Circle of Fire (Damask Circle #1) by Keri Arthur
Synopsis: Sixteen teenagers taken from their homes. Eleven bodies recovered, each completely drained of blood. Some believe vampires are responsible. Jon Barnett knows that what’s happening is far worse. Sent by a group of paranormal investigators known as the Damask Circle, Jon quickly becomes enmeshed in a web of black magic and realizes he needs help. But fate gives him only one choice.
Madeline Smith has retreated to an isolated farmhouse, afraid of the abilities she cannot control—abilities that have killed. But when a “ghost” brings a warning of danger and her nephew goes missing, Maddie not only has to leave her haven, she has to place her trust in a man who is neither ghost nor human. As the noose of sorcery tightens, the search for the teenagers becomes a race against time. But the greatest danger to Maddie and Jon could be the intense feelings they refuse to acknowledge but cannot ignore.
Review: I started this series thinking Keri Arthur was publishing a new one alongside the Dark Angels novels. I didn’t know that they were republishing her older works. It’s very interesting to become familiar with an author’s style and ability and compare it to something else. I noticed after a while that this had more of a pedestrian quality to it as opposed to the Dark Angels series. I’ve only read the first Riley Jenson novel but it did not feel quite on that level either. This is not to say that the story wasn’t straightforward and enjoyable in some parts. I thought the mystery was good and it worked fine as a standalone story. But it’s not my favorite effort by Arthur.
I didn’t really become invested in the development of the protagonists or their relationship to one another over the course of the book. The most interesting aspects were the villains and the world building, but as I said, Arthur’s definitely done better. This is the first of a trilogy, though to me if felt perfect as a standalone. I honestly doubt I will continue with this as I’m more likely to read her other books instead because I’m not yet caught up on either one.
*ARC provided by the publisher.
Full Moon Rising (Riley Jenson Guardian #1) - I still don’t know what to make of this one
Keri Arthur’s debut series, Full Moon Rising, takes us down under to Australia where Riley and Rhoan Jenson, twin vampire/werewolf siblings, take on the not so easy task of protecting the human race from their supernatural counterparts. However, the biggest question remains; who will protect them? Riley is left to ponder this after her brother goes missing on one of his missions. It doesn’t help matters that the full moon is approaching, making Riley susceptible to moon heat, putting her need to mate above all else. But her will is strong and it will be tested as the prospects, werewolf and vampire alike, are tempting.
Her search for her brother uncovers an unholy harvest, where someone powerful is pulling to strings to create clones with the potential to become ultimate warriors. Possessing the best of both worlds like Riley and Rhoan makes them a huge target. Can Riley get to her brother in time before it’s too late? Can she save herself from a similar fate?
Regretfully, I’m not on a good roll with my choice of books lately. I read this book a few weeks ago, so it’s interesting to mull it over and think about what I can actually remember. To be honest, it’s not much! It was shockingly dull at times. More story and less sex would have benefited it. It walks the line of UF and PNR, but not in a good way. I could have done without rapey werewolves taking up so much page time, though I honestly can’t even remember the sex scenes. The characters lacked a lot of dimension and originality. Riley certainly takes a page from Anita Blake’s world with her need of a “harem” to satisfy her insatiable needs. And the more prevalent that became there, the less I cared about the series so ultimately I dropped it.
I gave this series a chance because I began to take a liking to the spin-off series, Dark Angels, with Risa Jones. That didn’t have the best start either, but the second book was a lot better. I am hoping Keri Arthur’s writing can at least stay the same in that respect. What the Riley world has going for it is that I kind of know how things work out since she and her HEA are present in the Dark Angels series as side characters. I understand that as prequel there’s a chance her writing simply improved later on and the second book may not be much better, but I’m hoping for something to pull me in and make me like the leading lady, the supporting cast, and the world as a whole. 1 down, 8 to go…hopefully.
Darkness Devours (Dark Angels #3) - Supporting characters save this series
The Vampire Council just won’t leave poor Risa Jones alone. This time she is forced to investigate a string of murders involving blood-whore addicted vampires. Sure, she’s got her own problems to deal with, but with an execution order on her life she’ll have to shift priorities and solve this case in order to get it lifted. She begrudgingly enlists the help of her ex-boyfriend journalist; this only serves to stir the pot even more, bringing up old feelings and nuggets of her past.
Not a lot of progress is made toward the overarching plot of the series, which involves Risa confiscating keys for her father that could potentially open the gates the hell. But I found the mystery to be satisfying enough to keep my interest. I love vamps so if we were going to get a side plot, I’m glad it was this one. That said, I hope that the next book is heavier on the main plot so that there can be steady advancement of the plot.
I am enjoying the continued development of her dark angel partner in crime, Azriel. There is progress on the relationship front with Risa as well, but it’s fragile at best and I have feeling that there will be a hitch. Not to mention, her current lover Lucian is not quite out of the picture yet, though this relationship hits its own rocky waters. I’m surprised it’s taken this long honestly. Lucian practically has a red flag stamped to his forehead when it comes to trust. It’s so obvious that he’s hiding something that I question if this is a red herring; otherwise, we’re in for a grossly underwhelming revelation of his true intentions.
When I first started reading Keri Arthur’s Dark Angel series, I wasn’t sure if it would be my cup of tea. I wasn’t really feeling Risa much as the lead and sometimes that can make or break a series for me. While she’s still not necessarily my favorite, I’m growing more attached to the supporting characters (namely Azriel ), so for now I will continue reading.
Darkness Rising (Dark Angel #2) - Now we’re talkin’!
I read the first novel of Keri Arthur’s series, Darkness Unbound, finding that the pieces of a good Urban Fantasy series were there, but it didn’t really come together to carve out its own unique spot in this genre. Well, Darkness Rising is definitely putting this series on the right track to do that and I’m glad that it didn’t take very long. Many books suffer from FBS (first book syndrome), even some of the best series. So that’s why I decided to give the Dark Angels saga another shot and I’m happy I did.
After the heart-wrenching ending of the prior book, Risa Jones, the Aedh/werewolf hybrid, is out for blood and desperately searching for her mother’s killer. She’s even willing to work for Madeline Hunter, the evil leader of the vampire council, doing her bidding in exchange for information to help her get to the bottom of the murder.
Part of that includes Risa finding the culprit responsible for spelling elder vampire council members to rapidly age and die. As if those two pesky tasks weren’t enough on her plate, Risa’s Aedh father also has plans for her, practically demanding she thrust herself into danger to locate the keys to heaven and hell—to what purpose we still don’t quite know, but if she fails it will be her friends who pay the price. All of this while trying to figure out the growing powers within herself.
This book still wasn’t perfect, but I felt like I was finally becoming familiar with the world and the characters. I wasn’t hooked during the first book until the very end, but the momentum flows into this book so it ended up being quite an entertaining ride. I’m still not totally in love with the characters yet, but I think it has potential to grow over time. I particularly see a lot of potential with Risa’s own personal “guardian angel” of sorts, Azriel. Some of their interactions are a bit predictable and I think I have a sense of where the relationship is going, but I appreciate that the author isn’t rushing it. I was concerned this could be the case considering how Risa rationalizes her whoring ways as “celebrating sexuality.” Still not buying it and I still think it’s a lame attempt by the author to seem edgy, but it doesn’t detract overall from the story.
After reading the first novel I wasn’t really sure I would be interested in reading the original 9 novels from the Riley Jenson books. But after this book my interest has piqued a bit more. Unfortunately, I know how those books will end up so that may take away a bit of the suspense, but it could be worth it regardless of that. I’m still not in a rush to read them though and I doubt I will get to them this year.
All in all, for anyone that may have had a hard time getting into the first book, I urge you to give the second book a try because the series has potential to be really great.
Darkness Unbound (Dark Angels #1) - FBS (First Book Syndrome) strikes again!
I will start off by saying that I have not read Keri Arthur’s original Riley Jenson series. I honestly went into this thinking it was the beginning of a new series, not a spin-off of 9 prior novels. Maybe that’s why it was hard to really get into this book and into this world, but I did try. The leading lady of the Dark Angels series is Risa Jones, a psychic Aedh/werewolf hybrid whose day job involves running a restaurant with her buddies, but her most important job includes talking to souls of those who are near death’s door, helping them realize whether or not it’s their time to go. She also has the added perk of seeing soul reapers who guide these souls to the next life.
It’s not Risa’s favorite thing to do. And we soon learn why when she is sent to help a little girl who is comatose in a hospital. A somber, but routine visit goes horribly wrong when Risa learns that the little girl’s soul was actually stolen, robbing her of the choice to move on. It leads back to a supernatural creature that’s been collecting souls. Risa will have to do all she can to solve stop them. It leads to revelations that put the world as she knows it at risk. She has a daunting task ahead of her and needs all the help she can get. But will she get it?
This series has a well developed world, which seems to go back to the Riley Jenson novels. It’s so developed that I couldn’t always keep up at times; I will be honest and say that there are things I can’t even remember now. It made it somewhat difficult to get into the story. Not to mention, there are a number of characters introduced so it’s hard to pin down their personalities and decide on how I feel about them. I tend to read novels primarily for the characters and if they are lacking, then my readership follows.
I don’t like how the sex is handled in this book. I wasn’t expecting Risa to be such a hoe, being quick to hop in the sack…with multiple parters no less. She doesn’t even need to know their names, or their true intentions towards her! I’m no prude or anything, and the books thankfully don’t make it the main focus of the plot, but this is a double edged sword because it feels arbitrary and pointless. It was a failed attempt at being edgy and the characters’ relationship suffers for it because it doesn’t give the reader any sense of a genuine bond, especially towards the end where one lover is completely MIA and a chance for decent development outside the bedroom (or club dance floor) is lost.
I wasn’t completely gripped with this book until the very end if you could believe it, but I was determined to keep trucking on. I feel like it has potential with the number of creatures we learn about and worlds that we’ll no doubt continue to explore in future novels, so that alone is why I will give the second book a chance. And by the end Risa has motivation, drive, and an overarching mystery plot line that I genuinely want to see her solve. But does this make me want to backtrack and read the Riley Jenson books? Not really, though that could change later on.
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