Nell Channing is new to Three Sisters Island and has a furtive look about her, as though she’s being hunted. Given that Three Sisters Island is a small place where most people know each other, her behavior doesn’t go unnoticed. However, the inhabitants withhold their judgment and give her a chance to prove herself before they start getting suspicious. Nell is met with friendship on the part of Mia, a woman who gives her a job and rents her a place to stay. Nell also starts to develop a tentative relationship with Sherriff Zack Todd who comes from a family of law enforcers and is proud to be the one who keeps Three Sisters Island safe.
However, Nell is hiding a secret from everyone that she is deathly afraid to reveal. The truth is that her real name is Helen Remington, and she was in an abusive relationship. Finally, the only way she could get away from her husband was to fake her own death and take on a different name. This is the reason why she’s been acting so strange. However, given the support of her new friends and her romantic interest, Helen reveals the truth and, in doing so, also opens herself up to discovering her powers, because Helen is a witch!
Helen, Mia and Mia’s friend, Ripley, are descendents of the three witches who formed Three Sisters Island. Like Helen, they came there persecuted and driven away from their homes, but they cast a spell to make sure that at some point in the distant future, their descendants would be reunited on this island and live in safety.
Nora Roberts has taken up and developed a lovely idea in this trilogy, which combines elements of the real world and fantasy. This is a book that has something for everyone—the romantic, the fantasy lover and the thriller addict. The character of Helen is riveting and her emotional development through the book is empowering. The romance that develops between her and Zach consists of emotional bonding as well as a steamy physical element.
Roberts was born Eleanor Marie Roberts in 1950; she started writing after getting married and having two children. At first, she wrote category romances, but once she became established in this genre, she started experimenting more and introducing elements of fantasy and mystery in her writing to produce books like Dance Upon the Air. After being married for fifteen years, Nora divorced her first husband; she remarried a couple of years later. She is extremely prolific and finished writing a hundred novels in 1996. Her daily routine includes writing for eight hours everyday, even when she’s on vacation.
"I happened to read the second book in this trilogy before any others. I'm addicted, and think I'm bewitched. I have a feeling I will read all three many times again. Three Sisters Island has a history and now all three Sisters have found the island once again. The witchcraft makes me feel electrified, and Sister Nell's cooking makes my mouth water."
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Judyw (5 out of 5 stars)