Customer Reviews

Three Fates

5 star:		(53)
4 star:		(33)
3 star:		(21)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Nora Roberts is at it once again, turning out another thrilling novel complete with a satisfying story line and sensuous romance. In 1915, the LUSITANIA sank off the coast of Ireland, ostensibly taking with it the first of the Three Fates, small silver statues collectively worth a fortune. But Felix Greenfield, a thief, had the fortune to steal the Fate from collector Henry W. Wyley and survived the sinking of the ship.

Fast-forward to the present when Felix's Irish descendant, Malachi Sullivan, attempts to recover the first Fate from Anita Gaye, owner of Morningside, a New York antiques dealer, who duped him of his treasure. In this quest, he pursues Dr. Tia Marsh, mythology expert and an heir to the Wyley fortune. With Tia's knowledge concerning the three female Greek statues, Malachi thinks she just might help his search for the remaining two Fates. Tia's fragility is craftily combined with her brilliance to highlight her strong characteristics, which continue to emerge when Malachi follows her back to New York.

Brother Gideon Sullivan embarks on his own Fate-seeking quest when he locates Cleo Toliver in Prague. Cleo, a down-on-her luck dancer working at a strip club, just happened to have an ancestor who supposedly owned the second Fate. Even as Gideon and Cleo embark on a wild affair, some men that think that Cleo may have something they want, chase them through Prague.

Enter Jack Burdett, owner of a multi-million-dollar security agency, who takes a trip to Ireland and visits Rebecca Sullivan, sister of the biblically named brothers. Is Jack's interest in Rebecca of a business nature as he enjoys a pleasure tour in her family's boat?

When the Sullivans, along with Cleo and Jack, descend upon Tia's New York apartment, the three couples must combine their efforts to locate the Three Fates and prevent them from falling into the wrong hands. As the romance heats up, the pairs find that their past and futures are inextricably linked to the Fates.

Fast-paced adventure enthralls the reader following the fascinating players as they travel across Europe and back to New York again in this sizzling romance. Ms. Roberts' ability shines as she creates six unique and appealing characters whose differences accentuate their strengths.

As an avid fan of Nora Roberts, I was delighted to see the story of the Three Fates start and end within the pages of one book. It must have been tempting to split the story line into three lucrative and separate entities, but instead the reader is treated to real interaction between each pair of lovers. In fact, this interaction between all the players is one of the strengths of this book.

Ms. Roberts has once again given us engaging characters. Her depiction of Cleo, especially, was beautifully drawn. The reader is allowed to see the entire woman, not just the hot stripper. The Irish contingent is Nora Roberts at her best -- lovable, laughable, and a family truly united. Her villian, Anita, is almost a cardboard cut-out of evel personified, and does not really have an impact on the story line, other than to act as a catalyst for the other characters.

An exceptionally enjoyable read!

I love all of Nora's books, but this was not her best works.

Three Fates is the story of a trio of Irish siblings and their American lovers as they fight to reclaim three ancient statues.

Nora Roberts has a distinct gift for writing character driven plots, but the Three Fates did not showcase this ability. Instead we get three implausible love stories crammed into a single volume, with not enough attention paid to each couple.

Several characters even fall into the 'unlikable' category, (at least for me). Ex-Ballet-dancer-turned-stripper (Cleo's) constant sarcasm and phrases such as 'slick' etc. Grated on my nerves. Gideon, and Mal, the two brothers had no personality and were virtually interchangeable. Jack was a cardboard cutout. Also,I was surprised at how quickly all the characters jumped into bed with their respective partners. There was harldly any romance at all! =-(

The best character in the series was Tia. The slightly anxious mythologist. Nora should have written the book about Tia and Mal, and left out the four other characters.

Overall, a disappointing read. I would recommend only to diehard Nora Fans.

This is not the best effort from NR. I had trouble getting involved with the story revolving around Greek mythology and the three fates. The story started out well explaining how the first fate spins the thread, the second measures it, and the third cuts it, but it fell apart after that. I didn't feel the compulsion to reunite the statues.

Part of the problem is that the story felt rushed, as it really is a trilogy compacted into one book. Six people meet - Cleo and Gideon, Tia and Malachai, Rebecca and Jack fall hard, and build their lives together. Sorry, I didn't find it believable. The characters were not as finely tuned, as I would expect.

Nora Roberts is regarded as one of the most beloved writers from the romance genre. Not content to write what I refer to as pure romance titles, Ms. Roberts is also well known as a writer of romantic suspense books and under the name JD Robb, a mystery series set in the future. Three Fates, a recent book is a good example of both the authors romance writing, sense of adventure and even weaves an ancient tale within the plot.

The three fates of the title are three silver statues which when linked together are not only worth millions but are pieces supposedly with great powers according to legend. Also according to legend, one of the fates was lost when the Lusitania sunk. But was this fate really lost after the sinking? Could it have been taken off the ship somehow by one of the few survivors? And what has happened to the other two fates? Most importantly why are certain people being pursued, their homes being searched and then an innocent man murdered? Six young individuals, all somehow connected to one another by family, coincidence and the three fates find one another and romances begin, alliances once thought unlikely are forged, and over two continents the search is on for the three fates.

This was a good book. It especially intrigued me to learn of the history behind the statues and where they were hidden for almost 100 years. The characters and each of their backgrounds were interesting and fine examples of Ms. Roberts ability to provide them with far reaching connection to one another. If you enjoy romantic books with a dash of suspense and adventure, Three Fates will surely be a satisfying read.

Ms. Roberts books are becoming a bit predictable, 3 siblings meets 3 loves-of-their-lives and everyone ends up happily everafter. Well it is fiction. I'm worried about the formula of characters that Ms Roberts seems to follow recently; Women #1 not sure of herself, needs showing how valuable she is. Women # 2 is on the wild side and needs to discover she's worth loving, # 3 is practicle, no nonsense, can't pull the wool over her eyes, yet falls hard and fast for the man of her <our> dreams. Mix up the numbers but the descriptions fit Born in... series, ...the Dream series, or the Ardmore series.

I did appreciate the low key sex, I thought the really graphic stuff of recent books was leaning toward pornographic. And, as always, the concept of family figures prominently. I love the Irish connections, I'm as enamoured with the emerald isle and the perceived romance of it's inhabitants as anyone else is.

I loved this story!! It was perfect, we did not have to wait for the trilogies, we got all of them at once.
If you are used to Nora Roberts, you know that their are often a trio of friends/siblings that you follow, in this wonderful story you get them all at once. It is nice to have the brothers/sister all involved so closely on the same time line.

The backstory is the Lusitania is sunk while a thief is stealing one of the "Three Fates" small silver statues depicting the greek fates. His life is changed when the ship sinks and he lives. He reforms himself, this is the story of his great grand children.

2 Brothers and 1 Sister go after the fates and in doing so find the love of their lives. It is nice having such varying characters in such depth. I loved the dynamics between the 3 women, their strenghts/weaknesses really complement each other and you watch them become stronger because of the bond that they made. I have 2 girlfriends that give me this type of strenght and it was nice to see it written about and captured so well in this book.

Not just a great romance, but a wonderful testament to friendships found in unlikely places, which tend to be the most enduring!!!(not to mention hot men and great chemistry) Don't wait, this book is worth full hardcover price!!!!

The Three Fates was an excellent and entertaining read! The search for three statues that have changed the lives of the people who have held them through history... The blooming romances of the lead characters... Everything interchanging and and intertwining with everything else... I loved how the story was written as a fictional take on what FATE can hold for us. There were a myriad of lines throughout this book that felt simply like poetry to me!
I especially liked Tia, who was introduced to us as a paranoid hypochondriac but transformed herself, with a little self-esteem, into a strong woman! And ooooh, Malachi! Why do I always find myself in love with Nora Roberts' leading men? This lady knows how to write a man the way a woman wants!
On the downside, I have to agree with another reviewer who stated there were too many lead characters in this one! That was my only problem with this book. As soon as I got engaged in the story of Malachi and Tia, I was forced across the world to be introduced to Gideon and Cleo, and then Rebecca and Jack! Too much! I grew impatient to learn what happened with the first couple by the time I was finished reading about the second. BUT, by the end of the second couple's introduction, you are intrigued and enthralled still!
Great job again Nora, keep up the fantastic stories for us chicks who have to get our romance and excitement somewhere!

When you're as prolific a writer as Nora Roberts, you're bound to repeat yourself a time or two, but The Three Fates rings just a bit too familiar for me. I was waiting at the door of the bookstore the day this was released and had finished it by dinner. And while if offered an interesting story (the mystery and romance of the Three Fates, three silver statues, was the best part) the characters were too similar to other recent paperback trilogies. Basically, she crammed three love stories into one book but I never really felt that I got to know any of the characters well enough to connect with them, with the sole exception of Dr. Tia Marsh. Her shy, hypochondriac was funny and sweet and I enjoyed watching her change and grow. But I would have liked to learn more the Sullivan family, Cleo and Jack. I'd love to see Ms. Roberts' next hardcover focus on one set of lovers so you can really get to know and understand the characters. These three sets of lovers all fell too hard, too fast for there to be any enjoyment watching them take the fall. I wouldn't pass this one by, just don't expect too much.

I really wish Ms. Roberts would break out of her trilogy mindset- especially when only half the characters are interesting! I really liked Tia, Mal, and Cleo, but the other three were very flat. Also, long-time fans may find numerous cases of deja-vu in this novel; this author tends to use plot devices and character details over and over in her books.

Still, this one went along at a quick pace and kept me entertained. Worth a library borrow!