I have to say that MORRIGAN'S CROSS is the very first book of Ms. Roberts' that I didn't care for; didn't, in fact, even finish. It could be my own personal dislike of historical romance, but as this was more in the time travel/paranormal vein, I don't think that's true. The problem, at least for me, was unlikeable characters I couldn't relate to, coupled with too many Irish, Gaelic, and unfamiliar terms that the book's added glossary only complicated.

I won't knock Ms. Roberts, because she is an unbelievably talented author who I admire. I'm also the world's largest Eve Dallas fan, and have loved THE KEY TRILOGY and all of her romantic suspense releases. Let's just say that, for me, MORRIGAN'S CROSS was a miss, instead of Ms. Roberts' usual hit. ( )

I love this trilogy..i actually read them in the wrong order, as i didn't know they were a triology but there brilliant. i would suggest them to anyone! ( )

I normally shy away from paranormal and vampire romances. However, this one had me enthralled. I especially love Cian's character and can't wait for his story. ( )

I am usually a fan of The Nora's so it was extra disappointing to read this start to a series and be instantly struck by such problems with it.

Other reviews here of this book will give you a fine idea of the plot, so I'll skip that and go right to my issues with the characterizations. The main characters of this book, Hoyt and Glenna, are fairly typical romantic lead types. You may or may not like those types, but there's nothing uncommon about them. So what's my problem with this book? In a nutshell, what is up with the character of King? Let's run through the stereotypes here, shall we? Big, ugly, scary, black guy, but once you get past that he's a softy with a heart of gold? BTDT. With the exception of his loyalty, which he has in spades having been rescued from the mean streets of East LA as a child, blahblahblabbityblah, he is everything the heroes are not. Could he be more Other? Needless to say, despite the fact that in her trilogies, there will always be 3 couples in the end, since it's not a romance if there's no Happily Ever After, there is no HEA for King. And yet, if you look at what his role is in terms of the plot, there is no reason why King had to be Black, had to be big, had to be scary, had to be ugly and/or have mismatched eyes. It all just serves to make him distinct and Other and Not The Hero. At first I was ready to be surprised and delighted by an interracial romance in a future book in the series with this atypical hero. Sadly, not only does this not happen, what does happen is par for the course, for authors trying to make their books more "diverse" without thinking beyond "white is normal, therefore all else is..." It is tiresome, stale, and I had hoped for better.

And what's with the evil, bisexual, pedophile vampire queen? What message are we meant to take from this? That she's extra evil because she'll have sex with anyone? Not just other women, but even children?! I know romance is a genre that clings to heteronormative standards, but this was beyond the beyond. I prefer my romances without a big heaping helping of homophobia.

So, the token non-white character gets buried under heaps and piles of Not Like Us and a blow is struck on behalf of monogomous heterosexuality by this villain = pervert depiction. On behalf of all the non-white, non-heterosexual readers of romance, thanks a lot Nora. We love you, too. ( )

I just read the latest review of Nora Roberts "Morrigan's Cross", and I must say I agree with the poster. Roberts has become tired and boring for me, anyway, but her paranormal novels go so far as to be annoying.

As I read The Circle Trilogy, I realized that Roberts -- a very talented writer no matter how formulaic her books have gotten -- simply doesn't know how to write paranormal. Not if you're used to reading true writers of the fantasy genre, like Anne Bishop and Patricia Briggs. Writers like these approach the paranormal as an integral part of the universe that one may or may not be in tune with; nevertheless, it is real and matter-of-fact, making you feel the most grounded and lucid when your consciousness is filled with monsters, magic, and mythology. Then there's Roberts, who approaches the paranormal like a misty, overly-Irished fairy tale. And I'm talking Disney, not Grimm. She completely overdoes it, with her poetic nightmares of spells and sanitized concepts of "vampire" and other Otherness.

Don't even get me started on her attempt at writing dark, evil vampiresses. It's all so romanticized I could choke. She's just too constrained to write this kind of stuff, and it shows painfully in "Morrigan's Cross." Even her "In Death" books, which are as gritty as Roberts gets, delicately skirts the truest ugliness and sticks to implications and dropped hints. I appreciate authors who can cross boundaries, and who credit me -- the reader -- with enough sophistication to handle a little mess.

Now, yes, I did finish the series because I liked Cian, but I found the last two books no more inspired than the first. ( )