The Mirror is the second book in Nora Roberts "The Lost Bride Trilogy". Although the story picks up right where book one left off, it started out a bit wobbly. But it quickly pulls together as the ghostly hauntings and the old mirror take their place center stage. I love the supernatural elements of these books that are not too scary or over-the-top for my taste.

At times, this book felt a bit repetitive to me, but I do love the strong friendships and loyalty between Sonya and Clea and Trey and Owen. The romance angle between the sets of friends, however, seems a little contrived and while the scenes and characters are enjoyable, these sections didn't seem to move the story forward.

I enjoyed learning the history behind the deaths of the brides as Sonya takes several trips through the mirror, absorbing the women's stories and their heartbreak. I'm not sure I felt the suspense of the first book in this follow up and the lowkey ending didn't provide the same cliffhanger feel. But I will be here for book 3 when it arrives (presumably) next year.

I loved this book so much. I was actually surprised at how much I enjoyed it because I hadn't read any books by Nora Roberts before this one. I can definitely see the hype with Nora Roberts now. I'm so into this series and can't wait for the rest of the series. It's a very addictive, intriguing, fun and cozy mystery series. It's a very well-written time-travel series, Nora Roberts definitely knows how to write.

The Mirror by Nora Roberts is the 2nd book in her The Lost Bride Trilogy. The Mirror picks up immediately after the ending of the first book, Inheritance. Sonya MacTavish, our heroine, begins to settle into her daily life with her best friend Cleo; as they both adjust to the ghosts of brides, as well as the evil murderer Hester Dobb, who murdered all 7 brides.

Trey and Sonya are even more romantic now, as their relationship become more serious. Cleo and Owen also became a couple; especially with all four of them constantly together. The Lost Bride Manor includes many deaths, with all the brides killed on their wedding day, centuries ago. Now in present time, Sonya is determined to find a way stop Dobbs, and find all the missing rings from each bride, to force the end of the curse. Other than Dobbs, the other ghosts are always helpful with both Sonya and Cleo; one sings songs, someone else makes the beds, cleans the kitchen, and even a young boy ghost, loves to play with Sonya’s dog. Dobbs was always causing temper tantrums, with slamming doors, loud noises, her evil laughter and flying objects.

Sonya will learn more about the history of each bride, especially when she gets to enter into the mirror, finding herself decades in the past, witnessing live the happy days of each bride, before it ends in tragedy at the murderous hands of Dobbs. Sonya also got to see Dobbs ripping off each of the wedding rings from each of the brides.

Sonya and Cleo were both strong and independent women; I loved their friendship, as they were always, they’re for each other. I also loved both Trey and Owen, as they made wonderful couples, with the men both sweet and supportive. I adored the dogs that played a major part of the story, with Yoda, Mookie, Jones and Pye, Cleo’s kitten who became part of the group.

The Mirror was another fantastic addition to this trilogy, with suspense, paranormal, romance, ghosts, supernatural, and an evil murderer. The Mirror was so very well written by Nora Roberts. I loved the book, and cannot wait for the final book in the Lost Bride series.

Nora Roberts trilogies have been my bread and butter for as long as I can remember. In my opinion, she has storytelling down to an art. I love that book one will always draw you in, and then book two helps to flesh out the story more.
The Mirror is no different, in this regard. I really liked that the next installment picks back up where book one ended.
One of my favorite things in the book is the care Nora builds in the friendship Sonya has with Cleo (and their adorable pets.) I think it rounds out the story in a really nice way, which a story with spooky/mystery elements really needs.
I really enjoy the paranormal/supernatural aspects of the story, and I'm excited to see where this is going. It reminds me of the same vibe as Midnight Bayou and The Next Always.
My only complaint is that I'm not a big fan of the past/present storytelling, but I can see why this story specifically needs the element of the past to make the plot work. Overall, I love this series, and can't wait to see where its going next.

I want to thank St. Martin's Press, Macmillan, and NetGalley for providing the e-ARC for review purposes in exchange for an honest review.

here we are at Book 2.
I didn't want to but since i read the first book, i felt like I had to follow through and figure out where exactly the story was going. This felt like more of a filler book...and longer than it needed to be.

I felt that there was a lot of nothing going on while waiting for the story to move along. A lof of cooking, work and ....just mundane stuff that if it wasnt the whole book i might be interested in.
I wanted more, and OF COURSE there is another cliffhanger .truely i think at this point, this could have been one book, but now that I've read the first book, I guess I'll stick it out and read the last one to see how everything ends up. .
Thank you to NetGalley for the Arc. All opinons are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and Nora Roberts for my gifted e-arc!!

I really enjoyed the first book in this trilogy, although I thought it to be a little drawn out, that was to be expected in a 3 book series. So I was pretty excited to get to book two and find out more about these brides and their rings!

However, this one kinda felt like a “place holder” until we get to the 3rd and final book and finally some answers. There seems to be a lot of accounts of the mundane day to day life chores with a lot of repetition about daily schedules. All the way through I was kind of waiting for something to happen. Anything. The parts that did get us farther along in the story were very engaging and really captured me ... I needed more of that! Also, the characters to me aren’t extremely likable. I feel like they are a bit immature and their language is a bit raw. My opinion.

I feel like maybe there isn’t enough story for a trilogy and could have probably been done better in just one or two books. Again, that’s just my opinion! I like my stories to move a bit faster! Having said that, I AM enjoying the series as the story is pretty unique and the mystery is wayyy creepy (and the friendly ghosts are FOR SURE the stars this show!) … hopefully when book three arrives, it is a satisfactory wrap!

3.75 Stars!

I loved that this story picked up right where the first book left off. It didn't take long for me to be pulled back into this world. If you like a story to have eerie vibes, but not be completely scary, then you would love this one! It has a haunted house and ghosts. I found it to be the perfect time to read this book as it's the fall season. There are cute animal companions as well that I would love to have in my daily life.

The pacing was a little bit of an issue for me about halfway through. I needed more from the main plotline, and in the middle, I think it slowed down a bit instead of building up for the ending. Also, I was expecting to get more new insights than what we got.

Overall, I enjoyed this book! I will be picking up book 3 when it comes out.

Thank you to the publisher for giving me this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

While I loved book one in the Inheritance series, book two left me wanting a little more movement with the plot. The characters are amazing, I love the relationship between Sonya and Cleo. I like how they are tough and fearless. Also, when the ghosts chime in with their quirky behaviors, it gives the story an oval endearing and heartwarming feel . A lot of this novel felt repetitive to me. Nothing moved, I felt like the characters were stuck in a ground hog loop, where each day was spent working, eating, and walking the dogs. And the plot didn't really move anywhere from the end of the first book. I look forward to book 3 though and can't wait to see how the series will end. I feel like we might be in for a jammed backed story.

I read and reviewed an advanced digital copy provided by netgalley and the publisher.

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 and doors slamming isn’t her imagination. In her dreams she sees glimpses of the past. While in the present she finds portraits of brides. One night a mirror appears and Sonya glides through it and into the pass 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 agaiin due to a centuries old curse that must be broken and a puzzle she must solve if there is any hope of breaking the curse. Will she break the curse?

The author has written a mystery, it’s also paranormal, romantic, suspenseful novel. There are ghosts and spirits. It was a hypnotic and compelling book for me to read. It’s ends on a cliffhanger. I can’t wait to read the next book

A nice second installment in the series. I would not read this as a standalone. This continues and builds on the mirror from book 2, hence the title. Sonya and Cleo are making the house their own, and making Poole's Bay their home. Both feel peaceful there, despite the one terrible ghost, and there is lots of domesticity in this book. The women build relationships with Trey and Owen, and the pets.
At times the book moved a little slow, but everything had a purpose. I don't care for Trey's term of endearment for Sonya, and I wish the two of them could put words to their feelings for each other.
Sonya meeting more relatives, along with the scenes with her mother and Cleo's family, are some of my favorites.
I wish there was a family tree or chart in the book, to show the different generations. There is talk of many different cousins, but I don't think they are all cousins in the traditional sense (like some are distant or removed, etc.). So many ancestors amongst the brides, the husbands, second wives, children - hard to keep them all straight without help.
Looking forward to book three and how this gets resolved.

I have very mixed feeling about The Mirror book two in The Lost Bride Series. I have always enjoyed a good Nora Robert’s novel especially her book series and the first book in the series was very engaging. The Mirror picks up where Inheritance leaves off with Sonya and Owen going through the mirror together.

Throughout the story Sonya along with Cloe, Trey and Owen we learn more history about each of the brides including their death – their back story and what happened to each I found interesting and fun. But it was mundane, the day to day lives of the characters vs more ghosty creep events happening. It is the constant repetition that night after night Hester Dobbs either would appear and makes havoc in the manor or they all witness her plunge to her death. And day after day Clover always picks the right song; Molly always selects the right outfit for Sonya and Cloe as well tidies the rooms; and Jack seems to always be playing ball with the dogs. I also found the lineage hard to keep straight – a family tree would have helped. The Sonya and Trey romance continues to grow and we finally get a little hint of a romance between Cloe and Owen.

While I do not mind a 435 page book, I guess I expected more than I got, I did enjoy the book but did not love it, I am looking forward to the conclusion of this series with the third book.

Thank you, Nora Roberts, St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for providing me with a digital ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. This novel was released on November 19, 2024.


Follow me on : https://linktr.ee/rosiesreadingnook

Here we are again at the spooky mansion in Maine with Sonya and her gang and I have mixed feelings about this one. This is a bit of a filler book and like the first is probably longer than it needs to be. The information about the day to day activities (every meal, every time the animals go do their business, Sonya and Chloe's daily work activities) is tedious. The constant rehashing of all the spooky stuff that happened is unnecessary. Every song that Clover plays (honestly does that ghost ever give them a little privacy!) Owen calling Sonya "Cutie" is just cringey.

We do get a little new information to move the story along. And again we end in a cliff hanger. So even though this book was very slow for me, I'd like finish the trilogy (that didn't need to be a trilogy, but that's Nora's thing I guess), and see how this is wrapped up.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for an advanced reader's copy of this book for my honest review.

This second novel in the Lost Bride Trilogy picked up right where the first book left off and drew me right back in. I love the coastal Maine setting, the gorgeous manor, and the engaging characters (including the ghosts and the animals). A little bit slower on the pace this time, but still the fun and light contrasted perfectly with the dark and creepy. One issue I struggled with: I would really have preferred if Cleo wouldn't call Sonya "Son," because every time I saw that I had to correct the pronunciation in my head so I wasn't saying son, as in a male child... In any case, this was still a thoroughly enjoyable story and I look forward to the next installment!

Another solid Nora Roberts novel. This one had some romance but was more focused on several aspects of the life of the main character, Sonya. It has lots about her family and friends; her haunted house and the run-ins she and her friends have with the evil Hester; and the good interactions with the benevolent ghosts. My favorite scenes in the book, though, were about her growing her business, which I never would have guessed. I'll definitely be reading the last book in the trilogy!

The second book in the series, so far this has been a very good series one that keeps you turning the pages. I look forward to the next book in the series, and would recommend this book to others.

I received and ARC from NetGalley and St. Martin's Publishers, and I am leaving my review voluntarily.

I love this series, just like I knew I would. The Mirror is the second in the Lost Bride Trilogy, and I ALMOST wish that I had waited until the third book was out to read the first two, because now I just have to know how it all will end. I am loving the #girlpower and paranormal vibes of Inheritance and The Mirror. From helpful ghosts to the spirit of a boy that entertain Sonya's dog while she works, this is Nora Roberts at her best.

I have been waiting on pins and needles for this one…. A LONG year later (I understand why, but I know many of us were ready for the second book as soon as we finished THE INHERITANCE), with The Mirror, we are back on the coast of Maine at Lost Bride Manor, with Sonya, Cleo, Yoda, the curse, and a house full of haunts, all but one of them happy. Together with Trey and Owen, their dogs Mookie and Jones, and the addition of Cleo’s rescue cat, Pye, they become more integral to each other and the story that’s unfolding.
I enjoyed the ride as we learned more about the curse, those it affected, and how it came to pass, while Sonia goes through the mirror, sometimes alone, sometimes with Owen. There is the deepening of Sonia and Trey’s romance, and a new one coming into play. What I really appreciate about this book was the strengthening of the characters and the deepening of the stories surrounding the brides, making us care as much as the characters in the book. Where others have commented that there was a little too much about Sonia and Cleo’s work, I feel it was an important part of their development.
When I picked this one up to read, I fell into the story and would have happily read it in one sitting if not for life intruding. As it was, I flew through it faster than I wanted and will now anxiously await the final book in The Lost Bride Trilogy.
Thank you to the publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of the novel. All opinions are my own and freely given.

Rating: 4/5
I received an eARC for my honest opinion.

This is book two of The Lost Bride Trilogy. I will admit that I didn’t realize when I requested this book, it was number two in the trilogy but let me tell you what, I didn’t have a hard time at all with understanding what was going on. I do have to say a lot of that is due to Nora Roberts retellings of things that happened in the first book and to her great job at the world-building and having great characters that I didn’t even need the first book, but I will be reading book one here soon because if it's anything like this book I know I will like it.

I liked that this book is about Sonya MacTavish who has inherited a Victorian mansion off the coast of Maine, but she had no clue that it was haunted by the ghost of seven brides who have died in that house on their wedding day. Why are they all dying? That is the mystery and one that you will know once you pick up these books. I liked that Nora gave the readers a glimpse of the past and why everything is happening. I loved getting to know the characters in this book and I can’t really say if the plot was coming through or not more in this book because I haven’t read the first one. However, for me that wasn’t a big deal because I got to focus on the characters, which I loved.

I found Sonya and Cleo to be the best of friends and where one might be lacking, that is where the other one will be there to help them. That is true friendship balance that you don’t see much in books anymore. You will see that these two women are strong and dedicated, who understand failure but don’t accept it, who will do anything to make sure that they get their HEA and to get through the hard times. I found the males in the book to be paired with the exact woman that complaints them, I liked that they’re there for Cleo and Sonya but they’re not trying to go above them or stop them from trying to understand what is going on in the house and how to stop it. I loved the romance between Sonya and Trey, and with Cleo and Owen it really helped to balance out the negative things that one spirit is doing around the house.

I received an audio copy of this book as well and I loved the narrator Brittany Pressley really helped this book shine with the characters, and the details to the book. I loved that she put her heart into narrating this book and helped bring it to life. I can’t wait to read book one and then book three, I must know how Nora is going to wrap up this trilogy.

I want to thank NetGalley, Macmillan audio and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to review this book.

First off, Nora Roberts is the QUEEN of cliffhangers. I loved this book so much I had to read it a second time right after I finished it. It is so well written and a super fun ride! I cannot wait for the third book, I know it will be amazing.

A solid second addition to this series. I kind of wish we had gotten a little further along in solving the curse, but overall I really enjoyed it! Nora always succeeds in creating a story we can just fall into, and this one was no different.