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ntembeast's review against another edition
2.0
This book is filled with half-and-half emotions for me.
The Writing
The writing is smooth and easy. You don't have anything to really hinge on, and nothing to catch you up. But at the same time, the author has a bad habit of giving away how much she bullshits the storyline and details of interest. Her knowledge about medieval anything is more than flawed. It's blunt and clumsy--making the first couple of chapters in the book a sore trial as you bumble through since she does such a poor job of it. Things smooth out later, once she gets into the current century. Clearly she's a lot more comfortable writing present day than anything else. I'd say she should stick to it if she knows what's best for her.
The only downfall to the smoother writing once we get into present-day concerns is that we realize how brainless the reading itself is. Half the time you're reading nothing that really leads to anything. "Oh I'll throw in some training here for two pages. The other fifty can be of them oogling each other. Perfect!"
Moving on. Her grammar and vocabulary are fine. Each hit snags sometimes. And it's fine. I can deal with that. What bugs me is that I'm basically reading about nothing. Who cares about the fact that this "sorcerer" and "witch" with their mumbled mumbo-jumbo incantations are madly in love after, what, two days, and get married three weeks later. Begging their host, "Can we live in your house?" "Do you think it's bad that I want a wedding dress when we're supposed to be fighting a war?" "Man we don't have a lot of time to prepare for this epic battle, huh? Just a couple of months left, huh? Running out of time aren't we? But let's go complain and whine and wheedle and have sex all the time, and does this dress make me look fat?"
Heeehhhhhhhh. *Aggravated sigh* MOVING ON.
Plot
Just an excuse to make people hook up.
Characters
All decent if they're not paired up. With the exception of Cian and King. Oh but that doesn't last. Of course. Though the evil vampire queen can have her yuri. But nooo. No yaoi. None. (If you don't know what the terms mean, don't google them. Caution's advised. NSFW~)
Pretty much the only enjoyable characters are, of course, the side characters. The two main characters are just self-absorbed pricks that have redeeming qualities that are constantly thrown into the shadows by their whorish natures. And yes, that applies to BOTH the man AND the woman. Hoyt, Glenna--I'm looking at you two.
Everyone else is awesome because they're not stupid, pretty much. Aka, they don't think solely of themselves. Roberts has the most annoying tendency of "forgiving" her two main characters whenever they've done something blatantly stupid by making a big deal out of it, and then pretending like everyone got over it, or like they regret it. Psh. Yeah. Tell that to me when you two are off having sex while your host is drinking himself into a miserable stupor because the dumbass bitch decided to open the door, get herself almost killed, and instead got someone else killed cause he had to SAVE her dumb feminist ass! Idiot saying she didn't need anyone there with her when she answered the door--IN A SECLUDED AREA, NOT VISIBLE FROM THE ROAD, IN THE PITCH BLACK NIGHTTIME WHERE THERE ARE NO STREETLIGHTS, WHEN YOU KNOW YOU'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF A WARZONE, tell me, DO YOU ANSWER THE DOOR WHEN SOMEONE KNOCKS WITHOUT HAVING BACK-UP?!
-______- UUUUUHHHHGGGGGGHHH.
Main characters get a 1 out of 5,000 rating.
Side characters get a 3 out of 10. Not convinced they're epic because I distrust the inclinations the author has put into each one of them.
In the end... this wasn't terrible and it wasn't long. But it was not pleasant to read bullshit so much it was being shoved up my nose, down my throat, and what have you. I was going to give it a three star rating, but know what? This level of shallow-minded stupidity can't be made up for by just a few good side characters. Especially when they're degraded and ignored throughout the majority of things.
You wanna read this? Ugh. Fine. You might like it. But know this: you like the main characters and my stock in you as a level-headed, clear-minded person drops into wrinkle-nosed disgust. Take it out of the library. Do not buy this immediately. Trust me, it isn't worth your money.
The Writing
The writing is smooth and easy. You don't have anything to really hinge on, and nothing to catch you up. But at the same time, the author has a bad habit of giving away how much she bullshits the storyline and details of interest. Her knowledge about medieval anything is more than flawed. It's blunt and clumsy--making the first couple of chapters in the book a sore trial as you bumble through since she does such a poor job of it. Things smooth out later, once she gets into the current century. Clearly she's a lot more comfortable writing present day than anything else. I'd say she should stick to it if she knows what's best for her.
The only downfall to the smoother writing once we get into present-day concerns is that we realize how brainless the reading itself is. Half the time you're reading nothing that really leads to anything. "Oh I'll throw in some training here for two pages. The other fifty can be of them oogling each other. Perfect!"
Moving on. Her grammar and vocabulary are fine. Each hit snags sometimes. And it's fine. I can deal with that. What bugs me is that I'm basically reading about nothing. Who cares about the fact that this "sorcerer" and "witch" with their mumbled mumbo-jumbo incantations are madly in love after, what, two days, and get married three weeks later. Begging their host, "Can we live in your house?" "Do you think it's bad that I want a wedding dress when we're supposed to be fighting a war?" "Man we don't have a lot of time to prepare for this epic battle, huh? Just a couple of months left, huh? Running out of time aren't we? But let's go complain and whine and wheedle and have sex all the time, and does this dress make me look fat?"
Heeehhhhhhhh. *Aggravated sigh* MOVING ON.
Plot
Just an excuse to make people hook up.
Characters
All decent if they're not paired up. With the exception of Cian and King. Oh but that doesn't last. Of course. Though the evil vampire queen can have her yuri. But nooo. No yaoi. None. (If you don't know what the terms mean, don't google them. Caution's advised. NSFW~)
Pretty much the only enjoyable characters are, of course, the side characters. The two main characters are just self-absorbed pricks that have redeeming qualities that are constantly thrown into the shadows by their whorish natures. And yes, that applies to BOTH the man AND the woman. Hoyt, Glenna--I'm looking at you two.
Everyone else is awesome because they're not stupid, pretty much. Aka, they don't think solely of themselves. Roberts has the most annoying tendency of "forgiving" her two main characters whenever they've done something blatantly stupid by making a big deal out of it, and then pretending like everyone got over it, or like they regret it. Psh. Yeah. Tell that to me when you two are off having sex while your host is drinking himself into a miserable stupor because the dumbass bitch decided to open the door, get herself almost killed, and instead got someone else killed cause he had to SAVE her dumb feminist ass! Idiot saying she didn't need anyone there with her when she answered the door--IN A SECLUDED AREA, NOT VISIBLE FROM THE ROAD, IN THE PITCH BLACK NIGHTTIME WHERE THERE ARE NO STREETLIGHTS, WHEN YOU KNOW YOU'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF A WARZONE, tell me, DO YOU ANSWER THE DOOR WHEN SOMEONE KNOCKS WITHOUT HAVING BACK-UP?!
-______- UUUUUHHHHGGGGGGHHH.
Main characters get a 1 out of 5,000 rating.
Side characters get a 3 out of 10. Not convinced they're epic because I distrust the inclinations the author has put into each one of them.
In the end... this wasn't terrible and it wasn't long. But it was not pleasant to read bullshit so much it was being shoved up my nose, down my throat, and what have you. I was going to give it a three star rating, but know what? This level of shallow-minded stupidity can't be made up for by just a few good side characters. Especially when they're degraded and ignored throughout the majority of things.
You wanna read this? Ugh. Fine. You might like it. But know this: you like the main characters and my stock in you as a level-headed, clear-minded person drops into wrinkle-nosed disgust. Take it out of the library. Do not buy this immediately. Trust me, it isn't worth your money.
rain_97's review against another edition
dark
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
novelesque_life's review against another edition
4.0
4 STARS
"In the last days of high summer, with lightning striking blue in a black sky, the sorcerer stood on a high cliff overlooking the raging sea...
Belting out his grief into the storm, Hoyt Mac Cionaoith rails against the evil that has torn his twin brother from their family's embrace. Her name is Lilith. Existing for over a thousand years, she has lured countless men to an immortal doom with her soul-stealing kiss. But now, this woman known as vampire will stop at nothing until she rules this world—and those beyond it...
Hoyt is no match for the dark siren. But his powers come from the goddess Morrigan, and it is through her that he will get his chance at vengeance. At Morrigan's charge, he must gather five others to form a ring of power strong enough to overcome Lilith. A circle of six: himself, the witch, the warrior, the scholar, the one of many forms and the one he's lost. And it is in this circle, hundreds of years in the future, where Hoyt will learn how strong his spirit—and his heart—have become..." (From Amazon)
A promising start to Roberts' paranormal series.
"In the last days of high summer, with lightning striking blue in a black sky, the sorcerer stood on a high cliff overlooking the raging sea...
Belting out his grief into the storm, Hoyt Mac Cionaoith rails against the evil that has torn his twin brother from their family's embrace. Her name is Lilith. Existing for over a thousand years, she has lured countless men to an immortal doom with her soul-stealing kiss. But now, this woman known as vampire will stop at nothing until she rules this world—and those beyond it...
Hoyt is no match for the dark siren. But his powers come from the goddess Morrigan, and it is through her that he will get his chance at vengeance. At Morrigan's charge, he must gather five others to form a ring of power strong enough to overcome Lilith. A circle of six: himself, the witch, the warrior, the scholar, the one of many forms and the one he's lost. And it is in this circle, hundreds of years in the future, where Hoyt will learn how strong his spirit—and his heart—have become..." (From Amazon)
A promising start to Roberts' paranormal series.
silquesoleil's review against another edition
2.0
Some books are just not bad enough to be interesting and therefore, not worth my time if the content isn't my cup of tea. This is definitely one of them. I didn't make it to chapter 7 because the odd written kiss and the stilted dialogue after the kiss were just too much.
So, here's the plot of the book how I perceived it. Super attractive mage has to travel through different times to find five companions. Together they have to stop the Vampire Lilith, because she has the plan to wipe out humanity. Lilith is apparently super cruel, super mighty and super intelligent (but too stupid to realize that wiping out your major food source is a bit suicidal). Unfortunately, there is a character list at the end of the book which reveals who the other five heroes are, because it would be a shame if the reader had any fun speculating about that topic, and well, one of the five is the outrageously beautiful Glenna, a witch with great power and no shame at all. So, due to their power and because they're both super sexy, the mage and the witch are instantly attracted to each other. Wow. Never saw that coming.
Basically, almost every character in the first six chapters is incredibly attractive and despite the fantasy plot that could have been quite interesting, it feels more like one of those erotica novels where the hero and the heroine are struggling not to end up in bed together instantly. There are people who like that. I find it very annoying.
The characters feel stiff and unnatural, not quite stereotypes but sometimes very cliche and if Nora Roberts is the most famous author for romantic literature, I feel very bad for the genre.
I want to read Jane Eyre now, badly, to erase the foul taste that Mrs. Roberts novel has left in my mouth.
So, here's the plot of the book how I perceived it. Super attractive mage has to travel through different times to find five companions. Together they have to stop the Vampire Lilith, because she has the plan to wipe out humanity. Lilith is apparently super cruel, super mighty and super intelligent (but too stupid to realize that wiping out your major food source is a bit suicidal). Unfortunately, there is a character list at the end of the book which reveals who the other five heroes are, because it would be a shame if the reader had any fun speculating about that topic, and well, one of the five is the outrageously beautiful Glenna, a witch with great power and no shame at all. So, due to their power and because they're both super sexy, the mage and the witch are instantly attracted to each other. Wow. Never saw that coming.
Basically, almost every character in the first six chapters is incredibly attractive and despite the fantasy plot that could have been quite interesting, it feels more like one of those erotica novels where the hero and the heroine are struggling not to end up in bed together instantly. There are people who like that. I find it very annoying.
The characters feel stiff and unnatural, not quite stereotypes but sometimes very cliche and if Nora Roberts is the most famous author for romantic literature, I feel very bad for the genre.
I want to read Jane Eyre now, badly, to erase the foul taste that Mrs. Roberts novel has left in my mouth.
kangrove's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
cbswelcomehome's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
smallfry963's review against another edition
2.0
This book was recommended to me by a friend who says this is her favorite series of all time.
Now maybe that was too much hype because I was fairly disappointed in it. The concept is quite fun, set in Ireland with a mashup of characters out of different times and place with a shared destiny to save the world from the evil Vampiric mother Lilith.
I’m big into fantasy with some romance thrown in, but the relationships seemed very forced to me. It was like: here’s 3 men and 3 women, obviously we have to pair them all up as lovers (I haven’t finished the series so maybe I’ll be surprised but that’s where I think the story is headed). I think things just moved too fast and there wasn’t really any development.
The writing style was also difficult for me because you’d be reading from two different perspectives from one sentence to the next and it was often frustrating to sort through.
Seems like this book may be one of those that just happens to be polarizing and you might love it or you might hate it
Now maybe that was too much hype because I was fairly disappointed in it. The concept is quite fun, set in Ireland with a mashup of characters out of different times and place with a shared destiny to save the world from the evil Vampiric mother Lilith.
I’m big into fantasy with some romance thrown in, but the relationships seemed very forced to me. It was like: here’s 3 men and 3 women, obviously we have to pair them all up as lovers (I haven’t finished the series so maybe I’ll be surprised but that’s where I think the story is headed). I think things just moved too fast and there wasn’t really any development.
The writing style was also difficult for me because you’d be reading from two different perspectives from one sentence to the next and it was often frustrating to sort through.
Seems like this book may be one of those that just happens to be polarizing and you might love it or you might hate it
tsuki_secret_hideaway's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
4.0
hoosgracie's review against another edition
4.0
Enjoyable paranormal romance with a lot of action involved. A circle of six has been formed to combat Lilith, a vampire queen, who wants to destroy the worlds. This is the first in a trilogy, which will culminate in a final battle with Lilith. Each book also features a romance between two of the characters. Nice!