I could just sum up Nora Roberts’ Stars of Fortune by saying the book will be on my top ten list for 2015. I love Roberts’ trilogies. They are page-turners filled with adventure, escape, and romance. Add in the fantasy elements in this one, and the first in The Guardians Trilogy was perfect.

Centuries ago, three Guardians gathered to give gifts to a new queen. But, when the evil Nerezza arrived, the Guardians cast their gifts to the sky, scattering them so she could not use the power from those stars. When the stars of fire, ice, and water fell to earth, the person who found them would control the fate of worlds. And, centuries later, six people would come together to oppose Nerezza in her search for those stars.

Artist Sasha Riggs lives an isolated life in the North Carolina mountains. But, her dreams influence her paintings until the dreams of five strangers, battle and bloodshed send her to Corfu. It’s there she will team up with the people of her dreams: a man with lightning in his hands, a woman with eyes of a wolf, a man with a silver sword, a laughing woman from the sea, and a man with a golden compass.  It’s there that six strangers must learn to trust and lean on each other if they are to find the stars and defeat the darkness.

With the fantasy elements in Stars of Fortune, Roberts introduces women and men of power and secrets. Of course it’s a cliche when all the women are beautiful, and all the men are hunks. But, it’s part of the glamour and intrigue of Roberts’ stories. And, she’s a convincing storyteller, as she magically weaves together myths and legends, dragging the reader into belief. Her latest book is compelling, and it’s difficult to put down at the last page.

Stars of Fortune is a magical romantic fantasy, filled with dark evil as well as glittering, joyous good. There’s no doubt it’s a riveting drama of good vs. evil. The truly evil aspect comes, though, with the knowledge that there will be a wait until the next book in the trilogy is released.

Nora Roberts’ website is www.noraroberts.com

Stars of Fortune by Nora Roberts. Berkley Books. 2015. ISBN 9780425280102 (paperback), 314p.

*****
FTC Full Disclosure – The publisher sent me a copy of the book, hoping I would review it.