Circle of Fire
Circle of Fire (Prophecy of the Sisters, #3)by Michelle Zink
With time dwindling but her will to end the Prophecy stronger than ever, Lia sets out on a journey to find the remaining keys, locate the missing pages of the Prophecy, and convince her sister Alice to help--or risk her life trying. Lia has her beloved Dimitri by her side, but Alice has James, the man who once loved her sister--and maybe still does. James doesn't know the truth about either sister, or the prophecy that divides them. And Alice intends to keep it that way.There are some secrets sisters aren't meant to share. Because when they do, it destroys them. (goodreads.com)
The love affair that began with Michelle's first novel The Prophecy of the Sisters has just grown stronger with each book. Sure, there were parts about the second book that I didn't totally dig (*cough*thecover*cough*) and I wasn't over the moon about the romance angle Guardian of the Gate took, but overall, I adore Michelle's writing and this story.I may have been a little annoyed with Lia this time around. I honestly felt she was being way too Buffy à la seasons 5 through 7. It was all "Oh! Only I can save the world! You, my best friends, must just wait around here, even though I know help in a group is better, because it's MY burden alone and only I must journey perilously. Woe is me for I am woe!" I sort of get that Lia thought she was protecting her friends, but dude, they are her best friends and their lives are at stake too! I see no reason that they shouldn't be allowed to help fight for their lives. Personally, I think Lia just wanted an excuse to have many romantic alone moments with Dimitri. (I always call him Damian. Always. I have to reread everything I write about him and correct his name. Obviously Michelle mis-named him. ha!)Michelle Zink's writing is beautiful and it makes me think of bright, wet paint swirls on canvas. Her description is almost poetic and her characters dream-like. I want to travel with Lia and be her friend (and I wouldn't let her tell me to stay home, either! I'd sneak out after her true friends should have done!) I want to travel the country side between London and Ireland by horse (hmm, maybe not the entire journey, I'd switch to something slightly more modern and out of place like a train at some point, because well, riding that long would be exhausting and I'd be out there all exposed to WEATHER! I don't like weather so much.)My favourite part of the story was the visit to the cairns and the finding of the fourth key. I also liked Mad Maeve a lot and the description of the sunrise in the cairn. Brigid was a welcome new addition to the cast of characters and I instantly liked her.There's so much more I want to rave about, but I don't want to spoil too much for those of you who aren't quite at this point in the series, so I shall just say this: The Prophecy trilogy is one of the best I have read in a long time. You should certainly pick it up for yourself and check it out. Historical fiction, meets magic, meets romance (for those of you who like that sort of thing) written beautifully. It's well worth investing the time into three books!One little aside, because I am behind in blogging about the books I read, I had just started this yesterday when I found I had surprise mail!
Imagine my delight when I saw that I had mail from Michelle! She was sweet enough to send me a bookplate, which I stuck in my book as soon as I ripped open the envelope. Thanks, Michelle!!Prophecy of the Sisters trilogy