Customer Reviews

Heaven and Earth (Thorndike Paperback Bestsellers)

5 star:		(95)
4 star:		(32)
3 star:		(16)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

In this, the second installment of the Three Sisters Island trilogy, Ms. Roberts has once again hit the jackpot in this clever mix of romance, wit, and witchcraft.

Deputy Ripley Todd was a little irritated. Outsider MacAllister Booke had just rented Mia Devlin's yellow cottage for the duration of his stay on Three Sisters Island, off the coast of Massachusetts. Bad enough that Ripley wanted to rent the cottage to escape her home and newlywed brother, Zack, and his likeable wife, Nell. But Mac is visiting to conduct research on witchcraft and its history on the island. As legend would have it, three witches who separated it from the mainland created Three Sisters Island. Nell, Ripley, and Mia are descendants of the original three, only Ripley shows great disdain for the power she was born with.

In a crafty mix of the paranormal complete with visions and dreams of the past, Ripley comes face to face with her ancestor and senses a dark force that could destroy all that she holds dear. As the romance between the bookish Mac and Ripley builds, she is forced to let down some of her tough gal defenses and learns to trust him and their love. And the steamy love scenes will melt the pages as Ripley's supernatural powers take her attraction to Mac to a whole new level. Only time will tell if Ripley will join forces with her fellow sisters, Mia and Nell, to bind together and repel the evil that threatens to destroy them as it did their predecessors.

Fascinating characters, a picturesque seaside town, and paranormal events form the foundation in this riveting read. Even the romance reader not enamored of the supernatural will find the allure in this latest from Ms. Roberts, who just keeps getting better and better.

Ripley Todd is a deputy on Three Sisters, and also a reluctant witch. Nell, Ripley, and Mia are witches that descended from the original three sisters on the island. Eager for some independence and privacy, she plans to rent Mia's cottage, but is upset to learn it is already rented to MacAllister Booke. Ripley is further irritated to find out he is there to do research about witchcraft.

While Ripley is attracted to Mac, she will have to let go of some of her hostilities and past hurt to let him in. With the visions, dreams, and paranormal events that happen when they are together, it is evident they are connected. Ripley will need the help of her sisters to survive the threat that awaits her.

This is Ripley's story of the three and while she is integral, I wasn't very fond of her character. She is abrasive and harsh to everyone. She did grow on me as the story went on.

Three Sisters is a small, rocky island off the coast of Massachusetts. Legend has it that the island was once a part of the mainland. Back in the late 1600s, during the Salem witch trials, three sisters, good witches all, known as Fire, Earth and Air, conjured the island and made it a haven against persecution. Unfortunately, the sisters did not fare as well as their island. All three were doomed by unfortunate relationships and a misuse of power. Before the last sister died she cast a spell to keep the island safe for 300 years. At that time she prophesied a reunion of three sisters, descendants of the original three, who would join together to redeem their ancestors, right the wrongs of the past and save their home from destruction.

Fast forward 300 years to Three Sisters Island. Ripley Todd is the town's deputy sheriff and she's an earthy, practical, no nonsense kinda gal - not at all the type one would peg for a witch. And make no mistake, Ripley is a witch although she tries very hard to deny her powers. Handsome, scholarly MacAllister Booke comes to the island to research the legend and to interview the one inhabitant he knows possesses magical powers - Mia Devlin, owner of the local bookstore cafe, and direct descendant of the original sisters. Booke has studied, recorded and witnessed the impossible for over 12 years. "He'd interviewed witches, ghosts, lycanthropes, alien abductees and psychics. Ninety-eight percent of them were delusional or con-artists. But the remaining two percent...well, that kept him going." Imagine his surprise when he discovered that Three Sisters Island is the home of three witches, all descending from the original line - Nell Channing Todd (Ripley's new sister-in-law), Ripley and Mia.

He is immediately attracted to Ripley, who goes out of her way to be disagreeable to him. She wants nothing to do with magic or with anyone who is interested in the supernatural. However, the island's 300-year anniversary is coming up and Ripley has to come to grips with the powers that terrify her if she is going to help break the centuries-old curse and save her beloved home. Dr. Booke, Mia and Nell are behind Ripley all the way as she learns to manage her energy and fear.

"Heaven and Earth" is Nora Roberts' second book in the Three Sisters trilogy. You don't have to read the first book to enjoy this one, although it is a delight to continue with the story of Nell, Mia and Ripley. Ripley is a more difficult character than the other two sisters. She is abrasive, stubborn and initially did not fit my image of a witch. However, once the story is underway and Ripley's frailties are exposed, she becomes quite believable as a woman and a sorceress. Ms. Roberts creates a wonderful relationship between Ripley and Mac, as well as between the three woman. I wish the source of evil, thrills, chills and suspense were more original, and not something/someone dredged up from book one. The plot works well enough as is, but the novel would have been so much better with a new villain. The novel still makes for a wonderful light read, perfect for a rainy evening.
JANA

I'm one of those readers who was a little disappointed by the first book, Dance Upon the Air, in this trilogy. You have noticed it didn't keep me from buying the second installment of the series and I'm so glad I did. Heaven and Earth is a great story with romance, suspense, and the supernatural. The story flows as we are pulled into Ripley's story, catch up on Nell, and are given hints on Mia's past and things to come.

Ripley Todd is the deputy on Three Sister Island where her brother Zack is the sheriff. She doesn't embrace her heritage of witchcraft like Nell, her brother's wife, or Mia, her childhood friend. In fact, Ripley goes to extreme lengths to pretend it doesn't exist. Now she's feeling like something of a third wheel. Zack and Nell survived a near death attack by Nell's former husband and have married. While Ripley is close to both, she doesn't feel she needs to be living in the same house with the newlyweds. There aren't many places to rent on the small island. Against her better judgement, Ripley goes to Mia to see about renting a small cottage she owns. To her shock, Mia has rented the cottage out to Dr. MacAllister Brooke, a paranormal researcher.

While Nell and Mia have consented to helping Dr. "Mac" Brooke with his research, Ripley wants nothing to do with him. However, we don't always get what we want out of life and Ripley finds the one person who can reach her soul. The story revolves around Ripley coming to terms with herself and how evil can strike when we least expect it.

I really like the way Nora Roberts developed the characters in this story. Ripley is a strong woman who is not afraid to confront any physical danger that she can see and touch. She will do anything to protect those that she loves. However, Ripley's weak point is not being able to accept what she is and having to confront the fact she can be emotionally dependent on another and still be strong.

Mac is one of my all time favorite Roberts' heroes. First off, he's a geek pure and simple. He can't remember where he puts things and is always losing something, goes into a daze and forgets time when he is researching, and can't remember where simple places are like the local pizza place. Don't get me wrong, he's all man and the perfect hero. He's gorgeous and falls head over heels for Ripley. Nothing she does will make him back off. He knows what he has found with Ripley and fights to keep it.

Nora Roberts has a winner with Heaven and Earth. It has all the elements of a hit and will keep you glued to the story. A short glimpse is given to Mia's story out next called Face the Fire the last book in this trilogy. Just like the rest of you "Noraholics" in the world, I'll be eagerly be waiting for the next one.

Nora Roberts, in my opinion, is always at her best when she gives in to pure fantasy and indulges herself in a tale as warm and satisfying as a cup of hot chocolate.

"Heaven and Earth," the second in her Three Sisters trilogy, is just such a book. It's about witchcraft, an ancient spell, a mysterious stranger, and the age-old struggle of good against evil. But being Nora, storyteller extraordinaire, she doesn't make it quite that simple. "Good" in this book is represented by thorny, difficult Ripley Todd, deputy sheriff of the small island, and an unwilling witch. Her struggles to deny her own powers lead her to frequent rudeness and sometimes downright nastiness. Even her growing feelings for MacAllister Booke, a newcomer to the island with a scholarly interest in the paranormal, must be ruthlessly held at bay. It is Ripley who is chosen by forces she cannot control to face and conquer the evil.

But "evil," in this case, is a poor shnook of a middle-aged man, a wanna-be superstar author--in reality a third-rate journalist. Just as it is impossible to see Ripley as all good, since her flaws are so apparent, so it is impossible to see this guy as all bad. It is this contradiction in the expected that makes Nora Roberts the best-selling author she is.

All of the characters from the first book, "Dancing on Air," are here, and the reader greets them like old friends. The witchcraft is fascinating, entirely fantastical, and not to be taken too seriously by those who are offended by wiccan dogma. This is just a story. And one that will leave you with a sigh, a big smile, and the need to hug somebody.

Read it!

This book is #2 in the series and deals with many themes; chick-lit style female friendships, romance, and paranormal.

Ripley Todd, sister of the hero of book one (Dance Upon the Air) is a hard cop, exercise nut, witch, and prickly woman. She is working to repair her long lost friendship with Mia Devlin, a childhood friend, at the insistence of their mutual best friend Nell, heroine of book one, as well as learning to embrace the magic she's denied for so long.

Enter the bookishly sexy Dr. Mac, on the island to study Mia and the paranormal. Though his, um, neither regions are attracted to Mia his heart and mind are really into Ripley, his polar opposite. He studies her and finds she has massive power. But Ripley worries that that is what gets him hot under the collar, doubting her own charms.

In this one the romantic clashes and sexual tension between characters are crisp, the dialogue is well paced, and the action is well thought out. The enemy is dealt with in some hokey conventional witch scenes (lightning and circle forming) but those scenes are used more as devices to show the growing bond between the three women.

Mac was far more intelligent annd funny than most heroes, and still all yummy tall darkness. Ripley is the best heroine I've ever seen, amazingly fleshed out and real. She's a little too blunt and prickly, and well in touch with her emotional baggage but never expects anyone else to carry it. Seeing her and Mac fall in love is really sweet and touching.

This is the best of the three and could easily be read on its own. Do not miss this!

What can I say? Nora Roberts is the "Martha Stewart" of Romance Novels... And typically I love everything she writes... (Do you sense a 'but' coming?') If so, read on...

The latest installment of the 'three sisters' trilogy features the life of Deputy Ripley Todd. Deputy Todd, a skeptic, with a traumatic magic-related childhood experience, has refused to use her powers ever since. Enter the hero... Mac Booke. Mac is an 'absent-minded professor type' whose investigations into the paranormal has somehow landed him on Three Sister's Island.

As usual, Nora has the setting, the characters, and the culture of a small town down pat. Her main and side characters are endearing and engaging.. Particularly, her hero, Mac Booke.

But... In my opinion, her heroine, Ripley, just didn't seem to 'fit in' to a novel with a paranormal setting.

Ripley (okay, I kept thinking 'believe it or not') seems like she would be more at home in a novel with a small-town murder-mystery theme... Than as the third sister in a coven of witches.

While I suspect Nora, wanted us to feel sympathetic towards Rip for her reluctance to practice magick, instead I was frustrated by her pig-headedness. I found it hard to believe that someone like Mia wouldn't have given her a `kick in the pants' or confronting her about her problem /ages/ ago.

My second problem with this novel was the villain. Bringing back the possessed ex-boyfriend from the first book was an unwelcome surprise. With so many challenges the girls might face, do we need to bring a possessed mental patient into the picture? This seemed heavy handed, even for Nora, who is quite notable for creating, exciting and believable villains.

Overall, the inclusion of Mac, and the return to `three sisters island' made this book worth reading... But I had to deduct one star for the `evil-ex-husband ™' and for the `Ripley' character which I just could noth sympathize with.

Yes, even by Ms. Roberts's standards, I was impressed and found that I like Heaven and Earth even better than Dance Upon the Air, the first in the Three Sisters Island trilogy.

In the second installment she doesn't only go in depth with the main characters, Ripley and Mac who are the love interest she focuses on, but she also brings out more in other characters, including Mia who will be the focus for the third installment. Ms. Roberts also involves more of the history of the island where everything is taking place, as well as the history of the sisters who began the island where the trilogy unfolds. There is even more detail on the magic that the three female characters (Mia, Ripley and Nell) possess.

And one of my favorite things about this book is that the hero isn't exactly one of those alpha male types. He's akward in some ways but it makes him so much more charming as a character.

I don't usually read all of Ms. Roberts work and in fact missed the last couple of series but this reading was very enjoyable and Nora Roberts fans will undoubtedly be pleased.

Although I enjoyed "Dance Upon Air" better than this one. I still coulded put it down. I loved the new charater Mac that was introducted. He'll keep Ripply on her toes. I also wounder if he will become a warlock, in the next book. Ripply seem to be tuff, but we all know that she is tender hearted, and very protective.
I can't wait until the book on Mia come's out. She seems to be the strongest, and better at her craft. So she will have to be put to a better trial. I'm almost certain that Sam will be coming back to the Island. Then will see alot of sparks and passion flying, I just know it.
Can't wait to read the third book. Nora keep them coming, Love your books!!

I would love to get into this new triology and thought I was pretty careful in keeping track on her new books. I actually jump when I see that a new episode of Lt. Eve Dallas and Roarke has been published. But cannot seem to link up to the FIRST book in this trilogy.
Could someone clue me into the name of the first book on the Three Sisters Island trilogy? ...