Book Review ~ Circle of Death

Circle of Death (Damask Circle #2)

by Keri Arthur
published by Dell
expected release date: February 25, 2014
genre: Adult, Fantasy, Supernatural, PNR

**eGalley received from netGalley/publisher in exchange for an honest review

Summary (Goodreads): PASSION REBORN

In one vicious night, Kirby Brown’s world is torn apart. Her best friend is dead, killed by a madman who is now after Kirby, and she has no idea why. When the police prove incapable of protecting Kirby, she has no choice but to trust a mysterious stranger. And while she finds herself inexplicably drawn to him, she fears the strange abilities he wields.

An investigator for the Damask Circle, Doyle Fitzgerald, has come to Melbourne, Australia, to hunt down a killer. What he doesn’t expect to find is a cadre of witches capable of controlling the elements, a sorceress determined to take that power for herself, and a broken woman who is more than she seems. Doyle is certain that the reason behind the bloodshed lies in Kirby’s past—a past she has no wish to remember. Because Doyle isn’t the only one with magic in his soul: Kirby’s special gifts have the strength to destroy the world.

My Thoughts: I have not read the first book in this series. Other than not being familiar with the group in the circle, this did not hinder my reading or enjoyment of this book.
The action starts right from the start and just keeps going. At first I wasn't sure about Kirby. The consistency of her character was off for me. While she was the strong female lead you would want and need to be paired with Doyle. Her inability to trust (even though she couldn't tell you why) just dragged out too long. There were times when I just wanted to say that's enough of that same dialogue can we move this forward. Still overall, she worked in the long run, just the small things.
Loved Doyle and his team. Even if the book had just focused on the three of them and catching this killer I would have been happy. I didn't need the HEA to enjoy this story.
Overall, once I started reading I could not put this down. I had to know what happened next and how much trouble Kirby was going to cause for Doyle and if they stood a chance against this killer when they hadn't up to that point. The end went the usual HEA route that you would expect but was still well done.
I'm looking forward to getting my hands on the first book to understand the circle more and have already been approved for the third book Circle of Desire.

Rating: 4