Dark Witch: 1 (Cousins O'Dwyer Trilogy)

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Well, when I saw she had a new trilogy coming out about witches I was excited to read her again because her Three Sisters Island (another series she wrote about witches) is one of my favorite series.

Connor, Branna and Iona have all inherited a powerful but dangerous gift from an ancestor known as the Dark Witch. Cabhan has more showy powers, like turning to fog or a wolf, but the cousins’ magic seems to be much more earthy. Iona learns how to harness and control her magick through working with Branna, and she grows both in her job and relationship.

There's also more love than bewitching as the six main characters divide conveniently into three potential romantic couples but, as I luxuriated in Boyle's attraction (I have an imagination! At times, I found myself imputing motives and emotions from her other books that were similar just to fill in the gaps. Let me count the ways in just this book/series: there are witches (see also the Three Sisters Island trilogy, and the Key and Circle Trilogies, actually), and Ireland (see also the Born In Trilogy, and Gallaghers of Ardmore Trilogy).

As the two of them fall for each other, Cabhan’s power grows and the cousins, along with their friends, must join together to again try to vanquish him before he steals the power of the Dark Witch. What I really enjoyed about the book, and why I still gave it four stars on Good Reads, is the relationships between all the characters in general, and the history behind them. I think if there had been more conflict or tension between Iona and Boyle, it wouldn’t have felt so forced and uncomfortable. Packed with riveting drama and painful truths, this book powerfully illustrates the devastation of abuse—and the strength of the survivors. Iona Sheehan risks everything when she quits her job, sells everything she owns and moves from Baltimore, Maryland to County Mayo, Ireland, her ancestral homeland.The first book of the cousins O'Dwyer series, Dark Witch, reminded me a lot of two other "firsts" of her trilogies- the Gallaghers of Ardmore, and the Three Sisters Island. It was the typical Nora formula that I love, but I wasn't all that into the characters or their relationship. Roberts has already set them up for a bumpy road working through their past heartaches and trust issues. However, even though I appreciated Boyle and Iona’s opposites-attract relationship, and their shared love of horses, I didn’t feel any chemistry between the two.