(Review) Dark Witch by Nora Roberts

Title: Dark Witch Author: Nora Roberts Pages: 342 Published: October 31, 2013 Publisher: Piatkus Review Copy: Yes Why did I want this book? LBB sent me this book.

Synopsis:
Three cousins inherit a gift that will transform their lives ...Iona Sheehan has just taken the biggest gamble of her life. Leaving her job, her home and her family in Baltimore, she has come to Ireland in search of adventure - and answers. Iona has always felt a powerful connection to the home of her ancestors. So when her beloved grandmother confesses an extraordinary family secret, she can't resist visiting County Mayo to discover the truth for herself. Arriving at the beautiful and atmospheric Castle Ashford, Iona is excited to meet her cousins, Connor and Branna O'Dwyer, for the first time. And when she lands a job at the local riding school she finds herself drawn against her will to its owner - the hot-tempered but charismatic Boyle McGrath. Perhaps in County Mayo she has found her true home at last. What Iona doesn't realise is that her cousins have been expecting her for a long time. Connor, Branna and Iona have all inherited a powerful but dangerous gift from an ancestor known as the Dark Witch. And they are about to discover that some old legends can return to haunt the present ...The first in a magical new trilogy, Dark Witch is a captivating story of love, family and destiny.

Cover:
The cover looks good but it reminds me more of a history novel than a fantasy book.

Title:
The title is well chosen, since the Dark Witch is the main topic.

Writing style:
When I started reading I thought: wow this is really great. The writing style is awesome. Unfortunately I only had this feeling the first 100 pages. When the sort really was to begin, is started to get boring. A lot of unnecessary conversations and sense we know from other books. It wasn't like reading something new. Also the characters: Nothing new and therefore not really interesting. The book is written in 3. person and Ionas point of view. There was a lot of potential that could have been used but didn't.

Characters:
There characters where the books main weakness. Iona bucked the hell out of me! She is talking nonstop about everything to everyone. She doesn't seem to have an inhibiting threshold in any way! So she keeps telling strangers about her sexdreams and fears ...
And of course every guy in this book is hot, handsome and so on, they are all bad boys with a weak spot and they all want to protect her ... sure ...
We also have an antagonist. Of course we have one, but there are almost no explanations why he is the bad guy. I was really disappointed.

Noteworthy:
The author is very famous and I was looking forward to read her book until I did. Horses and Fantasy could have been a great mix but unfortunately she was busy grooming horses the whole day which got boring.

Stuck in my Head:

„From this day forward, she thought, this was home. One she’d make herself, for herself. This was her life, one she’d live as she wanted. If that wasn’t magick, what was?«“ (p. 54)

What I didn't like:
As I already said, I disliked the protagonist. She was way too naive. But I also had a problem with the whole horse-topic. She used every cliché she could find. The first time, Iona sees Boyle he writes a pretty stallion only she can tame, later he saves a sick horse because he is such a nice guy and it seems like Iona can boss him around all the time. Hello?! It is his stable! It was just sooooo unbelievable.

Quick and dirty:
Nice idea and it had all the ingredients to become my favorite book but this didn't happen because the story just sucks. Not enough depth and too many clichés. Too bad, the author seems to have talent.

Thank you to ...

... Little Brown Books, who gave me this review copy in exchange of a honest review!