4 Stars

1806 

Astrid Poole, a happy bride in love with Collin Poole, was excited about her future. However, before her marriage was consummated, she was murdered and the ring torn from her finger. Astrid promised never to leave Collin and kept it for centuries. 

Sonya MacTavish is a graphic designer who ended up without a fiancé and her wedding in a few minutes. However, a bigger shock to her is finding out that her late father was adopted and had a twin brother. Sonya has inherited a Victorian mansion on the Maine Coast. 

Reaching the mansion, Sonya is excited and nervous. Despite her self-assurances, she has to soon admit that the mansion is indeed haunted by the Lost Brides. She needs to break the centuries-old curse to free the ghosts as well as herself and the future generations from brutal deaths. 

The story comes in Sonya’s third-person POV with snippets from others’ POVs. 

I’m always excited to read a book by Nora Roberts. It’s been a while since I enjoyed her works, so this seemed like a good opportunity (I’d have been happier if all three books of the trilogy were out but two are better than one). 

The book takes its time to get to the gothic mansion. The beginning establishes Sonya’s character and gives us an idea about her family, career, etc. Though we are made to wait, this initial setup makes it easy to understand how she settles in Poole Manor once she gets there. 

I absolutely love how the author writes friendships. I’ve seen this in most of her books and enjoy it every time. They could be cousins, best friends, childhood buddies, new friends, or anything basically, the interactions are usually positive, cheeky, and fun with many feel-good vibes. No gender bias either. 

Another aspect I noticed is how at least one main character is an artist (professionally). The characters are not only talented but love their craft and are passionate about it. I enjoy the scenes detailing their artwork. 

Naturally, I loved Cleo. She is not just a perfect balance to Sonya but also a very lovable character. The men (Trey and Owen) are just as good and complement the ladies well. 

Descriptions are another favorite. It was her books that made me fall in love with magical Ireland. While this one doesn’t reach that level of awesomeness, I could picturize the mansion and the surroundings. Who wouldn’t want to live there (never mind the haunted part)? 

One thing I didn’t expect was the slower pace throughout. I usually used to breeze through her books (to be fair, most of them were physical copies from the library) but this one took some time. I wasn’t bored but I wondered why the % moved so slowly. 

The romance between the lead couple could have been a little slower. While they don’t jump into the act right away, the slow burn is missing. I wouldn’t have minded a bit more teasing. 

Thank god I had the next book ready. That was one heck of a cliffhanger. Most of her trilogies tend to have moderate cliffhangers. Of course, this one deviated from the template of three couples (which got repetitive), so maybe that’s the reason. 

Oh, there are a lot of characters to remember. That’s bound to happen when you need to cover seven generations. A family tree would be a spoiler, so we can’t ask for it. Just go with the flow. You’ll figure them out soon. 

To summarize, Inheritance is a slow-paced yet entertaining contemporary gothic romance with enough lighthearted moments to make you smile. The dogs are adorable!