The perfect read for November.

I absolutely love this series. Who doesn't love a haunted manor on the coast? The Inheritance was one of my favorite reads of 2023 and with the cliffhanger it ended on, I was anxiously waiting for the second installment.

The Mirror continued with the great atmosphere of the ghost filled manor and the continuation of the quest to end the curse. I love the little interactions the characters continue to have with the ghosts, they make the best DJ's! The strongest part of any of Nora Roberts books is her characters and their relationships. I enjoyed learning more about Sonia and Chloe as they grow closer together and with Trey and Owen. While some of the everyday happenings did feel like a filler, I do like to see the real life within our characters.

This was a great read and I look so forward to seeing how she concludes the series!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for the ARC!

The Mirror is book two in The Lost Bride Trilogy by Nora Roberts.
I really enjoyed book one Inheritance. And I was so excited to jump into the second book.
This one did not disappoint!
Roberts has a way of capturing your attention almost instantly and has you wanting more.
I could not put this book down.
Rich with world building and strong characters.
It’s an addictive page turner that keeps you hooked until the last page.

4.5 🌟
2 🌶️

The Mirror picks up right where Inheritance left off. The tone of the book switches from adrenaline surges, much like Sonya's coming to grips with living in a haunted house, to a calmer pace as her acceptance and comfort in the house grows. I enjoyed every page of this book as we got to know the characters more deeply and grew in their relationships with each other. We also get to know the ghosts more and their tragic ends. This book was needed to have our group of characters grow in their trust in each other and know what they are dealing with in Hester Dobbs. It was not fast-paced, nor was it edge=of-your-seat reading like Inheritance. But this book was needed. We needed time for Sonya and Trey's relationship to grow and to see where Cleo and Owen's friendship would go. It was a nice lull before the final showdown that will be coming in the third book. Read Inheritance and Mirror to prepare for what promises to be one big battle as Sonya gets retribution for the Poole brides.

Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martin's Press, for the eArc. These opinions are my own.

I loved the first book in this trilogy and couldn't wait to get my hands on this one! I waited as close as I could to publication to read it though because I know I will have to wait for almost a year to read book three. Ugh! I want to read it now! This series is so good! I love anything Nora Roberts, especially her trilogies. They always transport me to this fantastical world filled with magic and wonder and brilliant characters. This book did not disappoint. It started right where book one left off, engaging me until the very end. Of course, it ended on a major cliffhanger in preparation for the battle known to come, but that's a given with her books. I can't wait for book three! I highly recommend this series!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for granting me a widget via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review!

This book picked up right where the first book Inheritance left off on a cliffhanger. The mirror is another important piece of the puzzle, allowing Sonya and sometimes her cousin Owen to go back and see the brides and their tragic stories. As she settles into her new life, her new business, and her new relationship with patient and steady Trey, the ghosts of the Manor continue to make her feel welcome. But as the visions and bride portraits continue to appear, she still has no idea how to confront the evil that has taken over the house and restore the bride rings to their proper owners.
I absolutely loved the first book and had mixed feelings about this one. I hope that the final book contains more action because this one seemed to lag and have a lot of filler. There were the highs of discovering paintings or Sonya's strange pull to every appearance of the mirror and it's visions, but then there were the mundane details of her day in between. Still looking forward to the conclusion of this story though.

Thoughts
Who doesn’t like a good Haunted House story.?
I was lucky enough to have read Inheritance book 1 of this series so I’ve been waiting for this book to come out and here it is.
book one ended with a big cliffhanger and this book picks up where book one left off.
The mystery to this story is a antique mirror that holds a dark family secret that Sonya discovers when one night Sonya is draw into the mirror and end up in the past where she witnesses a bride being murder on her wedding day
Once Sonya witness this and learns her family secrets she determined to break a curse.
This is a great ghostly story where even the mansion in Maine add that special eeriness to it. This story blends mystery, history and a supernatural eeriness that makes this a book you will want to read.
I recommend as always to read book one first Inheritance then The Mirror so you get the background to this mysterious mansion and family. But does the story end I guess you will have to find out

In true Nora fashion this did not disappoint. For me, Nora is just a classic you can’t go wrong with. I was super excited to keep following this story because “Inheritance” was soo good and it didn’t disappoint. Sonya and Cleo are just so likeable. Definitely recommend!

This is the second in a trilogy and you could tell everything that was happening in this book was setting us up for the finale.

Kind of slow at points. To the point where I got bored a bit at times (especially during all the work-related scenes…felt those could have been a bit shorter, not as frequent). Lots of back stories on the seven brides.

Still a decent story, just go into it having read the first book and knowing all the “good stuff” won’t happen until the final book.

Of course it ended on a big cliff hangar, so I’ll be picking up the next book when it comes out.

I received this book free of charge from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

The stories of Lost Bride Manor’s inhabitants continue to unfold in The Mirror. Sonya, Trey, Cleo, and Owen live, love, and tease out the manor’s mysteries as they prepare to battle a supernatural evil. The Mirror is very much a bridge book, but Nora Roberts’s writing is so engaging that it’s easy to become lost in the tale.

After traveling through the mirror and seeing the death of another of the manor’s brides, Sonya is more determined than ever to stop Hester Dobbs. I enjoyed watching Sonya put the pieces together, to come to know the brides and those they love. It makes what’s at stake much more interesting when you learn the stories of the manor’s ghostly residents. Dobbs is as evil as ever, trying to thwart our heroes so she can continue her reign of hatred and sorrow. I liked that no matter how terrifying Dobbs is, Sonya, Trey, Cleo, Owen, and their assortment of animals don’t back down. They live their lives, the couples continue or start to fall in love, and they breathe life into the manor.

I loved the rich atmosphere and the various stories Roberts wove through this book. The story was engaging from beginning to end, no doubt. That being said, I sat with it for a few days after finishing reading, unsure of how to rate the story as a whole. I thoroughly enjoyed it because I liked the characters and Roberts’s writing. However, The Mirror is definitely part of a greater whole rather than an entire book on its own. Where the first Lost Bride tale, Inheritance, introduced the world and was satisfying in its own right (cliffhanger and all), this story is hampered slightly the fact that the overarching arc means our heroes can only gather pieces and prepare for the final battle. I cannot wait to see what Nora Roberts has in store for readers with the final Lost Bride book!

I adored the first book and could not wait for this one. I love Sonya, Cleo, Owen, and Trey and I absolutely adore the house and its ghostly residents. This starts up right where the first book left off. The four friends are fully engaged with a long dead woman who has stalked the Poole family and the Brides of the Manor house for generations. The 3 dogs and the cat add some humor, and I love getting to know the ghosts a little better. I love Jack and Molly and Clover's musical editorials. I would also pay serious money for a chance to explore the Manor, and it is now at the top of my list of fictional places I wish were real!

This atmosphere in this book is perfect. It's spooky and heartwarming all at once with ghosts both good and really really bad. I love that Sonya is learning more about her family as she becomes more comfortable in the family home. The romantic relationships are really nice with great communication but what really makes this book special to me is the friendships between the four main characters.

This is definitely an in-between book. The story starts off where the first book left off and nothing is resolved by the end. I do wish I had reread the first book before I picked this one up as while there is not a huge cast of living characters there are a lot of ghosts and brides and intricacies of relationships that I couldn't fully remember. I very much enjoyed this one, but I think I would have enjoyed it even more if I had read the book closer together. I won't make that mistake for book three and am already looking forward to a reread!

I really enjoyed Inheritance, the first in the Lost Bride series. But I just can't muster the enthusiasm for this sequel. Inheritance ended on a cliffhanger, and The Mirror jumps right off from that point with no backstory at all to re-ground a former reader or draw in a new one. The book relies on heavy dialogue and similar haunting scenes, which don't offer any breakout from the predecessor. Granted, Nora Robert's In The Garden series is years old, but I loved every book in that trilogy because it focused the story through a different heroine each time. This book feels like it was written in one big, continuous session and lopped off to halve it. Some readers might appreciate staying grounded in the same world through the same lens, but I'd have preferred to see Cleo get her spin. Maybe she'll take over in book three...

3.5 stars. The Mirror is book 2 in The Lost Bride trilogy. It’s a typical book 2-no real conflict or resolution as we’re just marching on to book 3. But it was fine. Hester Dobbs is still playing her tricks on Sonya, Cleo, Trey and Owen. The ghosts of the manner are still very charming.

In this installment, Sonya and Owen go through the mirror where more history is unraveled. We meet more of Sonya and Cleo’s family. There’s really sweet scene where Sonya’s grandmother thanks her dad’s mom, the ghost Clover, for her gift.

But I was hoping for more from all of these characters. Even Cleo and Owen’s consummated relationship was very flat.

Overall, I liked The Mirror and have really high hopes for book 3. Thank you to #netgalley and #stmartinspress for the advanced e-copy of #themirror. This book is out Nov 19 2024.

The Lost Brides Trilogy is a ghost-filled tale about finding your place in the world and staking your claim in it no matter who haunts you. Sonya and Chole have lived in the Lost Brides Manor for a year, and a lot has happened. They learn more about Dobbs, who torments them, and the other ghosts living in the manor with them. I love the nice ghosts. They add a great quirk to this manor that Dobbs is always determined to keep. Sonya and Chloe are pursuing their dream jobs in their own perspective offices in the manor, and in true Nora Roberts, romance is brewing, and it is so sweet and perfect. I love reading the details about Chloe's paintings, including the addition of a cat she houses, breaks with the dogs, and eventually takes on a boat ride. Sonya owns her strength, and that gets to shine when she goes up against her ex. The romance for her is so sweet, and the filling up of the manor with family and friends is the perfect hit back at Dobbs, who is determined to ruin Sonya's joy. I am eager for book 3.

Review will be on blog on release day.

I have waited all year for Book two, Book one left me on a chokehold, and I knew that Book was just going to continue to do the same, lol. So we have Sonya and Cleo (her best friend and BAD ASS), Who finds out that she comes from a huge and a very well-known family, she inherited a Manor, that is haunted. I will say this, you have to read a book one in order for you to understand book 2, this is just the way that Noah Roberts does her thing when it comes to her books that are in a series. I loved each and every single one of these characters, even the ghosts except for Dobbs, we don’t like her.

We get more in depth with each and every single one of the brides story, and more and more it gets super emotional, I had to catch myself from time to time. But this time Sonya, is making sure that none of their stories are forgotten. There are so many secrets that these past Poole brides and even the Poole Men are revealing to Sonya in this book. We get a new budding romance, it’s just everything I needed in book 2 and Nora has to give us book 3, TOMORROW!

3.5 part two stars

I went into this one with high expectations since I loved the first installment of the Lost Bride Trilogy. I loved the setup and introduction of the characters in that one, which ended with an intriguing cliffhanger.

Maybe because this is the second installment, it continues the story but leaves the conclusion to the next book. As I look back, it’s hard to point to much progress in the story. We are treated to some vignettes of the past with several more brides, and I enjoyed those.

Like the first book, Sonya is still the focus of the story. I wasn’t sure if we might shift to her friend’s perspective more in this one. The house is still a gorgeous character, and the ghosts who live there range from helpful to threatening.

I’m looking forward to the final book in this series and learning how Sonya and her friends will break the curse. I think there will be a lot to navigate in the last book.

Thank you, St. Martin's Press and NetGalley, for an eARC of this title in exchange for an honest review! All opinions are my own.

I absolutely LOVED the first book in The Lost Brides series, Inheritance. It was perfectly haunting and I enjoyed the characters and the writing so much. I wish I could say the same for The Mirror.

It starts right where the cliffhanger from the first book left off, thank goodness! And the book is aptly named as the mirror is a very prominent part of the story. Sonya, Cleo, Trey, and Owen are the four prominent characters of the story. And of course I can't forget our cast of four-footed friends either! (I seriously love when writers introduce animals to the story and then keep them around!) As the characters learn more about each of the lost brides and their tragic fates, Sonya is more determined than ever to face the evil haunting her home. But can she break this curse and find her own happily ever after?

This wasn't a bad book by any means, but I definitely did not like this one as much. The writing was okay, but it was more so that the pacing dragged. You know those great stories, the ones that make you wish you could actually live with the characters day in and day out. Well, your wish is granted in this book and lets just say actually reading about the day in and day out life of a character is not the best experience. It became nearly monotonous, even with ghosts popping in and out sporadically. In the first book, it was much more suspenseful because the reader didn't know when a ghostly encounter would happen. In this one it was guaranteed some type of spirit would show itself in pretty much every chapter.

It's hard not to compare the first and second book, but I'm having a hard time reconciling that these were written by the same author. It just felt so different.

Some things I did love- getting to know the side characters more. They were definitely fleshed out a lot more, but that's to be expected after living with them for a month. I loved seeing the lost bride's stories as well. We learn so much of this family's tragic past and a lot of secrets come to light in this installment. I also loved how confident the main FMC becomes in this book. She's owning her haunted mansion, her business, and her love story. Does Sonya still have doubts and fears? Absolutely, and I appreciated seeing her show those vulnerabilities and still kick ass!

I will continue the series as I am pretty invested and I want to know what happens! I'm just hoping for some better pacing, and also some better dialogue. (A lot of it was clunky or just too much.)

I picked this book up not knowing that it is the second installment of a trilogy. It might have been good to read ‘The Inheritance’ first but I gave it a shot. So, it sounds like the first book was all about how Sonya McTavish inherited this gorgeous seaside mansion in Maine, The Lost Bride Manor. Now she has moved there with her best friend, Cleo. They both love the house even though it is haunted by generations of ancestors, mostly friendly ghosts but also one very bad resident witch who has murdered 7 brides in the house and stole their wedding bands. It is now up to Sonya to find the rings and break the curse while the bad witch is doing everything to chase Sonya and Cleo out of the house. Can Sonya solve the mystery of the Mirror that keeps showing up in different locations and allows her glimpses into her ancestors’ past?
Part horror, part rom-com, this book is a charming and paranormal novel about family, friendship, loyalty and love. The characters and their pets are so lovable, even the ghosts with the exception of one, of course. The atmosphere of the house is described so well, and I enjoyed the sense of companionship and village community. A captivating and entertaining read with strong female characters, I didn’t want it to end and am eagerly awaiting the next installment to get closure for the family. I’m suspecting it will be an explosive ending.
Thank you Netgalley, St Martin’s Press and Miss Nora Roberts for the opportunity to read this advance copy. I am honored and thoroughly enjoyed it. The above is my honest review and own opinion.

This is book #2 in The Lost Bride Trilogy. I admit, I had forgotten a lot of the details from the first book, so I felt a little adrift at first. I really wished that the author had included a recap at the beginning of the book to help bring people like me up to speed. Alas, there was no recap, so I was forced to rely on what memory I had of the previous book. Fortunately, the author did include references throughout the entire book, referring to things that had previously occurred and that helped to jog my memory. I think that is the only reason I didn't enjoy this book as much as I did the previous book. I still enjoyed the concept of the main character moving into a house haunted by a ghost who killed all of the brides in her family and took their wedding rings. I liked Sonya, the main character, and her best friend and roommate Cleo. I thought some of the dialogue was clunky, but that is like the dialogue in all of this author's books. I am looking forward to seeing how this trilogy concludes - will they be able to banish Hester Dobbs? Also, will Sonya & Cleo both have happy endings with the men they are falling for, once the ghost is banished for good? We shall see.....

This was as entertaining as Inheritance, the first book in the series. The cliffhanger is quickly resolved, and the story moves on as Sonya lays claim to her home with the help of her best friend, Cleo, her boyfriend, Trey, and her cousin, Owen. I would highly recommend reading Inheritance before diving into this one, especially if you love a good ghost story.

This is well-written. The characters are interesting and have relationships that we all long for. The dialog is witty, and the villain is just plain evil.

I really enjoyed it, and I can't wait to see how this trilogy ends next year.

Not family friendly due to profanity, violence, and sex.

📖+ 🎧: The Mirror-The Lost Bride Trilogy Book #2

✍️ By: Nora Roberts- I read Inheritance and gave it 5 ⭐

🙏🏾: Thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, Macmillan Audio and Nora Roberts for this ARC & ALC🪞! I voluntarily give my honest review, and all opinions expressed are mine alone.

🗣️ Narrator: Brittany Pressley voices all the characters. The narrator's voice fit the characters with standouts from Sonya, Cleo, and Owen. The reading style brought the text to life, and the author and narrator worked together perfectly. The pacing and flow allowed me to get lost in the story. The narrator paused and announced new chapters and there was a table of contents which helped me follow along.

🏃🏾‍♀️Run Time: 13:48

🗓️ Publication Date: 11-19- 24 | Read: 11-14 -24

📃Page Count: 448 eBook

Genre: Time Travel, Fantasy, Mystery/Suspense, Paranormal Romance

Tropes: ghosts, gothic mansion, magic, inheritance

🌏Setting: Maine

⚠️ TW: murder, suicide-just mentioned, grief

☝🏾POV: 3rd person, single

💭 Summary: Sonya MacTavish has settled into Lost Bride Manor with her BFF Cleo and its ghosts. Trey, Owen, and the furry children join in when Sonya has dreams and is forced into the time travelling mirror to see all the brides. Sonya and Cleo make a huge effort to become a part of the community by networking and throwing a party at the mansion. Sonya flashbacks to see all the brides right before their deaths to gather clues on how to defeat the evil witch Dobbs.

🚺Heroine: Sonya "Son" MacTavish-a freelancer, created her own graphic design company- Visual Art. Inherited a haunted mansion from her uncle Collin with glimpses of the past, portraits of the 7 brides, and visions within an antique mirror


🎭 Side Cast

✓Cleopatra "Cleo" Fabares-Sonya's BFF, lives w/her- an artist/illustrator

✓ Trey Doyle-Sonya's boyfriend, a lawyer

✓Owen Poole-Sonya's cousin, a craftsman

✓Hester Dobbs-the 200-year-old witch who cursed all the Poole brides. She murdered them, and took their wedding rings

✓Deuce-Trey's father, was BFF with Collin

✓Collin Poole-Sonya's deceased uncle and her father's twin brother

✓ Brandon Wise-Sonya's ex-boyfriend who cheated on her. Works at Sonya's old job Ryder Sports

✓Pye, Mookie, Yoda, Jones -the furry family

🤔 My Thoughts: This a great follow up that expanded the Lost Bride Manor's world. Clover, Molly, and Jack were welcomed additions who helped Sonya. I loved Patricia Poole with her ambition, Gretta, her daughter who raised Collin, and Collin the rebel. Can't wait for the final showdown between Sonya and Dobbs!

🌶️: Spice 3/5-open door 1 scene
🎧: Narration 5/5
😭: Emotion 4/5
❤️: Couple 4/5
⭐️: Rating 5/5