Mini Review: Circle of Fire by Keri Arthur

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Keri Arthur's site
Series: Damask Circle trilogy #1
Copy obtained: gift
Rating: 4/5

Sixteen teenagers are taken from their homes. Eleven bodies recovered, each completely drained of blood. Some believe vampires are responsible, Jon Barnett knows it's something far worse and, while trying to stop the killers, he soon becomes enmeshed in a web of black magic and realises he needs help. But fate gives him only one choice.

Recluse Madeline Smith is afraid of the abilities she cannot control. But when she is brought a warning of danger and her nephew goes missing, Maddie must learn to overcome this fear - and place her trust in Jon. But as the search for the teenagers becomes a race against time, the greatest danger to them both could be the feelings they refuse to acknowledge.

I've read and enjoyed Keri's Riley Jenson series so I thought I'd give this one a go as well as it sounded interesting. And I really enjoyed it!! It's very different from her Riley books, not nearly as sassy and far, far less sex (which personally, I find a bonus cause there was too much sex in the early Riley books for my tastes). It's got a grimmer feel to it and a constant foreboding that had me hooked from the start. I loved the two main characters, Jon and Maddie, their differences and the chemistry between them. The book is written in third person, from both of their points of view, meaning we get a chance to really get to know both better which I enjoyed.

Plot wise it's very good as well. It's not the fastest plot, but it's certainly engaging and hard to put down. I really liked the world building, with the different paranormal aspects and how they fit in to the story. I liked the growth of the story, how it unfolded as it went on. At the start things happened quite suddenly and I had a couple minor WTH?! moments. But it quickly smoothed out and became a really great read. To be honest, this is, in many ways, more to my tastes than the Riley Jenson series, which I do love as well. I loved the ending. Very intense and while it answered a lot of questions, it didn't wrap things up too neatly leaving nothing to the imagination. It was a very satisfying ending. I know the other two books in the trilogy focus on different people, so I'm curious to see what they're like. But I certainly think the writing and story here are excellent so hopefully they'll be just as good!!

Moon Sworn by Keri Arthur

SPOILER WARNING!! Big spoilers for the previous book, Bound to Shadows, ahead. If you're not up to date with the series, skip this one :)

"Some nights never end.

Some desires never die. . . .

She ventures where no one else dares—into realms of peril and pleasure. But will this next journey be her last?

Shape-shifting werewolf and vampire Riley Jenson is through with death–causing it, solving it, surviving it. Her soul mate, Kye Murphy, is dead–and at Riley’s own hands. Not even the seductive embrace of her vampire lover, Quinn, can fully ease her mind, for she has begun questioning everything that makes her Riley–including her job at the Directorate.

Now, the ritualistically slain bodies of ex-cons have started turning up. Reluctantly, Riley takes the case, but something even worse is waiting in the wings. For a vicious enemy from her past is determined to strip Riley of everything that gives her life any meaning: her lover, her brother–and even her own identity. Can Riley survive this ultimate assault? All she knows is, she must fight one last time to find answers, before everything goes dark forever…"

This is the 9th and final Riley Jenson book from Keri Arthur. Riley has grown a lot though this series. She's learnt to do what she must in order to survive, but she's never been comfortable with what that might mean for her. She doesn't much like what she's become. But she can't just walk away from the Directorate. After the events of the previous book, Bound To Shadows, she's become more unsure of herself than ever.
This series took a while to grow on me. I didn't particularly like the first 3 books, and gave up on it for a couple years. But I did eventually pick it back up and I'm very glad I did. I've come to love Riley as she's grown and changed, and I can't help loving her reluctance to become the killer the Directorate wants her to be. The ending of Bound To Shadows was harsh and left me hanging. It left a lot to tie up in this final book and my hopes for it were high. Happily, it wasn't a let down in any way.
The story picks up a little while after the end of Bound To Shadows with Riley just returning to work. It doesn't take long for things to take a turn for the worse, but I so did not see what happened coming. It was a very different idea to anything I'd have predicted, and I think it works very well. Riley's past is haunting her, but not exactly the past she expected to. With the turn of events, it led to some interesting problems. The plot flowed smoothly and quickly, and I felt the up and down ride with Riley pretty cleanly. I don't want to go in to details and spoil anything, but I will say that I truly loved the ending. It had me tearing up and it was just perfect. And can I say that I just adore Rhoan and Liander? They are awesome. And I finally love Quinn too. It took 9 books, but hey, I got there in the end. I'm sad to say goodbye to Riley and the rest now, but at least the series ended on a high. This is my favourite Riley book for sure, I had a lot of trouble putting the book down. Threads that had been left from several books ago were picked up and tied off nicely, as well as some newer ones. Things were left neat enough for the end of a series, but not so neat you can't imagine more happening with the characters in the future.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, despite being sad that Riley's series is over. I'm really looking forward to Keri's spin off series featuring Risa (Dia's little girl) when it comes out. I know she's mentioned that Riley and her team will make the odd appearance so as much as I'm looking forward to Risa's story, I'm looking forward to just a little more of Riley too. I loved this book and while I'm sure this series wouldn't be for everyone, I'd still really recommend it. And if you loved the previous Riley books, then this is clearly a must read.

Rating: 9/10