Bell of Eternity by Martina Boone (Website, Twitter, Facebook)Also by this author: Compulsion, Lake of Destiny
on August 29, 2017
Pages: 336
An island castle in Cornwall, a cast of delightful characters, dangerous secrets, and a handsome kilt-wearing chef cook up the perfect recipe for a suspenseful new romance from the award-winning author of Compulsion and Lake of Destiny.
Emma Larsen’s mother may have been a best-selling romance novelist, but her track record with relationships was the stuff of horror. As a result, Emma doesn’t believe in fairy tales or happily-ever-afters. When her best friend suddenly proposes marriage after her mother’s funeral, though, Emma reluctantly agrees to accompany Treave to a wedding at his family’s island castle in Cornwall to see if they could be compatible.
She falls in love with the romantic Cornish coast, a world rich with legends, hauntings, and ancient superstitions, such as the one about the ghostly bell that tolls when lovers will be together forever. But as tragedy rocks the small community and everyone pitches in to help, Treave seems to become a different person—one whom Emma begins to fear. And then there’s Brando, the handsome Scottish chef who has secrets of his own. Emma finds herself increasingly drawn to him, and as danger begins to surface around them all, she can’t deny that what she and Brando cook up in the kitchen together could well be the stuff of legend.
Bell of Eternity is the second book of the Celtic Legends series by Martina Boone and while I enjoyed this one, I think I liked the first one a bit more. Don’t get me wrong, Brando and Emma’s story was great so definitely read this if you enjoy a good romance (and really…who doesn’t??).
Emma has spent the last few years taking care of her mother and has basically put her life on hold to do this. When her mother passes away, Emma finds out that she put a stipulation in her will stating that in order for Emma to get her inheritance, she had to get married. Enter Treave…one of Emma’s good friends and someone her mother trusted and cared about. After the funeral, Treave tells Emma he would be willing to marry her so she could get her money and while Emma loves him as a friend, she isn’t quite sure she could feel more for him.  To give them time to connect, Treave invites Emma to join him on a trip to Cornwall for a family wedding and she jumps at the opportunity.
When Emma and Treave make it to the island we are introduced to Treave’s family and if you have read book one of this series, you will remember Brando. I liked him in that book but after learning more about him and seeing him interact with Emma in the kitchen, I liked him even more. Their trip starts out pretty bumpy not only because Treave introduces Emma as his fiancé. A storm hits the island and things take a turn when everyone jumps into action to help. As Emma tries to figure out how to balance Treave’s actions and reactions, she also finds herself drawn to Brando.
As I mentioned, Brando was great in this book. He always seemed to be there for Emma when she needed a shoulder or someone to bounce ideas off of and talk. He wasn’t going to pressure her for anything or even push her to change her mind on her relationship with Treave no matter what his fate is supposed to be. Regardless, they are both drawn to each other and as they spend more time together in the kitchen, their relationship takes a turn toward more than friendship.
So the piece I haven’t mentioned yet is that Treave is up to something and his personality shifts drastically when they hit the island. He becomes more secretive and a bit shifty and Emma is determined to figure out what is going on. I have to admit, I wasn’t really a fan of Treave, even before they hit the island. I know Emma enjoyed and appreciated his friendship but there was something about him I didn’t care for.
Overall this was a great story. While I would have liked a bit more steam and swoon between Emma and Brando, I thought their friendship and then romance was developed well. The history of the island and the superstitions play a big role in this story and I loved how it helped move the story forward but also added something to the story that you don’t necessarily find in other books. While this is a book two, you could definitely read this as a stand-alone if you haven’t checked out book one but trust me, if you are going to read these, you should read book one. I will be watching for more books from Boone in the future.
Thank you to the author for a review copy in exchange for an honest review.
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