In 1692, Good fought Evil. A man named Giles Dent faced an ancient evil, this time in the form of Lazarus Twisse. Good did not win, but it also did not lose. Dent was able to beat back the evil invading his town, but in doing so thrust the responsibility of its defeat onto his descendants.
In 1987, three boys set out on an adventure on the day before their birthdays. Born on the same day of July 7 within minutes of each other, the three are best friends despite their differences. Armed with oatmeal cookies, Pop-Tarts, Little Debbies, and ham sandwiches (along with cigarettes and three cans of beer), our heroes – Caleb, Fox, and Gage – are supposed to be camping in the woods behind Fox’s house. In actuality, they are planning on hiking out the Pagan Stone.
Set deep in the woods, the stone sat in a circle of earth scorched free from grass or brush. Some say the stone was an altar, others just a natural occurring rock formation. Our three boys just know they are going to celebrate their birthdays at this spooky site. As they turn ten on the stroke of midnight, they perform a youthful blood ritual to bond themselves as blood brothers.
Not good, right? A blood ritual at a creepy stone hidden in the middle of nowhere? At midnight? Nothing good can happen, right?
Right. The Evil once known as Lazarus Twisse is released.
From this introduction, the Sign of Seven books by Nora Roberts follow Caleb, Fox, and Gage as adults. Once they released the evilness from the stone, a cycle starts. Every seven years, for seven days each time, their small town is taken over by violence, destruction, and death. Normally sane, calm people go crazy and commit horrendous acts against each other. At the end of the seven days, something catastrophic happens. Even as ten-year-olds, our trio does everything they can to save people.
Now, on the third seven-year cycle, new factors come into play. These are romance books at heart, right? That is what Nora Roberts does best. These factors are Quinn, Layla, and Cybil. Each book in the series highlights the budding romance of a new couple.
I love these books. Think of it as Nora Roberts writing as Stephen King. In romance books, the focus is usually just on the main couple, but in this series you get lots of each couple in each book. (I am in love with Fox. He is definitely one of my literary crushes!) You root for our heroes as they get to know each other, fuss, make up, plot their defense against evil, and try to save the town. And fall in love. But this isn’t just romantic love. You get brotherly love, sisterly love, friendships, family love, and love/loyalty for the town.
These books do contain some graphic language and love scenes (I say this a lot in my book reviews. Hmmm…) And the Big Bad Evil is a demon. So be warned. But you will love this series. Trust me.
(If you have been adding, three heroes plus three heroines equals six. But the series is The Sign of Seven. Well, every demon-fighting group needs a trusty dog, doesn’t it?)
#Favorite Friday Fiction – Nora Roberts Sign of Seven Trilogy
In the town of Hawkins Hollow, it’s called The Seven. Every seven years, on the seventh day of the seventh month, madness descends on this small town. But three men bound by blood and three women brought to them by fate have pledged their souls—and their hearts—to stop it.
