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Spellbound & Ever After
Ancient magic, modern-day mishap and passionate love affairs are combined in these two mesmerising short stories.SpellboundRoguish and overworked, world-famous photographer Calin Farrell is struggling to shut out the strangely vivid dreams that have beset him since his childhood. Then, on a visit to Ireland, a glimpse of the bewitchingly beautiful Bryna changes everything. When Bryna reveals that their destinies are bound by an ancient spell, Calin laughs it aside. But if Calin does not fight for her, Bryna will face a terrifying fate.Ever AfterAllena has always struggled to get her life on track. And, true to form, on a trip to Ireland she is distracted by a beautiful, ancient pendant - and then a strange storm leaves her stranded on a distant island. Allena is forced to take shelter with her the rugged and surly Conal. But Conal is horrified to see Allena wearing the pendant - a sign that fate is catching up with him. He fights it at every turn, but the enchanting Allena alters his life in ways he never thought possible.
289 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2010
38 people are currently reading
225 people want to read
About the author
Nora Roberts
1,234 books60.5k followersNora Roberts is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than 200 novels, including Hideaway, Under Currents, Come Sundown, The Awakening, Legacy, and coming in November 2021 -- The Becoming -- the second book in The Dragon Heart Legacy. She is also the author of the futuristic suspense In Death series written under the pen name J.D. Robb. There are more than 500 million copies of her books in print.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
January 2, 2015
Spellbound - 3/5 - typical Nora Roberts. Flowery and non-explicit love scenes and a hero/heroine that are destined to be together. I did get a bit irritated with the heroine who seemed to be getting frustrated that her Hero wasn't falling in love with her and trusting her magic fast enough (within 1 day).
Ever After - 3/5 - All the men in Conal's family are destined for a certain woman who shows up wearing a star pendant. And so Conal is hiding on his island before the deadline in which he has to claim her, hoping to avoid destiny, so that he can make his own choice. So when Allena shows up on his island wearing the star pendant, he'll have to make a choice...meet his destiny or not. This was an okay story. It kind of irritated me that when it came down to it, Conal really didn't have a choice and I can totally understand why he was so upset. In addition, Allena sort of irritated me because she shows up and instantly becomes his maid and handyman. And it seems that is all she really wants to do with her life...clean his house and fix things for him.
Ever After - 3/5 - All the men in Conal's family are destined for a certain woman who shows up wearing a star pendant. And so Conal is hiding on his island before the deadline in which he has to claim her, hoping to avoid destiny, so that he can make his own choice. So when Allena shows up on his island wearing the star pendant, he'll have to make a choice...meet his destiny or not. This was an okay story. It kind of irritated me that when it came down to it, Conal really didn't have a choice and I can totally understand why he was so upset. In addition, Allena sort of irritated me because she shows up and instantly becomes his maid and handyman. And it seems that is all she really wants to do with her life...clean his house and fix things for him.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 4, 2020
SPELLBOUND
Short, cute, enjoyable and angsty time immortal spell story.
I did enjoy this but just couldn’t love it.
Bryna was wonderful but at the same time too simplistic. Nothing wrong with her being a talented witch and homebody but not having any anger or hurt over all the women Calin had been with and apparently, there were a lot, seemed unrealistic.
Calin thinks he is having a breakdown and due to the extremely short time frame, I couldn’t blame him. 48hours to learn the truth and be ready to fight a big baddie was extreme. A week would have made more sense.
Bryna has known about their mutual past but Calin turned his back on his perceived imaginary friend.
Very quickly wraps up.
Read before but review is missing.
EVER AFTER
A lovely little Irish based magical read. I thoroughly enjoyed just switching off and reading this.
Suspend belief and believe what the fates have in store for you.
Conal is a famous artist/sculptor. He was lovely and broody.
Conal was determined to fight against his heritage and choose his own fate.
Allena was just so likeable. There is nothing wrong with being able to make a home, lots of people do not have the knack for it. Her families treatment of her was disgustingly wrong but I can imagine over achievers would be like that.
Read years ago and reviewed. Review missing.
Short, cute, enjoyable and angsty time immortal spell story.
I did enjoy this but just couldn’t love it.
Bryna was wonderful but at the same time too simplistic. Nothing wrong with her being a talented witch and homebody but not having any anger or hurt over all the women Calin had been with and apparently, there were a lot, seemed unrealistic.
Calin thinks he is having a breakdown and due to the extremely short time frame, I couldn’t blame him. 48hours to learn the truth and be ready to fight a big baddie was extreme. A week would have made more sense.
Bryna has known about their mutual past but Calin turned his back on his perceived imaginary friend.
Very quickly wraps up.
Read before but review is missing.
EVER AFTER
A lovely little Irish based magical read. I thoroughly enjoyed just switching off and reading this.
Suspend belief and believe what the fates have in store for you.
Conal is a famous artist/sculptor. He was lovely and broody.
Conal was determined to fight against his heritage and choose his own fate.
Allena was just so likeable. There is nothing wrong with being able to make a home, lots of people do not have the knack for it. Her families treatment of her was disgustingly wrong but I can imagine over achievers would be like that.
Read years ago and reviewed. Review missing.
August 19, 2017
I think this book was a good read but just not a very realistic one. Both stories deal with the supernatural and of course love is the answer for these two couples. However while Nora Roberts normally uses these elements flawlessly, I found this novel difficult to follow.
The first story, "Spellbound" tells of a couple who have been separated through death and are now brought together. But while Bryna accepts their destiny together (since she has always known Calin is the one for her), Calin is far more disbelieving (which is ridiculous considering he had a childhood of the supernatural). However the story betwen Bryna and Calin is sweet and well-developed despite it's relatively short length. I really enjoyed this story.
The second story, "Ever After" was just a really painful read. There was too much of insta-love and I did not find any of it believable. The characters seemed weak and I found the entire story to be over-done.
I warn anyone considering this book to proceed with caution.
The first story, "Spellbound" tells of a couple who have been separated through death and are now brought together. But while Bryna accepts their destiny together (since she has always known Calin is the one for her), Calin is far more disbelieving (which is ridiculous considering he had a childhood of the supernatural). However the story betwen Bryna and Calin is sweet and well-developed despite it's relatively short length. I really enjoyed this story.
The second story, "Ever After" was just a really painful read. There was too much of insta-love and I did not find any of it believable. The characters seemed weak and I found the entire story to be over-done.
I warn anyone considering this book to proceed with caution.
January 3, 2025
A fast read. Not my usual genre
June 10, 2025
Storis da ond braidd yn fur gen i
September 10, 2016
★★★☆☆
Sinopse:
Spellbound : Photographer Colin Farrell is struggling to shut out the strangely vivid dreams that have beset him since childhood. Then, during a visit to Ireland, he meets the bewitchingly beautiful Bryna, who reveals that their destinies are bound by an ancient spell.
Ever After : After discovering an ancient pendant while on a trip to Ireland, beautiful Allena finds herself stranded on a distant island after a strange storm. She's rescued by rugged and surly Conal, who is horrified to see her wearing the pendant – a sign that fate is catching up with him.
Fonte
Opinião:
Spellbound ★★★☆☆
Ever After ★★☆☆☆ {2.5}
Gostei da primeira história. Mais do que da segunda, sem dúvida. O Ever After não pegou tanto por mim, por isso é que demorei mais que o costume a terminar o livro... Leu-se, mas nada de especial.
Foi um bom livro, no geral. Contudo, já li muito melhor da autora.
1ªleitura: 10 a 24 de Outubro de 2013
2ªleitura: 6 a 7 de Junho de 2014
Sinopse:
Spellbound : Photographer Colin Farrell is struggling to shut out the strangely vivid dreams that have beset him since childhood. Then, during a visit to Ireland, he meets the bewitchingly beautiful Bryna, who reveals that their destinies are bound by an ancient spell.
Ever After : After discovering an ancient pendant while on a trip to Ireland, beautiful Allena finds herself stranded on a distant island after a strange storm. She's rescued by rugged and surly Conal, who is horrified to see her wearing the pendant – a sign that fate is catching up with him.
Fonte
Opinião:
Spellbound ★★★☆☆
Ever After ★★☆☆☆ {2.5}
Gostei da primeira história. Mais do que da segunda, sem dúvida. O Ever After não pegou tanto por mim, por isso é que demorei mais que o costume a terminar o livro... Leu-se, mas nada de especial.
Foi um bom livro, no geral. Contudo, já li muito melhor da autora.
1ªleitura: 10 a 24 de Outubro de 2013
2ªleitura: 6 a 7 de Junho de 2014
May 7, 2016
***contains Slight spoilers***
SPELLBOUND
This story held my interest... Just barely. I know we read fiction to escape into a different world but the world she creates is just a little too farfetched, the characters just a little too predictable and boring...
Callin Farrell - i baulked every time I read that name because of the semblance to the actor with a similar name... What a pansy! Uhh! I like my men a little more rough around the edges, with more of a believable valour, not something inherited from some weird magic bloodline...
And Bryna the Wise should be more like Bryna the Naive or Innocent.
And don't get me started on the White-witch incantations! Puleeeaase! Gag!
I'm shelving this, maybe I'll come back later to read the second story (once my gag reflexes settle).
SPELLBOUND
This story held my interest... Just barely. I know we read fiction to escape into a different world but the world she creates is just a little too farfetched, the characters just a little too predictable and boring...
Callin Farrell - i baulked every time I read that name because of the semblance to the actor with a similar name... What a pansy! Uhh! I like my men a little more rough around the edges, with more of a believable valour, not something inherited from some weird magic bloodline...
And Bryna the Wise should be more like Bryna the Naive or Innocent.
And don't get me started on the White-witch incantations! Puleeeaase! Gag!
I'm shelving this, maybe I'll come back later to read the second story (once my gag reflexes settle).
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 18, 2016
SLIGHT SPOILERS
This is the first Roberts book I have not been able to finish. I enjoyed her trilogy that had a similar plot to this, and perhaps this seemed like a quick knockoff of that. I felt it was too farfetched, even for someone who enjoys these types of books. it felt too rushed and therefore underdeveloped. I didn't buy that CAL fell in love and believed her so fast. Also, the constant Irish references got old fast. Irish whiskey, Irish this, Irish that. They are in Ireland, we get it. I finally had to throw in the towel cuz I just wasn't enjoying the story at all. I didn't even make it to the second story. Sorry Nora, I have read many of your books and enjoyed every single one but this one just didn't hold me.
This is the first Roberts book I have not been able to finish. I enjoyed her trilogy that had a similar plot to this, and perhaps this seemed like a quick knockoff of that. I felt it was too farfetched, even for someone who enjoys these types of books. it felt too rushed and therefore underdeveloped. I didn't buy that CAL fell in love and believed her so fast. Also, the constant Irish references got old fast. Irish whiskey, Irish this, Irish that. They are in Ireland, we get it. I finally had to throw in the towel cuz I just wasn't enjoying the story at all. I didn't even make it to the second story. Sorry Nora, I have read many of your books and enjoyed every single one but this one just didn't hold me.
October 3, 2013
Not too impressed
February 25, 2014
Another great book! Two short stories
June 24, 2015
Two short romance stories both with slight mystical / supernatural elements.
The stories were reasonable but the writing / characters didn't grab me.
The stories were reasonable but the writing / characters didn't grab me.
August 3, 2016
I have only read half the book it was an ok story not the best from Nora Roberts . I have left it and have not pick up to read the next story in the book.
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August 28, 2018I can't read any book on the app.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews