Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing the ARC of the second installment of The Lost Brides trilogy. If you read the first book, you’ll definitely need to read this and of course the future third one. I didn’t find this as captivating as the first book, but it did serve to drive the story foesrd, revealing more about the brides and the mirror. I’m looking forward to the final book.

I am the kind of reader who tends to read series in order on principle, while understanding that others have different preferences, and can happily skip around a timeline. For this trilogy, however, that simply won't work.

Seriously, do not read this book if you haven't read Inheritance.

It's not a matter of spoilers (though, duh!), so much as it's a matter of missing all the background necessary to care about the characters and about their reasons to do what they do.

Of course Ms Roberts has a preface that reminds readers of the series premise, and the characters have conversations recapping some of the most salient issues from the previous book, but that's honestly not enough context.

Beware: suicide; equating mental illness with evil; alcoholism; domestic violence. Also, spoilers for the previous book in the trilogy.

I will repeat the warning about spoilers, because: this book starts literally in the same scene where the previous one ended. Sonya MacTavish and Owen Poole step into the mirror in the middle of the night in 2023, and into a wedding ball in 1916, in time to witness the murder--via magical means--of one of their ancestors, and the second of the Seven Lost Brides in the curse.

And yes, this is but one of the many paranormal events in the book; the trilogy is about a 200-years-plus cursed manor, after all.

As in the first book, the narrative spends quite a bit of time showing how good each of the four main characters, but most especially Sonya, are at their work; while it's true that competence porn builds up characterization, it also gets tiresome after a while, when we read the minutia of each project she's working on.

All the named characters but three, are really good people; they are also all very good at, and fulfilled by, whatever it is they do, from the people serving tables at local eateries to the person fostering animals for the area's pet shelter. The families of the four main characters are, without exception, both loving and accomplished--and that includes Cleo's grandmother, the 'good witch'.

Read that again: every white collar, blue collar, and hourly-wage-earning named character in the story are both really good at what they do, and really good people. There's no one working a job they can barely stomach because bills wait for no person's "joy in their work". Hell, even the *ghosts* of dead servants spend their eternity *happily* cleaning, polishing, gardening, and the like.

The exceptions to the "named character=good people" rule are: Patricia Poole, Sonya's great-grandmother, whose separation of her twin grandsons is the base for the whole "family you didn't know you had" premise; her daughter Greta, who has acute dementia; and Brandon Wise, Sonya's cheating asshole of a former fiancé.

Starting with the last, he's reintroduced to the narrative in a way that makes me think the author is setting him up to be a more significant antagonist in the third book, what with the stalker tendencies shown in the first book.

Patricia, of course is dead; while most people acknowledge her business acumen, they all also clearly disliked her. The only person who misses her is her daughter.

Greta has lived for several years in an upscale memory care facility, and her role in the narrative is to confirm the main characters suspicions as to how and why the twin brothers were split. My main problem with the treatment of this character is how a character that has been emotionally abused for all of her life is condemned for her "weakness" in complying with her abuser's demands.

Oh, there are a couple of lines acknowledging that Patricia kept Greta on a tight leash all of her life, but the latter's inability to break away is blamed on her, rather than on the lifelong abuse she suffered at the hands of her mother.

To be perfectly clear: Greta's complicity in splitting the twins is a bad thing, and the fact that she never loved the child she raised is also a bad thing. Equating her weakness with evil, however, sticks in my craw; it feels like just a different flavor of blaming the victim.

Which brings me to Hester Dobbs, late witch, currently evil spirit, and the fact that her characterization clearly equates mental illness with evil; the main characters spell it out, during one of the many rehashing of paranormal shenanigans, in exactly those terms at least once.

Beyond all the above, the cast of characters is also overwhelmingly white; besides Cleo and her family, who are both from Louisiana and mostly Black (because of course, right), there is only one, very minor character with a Latinx name. Everyone else: whiter than white.

Something else that made me twitch, even though it makes sense given the premise, was the emphasis on bloodlines. We are told over and over about the importance of found families, and how both Sonya's friendship with Cleo, and Trey's with Owen, are closer than those of many siblings, all at the same time that we are told how artistic ability passes down through the blood, and how important it is for Sonya to preserve the house because it comes down to her in an unbroken line of family, and so on.

With very few exceptions, the story is told from Sonya's point of view.

I mentioned at the top that most of the recapping of previous events is done, and mostly quite well, through conversations between the characters; Ms Roberts is a skilled writer, and therefore we don't have any obvious "as you know, Bob" expositions.

Unfortunately, what we do have is unnecessary repetition of events in this book; not so much as when a character recounts a specific paranormal incident in great detail with someone who wasn't there (though there are a couple of those), as when Sonya ruminates on what has just happened, what it means, what she must or can do, and so forth.

This is a romantic suspense story, albeit one with paranormal elements, that has very little suspense. By which I mean: despite a few scenes of more overt scary woo-woo, the characters and the readers both already know too much about the curse for the jump-scares to be truly effective.

And while it's still very readable to me, as the vast majority of Ms Roberts books are, this book bogs down at several points, which means I could and did put it down more than once. Then again, this is essentially an over-440-pages-long second part of a single, much longer narrative, where the first part was also over 400 pages long; it would be a miracle if it didn't drag some.

Where does this leave me? Well, the premise has lost some of its shine; I am curious about how the main conflict--how to recover the wedding rings to break the curse--is solved, and I would like to see how the original curse was cast in the first place, just for the mechanics of it, so to speak.

The Mirror gets a 7.75 out of 10.

good mystery about a couple and staying in a house and the other couple there. kept me on my toes . good mystery and figuring stuff out.

The Mirror is the second book of the Lost Bride Trilogy.
Frankly I struggled with the first book, Inheritance, due to its repetitiveness, but I was curious to learn more about the brides and the curse. Unfortunately the second book does little to move the story forward. It’s very repetitive and full of boring details about daily life that didn’t advance anything. By the end I had no interest in reading the upcoming third and final volume of the series.
I have usually liked Nora Roberts’ work having read many of her books. This was in my opinion a waste of a gothic plot.
Thank you to the author, the publisher St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an ARC.

The Mirror is book 2 in the Lost Bride Trilogy by Nora Roberts. I've been waiting for this book since I finished the first book, The Inheritance. Sonya MacTavish inherits a huge mansion in Maine in book 1 and has no idea that the house comes with many guests. The guests are ghosts and the mansion is haunted. Luckily, most of the ghosts are friendly and even helpful. One picks the perfect music for any occasion that arises while another cleans up, makes the bed, picks outfits to wear, etc. I wish I had a ghost like that! Sonya and her best friend Cleo decide to move to the mansion permanently and work from home. Cleo is an artist and Sonya does website design and marketing design for companies. She's recently left a firm in Boston and is on her own for the first time. Sonya is in a relationship with Trey, the son of the man who came and told her about her inheritance. They met while he was doing some work on the house before Sonya arrived, They've been together ever since. His best friend, Owen, has been with Cleo for almost as long. Trey is a lawyer like his father and Owen is a boat builder. The four of them spend a lot of time together at the mansion and are all aware of the doors that slam, the voices that arise, the music that plays, the little boy that comes to play fetch with the dog, and the mirror that appears at times.

Owen is Sonya's cousin and at the end of book 1 they went through the mirror and were in another time. Book 2 picks up right where Book 1 left off and it's pure magic. When Sonya and Owen go through it they see a bride murdered on her wedding day and her wedding ring taken off her finger by Dobbs, the bad witch. Dobbs is the dangerous witch who haunts the mansion. This mansion has been the place of horrors. Seven brides in total have lost their lives here and Dobbs was responsible for all of their deaths! She wears their wedding rings as badges of honor on her fingers. Dobbs is pure evil and doesn't want Sonya and Cleo living happily in the mansion. She thinks it belongs to her even though she's dead! Sonya continues to be drawn to the mirror when it appears and has little control over her feelings. She always goes through the mirror and witnesses another bride's death. Dobbs has put a curse on the mansion and Sonya, Cleo, Trey, and Owen must figure out how to break the curse! Sonya thinks it involves getting the brides rings back, but how? Dobbs wears them proudly. How can she get them back?

Sit back, relax, and be taken away for awhile by The Mirror. I absolutely love this series and can't wait for book 3 in the trilogy! Nora Roberts has created a story that makes you want to be in the mansion, help break the curse, and see happiness for the characters we've come to love! I rate The Mirror 5 stars with my highest recommendation. I'd like to thank NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an advanced copy of The Mirror in exchange for a fair review. The Mirror is available now and should not be missed. I recommend you start with The Inheritance if you haven't read that yet. I hope Nora Roberts writes fast as I can't wait for book 3! #TheMirror

Two hundred years ago a curse was set into motion when Hester Dobbs, a bitter, greedy witch, murdered Astrid Granville the day she wed Collin Poole at the Poole Mansion. After, Hester jumped off the cliffs to her death as she laid a curse on any future Poole bride. Since then, every Poole bride who aspired to wed and live in the manor died tragically on the day of her wedding. Hester stole the ring of every bride since, giving her more power to keep the curse going.

The Mirror picks up where The Inheritance left off, with Sonya MacTavish, the Poole heir, entering The Mirror and reliving the events of the past, witnessing Hester take her revenge on another bride. Hester still haunts the Poole mansion, and Sonya must find a way to break the curse.

The Mirror is the second book in The Lost Bride Trilogy, a series that needs to be read in order. Sonya and her best friend, Cleo, settle into the mansion, making it their own, while enjoying life with Trey and Owen, eating, drinking, painting, working, and getting to know the community. Sounded idyllic and lovely! Not much in the way of plot movement, but it the story was engrossing. Hester continues to haunt and cause trouble, but Sonya is determined to stake her claim on the house and not let her win.

I’m hoping Sonya figures out a plan to defeat the evil witch and I’m eager to see how it all shakes out in the final book!

I was SO EXCITED for this second book! I got to about 15% in and I felt that we were pretty much rehashing what had happened in the first book. I guess I felt like this was more of a transition book.

We get some romantic progress in this book as well. But I was hoping for more plot progress, alas we didn't really get that in this book.

This definitely was just introducing or reintroducing the brides. We get more background, but absolutely nothing is resolved in this book.

I will be reading the next one to find out what happens.

Loved the book. Can’t wait for the 3rd book. I even got a friend hooked on the series . I like all the characters and how the relationships are developing. It was fun to meet the families and other town folks

Book 2 in the Lost Bride trilogy. Sophie is living in and running her business from the home she inherited. Along with her friend and roommate Cleo, they try to fully discover the curse and defeat it. For me there was a bit too much repetition and think book 1 and 2 could have been combined. I skimmed a lot to get to the end.

I really loved "The Mirror" by Nora Roberts! This is book 2 of her Lost Brides Trilogy. It is a paranormal fiction mystery.

I really think you can enjoy this book as a stand-alone even if you haven't read the first one. The main storyline doesn't conclude in this book, though, so I doubt you'll want to skip the third book.

This book gave me all kinds of happy vibes! Sonya MacTavish has inherited the Poole family manor on the coast of Maine in a small town. Her best friend, Chloe, has moved in with her. Sonya's relationship with Trey is getting stronger. Trey's best friend, Owen, is Sonya's cousin, and he likes Chloe.

The house has many friendly ghosts, like one who plays music on their phones to communicate with them, another who does housekeeping and chooses clothing for them, and a little boy who plays with her dog.

There is one very angry vengeful ghost named Hester Dobbs who wants to be the one and only mistress of the mansion. To that end, she had possibly killed off the new brides over the decades and stolen their wedding rings. Dobbs is a scary ghost!! Sonya discovers she can go through the mirror and back in time to witness some of these events.

This book is so enjoyable because of the author's skill of putting the reader right into the scene with all your senses. There are many relaxing dinners and social times with Sonya and Chloe and their men. There are dogs and a cat, too!

Ms. Roberts' female characters are strong and independent. Her plots are interesting! I highly recommend this book to readers who like paranormal fiction!

Here's my breakdown:

Characters - 5/5
Writing - 5/5
Plot - 5/5
Pacing - 5/5
Unputdownability - 5/5
Enjoyment - 5/5
Cover - 4/5
Overall - 34/7 = 4 6/7 rounded up to 5 stars

Thank you to Netgalley, St. Martin's Press, and Nora Roberts for providing this e-book in exchange for my honest review.

I've been waiting for this installment of 3 book series to come out. The first book ended with a huge cliffhanger. The second also ends with one but not nearly as dramatic as the first. I'm frustrated that I have to wait for the third and final book. I want to read it NOW.

This installment didn't have as many surprises, as the story's basics were already revealed in book 1. What kept this one rolling along for me was the staff of the manor. These ghosts could move into my house and do my chores for me anytime. While the first book was more spooky, this one is like visiting old friends. I like how each previous bride's story is revealed and their portraits are found. And let's not forget the dog house. All dogs should be so lucky to have that masterpiece.

I'll be counting down the days until I can read the final installment.

Thanks to netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the arc.

A curse has stalked a family for generations

When her personal and professional lives imploded, Sonya MacTavish was stunned to discover that she had inherited a stately home on the coast of Maine. Her father, who had been adopted as a baby, had had a twin brother who was raised by their birth family….this uncle left the manor (and sufficient funds to maintain it) to Sonya with the condition that she live there for one year. Betrayed by her (now ex-) fiancé and left in professional limbo when he made their joint workplace toxic, she moved herself to Maine. She fell in love with the house at first sight, but soon discovered it came with a full complement of ghosts. Most are benign, even friendly, but the ghost of a witch named Hester Dobbs is evil and is determined to be the forever mistress of the manor. She put a curse on the Poole family generations earlier, and has caused the death of a bride from each of seven generations…on their wedding day, no less. Sonya is determined to claim the manor as her own and is learning (mostly) how to put up with her nasty spectral housemate, with the help of her best friend Cleo, her newly discovered cousin Owen, and Trey, the young lawyer whose family has been friends with the Pooles for generations. As Sonya works to develop her fledging solo business and plans a major party to invite the people of Poole’s Bay into the home she is creating, she learns more about the women who have loved and died in Lost Bride Manor and is determined to find justice for them. As Hester continues her particular brand of terrorism, can Sonya and her friends find a way to banish the witch once and for all?
The Mirror is the second in this latest series blending romance and the supernatural from prolific author Nora Roberts, with a third due to follow. Fans of Ms Roberts will recognize many elements common to her writing…the smart, determined and beautiful female protagonist, her equally clever and good looking love interest who both recognizes her capabilities and still wants to fight battles with and/or for her, the loyal friend who is a sister of the heart if not by blood, and the importance of family and heritage. The dialogue features plenty of humor and snark as needed, the characters each have a backstory and are making their mark in the world, and there are beloved pets (here a trio of dogs and the cat who settles right in alongside the canines) to complete the household. A highly entertaining and enjoyable read, sure to be on the TBR list of Nora Roberts’ many fans and for those (very few) readers of romantic suspense who have yet to read her, if you like Linda Howard, Iris Johansen and Kay Hooper then add this to your list as well. Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for allowing me early access to The Mirror….I eagerly await the conclusion to this mesmerizing series.

When Sonya MacTavish inherits the huge Victorian mansion on the coast of Maine, she has no idea that the house is haunted. The footsteps she hears at night, the doors slamming, the music playing, are not figments of her imagination. Then one night a mirror appears and Sonya glides through it into the past—and sees a bride murdered on her wedding day, the circle of gold torn from her finger. It is a scene that will play out again and again—a centuries-old curse that must be broken—and a puzzle she must solve if there is any hope of breaking the curse.

I didn’t realize that this was book 2 in a trilogy, but Roberts does a good job of recapping the first book so that reading this as a stand-alone was totally fine. I had a hard time keeping all of the characters straight, though, because there are a lot of them, and a few have the same name for some reason.

Sonya is very earnest, in an annoying way. Like, real people don’t talk that way. I think it’s supposed to make her endearing but she just rings false to me. Actually, all of the characters are like that. They have no faults, they’re all super supportive, self-deprecating, and empathetic to a very irritating degree.

But I did enjoy reading about the curse. A witch, Hester Dobbs, who was scorned by one of Sonya’s ancestors, has vowed to take her revenge on all the brides in the family. Every time Sonya has a dream/vision in the mirror, she learns a little bit more about Hester and her motivations and that was the most interesting part of the book for me. The romance portion of this book wasn’t very romance-y. Sonya is already with her boyfriend in this book and he’s kind of an afterthought throughout. I assume book 1 is more about their relationship and how they fell in love.

Overall, I was very bored, and I was more interested in the villain than the main characters. The book ends on a cliffhanger for book 3, but I have no interest in reading it.

Much thanks for Saint Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the eARC of The Mirror in exchange for an honest view. I was very excited to continue The Lost Bride Trilogy by Nora Roberts because I loved Inheritance (book 1) so much.

Rounded up from 3.5 stars. I enjoyed The Mirror, the addition of new animals and ghosts, and I loved seeing Sonya, Trey, Cleo, and Owen make the house theirs. Also, the dream/Mirror sequences were very strong and added a lot for me. Those scenes were among my favorites. I think, though, that the book’s pacing lagged when it focused on many mundane tasks the characters faced related to their jobs without focusing on the central storyline of them/the brides versus Hester Dobbs. I also struggle with dialogue where it’s not clear who’s speaking until a couple of sentences or paragraphs later and found that slowed down my pace quite a bit.

I’m curious to see what a potentially new side plot may be in book three (spiteful ex? Roberts is known for those books too), and I absolutely plan to finish the trilogy. I just would have liked more answers to who is Dobbs and why does she want the manor so badly.

Overall, I would recommend The Mirror. It’s intriguing, carries along some great characters from Book 1, and I really want to read Book 3 now 😊.

Can Nora Roberts write a bad book? It’s just not possible. Book #2 in the “Lost Bride” Trilogy continues the tradition of incredible books by this author. This trilogy is shaping up to be my new favorite by this author.

Book #2 begins precisely where the first book ended. Sonya is settled into her new home with her best friend Cleo and working on her new business. But the house still has more stories to tell.

This is the perfect middle book. We get to know more about the family and friends that are important to our main characters. We also learn more about the house. The house is really my favorite character in this one. There is so much history in this one, and more importantly, more about the lost brides.

I wasn’t sure what I was expecting from the ending of this one, but it was perfect. The stage is now set for the final book, and I cannot wait to read the ending!

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to both read and listen to this amazing story! Brittany Pressley does a phenomenal job - as always - narrating this audiobook. The wait is now on for the finale. This one is out now - I highly recommend this one!

The Mirror is a delightful second installment in The Lost Bride trilogy that picks up right where Th Inheritance left off. Filled with romance, adventure, mystery, and magic both light and dark, it’s classic Nora Roberts - incredibly entertaining and well-written.

Thank you Nora Roberts, St. Martin's Press, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for providing this ARC for review consideration. All opinions expressed are my own.

I'm in love with this series. I get so upset with having to wait for the next title to come out, especially since each book ends on a bit of a cliffhanger. I love how Roberts has shifted her writing style over the years. I used to read her for the romance, but with this series, I'm reading it for the haunted storyline.

Poole Manor is the fantabulous home to Sonya and Cleo and their two pets Yoda and Pye. It’s all good except for the unwelcome occupant of the Gold room. If they could just figure out how to get rid of her, life would be perfect.
In the second installment of Roberts’ Lost Bride Trilogy we find Sonya and Cleo settling in nicely and establishing themselves in their careers. Roberts does an excellent job of setting the scene and the pacing is spot on. I like the way the stories of the previous occupants is done, their marriages and what happened to them. I like that the two main characters are strong, talented women and their two men are so supportive and are there for them when needed. I like most of the other occupants of the Manor especially Molly and Clover. Clover plays the best music! I don’t much care for the villainess, but have to admit she’s a scary one and look forward to reading how she’s dealt with in the final book. 4.5 stars

The Mirror by Nora Roberts

The Mirror is the second installment of The Lost Bride trilogy. The story continued right where book one left off. We learn more about the history of the manor and the backstories of the seven lost brides in order get a better/thorough understanding of the story/plot. I did enjoy book one more which helped build the mystery and pull the reader in. I appreciated the humorous scenes sprinkled throughout the story that involved the ghosts of the manor.

It was longer than it should have been though (over 400 pages). The author focused a lot of attention on Sonya’s and Cleo’s daily schedule and activities (working out, cooking, work schedule/breaks, figuring out what’s for dinner, taking the dogs out) which slowed the pace of the book. There was also a lot of unnecessary dialogue (fillers) which did not add to the story.

The cliffhanger is nothing like book one which left the reader hanging. It just ended. I will continue onto the third and final book as I am eager to see how everything wraps up. All in all it was a solid read.

3 stars ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️

Thank you NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Mirror, the second book in Nora Roberts' Lost Bride Trilogy, seamlessly continues the story begun in The Inheritance. Sonya, having inherited a mysterious manor from the family she never knew, delves deeper into a world of newfound family, friendships, community, intrigue, and danger.

Nora Roberts masterfully blends fantasy with an undercurrent of mystery, crafting a rich and immersive world. The story’s themes of connection and self-discovery are complemented by vivid world-building and a sense of darkness that keeps the reader engaged. While the pacing is occasionally slow and some elements feel repetitive, the overall narrative is compelling and satisfying.

I read this book alongside the first in the series, which enhanced my experience and helped me fully appreciate the continuity of the plot. With its intriguing twists and a cliffhanger ending, The Mirror ensures I’ll be eagerly awaiting the final installment.

Thank you, St. Martin's Press and NetGalley, for providing me with this book!