The Circle Trilogy by Nora Roberts
The Circle Trilogy by Nora Roberts is different then most things Nora writes, as it is Paranormal Fantasy with celtic lore, vampire legend, sorcerers, vampires, witches, time travel, shape shifting, and a mystical fairy kingdom and a fight of good against evil. The premise of “Circle Trilogy” starts in 12th century Ireland, with a sorcerer chosen by the goddess Morrigan to be the leader in a battle defeat Lilith, the Queen of all vampires. Lilith has gathered an immense army of vampires to take over the world. The Circle trilogy begins with Hoyt, the sorcerer, who must follow Morrigan’s instructions to gather the circle of six; himself, a witch, a warrior, a scholar, one with many forms, and the one he’s lost. Some will seek him out, others he will have to find. Morrigan’s Cross is the first book in this series.
“Morrigan’s Cross” – Book #1
Hoyt is the sorcerer, who is approach by the Goddess Morrigan to gather the circle of six to help defeat the Queen of the vampires, Lilith, as she attempts to take over the world. Hoyt has tragically lost his twin brother Cian to Lilith, who was turned into a vampire. Hoyt now must travel through time to modern day New York, to begin his quest to find his team, to fight against insurmountable odds.
Glenna Ward, a witch and artist, goes looking for the ancient sorcerer who has haunted her dreams and finds him at the nightclub that Hoyt’s brother Cian owns. She meets Hoyt, who was there looking for his brother. There was an immediate attraction between Hoyt and Glenna, but each having their own equal powers were reluctant to work together. He being from the medieval times did not like witches, and Glenna, who though differently was as powerful in her own right. But as they travel to modern day Ireland and find their circle of six, they begin to work together on magical weapons to use against the vampires, their love brings them together.
We get to meet the remaining members of the circle of six. Blair Murphy is the warrior, descendant of Hoyt and Cian’s, a slayer that fights vampires. Blair is a killing machine and will be the one to train them and their army to fight. Moira is the scholar, who will replace her murdered mother as Queen of Geall, if they win the battle against the vampires. Larkin, a shapeshifter, who is Moira’s cousin. The last of the circle will be Cian, whom Hoyt must convince to help him destroy Lilith.
“Dance of the Gods” – Book #2
This book picks up where Morrigan’s Cross left off. The circle of six is preparing for their final battle with Lilith and her vampire army. The stone circle called the Dance of the Gods is their gateway from Ireland to another world, Moira’s kingdom, Geall, where the battle will take place. Knowing they do not have much time, training is now in full mode, with Blair handling this aspect. The circle of six consists of Hoyt the sorcerer, and Glenna the witch, whom we met in the previous book. Dance of the Gods belongs to Blair, the vampire slayer, and Larkin, the shapeshifter. The next book will of course be about Cian the vampire, and Moira the scholar, the future Queen of Geall.
Blair, is tough and ruthlessly trains them and Geall army, to fight. She works closely with Larkin, who shapeshifts into a dragon. They realize they are attracted to each other, but Blair is most hesitant, as she is a modern day hunter, and Larkin is a first cousin to the future Queen of the kingdom of Geall, not making their chances of having a happy ending good. I really enjoyed Blair, she was an excellent warrior. I found Larkin to be fun, as he was cheerful, loyal and brave. He has become an important member of his team, as he is able to take the form of any animal. Larkin works hard to woo Blair, to overcome her anxieties from her childhood. He is sexy and very attractive in this book
During the story, as they traveled to Geall, we get to see a few horrific glimpses of Lilith,and her seconds, including torture and horror scenes. The final battle gets closer, as we move on to Valley of Silence and Cian and Moira’s book
“Valley of Silence” – Book #3
Valley of Silence is the final book in the Circle Trilogy, as it continue’s the story of the circle of six’s preparation for the battle against Lilith and her army of vampires. This final book will also finally see Cian and Moira discover their love. With Moira becoming the Queen and leader of Geall, she must come to terms with what kind of future can she hope to have with Cian. Nevertheless, she finds herself falling in love him, and despite the probability of no future with the impending battle, as well as knowing there is no hope for her and Cian, Moira is determined to experience even for a short time, the passion of loving Cian.
Cian being an immortal Vampire, knows the difficulties they would face if they tried to make their relationship work, and though he loves her more than any other women in his long life, he fights off accepting Moira as his. He sees all the reasons he should walk away, if he survives the battle. One being that he could live forever, and as a human, Moira would have a short life span. He cannot have children and Moira, as the Queen, is expected to an heir. Cian is tormented enough to willingly give up his life in this battle, to save Moira, and the circle of six he has become close to, not to mention his need to kill the hated, Lilith.
“Valley of Silence” is very exciting right to the climatic ending. You find yourself rooting for the circle of six, to beat the truly evil, Lilith. They face insurmountable odds in this battle of good versus evil. You marvel at how Moira has changed from the quiet young lady, to become Queen, garner the respect of her people, as well as learn to be a fierce and brave warrior in this battle. This was an excellent final book for the series, and the ending makes this well worth it.
Barb
