Customer Reviews

Circle Of Five (Circle, Book 1)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I picked up this book based on a recommendation posted to a reading list, and boy, am I glad I did! Riccio's wonderful & wacky cast of characters eased into my heart as easily as a group of old friends, and the Wiccan aspect of the story integrated seamlessly into the plot itself. A masterful debut by an author I have since added to my "Buy or Die" list.

**Highly** recommended.

I have to say that this is the best new author I've read in some time. I enjoyed this book very much. The story was well put together while the personalities are all people that you can easily relate to. Most of us have at least one friend we can see in one of these people. She also does a beautiful job of handling the wicca element. I'm now on the second book of the series with the same characters. PLEASE, keep them coming.

I'm Wiccan myself so I'm always on the lookout for entertaining books about witches. Circle of Five is the first in this series about a small coven of New England witches who perform magick and solve crimes at the same time. Cass, the narrator, is a middle-aged divorcee who has inherited her grandmother's cottage by the sea. The violence in the opening chapter was a little disconcerting because I didn't expect it, but the villain is effectively scary. The relationships between the five ladies are well drawn, although I don't know that I would like any of these women in real life because they're catty, nosy, and a little snarky with each other. Who needs enemies, etc? My main beef with the book is the formulaic romance. Why, why, oh WHY can female authors not resist throwing in the stupid romances??? It doesn't help that the `romance' between Cass and Joe is not very inspiring. They have sex the first time they're alone together, and he says things to Cass that she apparently thinks are incredibly romantic, but which I find incredibly creepy. I know the author is just trying to establish that this is some kind of mystical, instant connection, but it's a miserable failure in my opinion. There are two other `witch' mystery series' I'm aware of - Shirley Damsgaard's and Madelyn Alt's - and those are also formulaic mystery/romances, so I guess this is the trend. I don't know if I'll read the next in this series (Charmed Circle), but probably. I'd like to give it a chance because the writing is concise, flowing, and smooth.

Riccio's Circle of Five revolves around the main character, Cassandra Shipton, and it's written in the first person, which I always find facinating. Cass is in her early forties, I think, and in the year or so since her divorce joined a women's reading group. This reading group, after some study on myth and religion, turned into a small Wiccan coven. The five women are at different stages in their lives and have such different interests, yet are able to work magick together quite effectively. Cassandra has visions of a sort, and this book follows her way through tracking down a killer of young boys. Besides the search to find and capture this killer, her life is portrayed realistically as she befriends a native american boy, and find love in the arms of a nomadic man.

I was immediately drawn to this book. It's Riccio's debut novel. It portrays Wiccans SO realistically, that Riccio MUST be Wiccan herself, or very close to a Wiccan. They cast circles, whitelight people, create amulets, and gave me some new insight and ideas. It's not like, "Charmed," where everything is supernatural and unrealistic. It's very low-key, but realistic. Women leading truly magickal lives. And what's even better, is it looks as though there is a sequel being created...

I'm on Page 80 and struggling. I hate to write reviews before I've finished reading a book; however, I don't know that I can finish this one. Maybe it's the writing style, or the flat characters, or the dog that talks. I don't know, but I find every page difficult to read and highly annoying. The author's style of writing is unusual in that she has a phrase in quotations and then explains who said it (generally it is the dog) and the circumstances they are in after the fact. It breaks the flow of writing about every two paragraphs, so that you are constantly exasperated and saying aloud, "What?" Then you have to spend time re-reading to understand what her point was in the first place. Each character has a skill, one skill; and none of the characters are developed, so that our main character (of one skill) can be chatting (and, boy, do they ever chat!) with Deidre or Fiona; and I can't recall what Deidre looks like, because she may not have been described. I typically like books that just follow one main character, but not in this case, where the main character is just one more flat character in the bunch. If you are interested in environmental causes, you might enjoy this book. If you are a feminist, you'll find the romantic parts annoying (I did, and I'm not a feminist--why does she cook three different dishes to please her new man just because she doesn't know what he wants to eat???). The mystery about the boy being killed by "Mr. Q," who the main character meets at a supermarket, is still not going anywhere, and I'm almost 1/3 of the way through the book. If there was any magic(k) going on, the book might be more interesting, but so far, it's just a group of women gabbing about potential action that isn't happening. If that's your joie de vivre, this book is for you.

If I could recommend only one book to read this year, Circle of Five would be it. From the beginning introduction to Cass, the main character, this mystery winds its way through a charmed friendship between five women, who dabble in magic and mystical spells. This mutual interest leads them in the direction of the case of a missing boy. Sometimes warm and funny, sometimes suspensful, but always riveting, this is a book you don't want to miss. I'm pleased to see that Ms. Riccio has written another novel that should be published soon.

Just finished this book, and I loved it! Wonderfully eccentric women become amateur detectives while practicing wicca to help them along (no black magic, though). They get into all sorts of trouble trying to prove the guilt of a very evil person. Can't wait for the sequel!

In Plymouth Harbor, Massachusetts, Cassandra Sipton belongs to a Wiccan with four other women. Cass sells Earthline Herbal Preparations and Cruelty Free Cosmetics while living with her dog Scruffy. One day while shopping at the supermarket, her cart crashes into that of a guy with a green cap on. Seeing a vision of a dead boy, she senses an evil essence inside of the smiling Green Cap.

Cass tells her four friends what she felt and they conduct a séance in which they shock themselves and make contact. While walking with Scruffy in nearby Jenkins Woods, the canine finds a child's key chain with a name on it of that of a boy who vanished without a trace. Cass and her Wiccan friends believe the Green Cap is the serial killer of that child and must be stopped even if it means risking their lives by using their tyro level powers.

CIRCLE OF FIVE is figuratively and literally an enchanting relationship crime drama. The magical story line grips the audience from the beginning when the truck driver kills the little boy while whistling a tune from Gypsy. The five women especially Cass are a delightful quintet struggling with their new powers (sort of like the Greatest American Hero) and the impact that has on their friendships. They work through all this while teaming up to try to capture a killer with no one to help them. Dolores Stewart Riccio provides fans with a bewitching tale and the audience will return to see what happens next in CHARMED CIRCLE.

Harriet Klausner

This is a good book for a lazy summer day. I found the frienships between the main character, her friends and especially her dog to be the high point of the book. The friends prove to be comical, silly and show the true spirit of understanding and compassion. The author does an excellent job of showing how real a relationship between humans and their pets can be, if you are an animal lover you will identify with the main characters. The downside to this book was that it could drag on a bit and I felt about 50 pages could have been eliminated. There really is no great surprise or mystery, if you are looking for a suspense thriller "who done it", this is not the book for you. I would recommend for anyone looking for a light summer read!

If you want to stay up all night reading, this is the book for you. I couldn't put it down. A blend of friendship, white Wicca and mystery makes this a blockbuster book. The personalities have depth, the story is suspenseful and woven into a tapestry of the occult in a small town. Great!