Nora Roberts has been one of my favorite authors for several years. In September of 2006, Morrigan's Cross, the first book in The Circle Trilogy, was released. I picked up the second book, Dance of the Gods, as soon as it was released.
Nora Roberts has written several books, usually in one of her trilogies, that have dealt with magic or the supernatural. The Circle Trilogy was slightly different because it added vampires. As far as I know, these books were the first time that Roberts ever wrote anything related to vampires. In Morrigan's Cross, the goddess Morrigan put together a group of six to lead a battle against Lilith, the queen of vampires, and her army to save all humans. Hoyt was a powerful sorcerer that traveled through time to be reunited with his twin brother Cian. Lilith had turned Cian into a vampire in the twelfth century. Cian was a bit different from most vampires, having given up human blood more than a hundred years before and he was willing to fight against Lilith and other vampires. Glenna was a witch that became more powerful when she worked with Hoyt. Blair was a demon hunter with a lot of experience fighting vampires and actually a descendant of Hoyt and Cian. Moira was the future queen of Gaell, another world. Her cousin Larkin, who was a shape shifter, joined her in traveling to Ireland to battle Lilith. The group started working together, slowly learning to depend on each other.
After fairing well after a fight with many of Lilith’s vampires, the group continued their training and planning for the upcoming battle that was meant to take place in Gaell. The group was able to do a few things that really upset Lilith. Hoyt and Glenna were spending a lot of time working on spells they hoped to use against the vampires. They were also working on something that would allow Cian to safely go outside during the day. Moira was training harder, believing that she was the weakest member of the team. Blair was fighting her attraction to Larkin, believing that it wouldn’t be wise for them to get involved. Larkin didn’t share her reservations. Blair saw Morrigan in a vision and learned when the group was to travel through the Dance of the Gods to Gaell to prepare the people there for the upcoming battle. Lilith kept hoping to do something that would eliminate a member of the group before the battle.
Dance of the Gods picked up the morning after the last events in Morrigan’s Cross, building on what had been started in that book. With the other trilogies by Roberts that I have read, there has been more time between the books. This book did briefly mention a few things that had happened in the first book without there being a full recap of everything. The plot for this book was very connected to the first book. With this trilogy, it seemed to be more like one long story overall that was divided into three parts for publication. These books really need to be read in order for everything to make sense. If someone tried to start with this book, I think they would quickly be lost without the knowledge of what had happened in the first book.
Magic was used throughout Dance of the Gods. Hoyt and Glenna continued to work on different spells, though most of that wasn’t actually shared as they worked on the spells. They would just talk to the other characters about the progress. Early in the book they did a powerful spell with some help from Moira in an attempt to rescue some of the people that Lilith and her vampires were keeping as prisoners. I think there was a little less magic featured in this book since Hoyt and Glenna weren’t featured as much. Lilith had a dark wizard, Midir, working for her, crafting spells to use against the group. Since Larkin played a bigger part in this book, he used his shape shifting ability a lot more than he had in the first book. His ability was very helpful several times throughout the book. I did really enjoy how the magical things were included in the book. Some of the book took place in Gaell, the world that Moira and Larkin were from. There were Celtic influences there. At the end of the book, a short glossary of Irish words, places, and characters used throughout the books in this trilogy. The glossary did call Gaell a fantasy world.
There really wasn’t anything new added about vampires in Dance of the Gods that hadn’t already been introduced in the first book. Cian was the vampire character that had been developed the most. Lilith and her followers weren’t shown as much so they weren’t as developed. That worked out all right because it was made clear what Lilith’s ultimate plan was. Cian was different from the other vampires since he had stopped drinking human blood and was willing to fight against Lilith. It seemed like he still had some feelings. The vampires could be hurt by holy water, sunlight, and wooden crosses to the heart. Even though the vampires couldn’t go outside if the sun was out, they didn’t have to actually sleep during those hours and if it happened to be overcast, they could safely go outside. Vampires have been important to this trilogy overall. People that don’t like to read books about vampires should probably pick a different book.
The members of the group, usually Blair and Larkin, faced off with some of Lilith’s vampires in some small fights throughout the book. Lilith stayed away from the group, sending out her followers instead and then she would get upset when things didn’t go the way she wanted. It did sort of seem like Lilith didn’t want to face the group herself. Blair had spent most of her life either training to fight vampires or fighting vampires and she was use to working alone thanks to the way her father trained her. She did have to adjust to working with the others in a fight situation. She did charge into dangerous situations a few times which resulted in her fighting several vampires. The fights, especially one in particular, did include a bit of violence without getting overly graphic. A scene when Moira did something to show the people of Gaell that vampires were real and what they would be facing in the battle had a little bit of violence as well. The big battle hasn’t happened yet, so I wouldn’t be surprised if the next book was a bit more violent. It didn’t seem like there was as much of the group’s training shared in this book even though it was made clear that they all continued the daily training. Once they were in Gaell, they started working with the people there, training them in how to fight vampires.
The group of six were mostly strangers when they united to fight Lilith and her vampires. Hoyt and Cian were twins, but Cian had changed greatly over the centuries of being a vampire. The only other two characters who knew each other before joining the group were Moira and Larkin, cousins who had grown up together. The group had managed to forge friendships in a short time. Hoyt and Glenna had fallen in love during the first book. Their relationship wasn’t shown as much in Dance of the Gods. Larkin and Blair spent time figuring out their relationship. Blair felt like she couldn’t be involved with anyone because she was a demon hunter. Something had happened in a prior relationship that made her feel that way. I did enjoy the progression of her relationship with Larkin. The relationship wasn’t the main focus of the book even though it was important. There were a few sex scenes between them in the book. The scenes were descriptive without being graphic. A few small things that happened seemed to be laying groundwork for the last book when Cian and Moira would get involved. I think it will be interesting to read how that works out.
The books in The Circle Trilogy feature a core group of six main characters, something that Roberts has done in all of her other trilogies as well. Glenna and Hoyt played a bigger part in the first book and moved more into the background for Dance of the Gods. Cian and Moira haven’t been featured as much in either book yet but that will change with the last book. Cian has kept more to himself even though he has been taking part in the training and fighting. Moira has also kept more to herself, spending a lot of time reading to learn things that could help them in their battle. Blair and Larkin were featured more than the others for this book. Blair was a complicated person. The way her father raised her and continues to treat her has had a large impact on her and the way she does things. Larkin wasn’t as complex but he was still an interesting character.
Lilith was only featured in a few scenes. She was happy with her life as a vampire. She loved to cause people pain, both emotional and physical. She didn’t care who she hurt and she looked down on humans, though she did crave the kind of magical power that Hoyt and Glenna had. Lora was another vampire that was loyal the Lilith. The two women were lovers, though that aspect of their relationship wasn’t talked about in detail. Lora was just as vicious as Lilith and she set her sights on turning Blair into a vampire. Davey was a young boy that Lilith had turned into a vampire. He called her mother and was just as deadly as her. Lora and Davey were the only two vampires with Lilith that were really developed at all. The rest of them were just around in the background to do Lilith’s bidding and fight the group.
Nora Roberts also writes a futuristic suspense series, the In Death series, under the name J.D. Robb. Those books are set just over fifty years in the future and follow Eve Dallas, a homicide detective in New York city on the cases she investigates. Each book also spends some time on her relationship with her husband Roarke and her growing friendships. I started reading the In Death books and then moved on to books she wrote with her own name. I have really enjoyed both groups of books. Since they are actually the same author, people that like the books by one author may also like the books by the other one. Both groups of books are well written and feature likable characters. The In Death books tend to have mysteries that are stronger while her other books focus in on relationships a bit more. She has written one book, Remember When, that started in current times and then concluded in Eve’s time. A mystery connected both parts of the book. Eve’s part in the book took place between Imitation in Death and Divided in Death.
I really enjoyed Dance of the Gods and am impatient to get the last book in The Circle Trilogy, Valley of Silence. This is a must read book for anyone that read and enjoyed Morrigan’s Cross. People that have enjoyed some of Roberts other books, especially the ones dealing with magic or the supernatural, may also like these books.
The Circle Trilogy
Morrigan's Cross ~ Dance of the Gods ~ Valley of Silence ~
In the Garden Trilogy
Blue Dahlia ~ Black Rose ~ Red Lily ~
Key Trilogy
Key of Light ~ Key of Knowledge ~ Key of Valor ~
Three Sisters Island Trilogy
Dance Upon the Air ~ Heaven & Earth ~ Face the Fire ~
Silhouette Series
Reflections ~ Dance of Dreams ~ Hidden Star ~ Captive Star ~ Secret Star ~ Night Shift ~ Night Shadow ~ Night Smoke ~ Night Shield ~ Cordina's Crown Jewel ~ Cordina's Royal Family ~
Single Titles
Angels Fall ~ Birthright ~ Blue Smoke ~ Chesapeake Blue ~ Engaging the Enemy ~ Genuine Lies ~ Midnight Bayou ~ Once More With Feeling ~ Northern Lights ~ Sweet Revenge ~ Three Fates ~ The Villa ~
Nora Roberts and J.D. Robb
Remember When ~
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