The Mirror

This was painfully boring. Nothing that happened here didn't happen in the first book except maybe one thing. One of the problems is this is still just Sonya's pov. If we got to be in Cleo's head for a while it might break up some of the monotony. But this is just a retelling of the same things, chapter after chapter. Sonya and Cleo work, take a break, let the animals out, go back to work, Clover plays songs, Jack plays with the animals and Dobbs slams doors and rings bells. Then the men come over they talk about the same stuff, “Dobbs can't have this house! It's mine!” They go to bed, wake up at 3 am, go back to bed and the whole routine starts over.

If you're hoping that this middle book of The Lost Bride Trilogy ramps up the paranormal suspense angle, you will probably be disappointed. However, if your catnip is any or all of the following, this is your lucky day:
competence porninterior design
gardeningcooking
graphic art and creative artboatmaking
event planningbespoke dog houses
wine, wine, wineperfunctory sex scenes between MC and her LI
*occasional reminders that there is an evil ghost haunting the house in which the MC and her BFF live

Honestly, it's rather mind-numbing, but also comforting to read about good, professionally capable people being decent to each other and planning a big party so that all the shiny, happy people can meet each other. The paranormal plot is barely advanced in the course of 400+ pages, but Sonya plants some flowers and Cleo gets a cat.

N.B. A genealogist from the Eureka Public Library has posted a helpful Poole family tree that includes each of the seven lost brides. Thank you C. O'Neill, whoever you are!