This is the place to discuss Stars of Fortune, Book 1 of The Guardians Trilogy. Please note that spoilers will abound.
I knew the basics of this book from conversations with Nora, but even knowing those basics, the way the story unfolded, the way secrets were revealed kept me reading faster and faster until it was done.
Please share your thoughts about the book or about this new group of six we meet or their particular talents. My personal countdown until book 2 is already underway. Laura
Love the mermaid
I couldn’t wait for that reveal! (I knew she was, but didn’t know when the others would find out.)
Laura
I knew she was a mermaid right off the bat but the other three, Riley, etc. had me totally surprised. Can’t wait for the next one, since I had visited Capri a while ago, I knew where they were going from the description Nora gave. It was a really good description. Can’t wait.
Yes, I Love Annika too, I thought she was going to be a faerie or from the island of glass, but I should have guessed mermaid since she was found on the beach.
Loved Annika, too!!
I have the first book and refuse to read it. That is a very hard thing to do LOL. Why is there such a long wait between books?We all know about waits, but this is over the top.To wait a year I think is way to long between first and last book.I really hope this will be the last in this time frame. Next year I will sit and read all three at the same time : )
This is the same amount of time that all of Nora’s trilogies — with two exceptions since 1995 — are published. Nora discussed it on a post last year: http://fallintothestory.wpcomstaging.com/quick-note-from-nora/
Laura
I don’t know if I can wait a year !!! I might go crazy.
Omg! The book is already out? Where was I?
Was drawn into the story like always. I read it quickly today but will reread again probably several times as there is so much going on in the story to grasp with one reading. Love the story and the characters. Enjoyed that what each character specialty was, was slowly revealed in the story and in order of the characters appearance in the story which was very fitting.
Forgot to ask how long do we have to wait for the next one to come out?
According to iBooks, it’s called “Bay of Sighs” due out June 14, 2016
love Nora Roberts. Been reading you books for a very long time. Especially love your series. And being a fan of sci-fi fantasy and romance, was thrilled with the first book about witchcraft “Three Sisters Island”. Look for your series books always. Worst part is having to wait so long for the next book in the series. Love the characters in the “Stars of Fortune”. Your people seem so real, I think I could meet them on the street. And your locations are always great. Living in SW Pa I got a real kick out of your setting for the Key books. I really enjoyed the bride series, so down to earth, no fantasy, but still lived it. I keep your series and add them to my overstuffed book shelves to read over and over again. Thank you so much for the years of pleasure. Keep on writing.
Another great book–and sad I’m already finished. I’ll repeat a question above–when is the next one out?? May? Her next stand alone comes out in April.
Jun 14, 2016 according to the Penguin website.
I’m sure Laura will post the 2016 release schedule soon. At ADWOFF they always waited until the last new release of the year was out.
I had already read the blurb for book 2, so knew about Annika. Some of the other reveals took me by surprise though.
It took me a while to get sucked into the book, but once I did I really enjoyed it.
I am really looking forward to book 2, but think this may be an unusual trilogy where my favorite couple is the first book. The only other time I can remember that happening with a trilogy was with the In the Garden.
Wow! First how cool is it that Annika got Wonder Woman cuffs !?! Girl Power! I loved the characters but I wish they could keep the dog?. I’ll be re-reading to make sure I didn’t miss anything. Thanks for creating characters who draw you in and makesyou want take on a Lucan council, brave a mermaid clan and find a witch who curses bereaved men ?
All she was missing was the magic lasso and the invisible jet! Lol Can’t wait for the next installment and then the last book to see how it ends!
Loved the Wonder Woman cuffs too!
absolutely love this book. can hardly wait for the next one.
i try to figure everyone out as i read along & sort of had in my mind about Anni. what a beautiful person she is & it is wonderful that she received her wonder woman cuffs. the banter back & forth of all the ‘tag lines’. all of the characters are wonderful.
thank you for sharing your talent, it is wonderful to pick up one of your books & escape into it. i have, i believe, all of the sets & re-read them often. thank you again.
Oh, Nora, thank you so very much for this book! In a difficult year, I really and truly escaped for a few hours. Looking forward to the next two.
Had the longest, yuckiest week…and this book was like manna from heaven. Nora hit it out of the park like my beloved Royals.
( By the way, the mermaid I caught onto, the immortal and the werewolf were huge shockers!! )
Wish I could use a certain compass to take me to June so I can read the next one!!!
~Kandace from Kansas
Love Love Love this book. So excited for the next two. Passing the time re-reading the Bridal Quartet. Thank you for so many pleasant hours spent with your characters!
This book was sooooo captivating! I read the entire thing in one day…as I am no quitter :)..I immediately fell in love with these six characters. Going to be VERY ANXIOUSLY awaiting book two!!!!!!!
First and foremost… OMG what book! Loved it. Read it in under 4 hours. ???. Second am I crazy or did Sasha see Annika in the water that day on the beach with Bran?
Can’t wait for the second one!
I think she did. She thought it was a dolphin. If you compare that description to the description of the tail later they are almost identical.
With all of Sawyer and Riley’s Sci-fi references (Buffy, Star Trek) did anyone else think of Spock in The scene with Bran quirking his eyebrow, and simply saying, “Fascinating. ”
Lol
I am enjoying the book on my kindle. I am savoring every aspect, instead of racing through it. I enjoy every series , some more than others. Thank you Nora for many enjoyable hours.
Where do your incredible ideas for stories come from,& do you tell your grandchildren stories or do they tell you stories. A Nora Roberts book is a treasure.
Where do your incredible ideas for stories come from,& do you tell your grandchildren stories or do they tell you stories.
I loved this book. I had no idea and I had not read the excerpts so I was intrigued by the story. I loved Bran and Shasha. I cant wait to read about Sawayer and Annika as i am waiting to find out how they meet their fate and fall in love. But more I read about Riley and Doyle the more I fell in love with them. Already waiting for the last book
Just finished the book ( audiobook that is ). Having read the vacation blog from your trip I could see some of the things you had mentioned. As for the characters? Wow! Felt like you threw everything in including the “kitchen sink” lol. Can’t wait to continue this saga. 🙂
I just finished the audiobook. I can’t wait to read the copy I have on hold from the library. I didn’t like the paperback copy that I saw in the store. I’ll wait to buy when it drops in price for my kindle or it comes in a regular type of paperback. It was based on the same principal as the other trilogies, but there were some surprises along the way. I, too, can’t wait for the next book in this trilogy.
I am an avid”In Death “reader Have read some “Nora” and in the process of workig my way thru all of them but when Bran said to Sasha ” a ghra” I was definitely in for the long haul. I want to know all of the “Nora” books Loved this book Very different from Eve and Roarke but just as good Thanks Nora
It’s a good book . Take me a while to get into the book . Somehow I don’t like Sasha at all even in the end . She’s more in the way then helping . Love Riley & Annika . The male characters are great too .
Every reader has their own personal feelings and reactions. It’s part of the intimacy of reading. But for me, without Sasha, the six would never have come together. She found them, through her visions and paintings, and her visions led them on. So she’s, for me, the glue. Without her, no united quest. Can’t se how she’s ‘in the way’.
I agree, Sasha is the glue. The center of it all. Deborah
Let me start off with – I loved it. I read through it and missed a night of sleep getting through it. I can’t wait for more.
However I am still in recovery from the Dark Witch series. Those really seeped into me. I felt like I was leaving my friends behind by trying to move on.
Whenever there’s a new book, I try to ‘ration’ myself to a few pages daily to savor the new story. But…this one was finished faster than usual and I so enjoyed it! I see character similarities to the Eve and Roarke story characters (Bran and Roarke; Eve and Riley; Sawyer and McNabe, Mavis and Annika), so they were easy to love quickly. The story is awesome and can’t wait for the next installments. PS-have also enjoyed the format of the recent paperbacks, so kudos to all (soft covers and larger format), Thanks for being so bloomin’ amazing! 🙂
I’m a huge Nora fan, always preordrer her books. I’m also addicted to The Walking Dead and was so tickled to see Daryl Dixon mentioned!!!
I love me some Darryl!
LOVED IT! I caught myself giving excited squeals as I got into the book. I haven’t done that for a while. Love, love, loved it! Can’t wait for the next one.
Nora, you created the most amazing, powerful wizard in Bran Killian, a Merlin the magician of sorts..and he fell in love with the courageous artist, who brings this group of 6 unique characters together. The Avengers!!…I just loved it. What a great job you did of keeping them unique and soooo down to earth. Sasha Briggs made herself into more than she ever thought she could be. What a wonderful story, congratulations for entertaining us once again. I have only read it once…so time for a reread☺
I was thoroughly delighted with this. I cracked up with myself as I always love to just delve in and just ‘go with it’ and take the surprises as they come…and boy was I loving the surprises! Kudos once again to Nora for writing a fantastic story. My only disappointment was reading too fast and of course, having to wait for the next one?
Just finished it. Like the others, I thought Annika was a mermaid, or maybe a nereid. I did think Doyle might be an immortal, maybe a demigod, of some kind because nothing else made sense to me. I really like that the bad guy this time around is a female. Last good female villain was in the Circle Trilogy. I am now impatiently waiting the second book.
I loved this one! I read it throughout a 2 hour pee wee football practice and barely noticed my son made 3 touchdown catches. Awesome parenting. I have a question for Nora. When Riley ‘morphs'(for lack of a better word), she mentions going naked to avoid saving her clothes from ripping. What about when Anni changes? Does she instantly go from awesome fishy tail to a cute pair of khaki shorts?
What a fun and delightful moment to see “Daryl Dixon” mentioned in The Stars of Fortune! ❤️??
Just finished and still finding it difficult to breathe. I’ve loved your writing for a long time, but this one…I lived it. Hurry April!
As Nora always does, she makes us go mad for more! I’ve read book 1 at least 4 times. All of Nora’s work is just like THE DONOVAN LEGACY series… she leaves us captivated, entranced, spellbound and enchanted.
Again as always, wonderful! Can’t wait for the next book! *sigh* months of waiting ahead. My personal favorite is the lycan. I always love the strong women in your books Nora, they’re so kick-ass but real at the same time.
As usual, got hooked right away and couldn’t put the book down until I was finished. I have a love hate relationship with trilogies: obsessed with getting through the first reading, and having to wait for the next installment is a killer! Picked up on Annika right away, but the others were a fun surprise. Anxiously awaiting the next adventure.
Loved this book. Not really surprised by that since I have never read a Nora book I didn’t like. I love Sasha. She grew a lot in this book and she really is the glue. She is the one that keeps the team focused, which as the seer is appropriate. Every family needs someone that can pull everyone together in a crisis. That seems to be her role.
I think Bran was right, she is the most courageous because she has to fight despite her lack of faith in herself. She was the only one that went into this without knowing what her purpose is. Can’t wait for the next part of the story.
Love Love Love this book!! I have always known that Nora Roberts was THE UBER GODDESS of authors and the Darryl Dixon/TWD reference was the reaffirming of that. I am totally in love with these 6 and how awesome they are. Love that each one had a “secret”. Hurry up June!
I am a big Nora Roberts/JD Robb fan and think I have read almost everything written. As with most people I have some favorites and others I think are good but not the best.
After reading this book I went WOW — I knew Nora had a fertile imagination but this was amazing. I loved every minute of reading it. I read it in two sittings – only had to stop because normal everyday things got in the way ;-). I plan on rereading it more slowly so I can savor all the nuances.
As with everyone else I can’t wait for the next one to come out to see which way it it goes.
Thank you Nora for another gem!
I identified with Sasha since I am an artist but really enjoyed all the characters. I know Nora says she is not “inspired” to write but sits down and does it with an idea for a character or situation. This reminded me of the time I was 13 and was watching an artist paint a picture of the Smoky Mountains while sitting in front of a store on the main street in Gatlinburg. The man next to me said to his wife, “looky there Mary, he’s painting that picture right outta his head!” I thank Nora for pulling all her stories “right outta her head!”
Love this book – thank you Nora for another wonderful read. This one I lost sleep over and was late to work for the first time due to a book – but worth every minute as I was frantically reading through the second to last chapter! Your books draw me in like no other, the characters are fun and this one was full of great surprises of their hidden (and not so hidden) talents! Can’t wait for Number Two on this series 🙂 Have a joyous Holiday Season Nora!!
Loved loved loved it! Can’t wait to read it again!
I mostly read JD Robb. I haven’t read a ‘Nora’ for some time, but I had to read this one as it is set in my all time favourite place on earth. When was Nora on Corfu? The description of the ride out of Corfu town and up the coastal highway (?) to Sidari made me laugh so much. I could see the Corfiot drivers in my mind’s eye. They view driving as a creative art form. We go to a small family run hotel in a village just west of Sidari every autumn. The villa would be between Sidari and our hotel. Last year we explored the cliffs and villages between Sidari and San Stefanos both from the sea and the land, so I can picture almost exactly where it must be. Her descriptions are spot on. Anyone who has experienced the magnificent thunderstorms on this coast will be appreciate the terrifying nature of the storm scene on the cliff top, you can watch the storm cells approaching for miles before they hit, and the thunder and lightning are awesome. I have just finished the book on a damp dark December day and can’t wait for autumn to go back.
I don’t know whether to thank you for publicising this wonderful part of Corfu or not. I’d quite like to be selfish and keep it to myself but all my friends who live and work there can use all the good publicity they can get.
Nora and her family went to Corfu in 2010.
Laura
I’m so glad my favourite place inspired her to write such a wonderful story. I’ve let the local newspaper know. It is written by a local glass artist – international press it’s not. Believe it or not it’s published once a year, but I bet they’ll be excited.
I adore Sorrento and Capri too so I can’t wait for the next one in the series. Are we doing islands beginning with ‘C’
Crete after would be great.
Smiles
Beth
Read it again for the 3rd time and I absolutely love it. Counting down the days for the next one.
Every single book is a masterpiece.
This is a delightful read, but has a lot of the same aspects as several of her other series. Most notably the correlation between characters here and in the Key Trilogy. Hiding the star in the painting; find the key in the painting. Artist, Warrior, Heart and their respective males. It just seems very similar to me. I’d love to see something totally new from Nora Roberts.
Nora has said many times that a piano only has 88 keys, but there’s an astonishing variety of music that comes from those keys. I think there are similar elements in a trilogy based on a quest, but for most readers it’s how the characters go from the start to the finish that has them turning the page. I honestly don’t see similarities to the Key trilogy other than very surface ones of three men, three women, three different strengths.
But as I’ve said many times, sometimes a reader outgrows and author. There’s nothing wrong with taking a step back.
Laura
Yes, a piano has 88 keys, however a band can have over 200 instruments each with their own unique sound. Perhaps she should switch to a guitar for a change. Interestingly enough, I haven’t read anything from Nora Roberts since the Key trilogy and yet while reading this book, I was brought back to it quite sharply. I’m not stating that she is a bad writer by any means, I’m simply stating I’d like to see something new and refreshing from her. She found a recipe for success years ago and keeps making the cookies over and over again with little variations. I enjoy her books, as I have stated, I just would like to see her expand her horizons some. Can you imagine the music she could make and the colors that she could paint? That would be a book worth the wait.