Sandy M’s review of Of Blood and Bone (Chronicles of the One, Book 2) by Nora Roberts
Paranormal Romance published by St. Martin’s Press 4 Dec 18
As many of you know, I’m a HUGE Nora Roberts fan. Doesn’t matter to me which sub-genre she has hitting the shelves, I’ll read it. Even without reading the blurb first. And that’s where I have to admit this series took me by surprise, when it turned toward magic after so many chapters read in the first book. Now, it could be I missed a clue somewhere along the way before the spells and all that hit. Even so, the action, the fear, the uncertainty, the hope, and the love and romance always go hand in hand with magic in any Nora Roberts story. Thus, I’m still happy as can be with this second book in her Chronicles of the One series.
This book picks up fourteen years after the close of the previous story. Fallon Swift is the daughter of Lana and Max Fallon of Year One. After the Doom and as they are building the community of New Hope and their lives are forever changed, Lana escapes, finding the love of her life, Simon Swift, at the end of her perilous journey. Though she knew from the beginning the child she carried was the hope for all mankind – Uncanny or not – Lana is now having a hard time letting Fallon go. Her training is to begin with Mallick, a centuries-old mentor who will guide Fallon toward her destiny for the next two years.
I so enjoyed those two years as Fallon develops from girl-child to warrior-woman. Her power grows as she does, and it’s all pretty darned impressive. Especially when she fails, either in Mallick’s eyes or her own. Her growth into The One is emotional, bittersweet, and strong. Of course, that includes her magic and how she learns to wield it. The secondary characters we meet in this edition are as unique and hopeful as those we met in the first book, all of whom we catch up with again after Fallon’s return home. Her connection to Duncan, the male half of Uncanny twins born in New Hope after Lana’s departure, also grows along with Fallon, despite the fact she doesn’t think she has the time or the need for a lover. It’s going to be interesting to see how this relationship plays out in the next book. I also enjoyed the reunion of Lana and those friends she had to leave behind. And it’s nice to see Lana and Simon as in love here as before, as well as getting to know their three sons.
All of the battles waged throughout the story are filed with action and cunning. I love how everyone comes together to strategize and then carry out those plans to defeat the evil all around – and it is everywhere at any given time. The final battle is vengeance and triumph rolled into one, but there’s plenty of that evil left over for the next installment. Another element I look forward to watching develop until all is said and done.
One more terrific story from Nora Roberts. It may not be for every romance reader – it is a darker tone than most of her work – but for this reader/reviewer, it pulled heartstrings, it kept me on the edge of my seat, and it left me wanting more of this new world she’s created.
Grade: A
Summary:
They look like an everyday family living an ordinary life. But beyond the edges of this peaceful farm, unimaginable forces of light and dark have been unleashed.
Fallon Swift, approaching her thirteenth birthday, barely knows the world that existed before—the city where her parents lived, now in ruins and reclaimed by nature since the Doom sickened and killed billions. Traveling anywhere is a danger, as vicious gangs of Raiders and fanatics called Purity Warriors search for their next victim. Those like Fallon, in possession of gifts, are hunted—and the time is coming when her true nature, her identity as The One, can no longer be hidden.
In a mysterious shelter in the forest, her training is about to begin under the guidance of Mallick, whose skills have been honed over centuries. She will learn the old ways of healing; study and spar; encounter faeries and elves and shifters; and find powers within herself she never imagined. And when the time is right, she will take up the sword, and fight. For until she grows into the woman she was born to be, the world outside will never be whole again.
No excerpt available.
Other books in this series:
