Review: Dark Witch (Nora Roberts)

Paperback, 368 pages

Expected publication: October 29th 2013 by Berkley Trade

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Nora Roberts comes a trilogy about the land we’re drawn to, the family we learn to cherish, and the people we long to love…
With indifferent parents, Iona Sheehan grew up craving devotion and acceptance. From her maternal grandmother, she learned where to find both: a land of lush forests, dazzling lakes, and centuries-old legends.
Ireland.
County Mayo, to be exact. Where her ancestors’ blood and magic have flowed through generations—and where her destiny awaits.
Iona arrives in Ireland with nothing but her Nan’s directions, an unfailingly optimistic attitude, and an innate talent with horses. Not far from the luxurious castle where she is spending a week, she finds her cousins, Branna and Connor O’Dwyer. And since family is family, they invite her into their home and their lives.
When Iona lands a job at the local stables, she meets the owner, Boyle McGrath. Cowboy, pirate, wild tribal horsemen, he’s three of her biggest fantasy weaknesses all in one big, bold package.
Iona realizes that here she can make a home for herself—and live her life as she wants, even if that means falling head over heels for Boyle. But nothing is as it seems. An ancient evil has wound its way around Iona’s family tree and must be defeated. Family and friends will fight with each other and for each other to keep the promise of hope—and love—alive…

Nora Roberts was born in Silver Spring, Maryland, the youngest of five children. After a school career that included some time in Catholic school and the discipline of nuns, she married young and settled in Keedysville, Maryland.
She worked briefly as a legal secretary. "I could type fast but couldn’t spell, I was the worst legal secretary ever," she says now. After her sons were born she stayed home and tried every craft that came along. A blizzard in February 1979 forced her hand to try another creative outlet. She was snowed in with a three and six year old with no kindergarten respite in sight and a dwindling supply of chocolate.
Born into a family of readers, Nora had never known a time that she wasn’t reading or making up stories. During the now-famous blizzard, she pulled out a pencil and notebook and began to write down one of those stories. It was there that a career was born. Several manuscripts and rejections later, her first book, Irish Thoroughbred, was published by Silhouette in 1981.
Nora met her second husband, Bruce Wilder, when she hired him to build bookshelves. They were married in July 1985. Since that time, they’ve expanded their home, traveled the world and opened a bookstore together.
Through the years, Nora has always been surrounded by men. Not only was she the youngest in her family, but she was also the only girl. She has raised two sons. Having spent her life surrounded by men, Ms. Roberts has a fairly good view of the workings of the male mind, which is a constant delight to her readers. It was, she’s been quoted as saying, a choice between figuring men out or running away screaming.
Nora is a member of several writers groups and has won countless awards from her colleagues and the publishing industry. Recently The New Yorker called her "America’s favorite novelist."

http://www.noraroberts.com

Where to start…First off let me just say that Nora Roberts is one of my “must-read” authors. I literally read every book she writes and am never disappointed. Her writing style grabbed me years ago and I still love every page! She can weave tales in such a way that you just feel as though you are in the story experiencing the heartache, suspense, or drama that she is intertwining. 

I knew when I saw Dark Witch that I absolutely had to have it. I LOVE any paranormal series she writes and the Pagan Stone series is one I still recommend people read! So the synopsis of Dark Witch started off describing a young woman’s urge to move to Ireland….ok yep had me at IRELAND! I mean a good romance with some paranormal mixed in AND in Ireland? Perfect build up for an incredible story!

I began reading Dark Witch and immediately fell in love with Iona’s character. She is young, strong-willed, and knows what she wants. She ignores her parent’s plea to stay home and packs up everything to move to Ireland. She can’t explain it but she just “feels” like Ireland is where she belongs. She has cousins that her grandmother has told her about and intends to visit them. Her grandmother has always told her of mystical tales of her background and inheritance in Ireland. She always told Iona that she believed she was special and supported her decision to move to Ireland to meet her cousins who are as special as she is. 

So Iona goes to Ireland and meets up with her cousins, Conner and Branna O’Dwyer. Iona learns that she is a descendant of the dark witch, Sorcha and that her destiny is intertwined with her cousins. They are the three that destiny has chosen to finally fight the evil sorcerer, Cabhan. Cabhan has tried for centuries to steal the powers of Sorcha and her descendants and has yet to accomplish this task. 

While learning what the future holds for her, Iona begins work at a stable close to her cousin’s home. It is here that she meets Boyle McGrath and immediately feels herself drawn to him. 

Throughout the entire book you get to learn about the background of the story and the characters and get what I call “sneak peaks” into what is to come. I loved this book and thought that between the magic and Ireland it was a great addition to the Nora Roberts family. Of course there is plenty of romance but I also loved reading about Sorcha and the pain she had to go thru to protect her family and descendants. 

If you are looking for a paranormal romance then this is definitely the book for you! I am looking forward to the next book to see what happens with these three cousins and their destiny…..