Stars of Fortune
The Guardians Trilogy, Book #1
By Nora Roberts
ISBN# 9780425280102
Author’s website: www.Noraroberts.com
Brought to you by OBS Reviewer Daniele.
Synopsis:
To celebrate the rise of their new queen, three goddesses of the moon created three stars, one of fire, one of ice, one of water. But then they fell from the sky, putting the fate of all worlds in danger. And now three women and three men join forces to pick up the pieces…
Sasha Riggs is a reclusive artist, haunted by dreams and nightmares that she turns into extraordinary paintings. Her visions lead her to the Greek island of Corfu, where five others have been lured to seek the fire star. Sasha recognizes them, because she has drawn them: a magician, an archaeologist, a wanderer, a fighter, a loner. All on a quest. All with secrets.
Sasha is the one who holds them together—the seer. And in the magician, Bran Killian, she sees a man of immense power and compassion. As Sasha struggles with her rare ability, Bran is there to support her, challenge her, and believe in her.
But Sasha and Bran are just two of the six. And they all must all work together as a team to find the fire star in a cradle of land beneath the sea. Over their every attempt at trust, unity, and love, a dark threat looms. And it seeks to corrupt everything that stands in its way of possessing the stars…
Review:
I am not an avid Nora Roberts reader, but I have enjoyed several of her books. I fully realize her books follow a certain formula, but I somehow expected a little more from Stars of Fortune. The premise is good, albeit familiar. Three goddesses create gifts for their new queen but are forced to hide them from Nerezza, the mother of darkness, so that she does not take all of the power. Six strangers are fated to come together to save the world. This sounds like something I’ve already read….
This book follows Sasha, a seer. Haunted by dreams and the strangers in them, she is drawn to the island of Corfu. She meets said strangers, who have also felt compelled to come to Corfu and hears the story of the Legend of the Stars. It quickly becomes apparent that they have to work together to find the fire star.
Most of the book is spent introducing the characters so its pace seemed to just plod along. We meet artist Sasha, magician Bran, archaeologist Riley, wanderer Sawyer, warrior Doyle, and loner Annika. Their regular personas are ok, but their alter egos that they keep secret are much more interesting. Honestly, I think the forthcoming books will be much more appealing because of the other members of the chosen six.
I did not care for Sasha. Maybe I see too much of myself in her thus making her a bit uninteresting. Her lack of belief in herself was frustrating and annoying. Bran is appealing enough, but their relationship totally fell flat. There was no getting to know each other, no angst or progression to their relationship, and no real chemistry. I know Annika is supposed to be a fish out of water, but her naivety was irritating. I did find Sawyer charming and Riley spunky – so maybe there is some future potential there. Nerezza did make a sufficiently nasty “bad guy”.
The fantasy portion of the story was also all too familiar. There are a couple of battle scenes, but even those lacked believability and felt rushed and dragged out at the same time. I suppose the overall message I should take away from Stars of Fortune is that with love and teamwork, anything is possible.
Stars of Fortune was just an ok read for me. I think some Roberts fans will love it, and I hope they do. Recommended for romance fans who like magic
