Wicked Circle (Persephone Alcmedi #5) by Linda Robertson

This fifth installment of the Persephone Alcmedi series was a challenge.  Not only did the politics of Seph’s world get more complicated, but also Linda Robertson got creative with point of view.  While all of the previous books were told from Seph’s perspective, multiple people told this book.  I am not at all sure that this served the plot, and it ended up confusing me a bit.  Once again, I must caution that the books must be read in order—you have been warned!

Wicked Circle has a lot of storylines all occurring at roughly the same time.  Johnny has become the Dom Lupe, and he must take his place as the head of werewolf politics.  At the same time, the unlocking of his tattoos seems to have changed his personality.  Gone is the laid back, wisecracking rock star.  In his place, is a tense, aggressive, and overwhelmed leader.  In the course of the book, Johnny discovers some information about his past that changes his life. Though this happens near the end of the book, it was the section that made the most sense and that I wanted to read more about

The main conflict in the story is these three crones that have been trapped inside stone pillars for a long time.  They are able to discern whether or not a person is telling the truth, and they have been released in order to verify that Persephone is telling the truth about her intent with the vampires.  These are violent creatures that aim for destruction, and they make big problems for Persephone. 

Meanwhile, Menessos releases some weird creature that Persephone has to learn to deal with, though she does not trust him.  And at the end of the book, Persephone (who has distanced herself from the overly aggressive Johnny) plants a big old kiss on the vampire she sees as an embodiment of “King Arthur”. Yuck.  There has been a lot of love triangle tension between the three characters—Persephone, Menessos, and Johnny—and I thought that this was just a bit much.  She gets mad at her boyfriend, and then kisses the very vampire that he has always been leery of.  She knows better.

Wicked Circle was a disappointment, especially since the book that preceded it was my favorite of the series.  I hope that the next one, Shattered Circle, is more coherent and focused.

*I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.  Regina