Review--Arcane Circle by Linda Robertson

EVEN MAGIC CAN'T SOLVE EVERYTHING...

After facing down the forces of Fairy in mortal combat, Persephone Alcmedi still must deal with the aftermath. Not only does Seph now possess deadly secrets she must hide from the arcane and mundane world alike, but the dozens of magical creatures who’ve taken up residence behind her cornfield need food and shelter, and there’s still her foster daughter Beverly’s tenth birthday party to plan.

And that’s not all. . . . Seph’s boyfriend Johnny has revealed himself as the wærewolf Domn Lup, and the ruler of the wære world is en route from Romania to make sure Johnny really is the “king” he claims to be. But Johnny’s hiding a dangerous secret: his magic is locked in his mysterious tattoos. He and Seph must find a way for him to reclaim it—fast—despite those who have no intention of letting Johnny gain his full powers. Seph knows that, in the arcane world, strength is always a necessity and power must be constantly proven, but how far is she willing to go to succeed . . . and at what cost?

Linda Robertson's Arcane Circle is the latest in her Persephone Alcmedi series and it was a stellar read! I just started this series last year when I won books 2 & 3 in a contest and immediately fell in love with it! And Johnny too of course! Normally I'm not much of a fan of tattoos, but when picturing Johnny...sigh...it looks damn good on him!!

This was a rather interesting storyline as well that picks up immediately where Fatal Circle left off, which my memory was a little rusty on the details, but things began to make sense as the story went along. There is the aftermath of the battle at the beach with the fae and other creatures to consider and some are still injured and others, we're not too sure about, such as Menessos. While Seph did stake him, with his power it's unsure what will happen to him, will he remain dead-dead or become the undead?

But that is only the beginning of the problems. Another one that comes up involves Johnny and his position as the Domn Lup. Basically none of the other weres outside his pack, are going to believe him and he has to prove his identity to them and a powerful leader in order to truly keep the title. It's a complicated politics game with the weres and their status points, but the general idea is that Johnny must shift at will to prove he is the Domn Lup.

But naturally things are going to go awry...

And the mystery connects to Johnny's tattoos and him needing to find the person who gave them to him to unleash the power that is locked inside the tattoos so he will not be hinder by it any longer. Which leads to some VERY surprising developments!

And then of course there is still little Beverly's birthday party to plan. And some of the parents of her school friends aren't pleased with Seph because of her connection to Menessos. So things are very chaotic at the Alcmedi household!

The pacing was well done! There were some calm moments that were soon replaced with chaotic ones. Assassination attempts, kidnapping attempts and all sorts of fun! The romance wasn't real heavy either, there was an early scene with Seph and Johnny that was rather heated, but other than that it was mostly heated tension and of course the continued game of using innuendos in their everyday conversations. Can't remember who was winning last...

I would have to say that Johnny is my favorite character, one because I love his look, ;) and two because he is a great character. He is hilariously funny when he wants to be, he is fiercely protective of Seph and those he cares about, and he can be dangerously scary when he needs to protect those he loves as well. Who wouldn't want to date a werewolf?! ;)

Overall I give the book 5/5 stars! I totally love this series. It shows vamps and weres and witches in a different way than I'm used to seeing and I just adore it! So can't wait to see what's going to happen next as there were a few loose-ends left, but nothing that will leave you dying in anticipational agony!