The Hollow (Sign of Seven Trilogy, Book 2)
by Nora Roberts
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Book Reviews of The Hollow (Sign of Seven Trilogy, Book 2)
Book Review: A terrific middle book in the trilogy!
Summary: 5 Stars
In this second and middle book of the Sign of Seven Trilogy, we learn more about Fox and Layla. Of the three boys, Cal, Fox and Gage, that unleashed an evil on their 10th birthdays 21 years ago, Fox is the one to see the present and "read" people's minds or feelings. Fox is now a lawyer in Hawkins Hollow practicing all types of law from divorces to wills to civil suits and minor criminal defenses. He brings a special compassion and understanding to his clients partly because of his personality and partly because of his special ability.
Layla was a boutique shop assistant manager in New York when her dreams drove her to come to Hawkins Hollow. She is the "oddball" of the 3 women since Quinn and Cybil have known each other for years and are best friends. Layla did not know them or the three men before she came and is now deeply involved in the work of the 6 to learn more of Ann Hawkins and Giles Dent and thus more about the evil and the magic used to contain is for over 300 years. Layla has the same special ability as Fox but has not actively used it so it is up to Fox to teach her how. Since she is now working for him as his assistant is moving away with her husband, Fox has ample opportunity to work with her in more ways than one.
This is a wonderful story just on the romance between them alone. When you add in the excitement of searching for Ann's journals, the visions and manifestations of evil and new progress in finding ways to defeat the evil, it makes for an incredibly exciting read!
I wish the final installment came out tomorrow!
High recommended.
Book Review: Not bad
Summary: 4 Stars
This book was a good read, great continuance of the Hollow series. I can't wait for Gage's book in December!
I would have rated the book 5 stars except for the following issues: the romance between Layla and Fox just wasn't all that exciting. It was lukewarm. It took until the middle of the book before they even got together. No steaminess, no excitement. But that might have also been partly because of the figurate descriptions of the love scenes, not sure. I really couldn't figure what they were doing due to the figurative descriptions and then it's all over. Is this the new trend?
I read Nora Robert's books primarily for the romance, but in this case, the whole Hawkin's Hollow curse story and all the evil events that ensued was the primary focus. I really don't care about Ann's diary which consisted of nothing helpful, just a bunch of fluff and nonsense. So why would we want to read it? The author could have just summed it up in a sentence.
The other thing that bothered me was the weirdness of Fox donating sperm to his sister's girlfriend so they could have a baby. So that would make him the father and the uncle? How weird is that. And it kind of bugged me that he would become a father to someone else's baby first before his own with Layla. Maybe it's just me, but that whole situation was just too strange to be taken seriously.
Book Review: Falls short of potential
Summary: 3 Stars
I picked this one up to read on a flight, so didn't have much expectation one way or another as long as it kept me occupied for a day of flying. I didn't read the first in the series, but that didn't seem to hinder following the storyline. The plot is quite interesting and has a lot of potential, but unfortunately, the poor writing quality really detracts from the plot. It was bland, almost technical, and riddled with awkward sentences.
The book also ends without tying up anything. While I recognize it's part of a trilogy, I expect books in a trilogy to still be self-contained and sufficiently interesting to persuade one to want to read the next in the series, not end in a way that might as well have been "To be continued..."
Despite ending in a "to be continued" fashion, I'm not inspired to pick up the next in the series. The poor writing simply didn't entice me to want to read more.
I rated it "okay" because there was an interesting story line beneath the writing. It was a quick read, finished in a day, so a good length to start and finish while flying, which was why I bought it. It wasn't so bad that I set it aside and gave up reading entirely. So, it gets an "I can take it or leave it" rating from me. It's about what I would expect of a book chosen randomly at an airport book shop.
Book Review: Should be 2.5 stars
Summary: 3 Stars
I have read a few of Nora Roberts' trilogies and they have kept my interest. However, when I picked up The Hollow I had no idea that it was even part of a trilogy. (Guess I should have known better.)I started this book three times and put it down while I read something else. I simply got tired of looking at the darn thing so forced myself to read it.
The premise of something evil returning to a small town every seven years should mean the reader is held from page one to the very end. But this reader found trouble right on page one. There was nothing to draw me in nor anything to keep me around.
Surprisingly for Ms. Roberts she spends a lot of time on useless filler with her six characters. Too much speculation on the pairing up of the couples and not enough action on the part of Evil. One can only hope that Evil is resting up for the big conclusion in book three. While the characters are interesting, they seemed shallow and incomplete. Perhaps Ms. Roberts should have spent more time on the climactic scene, which seemed rushed, rather than on the endless chatter of Fox and Layla and their push/pull attitude towards an intimate relationship. I thought this one was a great book for putting me to sleep.
Recommended by Ms. Roberts: The Three Sisters Trilogy (if you like the paranormal).
Book Review: Has It's Moments
Summary: 3 Stars
To start, I had trouble getting through this book the first time-it went from weird to boring and back in turns. I actually ended up listening to it on audio, only because I was determined to continue with the trilogy.
The Plot:
Fox and Layla are part of a group of six who are on a mission to fight an evil demon that soon threatens to take over Fox's home town, Hawkins Hallow. The are both gifted with unique psychic talents that include the ability to read minds. They find themselves drawn to one another as they work together to fight the demon.
The Best Parts of this Book:
Fox and Layla are actually very appealing characters, as are they all. Their romance is fun and fascinating, despite the distractions of the confused plot.
Why Only Three Stars:
This book is hard to get into. It begins to take a departure from logic and reason. The entire concept of the demon becomes less and less credible as the book progresses, and the explanations of it's existence are vague and flimsy. Equally weak are the 'ghosts' that constantly visit characters to deliver vague, fortune-cookie like advice.
Overall the concept is good, and there are some amusing portions, but the trilogy falls short of Nora Roberts' usual standard.