Island of Glass by Nora RobertsIsland of Glass by Nora Roberts
Series: The Guardians Trilogy #3
Published by berkley on December 6, 2016
Genres: PNR
Pages: 352
Format: Paperback
Source: Library
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four-half-stars

The final Guardians Trilogy novel from the #1 New York Timesbestselling author of Bay of Sighs and Stars of Fortune.

As the hunt for the Star of Ice leads the six guardians to Ireland, Doyle, the immortal, must face his tragic past. Three centuries ago, he closed off his heart, yet his warrior spirit is still drawn to the wild. And there’s no one more familiar with the wild than Riley—and the wolf within her…

An archaeologist, Riley is no stranger to the coast of Clare, but now she finds herself on unsure footing, targeted by the dark goddess who wants more than the stars, more than the blood of the guardians. While searching through Irish history for clues that will lead them to the final star and the mysterious Island of Glass, Riley must fight her practical nature and admit her sudden attraction to Doyle is more than just a fling. For it is his strength that will sustain her and give her the power to run towards love—and save them all…

This third and final installment of The Guardians Trilogy was good, but Riley and Doyle were my least favorite couple. I can’t pinpoint why, but I’ll try. (as you’ll notice I did give this book a 4.5 rating, so obviously I liked it, but the chemistry between them sort of dropped it from a 5)

There are two major problems I had with this book.

The first, their chemistry. It’s very meh. The thing is, in her desire to not get them together too soon in the overall trilogy arc, it sort of put me off them as a couple. By the time they hook up, I feel like it’s been too long. The lusty feelings show up late in the story, and for a romance, I wanted a lot of romance. It’s a lot to ask of a book, when you have a romance, a huge paranormal plot, a suspenseful/action-packed plot, and yet La Nora can pull it off. This time around, I was just hoping for more.

The second problem I had was that Doyle, an immortal, who hasn’t been back to Ireland since his mother died, so 300 plus years, has issues. He’s closed off and a loner. Okay, I get it. It’s hard when everyone you love dies. But when he spends 3/4 of the book ignoring all the issues, brooding, and only opens up in the last bit, I don’t know, he didn’t make me want to root for him. I just felt like, the author gave him many opportunities to open up and grown, but it took the very end to do it. I mean, he was heroic in the sense that he fought evil, but he wasn’t heroic in the Romance hero sense.

He spent way too many pages talking about Annika’s beauty, but how he sees her as a sister…yet Riley only rates a *shrug* Yeah she’s pretty in her own way type of attitude. Doyle and Riley didn’t feel like they fit together the same way the other two couples did in their books.

So, the book, the plot, the action, all was great. It was totally what I’d expect from a Para Nora. But this couple as a believable romance hero/heroine didn’t work for me. It pains me to say this, since I enjoyed the series and book so much.

 

four-half-stars