealogy website brought it to light. Trey, the young lawyer who greets her at the sprawling clifftop manor, notes Sonya’s unease―and acknowledges that yes, the place is haunted…but just a little. Sure enough, Sonya finds objects moved and music playing out of nowhere. She sees a painting by her father inexplicably hanging in her deceased uncle’s office, and a portrait of a woman named Astrid, whom the lawyer refers to as “the first lost bride.” It’s becoming clear that Sonya has inherited far more than a house. She has inherited a centuries-old curse, and a puzzle to be solved if there is any hope of breaking it.

I always enjoy this author's paranormal books, and this one was no different! Sonya is definitely this strong woman, but she struggles with certain things in her life. But it actually made me like her more, because she was struggling with the things that most women struggle with. Her and Trey have a VERY slow burn romance, at least in my opinion. It's not all out chemistry, but honestly this story didn't need it. I really liked the side character, Cleo! She is the ultimate bff and you can't help but love everything about her! Overall, I really enjoyed this story and was sucked in from the start. Here was my issue, although I know this is a trilogy-I kinda thought it would be like her other trilogies and each one would be interconnected but a complete story about interconnected couples. It isn't. This book ends on a cliffhanger, and it is rather abruptly done too. That was my only drawback with it. Now that I know that though, I will probably wait to read the rest until they are all out so I can binge read them.

“With my blade I took the first, then by my blood this house was cursed. One by one they wed, they die, because they seek to take what’s mine. And with their rings of gold, my spell will hold and hold.”

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martins Press for the copy.

Oh man that ending!!! I need the next book right now. This is a new addicting trilogy from Nora Roberts.
It has a gothic haunted house setting, fantasy, romance and mystery. I absolutely loved the characters. Such a compelling story that will have you turning the pages. I can’t wait to see where book 2 takes us.

Being a Nora Roberts trilogy fan, I already knew that I'd enjoy this book - a lot.

The story starts about 200 years ago, with a young bride who dies on her wedding day.
Then we shift to modern day, a young woman who finds that her fiance isn't who she thought. She also finds out in quick order that her father was a twin, but he never knew it, nor did his adoptive parents. But she's been left an incredibly inheritance by his long lost twin. It's a gothic manor house, with a catch. Well, maybe a bit more than one catch.

Great story, the characters are loving, open, and welcoming. A love interest, a new start on life. And maybe a ghost or two.

But the book ends with a cliff hanger.

Inheritance by Nora Roberts
The Lost Bride Trilogy, #1. Paranormal romance. Cliffhanger. Multiple timelines as historical bride experiences at death are played out.
Sonya MacTavish is stunned to learn that she has inherited a house from a relative no one knew existed. Given her recent problems with an ex finance, she accepts the inheritance and opportunity to move into the sprawling Victorian manor on the Maine coastline. And finds the talk about ghosts isn’t just local lore.

🎧 I alternated between an ebook copy and an audiobook. The narration is done by Brittany Pressley who does a marvelous job with distinctive voices for several different characters. This narrator has a significant back catalogue and this is the first for this author.
Emotions are clearly heard in the performance making the audiobook suspenseful and appealing. The performance also makes the story easy to follow as date changes with the appropriate timing, and hard hits on the years.

The storytelling is immediately engaging and gripping. The characters gain depth as the story progresses and we learn the history of the brides and the house. Just a little chilling with each ghost that appears although most seem to be friendly and welcoming. But not all.

Cliffhanger. Not even resolving a romance. There is no information on the author website yet as to when the remaining books will be published. I feel like shaking the cage doors! 📚

An author’s note is included that includes the inspiration for the story as well as some personal details. ❤️

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher Macmillan Audio.

I have read and purchased every single Nora book available. I love the trilogies the best. I love meeting a group of people and learning more about them through all three books. The excitement of reading about Sonya and Trent will hopefully hold me until the next one is released.

Sonya has her life changed with one visitor. Collin Poole’s lawyer visits and tells her that she has been left a house in Maine and must live in it for 3 years minimum to inherit it along with everything else. Sonya uproots her life, moves to Maine, and meets the ghosts of the house and Trey. I am hooked. I will now have to read this entire series ASAP, but only book one is available at the time I am reading so I will need to wait.

Everything about this book is phenomenal. The ghostly happenings at the house all have reasons for making themselves known and I found it interesting that every person that entered the house accepted that the ghosts were just part of the house. I would have been freaked out by the slamming of doors, the playing music, the opening of cupboards. The mystery of how they would get rid of the ghost on the 3rd floor kept me riveted. The things that they saw and the way they had to put it together to figure out what needed to be done kept me turning page after page.

My only complaint is that it left on a cliffhanger. I want, no I need, to know what will happen next. Nora Robert wrote another book that I cannot put down and will rave about to all my bookish friends.

Thank you St. Martin’s Press for a copy of the book via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

There’s just something about a good ghost story to keep readers awake at night, reading well past their bedtime. And Inheritance, the first book in the Lost Bride trilogy by author Nora Roberts, sets up a captivating haunted house story by introducing readers to a house where generations of ghosts haunt—and sometimes help—the home’s new owner.

Full review published on NightsAndWeekends.com and aired on Shelf Discovery