Customer Reviews

Dance of the Gods (The Circle Trilogy, Book 2)

5 star:		(57)
4 star:		(28)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I must admit that I bought this one because I love Ms. Roberts' writing, not because I loved the first book and couldn't wait for this one. Usually, the first books in her series get me all excited about the books to follow, but the first one didn't do that for me. It was okay, but not great. I liked the characters, generally speaking, but some of them (Blair, in particular) did not appeal to me. She felt like a slightly revamped (no pun intended, given the nature of one of the characters) version of Buffy. So when I saw this book on my local grocery store's shelf on Sunday (yes, before the scheduled release date), I picked it up, but not with any great anticipation.

I was pretty surprised to find that I came to like and respect Blair. This book in the series really develops her character, and she becomes far less stereotypical. I also liked Larkin more than I expected to.

In her usual fashion, Ms. Roberts develops part of the unique group of characters so that we're not focusing on too much character development at once, but she makes clear what's coming up in the series by how she develops the relationships between non-central characters. In this case, the upcoming book will likely be focused on the relationship between Moira and Cian. Honestly, that's the relationship I've been waiting to read about, and I knew halfway through book one that it would be the last to be explored. In one sense, I wish I already had THAT book in my hot little hands, but in another, I'm all for building the anticipation/suspense and getting people panting for the last book. It's just that. . .well. . .Cian is the only character I found truly enticing and thought-provoking all along, so I'm kind of REALLY wishing his story was being told. Heh. I lack patience.

One of the things I really love about Ms. Roberts' writing is that her characters are genuinely positive human beings. Not without flaws, but compassionate and loving at their cores. I really enjoy picking up a book that, at its end, will have left me with an overwhelmingly GOOD feeling about the way human beings can be, how much they can yearn for and succeed in establishing a connection between each other. This has been the case since that one trilogy of hers where I first saw a family dealing with a child who'd been abused, and an older brother who himself had been abused. I'm sorry that the series name escapes me, but I distinctly remember reading each of those books with a glad heart, not glad because of the subject matter, but glad because of the triumph of love over neglect and pain.

Each time I read a Nora Roberts novel, it seems, I find myself on the bus, book in hand, tears in eyes, joy in heart.

This book, Dance of the Gods, was no exception. I'm really looking forward to the last book in this series.

"Dance of the Gods" continues the excellent Circle Trilogy. Since there are already many recaps of plot, I will skip over that. Although this book would be a fine read on its own, I think that these three novels should be treated as one long book issued in three installments, instead of a trilogy. There is so much character development in the first novel, that jumping straight into this book will have you missing out on a lot of the subtle nuances that make this book not just a good read, but a great story.

I loved the character of Blair. While there are bound to Buffy comparisons, I think that Nora Roberts did a good job of creating a demon hunter in her own vision of what one should be. Just because Buffy existed, doesn't mean that demon/vampire hunters aren't an interesting concept and Roberts' twist on this is just fantastic. Vampire/demon hunter stories existed long before Buffy did, and not all of them need to be compared to each other.

Blair is a great heroine. She is strong and heroic. She doesn't shy away from the darker aspects of her job or the hard decisions her job brings. Larkin is also a great character, although he did annoy me a couple of times in his over emotional reactions to the situations they were in. However, he annoyed me as a person would annoy me, which means he was very well drawn. Roberts does a marvelous job of creating a strong female character who is genuinely strong and not the typical "feisty but weak" you see in so many other books. Blair isn't weak, she's human. Larkin isn't so insecure in his masculinity that he needs her to be something she isn't. It is a great pairing.

I am glad that these three books were released so closely together. They are difficult to put down once you start reading them. Even with Blair and Larkin's story being wrapped up, the Circle Trilogy is far from over, and that has me eagerly anticipating reading the next book in the series.

Read these books in order. The first two were both fantastic and you really do have much more depth to the situation and the people involved if you have the complete picture instead of the summary in the beginning.

These books are going on my keep shelf, and I am certain that I will reread them often as they are simply fantastic!

I am definitely waiting with bated breath for the next book since Moira has a lot more than Glenna or Blair to overcome in her little romance. For some reason, I liked the first book in the trilogy better - maybe Glenna's just easier to relate to? This one's not bad, (and I did read it in the usual 24 hours), but it does move a little slower and there's not quite the same victorious feeling. In the first one, it was really fun seeing the circle of six get formed, get in shape to take on the vampyres, and kick some serious vampyre [...]. Moira especially has come such a long way from when we first see her. One other note - this is Nora's first real foray into a strictly fantasy book. She's incorporated elements of fantasy into previous books, but this is a bit of a new direction for her, and I'm looking forward to more in this vein. My die-hard Noraholic mom, however, didn't really like this strong of a fantasy element - prefers more of the romance. Depends on your sci-fi/fantasy tolerance. You will wish you knew a Larkin in real life either way :)!

While the first installment of this trilogy left me feeling just a little put out with Ms. Roberts, this second one more than redeems her. Everything starts to fall into place, almost from the beginning. I struggled to finish the first, but the second has been a total whirlwind from beginning to end. The characters become much more real and the storyline improves dramatically. There is just enough horror to put that little extra something into it and the romance is very sweet. My favorite character, like many other reviewers, is the dark and seductive Cian. Right behind him is Blair. I, too, am a big "Buffy" fan and Blair reminds me of the Buffy from the last season...too serious for her own good, but still with the heart of a woman. She has seen too much in her short lifetime and yet manages to fall in love at a time when love seems the last possibility. I wait impatiently for the final installment, it's sure to be page turner.

I enjoyed Dance of the Gods much more than Morrigan's Cross. With the groundwork laid and out of the way, Nora's able to focus more on characterization and the featured romance, and we get a much more significant dose of Blair and Larkin than we did of Hoyt and Glenna in Book 1. We learn a bit more about Blair's history -- lonely and dysfunctional, natch, as befits a demon hunter -- but get to see her come out of her shell in Larkin's presence. Larkin, on the other hand, is an uncomplicated, affable guy. Heroic, good-natured, and psychologically healthy, he's a good foil for Blair. The solution to their of-two-worlds dilemma was pretty predictable, but also what I wanted to see, so I was happy with that.

There's still something about the series that's bugging me and I can't quite put my finger on it. Is it the geographic scope of the series? From ancient Ireland, to modern-day NYC, to modern-day Ireland, and over to otherworldy Gaell, the circle of six seems to be a spread a bit thin considering they only have 3 months to save the world. Thank goodness they can rely on magic to speed the healing of their injuries and recovery from jet-lag, otherwise they'd be toast. Or maybe that time limitation is part of my problem with the series. How DO six people save the world(s) in 3 months? Seems like such a thing should take a couple years at least. I'm sure they'll manage, though, and I can't wait to read Valley of Silence to see how it all goes down.

One of the biggest surprises for me in this book was Nora's characterization of Lillith and her gang of big baddies. There were a few places where I felt they'd been drawn a bit sympathetically. Creepy and deviant and soul-sucking and all that, but not as one-dimensionally eeeeeeeevil as I'd been expecting. Well, Davey's pretty eeeeeeeevil, that's for sure. (Why is it that vampire children are always so much more grotesque than their adult counterparts?) But I'm sure Lillith and Lora are just misunderstood. Okay...kidding.

With this series, I'm along for the ride and I'm having a good time, but I think the final book (Valley of Silence, due at the end of October) is going to be the make-it or break-it for me. I want to see how things develop between Cian and Moira. I mean, I can pretty much predict how things develop, but I still want to be a fly on the wall as their relationship progresses. (Although I don't expect him to go all Carpathian on her neck at a crucial moment. Evidently the vampire-bite-as-erotic-foreplay is not a fantasy Nora's gotten on board with.) Cian wasn't much of a featured-player in Dance of the Gods, but he's still -- to me -- the most interesting of the lot.

Anyway...good book. This series isn't turning out to be Nora's best, by any stretch, but it's still fun and satisfying if you don't let yourself get too hung up on the bits that are hokey and campy.

This series was my first exposure to Nora Roberts, I have to admit I never gave her books a second look, why would I read a trashy romance novel. Well I found I had been painting her with a very prejudiced brush, what a mistake! This is a great fantasy series, and the romance there is is very fun and not over the top. I will definitely look for more fantasy books from Ms. Roberts.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It had the perfect mix of fantasy and romance. Blair is not your typical romance novel heroine. All of the main characters contribute to the story with their unique personalities and style. This is a great trilogy!

Not as superb as the first book of the triology, but still fabulous! The story had some lags and the romance between the two was just not as intense as that of Hoyt and Glenna, but still another smash hit filled with all awe! Fantasy and reality have a heavenly mix once again! A MUST READ TRILOGY!!

In this middle book of the Circle Trilogy, the Circle of Six (Hoyt, Cian, Glenna, Larkin, Moira and Blair) go on the offensive with some mixed results! The first book ended after Hoyt the sorcerer and Glenna the witch's handfasting that was interrupted by a battle with Lora -- lover/best friend of Lilith, queen of vampyres, and a try to save some "humans" captured from a nearby town. Now Larkin and Blair talk over the battle and how it was even beyond Blair's 13 years of demon hunting experience.

Blair has been alone for those 13 years and since her mom left her dad and took her brother, she was under her dad's tutelage that was cold and harsh. Blair did try to become engaged a few years ago to a stockbroker named Jeremy. However, once she told and "showed" him what she really did, Jeremy was disgusted and revolted and left her. Blair enjoys the "hunky" Larkin's company and that of the others in the Circle but knows she will always be alone.

Larkin of Geall on the other hand was raised in a warm and loving family. His father was brother to the recently deceased queen and uncle to Moira of the Six who should be the next queen. Larkin is also a naturally charming and flirty type of guy so as he puts the "moves" on Blair, she takes it as a lust type of thing as anything else is beyond her understanding and experience.

In this middle book while the battles ramp up and the scenery and battleground changes to another world, the romance is very slow moving between Larkin and Blair. I felt more Larkin's love and tenderness and passion for Blair and less of Blair's feelings for Larkin as I felt they were a bit underdeveloped in the whole scheme of things. Blair seemed a little too "in love" with Larking's shape shifting and some of the creataures he became and less in love with the man he is.

Overall an exciting and action-packed middle book that you have to read through in one sitting!!

It took me a long time to get into the 1st book in this series, but after I did I couldn't put them down. I read all three back to back and really enjoyed them. I am a huge fan of Buffy and Angel, the shows, and found a lot of odd similarities between some of the characters from the TV shows and in the books, but oh well. All in all, enjoyable. If you're a Nora Roberts fan, give them a chance, I'm sure you will enjoy!