Steph's Review of Shadow Spell Book 2 Cousins O'Dwyer Triology

    It's so bittersweet to finish a book in a series knowing that there is still another one coming. I always hurry through the book because I can't wait to get to the end but then when it's over I have the "good book let down" because I know I have to wait for the next one.  I enjoyed my time with Conner and Meara in this book. Shadow Spell picks up a few months after The Dark Witch left off and follows a similar format. The 6 friends are still fighting the evil Cabhan as best they can with magic, love, friendship, and wits. I truly loved getting to know Conner O'Dwyer a little better. He is an excellent character and an extremely likable guy that everyone loves. He would almost be irritating if he weren't so darn awesome. 

     Meara was also a good character and I think that their differences played well off of each other. Their interactions are believable and as their relationship progresses to the "next level" there are some humorous moments. The magical battles ramp up a bit as the story starts to wind toward the final book. I really enjoyed that Nora Roberts upped the ante some with physical danger and some new magical "tricks" as they get ready for their final battles. 

     I always struggle with a book review because I want to share my opinion with out ruining the book for those who haven't read it or sending you into the book without a bias. I will say that while I really did enjoy it and am looking forward to the next one there were pieces of it that were mildly confusing. The dialogue in their planning sessions was by turns too vague or too in depth.  Shadow Spell isn't particularly long but I did find myself skimming bits of it to get the story moving along. Now that I'm only one book away from finishing the trilogy I hate to say that this isn't one of my Nora favorites. Don't get me wrong and please don't let me put you off of reading the trilogy, but compared to some of her others it just doesn't strike the same emotional cords. Stace finished a couple of days after I did and she was telling me that she enjoyed this one more than the first. I would say I agree with that but I think mostly it's because Conner is such a good guy. Stace also said that she almost started crying during a more emotionally intense part of the book. I did not find myself weeping, I blame Stace's pregnancy.....you know it's  true Stace.

   Shadow Spell is a very quick read and I don't think that anyone who read the first one in the series will be disappointed by this one. I look forward to reading the last book this fall and finding out how the 6 of them will close out the story. To purchase Shadow Spell on Amazon click on the link below.  

    

    Shadow Spell: Book Two of The Cousins O’Dwyer Trilogy