SHADOW SPELL - Nora Roberts
The Cousins O'Dwyer Trilogy , Book 2
Berkley
ISBN: 978-0-425-25986-3
April 2014
Paranormal Romance

County Mayo, Ireland - Present Day

Months ago, Connor and Branna O'Dwyer, along with their cousin Iona, realized that it wouldn't just be the three of them, descendants of Sorcha, the Dark Witch, who would have to face their enemy Cabhan.  While they weren't successful in their battle against Cabhan, Iona and Boyle are in love and plan to marry, Branna and Connor are working hard to figure out what was missing, and Fin, a descendant of Cabhan, is working on it also.  It has been a relatively quiet few months, but as Connor meets Eamon, son of Sorcha, in a dream, Cabhan attacks, and the O'Dwyer cousins know that Cabhan is back.

Meara Quinn has been best friends with Branna her entire life and known Connor just as long.  She's accepted that she is part of the circle that will be needed to defeat Cabhan, and she fought alongside her friends at the Solstice.  Yet when Connor is injured during a skirmish with Cabhan, Meara loses her head a bit and kisses Connor passionately, igniting a fire that both have ignored for years.

As they prepare to battle Cabhan again, Connor and Meara explore this new relationship between them in SHADOW SPELL.  As is often the case in one of Nora Roberts's trilogies, the Cousins O'Dwyer Trilogy has a plot that spans the length of the trilogy while each book focuses on a specific couple, so it is best to read the novels in order.  The fight with Cabhan began more than seven hundred years earlier with Sorcha, who sacrificed herself and her powers to save her children.  The descendants, Branna, Connor, and Iona are very similar to Sorcha's children, Brannaugh, Eamon and Teagan, and “the three” in present day are convinced that it is their fate to end Cabhan once and for all.

Connor and Meara have always been friends, but one kiss causes an explosion of passion, and suddenly their relationship is turned on its side.  Connor is a romantic who accepts these new feelings and the possibilities easier than Meara, a woman scarred by her parents' divorce.  The thought of ruining the friendships she has with Connor, as well as Branna, Fin, Iona and Boyle, terrifies her, but love is an even scarier prospect.

The thrilling second installment of the Cousins O'Dwyer Trilogy , SHADOW SPELL should not be missed.

Jennifer Bishop