Face the Fire is the third book in the Three Sisters Island trilogy by Nora Roberts. I have been waiting for this book to come out ever since I finished the second book, Heaven & Earth months ago. I love this series, and wish there would be more books with these characters in them.

Before I get into the plot of Face the Fire, I’m going to provide a little background information on the Three Sisters Island trilogy that will help things make more sense for anyone who hasn’t read the first two books.

Almost three hundred years ago, three sister witches met late one night. They were known as Air, Earth, and Fire. All three of them were worried about their safety because of the recent witch trials. They used their magic to create an island where they could live and be safe from witch hunters. The island became known as Three Sisters Island.

The woman known as Air fell in love. She left the island to marry him and start a family and she stopped practicing witchcraft. Her husband turned abusive and killed her. She did nothing to try to save herself. Earth became enraged over Air’s death. Earth failed to control her anger and she turned to the dark side of magic. Fire was left alone to mourn her sisters. A spell was cast, protecting the island, but it was a curse too. After three hundred years, if certain things didn’t happen, the island would fall into the sea.

In the first book, Dance Upon the Air, Nell arrived on the island and decided to stay. She was running from an abusive husband. She became friends with Mia and Ripley. Nell also became involved with Zack, the sheriff. Nell learned that she was a witch, a direct descendant of Air. Mia and Ripley were also witches. Mia was a descendant of Fire. Ripley was a descendant of Earth, but she gave up witchcraft years before. She said that she thought it was childish and foolish. In Heaven and Earth, Ripley had to come to terms with her powers as a witch. She had to deal with controlling her anger. She became involved with Mac, a man who came to the island to research the legend of Three Sisters Island, and do research on the craft.

PLOT

The book began with a short prologue set in 1702 on the island. Fire was alone and mourning the loss of her sisters and husband. The dark was after her and she didn’t want to fight it anymore. She cast one last spell that would protect her family and the island for three hundred years. At that time, three new sisters would come together. Each would have to face their destiny and overcome something. If they succeeded, the island would forever be protected from the dark. If even one of them failed, the island would fall into the sea.

The book jumped forward to May of 2002. Sam Logan had returned home to Three Sisters Island after being gone for ten years. He grew up on the island and he and Mia had been involved before he left. She was very hurt when he left, and was not happy that he was back. Nell was friendly to him until she found out who he was. She knew about his past with Mia, and she was very close, and loyal to Mia. Ripley was furious when she finds out that Sam was back. Zack was the only one who was happy to see Sam and welcomed him. They were best friends growing up. Sam met Mac a bit later. Mac was friendly to Sam, and the two men became friends.

One reason Sam returned to the island was because he was taking over the only hotel, the Magick Inn. His family had owned the inn for years, but his father wasn’t too interested in it. Sam also wanted Mia back. He was young and foolish when he left. He realized how wrong he was to do what he did. Sam was also a witch and his element was water.

Mia was upset that Sam was back. She tried to keep him at a distance, but he wasn’t giving up. She slowly adjusted to him being back. She was still attracted to him, but she didn’t want to be hurt again. Mia was also worrying about a confrontation she knew was fast approaching. She had to fill her part of the curse to save the island. Sam knew about the curse and what was coming. He wanted to help Mia but she was determined to handle things herself. Sam still watched out for her, and used his magic to protect and help her. Mia and Sam did spend more time together, and became involved again.

There was an evil presence around the island. The evil presence was there three hundred years before. It was the dark that was after Fire. Her last spell protected the island from the evil presence for three hundred years. Now the evil is back and it was after Mia. It seemed to be stalking her. It knew that Mia must confront and defeat it to save the island. Mia knew that Nell and Ripley had to help her fight the evil, but she thought she had to handle most of it on her own. Eventually she realized that she needed Sam’s help.

**End plot discussion**

Face the Fire was a wonderful book. I loved it, like I did the first two books in the series. I thought that the book was very interesting and nothing in it bored me. The book was very well written and descriptive, which is normal for books by Nora Roberts. I really loved the characters in the Three Sisters Island trilogy. Over the course of the trilogy, there were six main characters that the reader gets to know fairly well by Face the Fire. When I was reading it, it was like seeing some old friends when some of the characters from the first two books showed up again. Since the most of the main characters were in several books, they were very well developed by the last book. Sam was only in one book, and Mac was only in two. The women were in all three, and they were the most developed characters.

Face the Fire was the last book in a three book series. Each book had its own main plot, and could be read by itself, but there was a continuing sub plot that connected all three books. The subplot concerned the legend of Three Sisters Island and the curse. Each woman, Nell, Ripley, and Mia, were in all three books, and each was a main character in one of the books. Each woman had something they had to face to save the island from the curse. Each woman was connected to the legend of Three Sisters Island. The books should be read in order. If they are, then the reader can see as some of the characters develop and change over the course of the books. The reader can also see the events leading up to the final confrontation concerning the curse. If the books are read out of order, some things may not make sense. Also, if the books are read out of order, the reader may come across spoilers for one of the other books.

Face the Fire had suspense, romance and magic. The suspense in the book was provided by events concerning the curse, the evil presence, and the up coming confrontation. There were some things related to the romance part of the book that were predictable, but much of what happened in the book is unpredictable. The romance was provided mainly by the relationship between Mia and Sam. The other two couples showed up throughout the book, but they didn’t really add to the romance in this book. There were some sexual situations and acts described in the book. I didn’t think the descriptions were graphic or explicit, but some people may be offended by them. People that don’t like to read books with those types of scenes in them, or who are offended by them shouldn’t read this book.

Magic played a big part in Face the Fire. Magic has been an important part of all three books in the series since four of the six main characters were witches. Nell, Ripley, Mia, and Sam were witches. The other two main characters were also linked to magic. Mac investigated things related to magic and Zack was the older brother of Ripley. Both men also became involved with a witch. Mia was a very powerful witch. Sam seemed to be pretty powerful too. In Dance Upon the Air, Mia was teaching Nell the craft throughout the book. Ripley was still shunning witchcraft. In Heaven and Earth, Ripley had to deal with being a witch. I didn’t think there was as much magic in that book since Ripley wasn’t willing to do magic again through most of the book. In Face the Fire, Mia was the main character. She regularly used her magic, casting some very powerful spells. The other main character, Sam, was also a witch and he cast several spells too. This was the first time I have heard a male referred to as a witch. In other books and movies they have been called warlocks or wizards. I think there was more related to magic in Face the Fire than there was in the other books. There was more about the legend and curse in this book too.

I thought that Face the Fire had some similarities to the television show Charmed that is on the WB network. The series, one of my favorite shows, was about three sisters who were witches. They worked together, using their magic, to battle demons and evil. Each sister had a different magic talent. In Face the Fire, Nell, Ripley, and Mia were witches. They weren’t relatives, but they considered themselves sisters. They had to work together and use their magic to defeat evil. Each woman had a certain element that they are better able to control with their spells. The evil was actually in all three books, though it was in human forms in the first two books. It wasn’t in this book. It was very clear to me that they were going to have to defeat evil. That was what made me start thinking about how similar this series is to Charmed. People who like the television show Charmed should also enjoy Face the Fire.

I thought the things related to magic were very interesting. I’ve always enjoyed books and movies that deal with magic. Several spells were cast in the book, and other things related to magic showed up throughout the book. I really enjoyed reading about those things. I find that stuff fascinating. I do know that not everyone feels that way about books dealing with magic. People who don’t like to read about magic, or who are offended by it in some way should avoid this book, and the other two books in the series. I think someone needs to have an open mind concerning magic to be able to fully enjoy this book.

All of Face the Fire took place on a fictional island called Three Sisters Island. The town has been very well described in this book, and the first two. Since I had read the other two books, the island was very familiar to me in this book. I had no trouble imagining what the island looked like. Everyone knew everyone else and the people seemed to be so nice. They were protective of each other, which was really illustrated in the first book of the series. Everyone on the island knew about the legend and curse. It was well known that Mia was a witch. Three Sisters Island seemed very real to me.

Mia and Sam were the main characters in Face the Fire. Much of the book was focused on them and their relationship. The other main characters of the series did show up throughout the book, though not as much. Nell and Ripley did play a more important part in the book than Zack and Mac did this time. Zack and Mac were the only two characters that weren’t witches, so they did seem to take a backseat in this book. Mac was still doing his research on the island, and he showed up here and there for that. Zack and Mac knew what is going on, and about the confrontation that was coming up. They were both very concerned.

CHARACTERS

Mia - She was born and raised on the island. She didn’t have a good relationship with her parents and she was raised by her grandmother. She was a witch and her element was Fire. She owned her own business, a combination book store and café. She also owned a cottage on the island that she rented out. She was a strong, independent woman who was use to taking care of herself. She thought she could handle the evil around the island herself. She did care for her friends, but she hadn’t had many romances since Sam left ten years before. She didn’t want to be hurt that way again. She was determined to protect her friends and save the island.

Sam Logan - He grew up on the island, but left ten years ago. His parents had hated the island and left years ago. His father was in the hotel business, and has owned the only hotel on Three Sisters Island for a long time. Sam decided to return home. He wanted to take over the hotel, so he bought his father out. He also wanted Mia back. He knew she could take care of herself, but he was very worried about her and wanted to help her. He was a witch and je used his magic to help and protect Mia at different times.

Nell - She was married to the sheriff. She was a witch. Her element was Air. She had only known that she was a witch for a short time, but she had taken to it. She was close to Mia and Ripley. She ended up on the island after leaving her abusive husband. Nell was a wonderful cook. She was the chef at the café in Mia’s bookstore. Nell also had her own catering business.

Zack - Sheriff of the island. He was married to Nell. He was very open minded about magic. He was protective of his wife. He was Ripley’s brother and has known Mia since he was a kid. He was Sam’s best friend before he left, and was happy to see him return. Zack was dedicated to his job, and good at it.

Ripley - She was the deputy on the island. Zack was her brother. She and Mia were best friends growing up. They learned magic and cast spells together. Ten years ago, Ripley turned her back on magic and her friendship with Mia. Ripley returned to the craft and was practicing again. She and Mia were friends again. Ripley was a very independent, somewhat stubborn woman. She was married to Mac. She did have a temper at times.

Mac - Ripley’s husband. He came to the island to research the island and magic. He has been interested in magic and things like that for years. He designed several pieces of equipment that were able to record data related to magic. He could be absentminded when he is working. He really enjoyed his work. He was worried about what will happen.

Face the Fire was a wonderful book. I really loved it, and was a little sad when it ended. I couldn’t put the book down. I would love to read more books about these characters, but this was the last book in the series. People who have read the first two books in the series should really enjoy this one. I think it is a must read for anyone who has read the first two books. Fans of other Nora Roberts books should also enjoy Face the Fire. Nora Roberts also writes futuristic mysteries as J. D. Robb, so fans of those books may also enjoy this one since they were written by the same author.

www.noraroberts.com

Three Sisters Island Trilogy
Dance Upon the Air ~ Heaven & Earth ~ Face the Fire ~







Recommended: Yes