The Seven Rings

• Author: Nora Roberts
• Genre: Fantasy
• Publication Date: November 18, 2025
• Publisher: Macmillan Audio
• Series: The Lost Bride Trilogy #3

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The #1 New York Times-bestselling author concludes her compelling Lost Bride trilogy as two women—one dead, one alive—prepare for a terrifying final showdown…

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…

I’ve been eagerly anticipating this read, with how invested I have been in the series. But somehow, I didn’t want to get to the end, because then I’d have to say goodbye to the characters that have come to feel like friends. I can always reread the books, but you only get one first experience with a book.

Fortunately, I got approved for both the ebook and audiobook versions of this book, and was able to binge read this one right after catching up on the first two books. I mainly read this in audiobook form, and Brittany Pressley is the perfect narrator for this series. She does a fantastic job as Sonya, but also is a wonderfully convincing voice for the other characters, including the men and one Louisiana belle with a honey-thick Southern accent.

This has become a favorite series of mine, with each reread revealing something I didn’t catch in the previous ones, and making me love the characters even more. Each time I pick this up, I get to step into a world that has begun to feel almost like home. I was thrilled to find out what would happen in the final showdown at Lost Bride Manor (okay, that sounds like a bad Western title), but was low-key worried about our little group of found family.

It’s so easy to love the characters in this book, with the exception of one evil witch who is desperate to be the mistress of Poole Manor, and will do anything to get there, including putting a curse on the house. But what she didn’t count on was Sonya, a determined, motivated, stubborn, smart, and sweet woman who has formed some strong bonds in the house and surrounding town. Watching her adapt to a new pace of life in a town she never heard of has been a pleasure, and over the course of the series, I’ve loved the bonds that she has formed with Trey, Owen, and Cleo, along with so many other people since she arrived in Poole’s Bay.

In this book, those bonds are put to the test as Sonya pulls out all the stops in her mission to uncurse the house. It requires the support of the people that she has folded into her found family, including the spirits in residence. Watching the living residents of the manor interacting with the dead was endlessly fascinating, and Roberts does an outstanding job of making even spirits feel like realistic characters. It might help that we also get to see most of the spirits while they were still alive. Clover and Jack were my favorites ghostly characters, although all of the ghosts have some purpose for staying in the house. 

Everything comes together in this book, as we are taken on a dizzying journey into the past history of the house, and the four living people in the house are forced to relive the death of each bride again in excruciating detail. As hard as Sonya and Cleo have worked to make this manor into a home, they’ve also worked equally hard to become an active part of the town. Sonya, Cleo, Trey, and Owen all have really healthy relationships with each other, and everyone trusts that the others will be there when needed, and they really are. Usually with a fantastic homecooked meal and some wine, but always with love. This book has left me with a hankering for jambalaya and pot roast, so prepare yourself to get hungry hearing about all of the delicious dinners that Cleo makes.

It becomes clear to these four that the witch has to be stopped and the curse must be broken or Sonya will become bride number eight. This is where all of the threads from the earlier books come into play, as they have to set things right. Sonya and Co. explore the house room by room to search for clues that will help them stop the witch. The themes of family, romance, grief and loss, symbolism, and fighting to ensure the safety of their home, loved ones, and their very futures. There are some mildly creepy moments, but this is the kind of book that veers into suspense territory more than horror, so be aware that this book centered around a cursed house full of spirits isn’t actually scary. And this is coming from a chicken, so you can bank on that.

Overall, this was a fantastic book, and it beautifully closed the trilogy. There were so many plot twists I didn’t see coming, although there was one that I had been expecting throughout this book that did occur. But it’s one of those books that has a little of everything—historical mystery, haunted mansion, a witch’s curse, romance, and a whole lot of fun contemporary content. I am blown away by this series, which has been my introduction to Nora Roberts, and I’ll gladly get started on her backlist ASAP if they’re all this good.

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