Product Description

The battleground has been chosen for the final showdown between those selected by the gods and the minions of the vampire Lilith. But there is one vampire who dares stand against her. And his love for the scholarly queen of Geall will complete the circle of six-and change the face of eternity.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #17487 in Books
• Published on: 2006-10-31
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 352 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Roberts's paranormal Circle Trilogy concludes with the "circle of six" warriors—the sorcerer Hoyt, Hoyt's vampire brother Cian, the witch Glenna, the warrior Blair, the shape-shifter Larkin and Larkin's scholar-princess cousin Moira—preparing for battle against the evil vampire, Lilith. Having traveled back through time to Moira and Larkin's ancient kingdom of Geall, Moira raises the sword from the stone to take her place as queen. With her five warrior companions by her side, Moira leads her people into battle against Lilith's army of vampires, who are intent on destroying Geall. Meanwhile, Moira and Cian give in to powerful feelings of love, stealing nights of passion that could spell ruin for both of them. As war befalls the kingdom, Roberts brings the same precise, resonant energy to battle scenes that make her sexual interludes shine, grounding magic, dragons and vampires in a believable world. The truest moments of this novel, however, belong to Roberts's fully formed characters, especially in the love sacrifices of Moira and Cian. Completing her series with the real-world complications of selfless, star-crossed love, Roberts has crafted a fantasy-romance trilogy with strong appeal for romance fans of all stripes. (Nov.)
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From Booklist
Another enticing paranormal trilogy from the ever-versatile, prolific, and much-loved queen of romance. Irish sorcerer Hoyt Mac Cionaoith tried but failed to destroy Demon Queen Lilith after she ruthlessly turned his twin brother, Cian, into a vampire. Lilith gradually recovered and immediately set about amassing an army of vampires with the intention of destroying all humans so that she could rule the world. The goddess Morrigan chooses Hoyt and five others to stop Lilith, sending Hoyt 1,000 years into the future. In twenty-first-century New York, he starts to build his team, enlisting Glenna Ward; his brother, Cian; and Cian's employee, King. Traveling back to Ireland, the three pick up new recruits Moira and her cousin Larkin, both of whom have traveled through space and time from the Kingdom of Geall. Demon-hunter Blair Murphy is the last to sign on to the circle of six. Now a sorcerer, a witch, a warrior, a scholar, a shape-shifter, and a lost soul must find some way of working together as a team if they are to have any hope of stopping darkness from overcoming all that is good and light in the world. Best-seller Roberts' Celtic-flavored Circle trilogy features superbly crafted characters, three passionate romances, and a bewitching blend of magic and myth. John Charles
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About the Author
Nora Roberts is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than 150 novels. She is also the author of the bestselling futuristic suspense series written under the pen name J. D. Robb. With more than 280 million copies of her books in print and more than 100 New York Times bestsellers to date, Nora Roberts is indisputably the most celebrated and beloved women's fiction writer today.

Customer Reviews

Nice Wrap-Up
Nora Roberts' trilogy about a sorcerer (Hoyt), a witch (Glenna), a shape shifter (Larkin), a demon hunter (Blair), a vampire (Cian), and a scholar and queen (Moira) who fight an apocalyptic battle against an army of vampires draws to a close. In Book I, Hoyt and Glenna fell in love and formed the Circle of Six with the others. Moira and her cousin Larkin came through the Dance of the Gods (where Hoyt also came ahead in time almost a thousand years) from the land of Geall, an almost storybook place of dragons and a Cinderella-style castle. In Book II, Blair and Larkin develop feelings for each other while they train and plan for the battle to come, then everyone travels through the dance back to Geall, where Moira would become queen, and begin to ready the Geallian people for battle. Book I was more about all six characters and the formation of their circle, whereas Book II was mostly about the romance between Moira and Larkin. This book follows more of that formula when the attraction between the vampire and the queen heats up and ignites. There is a bittersweet poignancy to this romance, however, as Cian is a vampire. He and Glenna are not only from different worlds, but Cian is not really a man; some even refer to him as a demon. They can never be together, never marry, never conceive children together. Cian has lived 900 years and will never age, yet in an amount of time almost meaningless to him, Moira will grow old and die. Their love is impossible, but they are irrevocably drawn into it nonetheless, each knowing heartbreak is inevitable. When the moment comes, Nora does not shy away from a single crushingly bleak emotion from either of them. The whole time, I knew that something would have to happen to bring them together in the end, but I had no idea what that would be, and neither Cian or Moira believed they had a future. They were heartbroken, not over some silly set of circumstances, stubborn pride, or miscommunication that could easily be overcome, but by the very laws of nature. When the solution came it was almost disappointingly simple, but in the end, these six characters had been through enough trials and bloodshed, magic had been a constant presence, they traveled through time, and even between worlds. Perhaps making it simple was best after all. The ending bespoke of how love makes giving up everything else a pittance to pay, a decision so impossibly easy to make that it's not a decision at all. It's true that Nora Roberts could sell millions of copies of drunken ramblings, but the reason why her books continue to sell so well is that she tries new things, breaks new ground, and finds new ways to tell a story that has basically never changed. While this trilogy may not be for everyone, with its violence and fantasy elements, I enjoyed not only the unusual and creative story and colorful characters, I also admired the way it was crafted.

Predictable
This is the final book of the "Morrigan's Cross" series by Nora Roberts which centers around a circle of six fighting for all mankind on Samhein.

I read Morrigan's Cross and liked it, although I wasn't totally enthralled with it. The second book, Dance of the Gods, was better and had more humor in it but again, predictable. Third (this one) again, predictable and I knew the ending of it before I was finished with Morrigan's Cross save for some minor details. I liked the story, I especially Cian's story, the most but again, all predictable. This novel didn't dissapoint, it just didn't excite me either.

If you are looking for a light vampire/supernatural read that has a bit of romance, this series would be a good choice. However I would not reccomend this novel for people that light to get really involved with their characters or that like a lot of suspsense.

A very satisfying conclusion to the trilogy.
Action, Romance, fantasy, Drama and Horror. Author Nora Roberts has managed to blend all these elements into the final Circle of Six book making it a satisfying read.

The book deals with the final days leading to the big battle in the Valley of Silence on Samhain. Moira pulls up the legendary sword from the rock and is declared the queen of Geall.

The circle of Six consisting of the sorcerer Hoyt, Hoyt's vampire brother Cian, the witch Glenna, the warrior Blair, the shape-shifter Larkin and Larkin's scholar cousin Moira the Queen, all plot and strategize as the final day approaches when the humans must meet the vampires in a final battle that will either save or destroy the rest of the world. Posts are set up by both the people of Geall and the Vampires. Both the humans and the vampires use dirty tricks to sabotage the other's posts and kill each other.

Moira, frustrated with her feelings for the vampire Cian, decides to break the tradition of men pursuing women and goes after him. Cian is shocked to find himself the prey to the scholarly queen as well as his own unwanted feelings. What follows between these two is fun, sensual and poignant. We also learn through what Moira tells Cian, details of her mother's death by the vampires which resulted in Moira being traumatized with feelings of guilt and sorrow.

With all that goes on in this book, the story line is mainly character driven. Thumbs up to the author for giving us details like the beginning of Lilith's creation as well as how and why Lilith changed Davey and decided to keep him as her child.

And most important of all we learn about Cian, my most favorite vampire of all vampire heroes. Unlike most vampires heroes, Roberts does not sugar coat him. She shows us the monster part of him, that craves to drink human blood, loves to hunt and kill. He chooses not drink from human, not out of a moral choice, but he considers it rude to eat from people one socializes and does business with. But later on, when the desolate barren place called the Valley of Silence calls to the evil in him, Cian does make the moral choice of not giving in to it. This is the a good example of the underlying message of this book: That through courage, honor and love, it is the choices we make that shapes our destiny.

Overall a very satisfying read.