Sometimes in a trilogy, the third book seems to lose something. It is almost as if the author is trying to stretch the story too far. Fortunately for the readers, this doesn't happen in this series! Nora Roberts produces a third book about the final important character on the Three Sisters Island. As usual she maintains the storyline while opening up a new tale about another woman that is directly associated with the other two from the previous books in the series. Face the Fire is about a woman, Mia, who had forsaken love when she lost the one man that she could ever fall in love with. Sure, there were other men in her life but there was only one true love that she gave her heart to. When she was younger, he broke her heart when he went away. Well, guess what? He comes back after about 20 years and expects her to fall into his arms? I don't think so! Mia is a woman that put all her efforts into running a successful bookstore and cafe. She built a place where customers can come in to browse her bookstore and choose a book or to sit and have a wonderful breakfast or delicious lunch. She creates a homey and comfortable atmosphere at her business where she is well liked and respected by everyone. She spent most of her life concentrating her efforts in developing her special gift and studying everything there was to know of the history of Three Sisters Island and what part she had to play in it all. Throughout the series, there has been an evil that has plagued all three women. An evil, that started with Nell's ex-husband, which escalated into something dark, malicious and hungry for power. In the final book this great evil must be combated. Mia must overcome her greatest fear, as all the other women did before her and stand strong against it. The third book is just as good as the rest in the trilogy. It isn't anything like a love/hate relationship but more of a woman's true reaction to someone she had loved dearly who broke her heart and then pops up out of the blue to try to rekindle what they once had for each other. I was eager to read the final chapter in the series. I like how Nora Roberts took her three books in the trilogy and expanded them to incorporate each of the main characters. The reader gets to know Nell, Ripley and Mia from the first book, then the author concentrates each of their stories one book at a time so that this conclusion links all of their lives together.
I really liked the first book in the series, the second one not so much and this one (the third one) least of all.I liked Mia in the first book, but not a fan of her by this one. Maybe because I'm not a fan of women who become "Love Martyrs" after they have their hearts broken. What I mean by this is women who decide to supposedly punish the man who broke their heart by actively blocking all possible chances at love in the future, which is really stupid when you think about it because the only one getting punished in this case is Mia (the Martyr). No wonder she falls right back into bed with him within a week or two of him coming back to the island; she's probably tired of her own stupid self-imposed love exile. Then she tries to proclaim that because she doesn't go out on actual dates with him that it doesn't count as being back together with him. Huh? Disappointing that the woman who started the series as the strongest personality ended the series as the weakest.Didn't much like Sam either, he was really overbearing and stalkerish in his behavior towards Mia. He came back to the Island with the sole purpose of getting her back no matter what. I had the feeling that even if Mia had been married or involved with another man that Sam would have just ignored it and moved on Mia anyway.The villain was more or less the same recycled villain we've had in the last two books so nothing new there. You would think that if Nora Roberts was going to go full-on fantasy novel with how much magic power she gave these witches that she could come up with a equally fantasy novel worthy villain. Heck, I would have appreciated a couple of fire-breathing dragons more than the same recycled villain.I gave this novel three stars because I still like Nell and Zack and I liked Ripley more than I liked her in the second novel.
What do You think about Face The Fire (2002)?
This reunion story didn't work for me. I was too busy rolling my eyes to fully enjoy this corny mess. The hero dumped the heroine because he felt suffocated by her and doesn't return for 11 years. She, of course spent those years torn apart, struggling to survive without him. The day he returns, she decides she will have sex without the "relationship" with him *rolls eyes* when he tells her he wants her back. Does that sound like what a rational woman will do to the guy who dumped and shattered her heart? She does everything with him except eat out and says she's not emotionally involved. And yet as a reader you can see that's a bald faced lie. This just made the book drag on and left me feeling dissatisfied because I didn't feel the hero groveled much at all.
—Tina
While I still liked this book, it was my least favorite of the Three Sisters Island trilogy. I liked the plot as it dealt with resolving the threat to the island and beating the evil. I thought that was done well.What I didn't particularly like about the book was the romance between Mia and Sam. It didn't quite work for me. Mia keeps her heart locked away from Sam for the whole book (with good reason mostly) then at the end, she's suddenly like, okay, I accept you and your love. The abrupt change in her feelings came off a little...weird for me. Their romance just has this rather cold vibe. She sleeps with him, does things with him, but she's constantly saying "I'll never risk my heart again" and saying it's just sex and fun. I would have liked to see Mia soften toward him a little more before the end.The other thing that kept me from really loving the book was Mia herself. I just didn't like her as much as the other characters. Maybe it was her attitude and arrogance...I'm not sure. But at times for me, she was just a character who was there, not one I was actively rooting formBut aside from that, still a good book and a nice conclusion to the Three Sisters Island trilogy...which is my favorite of all Nora's trilogies.
—jenjn79
While this wasn't my favorite romance of the trilogy (that would be Zack & Nell's story) I think it was my favorite overall story of the three. As the evil that has haunted the Island is closing in, Mia has to deal with her heartbreak from the past and open herself up to being hurt again in order to defeat it. I loved Sam's courtship of Mia but strictly as a romance I felt she closed herself off to him for too long. But again, as a story her delay made it more emotional when she did accept him. I'm a bit ashamed to admit that I was crying through the final Ceremony but I do find that in a few books Nora Roberts has written some lovely circle ceremonies so I'll cut myself a break for being moved by it. Once again I find myself wishing that we could do 1/2 stars as this more like a A-/B+ for me but I'm rounding up for overall enjoyment of the series and for making me have to get up and wipe my eyes in order to continue reading.
—KarenF
