The Circle Trilogy, by Nora Roberts

All together now!

As I think I've said before, I didn't enjoy the circle trilogy the first time that I read it. I found it odd, especially for Nora Roberts. While I know that some other readers really loved this particular series and thought that it was right in line with what the author has always done, I thought that it was strange and over the top in a lot of ways. I also felt that this series was either too long or too short, depending on the perspective that you take.

Like most of the Nora Roberts series that I've read, I am re-reading this one. It is actually my current read (starting with Morrigan's Cross, which is taking me a while to get through). Interestingly, I'm enjoying the series more the second time around, when I am not beginning to read it with any sort of previous prejudice. Now that I feel as though I am essentially taking Nora Roberts out of the equation, I can read the novel as it may have been intended; as something entirely different from anything she's ever written before.

I confess that The Circle Trilogy is never going to be my favorite series by Nora Roberts. It probably will never rank high for me among paranormal romance novels either.

The Circle Trilogy review lenses on Squidoo are all completed now, and I would love it if some of you would take a look over there to participate in the interactive parts of the page that I can't put together as easily here on Blogger. (I love using Squidoo, for the record!). I hope that you'll enjoy!

The Circle Trilogy, by Nora Roberts

Morrigan's Cross, by Nora Roberts

Dance of the Gods, by Nora Roberts

Valley of Silence, by Nora Roberts

Book Review: Living Dead in Dallas

Title: Living Dead in Dallas

Author: Charlaine Harris

Pages: 291

Format: Paperback

Genre:Paranormal Romance/Mystery

Star Rating: 2/5

Network: Shelfari | Goodreads | Librarything

Buy: Amazon

My Summary: Sookie Stackhouse is called to Dallas with "her" vampire (Bill Compton) to help to solve the mystery of a missing vampire who is part of a nest there. In the meantime, Sookie meets new supernatural beings and tries to solve the mystery of a murdered friend.

My Review: I liked it. But, as you can see, I gave it two stars -- less even than Dead Until Dark. Before I go on, let me assure you that I'm enjoying this series enough to finish it. It's compelling and Charlaine Harris creates good, and mostly very believable, characters. I like her style, and the more I read the Southern Vampire Mysteries, the less I like Twilight.

So why the low rating? After all, when you like a book, don't you rate it high? I guess most people do, but I'm trying to be honest both with myself (for re-reading purposes) and with my audience (so you can decide whether or not to read this book).

I found Living Dead in Dallas to be very confusing at times. There were entire pages that I had to read and re-read in order to understand what Harris was trying to say, and even then I finally accepted what happened next without fully grasping what had led up to it. The description and context was all over the place, and gave the impression of being poorly edited (probably because it's second in a series, and the fault may lie with an editor, not with Harris herself).

Moreover, this book included two mysteries, both of which were unsolvable from the point of view of the reader. While Sookie (and others) may have had enough information to solve the mystery in the context of the plot, there is no way that the reader could have, not having been given sufficient information in a timely manner. Personally I don't like that.

On the plus side, let me repeat that Harris' characterization is excellent, and makes up for the lack of good mystery writing. As I said, I will (happily) finish this series, consecutively. Hopefully Club Dead leaves a better impression.

Book Review: Dead Until Dark

Title: Dead Until Dark

Author: Charlaine Harris

Pages: 291

Format: Paperback

Genre:Paranormal Romance/Mystery

Star Rating: 3/5

Network: Shelfari | Goodreads | Librarything

Buy: Amazon

My Summary: Sookie Stackhouse is a cocktail waitress in a small town in Louisiana -- a Town where nothing happens. Vampires have recently been made legal, and the story that is being fed to the people via the media is that vampirism is caused by a virus that makes vampires allergic to sunlight, silver and garlic.

Sookie wants to meet a vampire, but once she does meet one in the form of Bill (a Civil War era vampire), bad things begin to happen to people in her small town. Working class women keep winding up dead, and the prime suspects are people very close to Sookie -- and she fears she may be the next target.

My Review: I really liked this book, just as I knew that I would. A good friend has been hounding me to read it for a while, and I must say that I found the story delightfully fulfilling.

Dead Until Dark took me a little while to get into. I was worried at first that I would find it impossible to get through the novel, but it was right about that time that things picked up quickly.

I loved this book, so why am I only giving it three stars? I can hear readers wondering this question, and I want to be absolutely honest with you: The combination of paranormal + romance + mystery was a little bit too much. There were moments where the book was pure paranormal, or where it was paranormal romance. At other times it was all mystery. I couldn't quite settle into the groove I need to really enjoy a good cozy mystery, and the mystery distracted me from the romantic elements of the story (which were, I must say, very well done).

If you enjoyed Twilight you will almost definitely enjoy Dead Until Dark. If you didn't enjoy Twilight, I still recommend this novel. You'll see why once you've read it!

ETA: Julie, have you read this yet? If not, I think you'd like it!