Stars of Fortune by Nora Roberts

The Guardians Trilogy bk 1. Piatkus, 2015. ISBN 9780349407807
(Age: Adult) Romance. Fantasy. Corfu. Goddesses. Three goddesses made three stars, one of fire, one of ice and one of water. But evil pushed them from the sky, putting the world into danger. Three women and three men must join forces to put the pieces back together. Sasha Riggs is an artist haunted by dreams, which she follows to Corfu, where she recognises five others - a magician, Bran who will become more to her, Riley, an archaeologist, Sawyer, a roamer, Anniker, who loves water and Doyle who is a fighter. All are on a quest and all have secrets that are gradually revealed as the story progresses.
Roberts is a master at creating interesting romances, and although the themes in Stars of fortune will feel familiar to her fans, she still grabs the reader's attention with her interesting characters, beautiful setting and battle scenes. The romance is strong between Sasha and Bran and each bring out the best in each other's characters. The group must bring their diverse talents and personalities to form a team, and Roberts deftly shows the group dynamics, the gradual growth of trust amongst such different people and their joining together in a big battle to save each other.
The island of Corfu, with its bays and cliffs and beautiful landscape, makes an entrancing background to the story. Descriptions of the villages and the villa where the group were staying added to the enjoyment of the story and it will be interesting to see where Roberts sets the next book in the series.
This is an easy enjoyable read, with no real surprises and fans of Nora Roberts will welcome the escapism that she always offers her readers.
Pat Pledger