Nora Roberts’ latest trilogy hits its stride the second time out. While the first in this series felt a lot like a retread of books we’ve read before, this story seems to have a little more individuality going for it. In “Blood Brothers,” the new circle of six is introduced, and Cal and Quinn were paired off. This book is about the love that forms between Fox and Layla, while the six continue to prepare for the upcoming battle with the Big Evil that plagues the small Maryland town of Hawkins Hollow.Layla came to Hawkins Hollow seemingly on a whim, leaving her job and apartment in New York behind to head for a place she had never been. Almost immediately upon her arrival, strange things begin to happen, and as a result Layla makes friends with Quinn, who had come to town to write about the bizarre happenings every seven years. Layla winds up leaving her job in New York and taking on the temporary position of Fox’s office manager, but it doesn’t seem as if their relationship will remain professional. Not when they feel such a connection. Fox is ready for Layla to leave everything behind and build a life with him, but Layla isn’t so sure she wants him making all her decisions for her. Besides, with what’s about to come in July, she fears there soon may not even be a Hawkins Hollow in which to build a life. The six friends have a battle on their hands against the demon who would destroy the picturesque town, and his antics are escalating. From the moment Layla set foot in Hawkins Hollow, she has had visions and dreams. As time approaches the Seven, the week in July when all hell breaks loose, the demon seems to be gaining more power than ever before, and his tricks become even more dangerous. The six friends find that to beat him at his own game, they must risk performing a dark ritual of their own that could destroy them all.While generally not offended by books of this type, I didn’t realize until now how much Sunday school stuck with me, because it really bugs me that God does not seem to exist to a single character in this book, yet they continually use God and Jesus as epithets in their speech. It also amuses me that these six characters are so sure of the power they possess amongst themselves that they feel capable of taking on a “demon from hell” without any supernatural assistance, whether from God and angels, or even from witchcraft. They’ve got such a powerful thing going, it defies all religions and beliefs. To quote the cover blurb, “only friendship and family, promise and passion can stop it…” That’s an incredibly silly concept from any spiritual standpoint, and sounds more like platitudes you’d read in a teen magazine. Oddly, though, the silliness of it all made the book more palatable to me.Though my least favorite, and the least original, of all Nora Roberts’ trilogies, as other readers have said, Nora on a bad day is better than most other writers on a good one. This book was better than the first in this series, and I’m hoping that the third will be a further improvement and round it out nicely in the end.
Opinião em: http://leituranaoocupaespaco.blogspot..."Ritual de Amor" é o segundo volume da trilogia Signo dos Sete, e também, o livro dedicado ao romance do adorável advogado Fox O'Dell, e a recém-chegada de Nova Iorque, Layla.Layla é a única que não pertence, de alguma forma, ao círculo dos seis, não tendo qualquer ligação com os restantes antes da sua chegada a Hawkis Hollow, e talvez por isso, também a mais céptica, e menos receptiva a todas estas mudanças na sua vida... Um dia dirigia uma botique de roupa em Nova Iorque, no outro é violada em sonhos por um demónio, e dá por si a não controlar a irresistível vontade de se dirigir a esta pacata e desconhecida cidade onde se depara com um singular grupo de cinco amigos.Fox provém de uma família hippie, o que contrasta com a sua opção profissional, mas a bondade e compaixão dos O'Dell é-lhe inata, assim como o complexo de herói. Fox não resiste ao impulso de salvar tudo e todos, em especial os que mais ama.No primeiro volume da trilogia, "Irmãos de Sangue", fomos apresentados às seis personagens principais, mas ficamos a conhecer intimamente o primeiro casal a apaixonar-se, Cal e Quinn.Neste segundo livro, Fox e Layla têm destaque, mas Gage e Cyb não lhes ficam muito atrás, lançando assim, o mote para "Pedra Pagã", o fascículo que encerrará esta trilogia.A par do seu antecessor, "Ritual de Amor" é uma leitura bastante prazenteira e um "must read" para todos os fãs de Nora Roberts, assim como, para leitores de romance fantástico... e que romance!Se Cal e Quinn foram ardentes, Fox e Layla são arrebatadores!Layla não é a minha personagem favorita, pois tem uma personalidade mais recatada, e muitas reservas que não a deixam progredir, mas em compensação, Fox colmata a sua inactividade (factor que muda drasticamente a meio do livro, e ainda bem!), com a sua paixão, optimismo, boa fé e sensualidade heróica... afinal, qual é a mulher que não gosta de um herói? E ainda para mais, um herói bem parecido??Fox é o sonho de qualquer mulher... um homem com princípios: um homem de família; de personalidade flexível; bem sucedido; determinado; e encantador! Se antes nutria um grande carinho por este personagem, agora sou totalmente TEAM FOX!Quanto á escrita da autora, esta mantém-se no seu registo já conhecido: de linguagem e interpretação fáceis; pormenorizada mas não enfadonha; fluída e aditiva, não nos deixando largar o livro; e muito, muito romântica, com a especial adição do factor suspense que a autora tão bem manipula, deixando-nos de cabeça à roda a tentar encontrar solução para salvar estes seis e a sua adorada cidade.Mas, enquanto lutamos para desvendar o grande final, vamo-nos entretendo com estas bonitas e ternas estórias de amor, que nos aquecem o coração e aguçam o apetite com tanto romance."Ritual de Amor" é uma leitura a não perder!Depois deste livro, mal posso esperar pela conclusão da trilogia, que promete!
What do You think about The Hollow (2008)?
I should probably feel bad that I ignored my husband and children for seven straight hours while I read THE HOLLOW, the second book in Nora Roberts' THE SIGN OF SEVEN trilogy.I don't.Seriously, once you start in on this story, featuring Fox O'Dell and Layla Darnell, which is even better than the first book, you won't be able to stop reading. Of course, I'll no doubt say that the third book in the series, which doesn't come out until December (the horror!!), is even better than this one, but I'll deal with that when it happens.Fox, Cal, Gage, Layla, Quinn, and Cybil are all back, all working to prepare themselves to destroy the demon that will be coming to do his dirty work during The Seven (see first book for definitions, as I'm not going to tell you!). There's more evil, more horror, and more information learned this time around. Basically, it's the first book amped up a bit.Trust me, you want to read THE HOLLOW. You want to ignore your husband and children for a few hours. You want to scream when you realize you're not going to get the rest of the story for seven more loooong months.
—Jennifer Wardrip
Three boys who shared their birthday, Caleb, Fox, and Gage, decided to celebrate their tenth birthday at the Pagan Stone, a strange, altar-like stone in the middle of the woods surrounding Hawkins Hollow, the village where the three grew up.A simple vow to always be friends sealed with their blood, unleashed an entity that‘s been haunting them ever since.Every seven years, for seven days in the seventh month, the small town of Hawkins Hollow descends into madness. Strange accidents happen; neighbors turn against neighbors, husbands against wives… When the Seven is over, no one remembers anything.Except the three blood brothers.Now, twenty-one years later, the three boys turned men know the time might have come to end it. It has grown stronger, but so have them. And they’re not alone anymore.This is the second book in the Sign of Seven trilogy. While the first book, Blood Brothers, was one of the creepiest (in some parts) book I've read to date, this one does not rise to the challenge.I liked Fox, his tree-hugging roots clashing with a deep need to fight, and his deep urge to protect his mate with his life if need be. And I'd love to see those "tiger eyes" in person.Layla was another story. In some scenes I got this crazy urge to slap the stupid girl. This one is most certainly one of the female characters I passionately dislike in fiction. Despite my efforts I just couldn't relate to her. I know we all have issues and worries, but she was a little too over the top for me.At least the romance between them had a little more time to evolve and become a little more believable than in the previous book.
—Mojca
After really loving the first in this series, I wasn’t surprised that I wasn’t quite as enamoured by this one, you kind of saw it coming in ‘Blood Brothers’. Don’t get me wrong, the writing was just as good, the plot of the story continued to thicken, the characters were all just as likeable...oh hang on...no, not all of them were!!! Layla pretty much blew this book for me,considering this was based around not only the thickening of the plot but around the relationship between Layla and Fox, it was bound to fall flat. She just didn’t pack the punch that the other two female leads did, she was whiny and irritating and I barely warmed to her at all, which is really sad because Fox was a great character – one of my favorites – I found myself wanting someone better for him.It wasn't so bad that I couldn't read on, I still enjoyed it, the other characters were great and of course the story itself kept this interesting.Still good enough to chill on a Saturday night, maybe sans fluffy socks...
—Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ TrixieTracy Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ
