Valley of Silence by Nora Roberts (‘Circle’ trilogy Book #3)

Format: Mass Market Paperbound - Published: October 31, 2006 - 352 Pages - ISBN: 0515141674 - Published By: Berkley Publishing

 

Valley of Silence

by Nora Roberts

‘Circle’ trilogy Book #3

Having traveled through the Dance of the Gods to the land of Geall, the circle finds themselves convincing then training the people of Geall to defeat Lilith’s vampire army. The Valley of Silence is a forbidding place for the battle of all battles, but the circle continues to prepare through magic and a few of early stakeouts that tests their strength individually and as a team. Moira finds herself playing the roles of warrior and royal, as she follows the tradition of her people and prepares to take the crown before leading them into battle. And if that isn’t enough, she finds her thoughts turning to Cian more often than not. So what’s a chaste and intelligent young woman to do when given less than a month with the man she loves, who’s not a man, but a vampire? And how will the people of Geall fare against an army of blood-thirsty vampires who have had centuries to prepare?

Review: Finished Saturday, November 4th, 2006. (At, like, 4am, LOL!) OMG!!!!! I sooooo didn’t want this trilogy to end! Nora did it to me … again! I swear, she is THE master story-teller. Should some say differently, hey – go ahead and say so … not like I’ll listen, LOL!

The end of the Circle trilogy couldn’t have been better. The action was great, the conflicts deep and personal. Moira, for everything that she is, couldn’t have been a better person. Cian, though a vamp, couldn’t have been any more perfect. Nora did an excellent job showing her readers exactly who they wre, including their vulnerabilities, and their love. And, as usual, her descriptions bring you right to the front line, watching it all, you can’t help but get wrapped up in it! I got angry, I got right pissed, I got scared and anxious for the six, and balled my ehad off at the ending, first with tears and sobs of sadness, like my heart was going to split in two for the characters, then with joy so bright, I jumped around the living room… (Uh, I’m not kidding, I actually did both! . And emptied a box of Kleenex in doing so!) No way could it have gotten any better. Even if you’re not into the whole witch, sorcerer, vamp, shape-shifter thing… You gotta read this series. It will change your mind, I guarantee it!

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Dance of the Gods by Nora Roberts (‘Circle’ trilogy Book #2)

Format: Mass Market Paperbound - Published: September 2006 - 352 Pages - ISBN: 0515141666 - Published By: Berkley Publishing Group

 

Dance of the Gods

by Nora Roberts

‘Circle’ trilogy Book #2

As the Circle of Six prepares for its final clash with the dark army of the vampire Lilith, the battleground shifts. In Ireland, a stone circle serves as the portal to another land and an ancient time.

It is in Geall that all will meet their fate – the sorcerer, the witch, the warrior, the scholar, the one of many forms, and the one who was lost. As their courage is tested, hearts will bond as never before…

Review: Finished Monday, October 2nd, 2006. Holy cow!!! Now I can’t wait for Book #3, Valley of Silence! This book was just as amazing as Book #1, Morrigan’s Cross, if not better! Again, Nora paints an absolute picture; you could swear you’re right there, participating, never mind watching from the sidelines. Her descriptions of the land are exquisite, and her characters … there is such depth to them, mentally, emotionally, physically. Nora truly knows how to touch a reader. I felt the connection between characters, and all the mental and emotional wars they fight within, not just the physical. I laughed, I cried, I got upset and scared … and truly, truly pissed, then added a great big, “In Your Face, Bitch!”. LMAO! Only Nora can make me really feel this way when reading a really, really, really good book. I know that this is a trilogy I’ll reread … you can bet money on it! I couldn’t put it down, and actually tried to force myself, and even that didn’t work. At 2am, my reader’s heart and imagination was well sated.

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Morrigan’s Cross by Nora Roberts (‘Circle’ trilogy Book #1)

Format: Mass Market Paperbound - Published: August 2006 - 352 Pages - ISBN: 0515141658 - Publisher: Jove

 

Morrigan’s Cross

by Nora Roberts

‘Circle’ trilogy Book #1

As a storm rages, the tale of a powerful vampire’s lust for destruction – and of the circle of six charged by the goddess Morrigan to stop her – begins. One of the chosen is a medieval sorcerer whose quest will take him through time – and into the arms of a woman courageous enough to link her destiny to his own.

Review: Holy cow! I swear it’s one of her best and I can’t wait for the second book! Darn, I gotta way a month! I couldn’t put the book down for the life of me! Every time I told myself, finish the chapter and go to bed, something would happen that would cause me to jump and keep going! The characters are genuine, all from different times and eras, and they combine like a team, albeit slowly, but they do. Nora had me laughing, crying, sobbing, smiling, totally pissed and angry… She does it to me every time! That’s what I love about her. The right combination of action, love, and the feeling of family is just the right combination, with a little hint of what’s in store for the circle of six. I could almost swear, it doesn’t get any better than this, but having read all of her books, I usually have to swallow my words. The way she uses her words, you feel like you’re right there, on the sidelines, looking in, and you feel everything, from awe, confusion, happiness, sadness, angry, despair, hopelessness… everything. That’s why, in my book, she’s the best all around.

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The Divine Circle of Ladies Making Mischief by Dolores Stewart Riccio (‘Circle’ series Book #3)

Format: Trade Paperback - Published: August 2005 - 320 Pages - ISBN: 075820986X - Published By: Kensington

 

The Divine Circle of Ladies Making Mischief

by Dolores Stewart Riccio

‘Circle’ series Book #3

In this third novel, The Circle of Five investigates an “angel of death,” whom they suspect of murdering patients at a local rehabilitation center. Between forays into crime-fighting, they also befriend a runaway wife, learn about Druids from the new family in town, and settle an environmental score with a polluted pig farm. Despite all that’s going on in their crusading lives, Cass and Joe Ulysses set the date for a Yule wedding.

Review: Finished Thursday, October 19th, 2006. Wonderful book! The story comes back to the Circle of Five, and I adored it as much as the first two! A lot of laughs, sniffles, panic and outrage when reading this book. You get so into the characters, you can’t help it. You may learn who the ‘bad guy’ is, thanks to Cass, but it’s getting to the end and how it all goes down that keeps you reading. The plot is subtle, and has an easy flow, and your own heart-rate kicks up at the climax of the story. I know mine did! The ending was perfect and sweet. Couldn’t ask for better!

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Circle of Five by Dolores Stewart Riccio (‘Circle’ series Book #1)

Format: Trade Paperback - Published: March 1, 2003 - 308 Pages - ISBN: 0758203004 - Published By: Kensington

 

Circle of Five

by Dolores Stewart Riccio

‘Circle’ series Book #1

Now that her children are grown, her lout of an ex-husband is gone, and her herbal remedy business has taken off, Cass Shipton is free to enjoy the simple comforts of her grown-up life. There’s her cozy Cape Cod home overlooking Plymouth Harbor. Her scruffy disdainful pooch. And the strong connection she shares with four other ordinary women who get together to sip tea, trade stories, cast the odd spell and work a bit of magic. Just your typical, everyday Wiccans who work at the local library, carpool the kids, and run the vitamin store at the mall.

Wickedly funny, harrowingly suspenseful, and as deliciously warm-hearted as a girls’ night in, Circle of Five is a joyfrul celebration of the kind of friendship that makes a magic all of its own.

Review: Finished Monday, May 22nd, 2006. I had heard what Liane was saying about this book, and I had emailed her to inquire what it was about. LOL, this book is absolutely adorable, I loved it. There’s a little action, but it’s not the whole story, which is different for me, and welcomed, I might add. It had a little plot of its own, and although not at-the-edge-of-your-seat exciting, the story has its own charm. The lives of five, totally different ladies, gathered together, becoming the best of friends (to vent to, or get in trouble with!), LOL, the book was great. Not one life is the same, which is great. Each is a character of their own, brightly created and humourous. Can’t wait to get my hands on Charmed Circle and see what the five get themselves into!

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Songs of the Humpback Whale by Jodi Picoult

Format: Trade Paperback - Published: October 2, 2001 - 352 Pages - ISBN: 0743431014 - Published By: Simon & Schuster

 

Songs of the Humpback Whale

by Jodi Picoult

Sometimes finding your own voice is a matter of listening to the heart…

Jodi Picoult’s powerful novel portrays an emotionally charged marriage that changes course in one explosive moment… For years, Jane Jones has lived in the shadow of her husband, renowned San Diego oceanographer Oliver Jones. But during an escalating argument, Jane turns on him with an alarming volatility. In anger and fear, Jane leaves with their teenage daughter, Rebecca, for a cross-country odyssey charted by letters from her brother Joley, guiding them to his Massachusetts apple farm, where surprising self-discoveries await. Now Oliver, and expert at tracking humpback whales across vast oceans, will search for his wife across a continent – and find a new way to see the world, his family, and himself: through her eyes.

Review: Finished Saturday morning, February 24th, 2007. I tried to remain optimistic while reading this book. It wasn’t one I voted for (Book of the Month), but I read it anyway. It’s been read, and I’m glad it’s over and done with. It wasn’t the type of book that I like, and while I usually don’t give a book a bad opinion, this one, as much as I hate to say this, stank. OMG! All of it was in the first person; there were no dividing chapters, just the characters themselves. Everything was written in the first person. While you don’t pay that much attention when reading the actual chapter headings (like Chapter 1, etc…), with this one, you had no choice to pay attention, or you didn’t know who was talking! Not only did it jump from character to character, it also skipped around in the same timeline – nothing followed. While I don’t find jumping timelines confusing in any way, add jumping with characters as much as timelines and I hated it. But that wasn’t the part I hated most. It was finding out the ending before reaching the ending of the book, and hating the decision made that just made me feel like I wasted my time reading it! I’m sorry, but if you’re that unhappy, would you really go back? If you were really unhappy, and your daughter was old enough to undersand… would you go back? This character did – for her daughter. Come on – she’s fifteen! Nope, I didn’t like this book. There are so many more points that I could attach to this review, but I don’t have a half hour to write it all down. Suffice to say, I was disappointed. I thought there was way more to the story than there actually was.

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Ivy and Bean’s Treasure Box by Annie Barrows – Book #1

 

Reading level: Ages 4-8 – Paperback – Publisher: Chronicle Books (October 1, 2008) – Language: English – ISBN-10: 0811864952 – ISBN-13: 978-0811864954

Reading level: Ages 4-8 – Paperback: 120 pages – Publisher: Chronicle Books (May 3, 2007) – Language: English – ISBN-10: 0811849090 – ISBN-13: 978-0811849098

Ivy and Bean

by Annie Barrows and Sophie Blackall

Book #1

(Ivy and Bean’s Treasure Box)

Meet Ivy and Bean, two friends who never meant to like each other.

The moment they saw each other, Bean and Ivy knew they would never be friends. But when Bean plays a trick on her sister and has to hide – quick! – Ivy comes to the rescue with her wand, some face paint, and a bucket of worms. Will they end up in trouble? Maybe. Will they have fun? Of course!

Review: Funny and fun for both parent and child!

Bean likes to play with other kids in the neighborhood, no matter older or younger. She loves to have fun! Bean also likes to play tricks on her older sister, who’s at that age that she sees Bean as nothing more than a brat. Her mother suggests she meet and play with the young girl across the street – Ivy. But Bean is not willing to be friends with Ivy, so always seems to be quiet and reading and wearing dresses than going out and having fun.

Ivy’s mother wishes Ivy would go out and have fun with the neighborhood kids than spending all the time by herself. She suggests she meet and play with the young girl across the street – Bean. But Ivy is not willing to be friends with such a loud, obnoxious girl.

One day, Ivy is sitting outside, reading, when Bean decides to hide in a bush and play a trick on her older sister. Seeing Ivy dressed in her robe, and holding a stick, she thinks maybe she can play a trick on Ivy as well, and begins to pretend to be a ghost. However, her trick on her sister backfires, and as she runs to find a place to hide, not wanting to get in trouble with her mom, Ivy invites her into her backyard to hide.

A fun adventure for two girls how had no intentions of being friends! Parents will want to laugh right along with their kids! Although both Ivy and Bean never wanted to be friends, they bonded and banded together quickly, and both enjoyed conjuring up a plan to get back at Bean’s sister. My daughter (7) loved the part of Ivy becoming a witch. My son (6) absolutely loved the worms, and both hooted when Bean’s sister fell into the hole they dug. While both of my children know they’d never get away with a stunt like that, they thought the story was funny and loved how the girls became friends.

And neither can wait to read book #2!

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