Linda Robertson, Hallowed Circle

Hallowed Circle

Linda Robertson

Juno (Pocket), Dec 29 2009, $7.99

ISBN: 9781439156780

Lydia Whitmore of the Witch Elders Council nominates Persephone Alcmedi to be the next of High Priestess of the Cleveland coven. Instead of euphoria Seph is dismayed for several reasons starting with her being a solitary act belonging to no coven. She is also the guardian of Beverly, whose mother died. Then there is the problem of her wearing the stain of the vampire Menessos, which leads to her being stronger than most mortals.

If the Elders learn she wears a vampire's stain, she will be Bindspoken, unable to use her power. Finally, she is The Lustrata the walker between two worlds who brings balance preventing wars between species. However in spite of all that and what she knows about what happened to the missing previous coven chief Vivian Diamond, Seph does not believe the other nominee snobby but talented Hunter Hopewell would make a good leader at a time when the Cleveland coven crowd needs one. By the time the competition ends, Seph is bound to the head of the Council, Menessos and Johnny the werewolf but it is as The Lustrata that she must prepare for war as the treaty involving the fairies was broken.

Seph is linked to several diverse groups who are natural enemies, but needs to find her own path to fulfill the role destiny has in store for her. She has the favor of the Goddess but it is through the competition that she sees who she is, what her strengths and what she must do. Linda Robertson has written en enthralling supernatural urban fantasy filled with mystery, romance, and intrigue. Hallowed Circle is loaded with action and a cast who make the paranormal seem normal so much so that readers will believe that they exist. Hallowed Circle, like its predecessor Vicious Circle, is an entertaining heroine driven urban fantasy.

Harriet Klausner