Dive into Romance with Nora Roberts’ Bay of Sighs

In Nora Roberts’ Bay of Sighs, mermaids can walk the earth, time and space can be traveled in a single second, and three precious stars must be returned to the sky before a seductive and bloodthirsty goddess plunges the world into darkness.
We first met Annika, Sawyer, Bran, Sasha, Riley and Doyle in book one of the Guardians trilogy, Stars of Fortune. Six people, some human, some not, all born with a special gift or talent needed to help reunite three stars before they are possessed by Nerezza, an evil goddess. Sasha, the seer, and Bran, the warlock, were the love story at the center of their first mission to find the Fire Star on the Greek island of Corfu—and after a terrible battle with Nerezza, they managed to all escape with their lives and kept the star from her reach.

Their journey takes the six guardians to Capri, a beautiful island in Italy I happened to visit once when I was ten, but it rained the whole time so we barely went outside and I remember none of. Guided by the compass of time-traveler Sawyer (think kind of Dr. Who but without a TARDIS and with a lot more lust), the six know that the next star they need to find is located somewhere on the Island—possibly hidden in one of the banks of beautiful caves lining the sea. As fate would have it, Annika is a mermaid—gifted legs by a sea witch only for the duration of her mission, and cursed to return to the ocean once all three stars have been found.
While the attraction between Annika and Sawyer began in book one, this novel is one in which their relationship flourishes. Their personality differences are striking: Sawyer is an experienced traveler who has put up emotional walls that prevent him from having steady relationships, and Annika is a sheltered, naïve young girl who sees only the good in people. But her curiosity about the world is enticing to Sawyer, as is her innate ability to find joy in small moments of humanity such as cooking a delicious meal…or exploring the nuances of sex as a human.
However, their mutual pleasure is short-lived when Nerezza employs a dangerous man to hunt the six and winds up kidnapping Annika and Sawyer. Sawyer knows that his first loyalty is to his mission—protecting the stars—but when Annika is in danger, he comes perilously close to risking it all to save her. And for what? After all, she is cursed to return to the sea when their mission is complete.

Bay of Sighs is written as beautifully as an Italian summer can be; Roberts’ descriptions of the romantic Capri coastline and beaches made me see what I was missing that rainy trip during which I was unable to truly explore. I am always fascinated by villains, even in the novels where we’re not supposed to root for them—and Nerezza’s corrupted and slightly vampiric relationship with Malmont, her hired assassin, fascinated me, and was a great foil to the pure sensuality Annika experienced with Sawyer. I’m certain that in the third book, Island of Glass—which focuses on Doyle, the immortal man who is incapable of dying, and Riley, the scientist-turned-werewolf—we will get a Nerezza confrontation that will turn the pages into shooting stars.
Full of magic, mythology and some steamy ocean scenes, Bay of Sighs is the perfect novel for someone looking for a paranormal read with a hint of romance.
Bay of Sighs is in stores now.