Review: Circle of Blood by Debbie Viguie

Circle of Blood by Debbie Viguie

Witch Hunt #3

Samantha Ryan—cop by choice, witch hunter by necessity—is about to confront the witch who has been secretly manipulating her life. But her search for the truth about her past may end in her death.…

All her life, Samantha Ryan has been haunted by a circle of blood, which she has tried to keep at bay—ever since she escaped a vicious Salem coven of witches as a child. But now her carefully constructed life has given way to the darkness she might have embraced, had she not run away.
Angry, focused, and more than willing to use her powers on anyone who gets in her way, Samantha travels to New Orleans to confront Lilith Black, the witch who has been mercilessly shaping events around her for months.
But little does Samantha know that her own nightmarish past and Lilith’s are inescapably intertwined—and that what Lilith wants most of all is for Samantha to suffer until her final breath.…

Reading this book and watching what has become of Samantha was like watching a train wreck. It's awful, but you can't seem to look away. Don't get me I'm not downing the book, not in the slightest, it's just that for a large part of this book I was so appalled and had to almost force myself to keep reading as she was so terrible that it made it so hard to watch. But that's a testament to the author's skill to so viscerally show this change in Samantha that it affected me that much. Then of course as she woke up, (and I don't consider this to be a spoiler because honestly the book couldn't have really progressed anywhere with her in the state that she was) things started to change, and I once again fell for her all over again. Again, I find this incredibly impressive to have such a range in the character, and as this is the last book in the series only makes me want to check out the author's other books even more.

As much as I enjoyed this series, and this final installment, I can't help feeling just a bit let down by the final reveal of the mystery behind who had been plaguing Samantha. But even more frustrating was the incredibly rushed and quite frankly way too easy resolution of the final showdown. It was more than a bit of a let down after all the build up. Since everything else was pretty enjoyable, I was able to mostly overlook this to be satisfied with the ending, but I felt it was worth mentioning all the same.

I feel like all I have been reading lately is series ending books, many of which either let me down, or leave me feeling rather mediocre in the end. While I can't really say that this series went out with a bang due to the final battle issues, I was largely happy with the way it all turned out. Final battle aside, CIRCLE OF BLOOD was an enjoyable installment that will please fans of the series. Samantha's story is one heck of a ride that you won't want to miss.

(Received a copy from the publisher)

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Previous Books:
     1. The Thirteenth Sacrifice
     2. The Last Grave