I do love Nora Roberts' trilogies with a fantasy/paranormal twist. The curse on the manor/brides is an entertaining plot line, but unfortunately, I felt like this book was so very slow. It is very detailed in parts- especially when Sonya goes through the mirror. You can really picture yourself in the scene through the description, and I love that. It's just some of it is too much, and the plot gets a little stagnant in the middle of the book. That said, I love the cliffhanger ending, and I cannot wait to see how she completes the story in book 3. Still a fan, even when the books read a little slow.

Sweet, low-key romance manages to blossom despite ghosts, creepy hauntings, and a wicked curse.

The Mirror picked up where Inheritance ended. Sonya and Chloe were truly making a life for themselves there, not just trying to survive Hester Dobbs. There were more emotional encounters with the brides and other characters from the past and that was a very interesting way of telling the family’s history. The spurned ghost continued in her disturbing attempts to intimidate our heroes. But so far, Sonya and Chloe, with Trey and Owen, haven’t done much to actively break the curse. Everything has been more like a fact-finding mission.

The romance part of the story was still mostly centered around Sonya and Trey, and I really enjoyed those two together. Chloe and Owen happened kind of quietly in the background. I did like Chloe’s take-charge attitude.

Most of the events were driven by dialogue, which were sometimes harder to keep my attention on. The story line moved at a steady pace, but maybe a bit on the slower side. And the author skillfully weaved ordinary life with the suspense that kept me invested enough to continue.

There is a third book to come and I am very curious to find out how they finally best the curse. Overall, this book covered Sonya’s integration into the community and her personal development quite well, but not much happened on the curse front.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Mirror is the second book in the Lost Brides series. It continues right from where the first book left off. However, I must admit, this book felt a bit slow for me. The storyline didn't progress as much as I'd hoped, and it seemed like there was a lot of filler. There was an excessive amount of talk about food - what they were going to eat, what they were making for dinner, actually making dinner, etc. I was really eager for more from the main storyline, not just the day-to-day, often mundane, lives of the characters. Despite this, I'm definitely invested in the main storyline of the series and can't wait to see how it unfolds in the next book.

The Mirror, Nora Roberts' second book in her Lost Brides Trilogy, picks up exactly where the first book, Inheritance, left off. Sonya and her cousin Owen have just walked through the mysterious Mirror in the manor that seems to call Sonya to it night after night. Once crossed, Sonya and Owen find themselves confronted with the past specifically the night one of the brides died. While Sonya and Owen look on, unable to change what has happened, they do begin to gather more information about Hester Dobbs' powers.

The Mirror is showing them specific events for a reason, but what the reason is remains unclear. The only thing Sonya knows is that the curse Dobbs brought upon the manor must be broken.

While listening / reading, The Mirror included all the things that make a Nora Roberts book a Nora Roberts book. It was easy to pick up and follow along from the previous book without having to go back and refresh. It almost moved into a "comfort read" category.

For better or worse what you expect is what you get. However, I wanted this middle book of a trilogy to give us more than we got. I wasn't surprised by much and a lot of the story felt like a retread of what we already knew about the brides, about Dobbs, and about the mansion itself. The few moments where something new is discovered or surmised are great and only makes me wish that we would have continued to follow that thread, but instead these instances were fleeting and only tease more to come, but with the caveat that we're probably not going to see it until the third and final book.

We get little in the way of actually figuring out how to stop Dobbs and her centuries-long reign over the manor. Instead we see over and over again the power she wields which, honestly is something we already know from the first book.

I'm really not trying to drag the story. I was fully invested in reading the entire thing and I'll admit I enjoyed it overall. I do think there is merit in reading something where the stakes aren't high. As I said earlier: comfort read. I just wonder how Nora Roberts will tie everything up in the next book when so little was given to us in this one to forward things along.

There's a lot of day to day and Sonya living her life and running her business. My favorite parts were the glimpses we get of the past and the ghosts. Honestly, I kinda just wanted Sonya to go through The Mirror and witness the past for the entirety of the book. I would have loved that. I did enjoy getting more information on the Brides themselves. I'm just waiting for whatever piece of information it is that will make the means for the resolution click into place. Unless I completely missed it, and Ms. Roberts hid a clue within the pages, this is not something we'll discover until the next, and final book.

This does actually achieve the goal of making me interested in how the story will conclude. So...well played Nora Roberts?

When 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, the doors slamming, the music playing, are not figments of her imagination. In her dreams she sees glimpses of the past. In the present she finds portraits of brides. And when she has visions of an antique mirror, she is drawn to it, sensing it holds dark family secrets.

Then one night the mirror appears and Sonya glides through this looking glass, into the past—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 again—a centuries-old curse that must be broken—and a puzzle she must solve if there is any hope of breaking the curse.

I really love Nora Roberts' writing style. Will recommend to others.

While I didn't quite love this as much as book one, it was still very good, and the setup for book three has me excited and intrigued. It didn't seem like as much happened in this one. However, that was fine. It focused more on character development and moving the story along. The characters themselves were enough to make this a fantastic novel. No one writes fully developed characters as well as the great Nora Roberts.They always seem so real, and you can't help but fall in love with them.

This was a beautifully written emotional book filled with magic, romance, evil curses, and a house full of ghosts that frequently show their personalities. The Mirror is an enchanting tale that brought me to tears in a few spots. I'm very much looking forward to the conclusion of The Lost Brides Trilogy.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are my own.

The Mirror may not be as tense and suspenseful as the first book in the trilogy, but it’s still an entertaining read. Readers who enjoyed Inheritance will still enjoy continuing Sonya’s story—and reading more about these lovable characters—and they’ll be eager to see how it all comes together in the trilogy’s upcoming conclusion.

Full review published on NightsAndWeekends.com and aired on Shelf Discovery.

Picking up right where The Inheritance ended, The Mirror is the second 5-star installment in The Lost Bride trilogy. Sonya and Cleo along with Trey, Owen, and all their other family members (four-legged and otherwise) all return for a page-turning ride to face yet more challenges from Hester Dobbs as they try to overcome darkness with positivity. As they bring more life and light into The Manor, how will Dobbs react, and how will that affect Sonya's search for the Seven Rings? Another truly enjoyable (even if haunting) read from Nora Roberts! It's going to be difficult to wait another year for its conclusion!

The Mirror is the second installment in Roberts' Lost Brides series. It picks up immediately where Inheritance left off, but by the end, I don't feel any closer to understanding Hester Dobbs or the rules of the quest Sonya has been put on. The only tension in the narrative relies on her inability to be successful, merely gathering information at this stage, but the stakes are incredibly low since there are no living brides to protect, and the dead ones are long dead. There are also recaps that take place after every single scene where anything interesting happens, immediately slowing the momentum of the story. I might read the next in this series, but at this point I'm just wondering why Hester Dobbs was so determined to haunt this place. It just feels like a lot of work for very little reward on her end.
I listened to the audiobook, and Brittany Pressley's narration is superb as always. Her Cleo was especially fun.
Thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Macmillan Audio for this ARC!

3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

I really enjoyed book 1, so I was hoping for more plot development in book 2.
I will finish up the series when book 3 comes out, but I'm hoping for a faster pace.

This book is a sequel to Inheritance and is the second of a planned trilogy. It picks up right where the first book leaves off and continues the story from there. Roberts does an excellent job recapping the essential pieces of the previous book within the first couple of chapters, but I still think it is necessary to read the first book before picking up this one. I really enjoyed getting to see Sonya and Chloe settling into the house, their careers, and their new relationships. Their willingness to embrace the ghosts that haunt the house and the resulting interactions are incredibly charming and honestly made me want to join the fun! However, this creates a major tonal shift from the first one for me.

Where the first book is incredibly suspenseful as Sonya figures out what is happening in the mansion, this one almost edges towards cozy with mild spooky elements. Though the horror and danger of the curse still exists, the group’s understanding of it and the slow development of this plotline takes away the sense of urgency. Though enjoyable, the greater focus on the daily lives of the main characters further slows the pace and also introduces some awkward dialogue exchanges that aren’t present in the first book. Overall, this feels very much like the middle book in a series that is really there to bridge the gap between the first and final book rather than standing out on its own. For that reason, I am rating it a 3.5, but some of the developments make me really excited for the next one!

Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

The Mirror is the second instalment of the Lost Bride Trilogy and picks up where Inheritance left off. I should preface my review with the warning that I didn't read the first book so my opinions may be skewed, since I felt that I was missing part of the story and background. Although I liked the premise I found it slightly repetitive and drawn out. It is not my usual choice of genre but I was intrigued. Overall, it was a readable book but I think I needed to read the first book before reading this one.
My rating 3 out of 5
Read this if you like:
-romantic suspense
-gothic haunted mansion vibes
-paranormal, ghosts and witches
-humour sprinkled throughout
-strong female protagonist
-seaside Maine setting
-unfolding historic mystery and family curse

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this eARC that will be published November 19 2024.

We're back in Lost Bride Manor with Sonya MacTavish as she comes to terms with inheriting a haunted mansion from a family she never knew she had. It's up to Sonya and her loved ones to find the truth behind the curse that keeps killing brides in the manor and get rid of the evil witch's spirit that's been haunting them for generations.

It wouldn't be a Nora Roberts story without the romance and we get two lovely stories to go along with the suspense and magic of the main plot. Both Sonya and Cleo get closer to Trey and Owen in ways that feel natural and perfect for the characters and story.

It starts exactly where the previous book ended, so this is definitely one you can't just pick up and jump into. Some things are explained, but you won't get as much of an emotional umph without being familiar with the first book's events.

I would enjoy it more if Roberts didn't feel the need to point out how strong and independent Sonya is. She is a strong woman and the things she's doing with her life and career, not just in dealing with the ghosts, are admirable and totally the actions of a very strong woman. We just don't need to read about how she's a strong woman on every other page. Let the actions speak for themselves.

My main issue here is that there seem to be too many things going on and it feels more like padding for page count than things that are necessary for the story. A couple of story points could be done away with to make the pacing a little better, but that's just me wishing to get more information on Hester Dobbs and the lost brides than the fascinating tidbits we get.

Overall, it's a solid continuation to the first book and it made me even more intrigued as to what could possibly come next.

Very happy thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the emotional read!

The second book in The Lost Bride Trilogy does not fail. Sonya, Cloe, Trey, and Owen learn more about the events of the past history of the house and the curse of Hester Dobbs. Hester is pure evil and trapped in the Lost Brides Mansion to her own accord. She creates havoc and noise. Sonya and Cloe are determined to find out the key to ending the curse and every tidbit of information begins to build on ideas.
I eagerly anticipate the last book to tie it all together.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of the book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing the ARC of the second installment of The Lost Brides trilogy. If you read the first book, you’ll definitely need to read this and of course the future third one. I didn’t find this as captivating as the first book, but it did serve to drive the story foesrd, revealing more about the brides and the mirror. I’m looking forward to the final book.

I am the kind of reader who tends to read series in order on principle, while understanding that others have different preferences, and can happily skip around a timeline. For this trilogy, however, that simply won't work.

Seriously, do not read this book if you haven't read Inheritance.

It's not a matter of spoilers (though, duh!), so much as it's a matter of missing all the background necessary to care about the characters and about their reasons to do what they do.

Of course Ms Roberts has a preface that reminds readers of the series premise, and the characters have conversations recapping some of the most salient issues from the previous book, but that's honestly not enough context.

Beware: suicide; equating mental illness with evil; alcoholism; domestic violence. Also, spoilers for the previous book in the trilogy.

I will repeat the warning about spoilers, because: this book starts literally in the same scene where the previous one ended. Sonya MacTavish and Owen Poole step into the mirror in the middle of the night in 2023, and into a wedding ball in 1916, in time to witness the murder--via magical means--of one of their ancestors, and the second of the Seven Lost Brides in the curse.

And yes, this is but one of the many paranormal events in the book; the trilogy is about a 200-years-plus cursed manor, after all.

As in the first book, the narrative spends quite a bit of time showing how good each of the four main characters, but most especially Sonya, are at their work; while it's true that competence porn builds up characterization, it also gets tiresome after a while, when we read the minutia of each project she's working on.

All the named characters but three, are really good people; they are also all very good at, and fulfilled by, whatever it is they do, from the people serving tables at local eateries to the person fostering animals for the area's pet shelter. The families of the four main characters are, without exception, both loving and accomplished--and that includes Cleo's grandmother, the 'good witch'.

Read that again: every white collar, blue collar, and hourly-wage-earning named character in the story are both really good at what they do, and really good people. There's no one working a job they can barely stomach because bills wait for no person's "joy in their work". Hell, even the *ghosts* of dead servants spend their eternity *happily* cleaning, polishing, gardening, and the like.

The exceptions to the "named character=good people" rule are: Patricia Poole, Sonya's great-grandmother, whose separation of her twin grandsons is the base for the whole "family you didn't know you had" premise; her daughter Greta, who has acute dementia; and Brandon Wise, Sonya's cheating asshole of a former fiancé.

Starting with the last, he's reintroduced to the narrative in a way that makes me think the author is setting him up to be a more significant antagonist in the third book, what with the stalker tendencies shown in the first book.

Patricia, of course is dead; while most people acknowledge her business acumen, they all also clearly disliked her. The only person who misses her is her daughter.

Greta has lived for several years in an upscale memory care facility, and her role in the narrative is to confirm the main characters suspicions as to how and why the twin brothers were split. My main problem with the treatment of this character is how a character that has been emotionally abused for all of her life is condemned for her "weakness" in complying with her abuser's demands.

Oh, there are a couple of lines acknowledging that Patricia kept Greta on a tight leash all of her life, but the latter's inability to break away is blamed on her, rather than on the lifelong abuse she suffered at the hands of her mother.

To be perfectly clear: Greta's complicity in splitting the twins is a bad thing, and the fact that she never loved the child she raised is also a bad thing. Equating her weakness with evil, however, sticks in my craw; it feels like just a different flavor of blaming the victim.

Which brings me to Hester Dobbs, late witch, currently evil spirit, and the fact that her characterization clearly equates mental illness with evil; the main characters spell it out, during one of the many rehashing of paranormal shenanigans, in exactly those terms at least once.

Beyond all the above, the cast of characters is also overwhelmingly white; besides Cleo and her family, who are both from Louisiana and mostly Black (because of course, right), there is only one, very minor character with a Latinx name. Everyone else: whiter than white.

Something else that made me twitch, even though it makes sense given the premise, was the emphasis on bloodlines. We are told over and over about the importance of found families, and how both Sonya's friendship with Cleo, and Trey's with Owen, are closer than those of many siblings, all at the same time that we are told how artistic ability passes down through the blood, and how important it is for Sonya to preserve the house because it comes down to her in an unbroken line of family, and so on.

With very few exceptions, the story is told from Sonya's point of view.

I mentioned at the top that most of the recapping of previous events is done, and mostly quite well, through conversations between the characters; Ms Roberts is a skilled writer, and therefore we don't have any obvious "as you know, Bob" expositions.

Unfortunately, what we do have is unnecessary repetition of events in this book; not so much as when a character recounts a specific paranormal incident in great detail with someone who wasn't there (though there are a couple of those), as when Sonya ruminates on what has just happened, what it means, what she must or can do, and so forth.

This is a romantic suspense story, albeit one with paranormal elements, that has very little suspense. By which I mean: despite a few scenes of more overt scary woo-woo, the characters and the readers both already know too much about the curse for the jump-scares to be truly effective.

And while it's still very readable to me, as the vast majority of Ms Roberts books are, this book bogs down at several points, which means I could and did put it down more than once. Then again, this is essentially an over-440-pages-long second part of a single, much longer narrative, where the first part was also over 400 pages long; it would be a miracle if it didn't drag some.

Where does this leave me? Well, the premise has lost some of its shine; I am curious about how the main conflict--how to recover the wedding rings to break the curse--is solved, and I would like to see how the original curse was cast in the first place, just for the mechanics of it, so to speak.

The Mirror gets a 7.75 out of 10.

good mystery about a couple and staying in a house and the other couple there. kept me on my toes . good mystery and figuring stuff out.

The Mirror is the second book of the Lost Bride Trilogy.
Frankly I struggled with the first book, Inheritance, due to its repetitiveness, but I was curious to learn more about the brides and the curse. Unfortunately the second book does little to move the story forward. It’s very repetitive and full of boring details about daily life that didn’t advance anything. By the end I had no interest in reading the upcoming third and final volume of the series.
I have usually liked Nora Roberts’ work having read many of her books. This was in my opinion a waste of a gothic plot.
Thank you to the author, the publisher St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an ARC.

The Mirror is book 2 in the Lost Bride Trilogy by Nora Roberts. I've been waiting for this book since I finished the first book, The Inheritance. Sonya MacTavish inherits a huge mansion in Maine in book 1 and has no idea that the house comes with many guests. The guests are ghosts and the mansion is haunted. Luckily, most of the ghosts are friendly and even helpful. One picks the perfect music for any occasion that arises while another cleans up, makes the bed, picks outfits to wear, etc. I wish I had a ghost like that! Sonya and her best friend Cleo decide to move to the mansion permanently and work from home. Cleo is an artist and Sonya does website design and marketing design for companies. She's recently left a firm in Boston and is on her own for the first time. Sonya is in a relationship with Trey, the son of the man who came and told her about her inheritance. They met while he was doing some work on the house before Sonya arrived, They've been together ever since. His best friend, Owen, has been with Cleo for almost as long. Trey is a lawyer like his father and Owen is a boat builder. The four of them spend a lot of time together at the mansion and are all aware of the doors that slam, the voices that arise, the music that plays, the little boy that comes to play fetch with the dog, and the mirror that appears at times.

Owen is Sonya's cousin and at the end of book 1 they went through the mirror and were in another time. Book 2 picks up right where Book 1 left off and it's pure magic. When Sonya and Owen go through it they see a bride murdered on her wedding day and her wedding ring taken off her finger by Dobbs, the bad witch. Dobbs is the dangerous witch who haunts the mansion. This mansion has been the place of horrors. Seven brides in total have lost their lives here and Dobbs was responsible for all of their deaths! She wears their wedding rings as badges of honor on her fingers. Dobbs is pure evil and doesn't want Sonya and Cleo living happily in the mansion. She thinks it belongs to her even though she's dead! Sonya continues to be drawn to the mirror when it appears and has little control over her feelings. She always goes through the mirror and witnesses another bride's death. Dobbs has put a curse on the mansion and Sonya, Cleo, Trey, and Owen must figure out how to break the curse! Sonya thinks it involves getting the brides rings back, but how? Dobbs wears them proudly. How can she get them back?

Sit back, relax, and be taken away for awhile by The Mirror. I absolutely love this series and can't wait for book 3 in the trilogy! Nora Roberts has created a story that makes you want to be in the mansion, help break the curse, and see happiness for the characters we've come to love! I rate The Mirror 5 stars with my highest recommendation. I'd like to thank NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an advanced copy of The Mirror in exchange for a fair review. The Mirror is available now and should not be missed. I recommend you start with The Inheritance if you haven't read that yet. I hope Nora Roberts writes fast as I can't wait for book 3! #TheMirror

Two hundred years ago a curse was set into motion when Hester Dobbs, a bitter, greedy witch, murdered Astrid Granville the day she wed Collin Poole at the Poole Mansion. After, Hester jumped off the cliffs to her death as she laid a curse on any future Poole bride. Since then, every Poole bride who aspired to wed and live in the manor died tragically on the day of her wedding. Hester stole the ring of every bride since, giving her more power to keep the curse going.

The Mirror picks up where The Inheritance left off, with Sonya MacTavish, the Poole heir, entering The Mirror and reliving the events of the past, witnessing Hester take her revenge on another bride. Hester still haunts the Poole mansion, and Sonya must find a way to break the curse.

The Mirror is the second book in The Lost Bride Trilogy, a series that needs to be read in order. Sonya and her best friend, Cleo, settle into the mansion, making it their own, while enjoying life with Trey and Owen, eating, drinking, painting, working, and getting to know the community. Sounded idyllic and lovely! Not much in the way of plot movement, but it the story was engrossing. Hester continues to haunt and cause trouble, but Sonya is determined to stake her claim on the house and not let her win.

I’m hoping Sonya figures out a plan to defeat the evil witch and I’m eager to see how it all shakes out in the final book!