Review copy was received from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The Seven Rings by Nora Roberts Narrator: Brittany Pressley
Series: The Lost Bride Trilogy #3
Published by MacMillan Audio on November 18, 2025
Genres: Paranormal, Historical Fiction, Romantic Suspense
Length: 15 hours, 23 minute
Format: Audiobook
Source: NetGalley
Goodreads
Amazon, Audible, Libro.fm, Barnes & Noble, Apple
Long ago, Arthur Poole built a grand house overlooking the turbulent ocean, in a Maine village that bore his name. Today, Sonya MacTavish lives in that house—a manor that has been cursed for generations. Within its walls, she has witnessed the deaths of seven brides and the thefts of seven wedding rings. And now, to break the curse and banish a malevolent spirit once and for all, a difficult task must be completed.
After Sonya, her boyfriend, Trey, and their friends are forced to hear, see—and feel—the suffering of the house’s many ghosts as their torment is reenacted by the evil presence, their bond only strengthens and their anger is renewed. Refusing to let her spirit be broken, Sonya searches each room for clues to her ancestors’ hidden story, putting the picture together, unearthing small treasures, and uncovering the moments of joy that existed among the sorrows. She’s determined to bring light to this haunted place—to fill it with people, with life and hope, once again.
But the enemy in the black dress continues to hover, to come at her in frightening forms. They may be illusions—but illusions can be powerful enough to wound and kill. She feeds on fear, and lies are her weapon. This dark-hearted witch wants to be mistress of Poole Manor, at any cost. And Sonya will need to fight a battle across two realms to finally take possession of the house on the clifftop—and of her own future…
The Seven Rings is a satisfying conclusion to the Lost Bride’s Trilogy, wrapping up the continuing threads of this haunting story. Seven Brides lost their lives shortly after being married. To break the curse, Sonya will need the help of boyfriend Trey, best friend Cleo and cousin Owen to oust an evil spirit who will murder to be mistress of the Manor.
At 3 am the clock chimes, a ghost in the parlor plays a solemn tune, a bride in a bedroom dies during child birth, a woman in another room cries unconsolably and Sonya can hear it all, including the spell cast by the evil Ester Dobbs before she throws herself from a balcony. In this haunter mansion, Sonya has gotten used to many strange things since she moved in. There is a ghost that plays fetch with her dog, one that lays out clothing for the day, another that tends the extensive gardens and chops woods. It would be completely magical if it weren’t for the one bad ghost who wants Sonya to leave or die.
To claim this beautiful home and release the ghosts of the Brides trapped in it, Sonya will need to somehow get all of the wedding rings of the murdered brides that Dobbs stole at their deaths to keep her evil spell running. Good thing there is a mirror that appears randomly from time to time that lets Sonya walk in some of the past moments at the house.
This is a fun gothic haunting with cute moments and heartbreaking ones at the moments of death for all of the brides. I enjoyed the scenery descriptions and Sonya’s relationships with friends, family and ghosts. Sometimes killing the ghost ‘s power with love and light was a little much and repetitive, but overall the story was interesting as we walk through daily life with the characters on their way to the ultimate plan to get the house out from under the curse.
This is actually my first Nora Roberts series so I don’t know how it compares to other series by her but I will say this may have ultimately worked better as a duology. There were a lot of filler moments, that while sometimes fun probably could have been cut out or streamlined. That said if you don’t mind meandering through a gothic haunting the story will still remain engaging with a satisfying conclusion to the story for Sonya, the ghosts and all of the other main cast members. A short epilogue is included so we know what is in store for their futures and we leave all the characters in the story living their best lives in the end.
Narration:
Brittany Presley is a well established narrator who killed it with her performance in this book. She continues her narration from the first book and matches the character voices well. She was able to really bring the fun of Sonya and Cleo’s friendship out and is able to capture the voice and tone of the story well. I listened at my usual 1.5x speed.
Performance: ★★★★★
Character Separation: ★★★★
Diction: ★★★★
Pacing/Flow: ★★★★★
Sound Effects: none
Listen to a clip:Â HERE
About Nora Roberts
Nora Roberts was born in Silver Spring, Maryland, the youngest of five children. She married young and settled in Keedysville, Maryland where she worked briefly as a legal secretary. After her sons were born she stayed home and tried every craft that came along. A blizzard in February 1979 forced her hand to try another creative outlet. She was snowed in with a three and six year old.
Born into a family of readers, Nora had never known a time that she wasn’t reading or making up stories. During the now-famous blizzard, she pulled out a pencil and notebook and began to write down one of those stories. It was there that a career was born. Several manuscripts and rejections later, her first book, Irish Thoroughbred, was published by Silhouette in 1981.
Nora met her second husband, Bruce Wilder, when she hired him to build bookshelves. They were married in July 1985. Since that time, they’ve expanded their home, traveled the world and opened a bookstore together.
Through the years, Nora has always been surrounded by men. Not only was she the youngest in her family, but she was also the only girl. She has raised two sons. Having spent her life surrounded by men, Ms. Roberts has a fairly good view of the workings of the male mind, which is a constant delight to her readers. It was, she’s been quoted as saying, a choice between figuring men out or running away screaming.
Nora is a member of several writers groups and has won countless awards from her colleagues and the publishing industry. Recently The New Yorker called her “America’s favorite novelist.”
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I’m almost done with this and see a 3.5 star rating as a possibility. It’s kind of dragging. I haven’t read your review yet.
I liked the wrap up to the story overall…but sometimes I think authors should embrace duologies. There is a lot of fluff with the cooking and the feeling the love.
Still good read overall just not great.
Maybe I’ll give Nora roberts another try….someday
O.o What else have you read by her?
I enjoyed this a bit more than you did I think but definitely agree it probably would have worked better as a duology. There was a LOT of filler.
I liked the girls and hanging out with them and it isn’t a bad series, I just could have done with a bit of streamlining.
Loved the idea of the portraits of the brides though and the magic mirror.
I love this series! I felt like I was there with them! So excited when this one finally came out! Her descriptive writing is wonderful..making it so enjoyable! I actually like the filler!! I love Cleo’s accent! I was afraid it would lose something when I saw that it wasn’t January narrating it but I couldn’t tell any difference! I love all the family ghosts! Wish I had them!!!
I had fun with it. This was my first Nora Roberts book but I’m sure I’ll check out more of her catalog. I’m so glad you liked all the day to day. I will miss hanging out in that magical manor with all the ghosts. They really helped make the book.