Morrigan's Cross

Written by Nora Roberts

Narrated by Dick Hill

The first in the Circle Trilogy from the #1 New York Times bestselling author

Standing on the cliffs of 12th century Ireland following the disappearance of his twin, Hoyt Mac Cionaoith is visited by the goddess Morrigan and is charged with the ultimate of tasks: saving his and all future worlds. His enemy, the beautiful but deadly vampire queen Lilith, has had over two thousand years experience in cruelly killing and changing humans into one of her own—including Hoyt’s brother, Cian.

Now, Hoyt, a sorcerer, must travel across the world and through time to find and train the five others Morrigan has prophesized will join him as a circle and do battle against Lilith’s army of vampires on Samhain in the land of Geall. But just who is the witch, the shape-changer, the scholar, the warrior, and the vampire? How will this unlikely band of six prepare and become one with less than three months until the possible end of the world?

Following the arrival of Glenna Ward—a modern day witch with a knack for making her own kind of magic, the kind that makes his heart melt—Hoyt must find the strength to save the world, and a love that knows no bounds.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio
• Release date: Aug 29, 2006
• ISBN: 9781423309048

Nora Roberts

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Reviews for Morrigan's Cross

[snat_3 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Take one dead sexy vampire + one dead sexy sorcerer + one dead sexy witch + one dead sexy queen + one dead sexy shapeshifter + one dead sexy vampire slayer = one hot mess This is just . . . well, indescribable. I found this book on my bookshelf the other day and couldn't believe that I had ever purchased a Nora Roberts book. A quick look at the back cover held part of the explanation: "A battle is brewing between the forces of good and evil--a war will be fought across the planes of time--as Lilith, the most powerful vampire in the world, gathers her dark minions around her. The goddess Morrigan rises up to stop her--and with her, a circle of six . . ." Okay, maybe not high-brow literature, but it sounded pretty kick ass--I mean the Morrigan, the three-phased Irish goddess of battle? As I was reading, the other part of the explanation became evident when the receipt from Sam's Club fell out. I apparently only shelled out a couple of bucks for this when I bought it. I like to think that, if I had paid more, I would have investigated a little further as to what exactly I had in my hot little clutches. Oh, sweet irony, I've managed to book rape myself. I'm all for a little mindless brain candy; after all, I willingly admit to enjoying Sookie Stackhouse novels. The problem with this is that Roberts has thrown in every fantasy stereotype and stock plot available to her. We have time travel, we have locales that lend themselves to fantasy (Ireland--both 12th century and modern day--and New York), vampires and wizards, unspeakable evil versus unbelievable good, alternate worlds, a final battle pre-ordained by the gods, and the list goes on and on and on. And so do Roberts' descriptions. Never, not once, did I have to wonder about what the quilt on the bed looked like or the glass from which a character drank. Her color descriptions read like paint swatches from Sherwin Williams. For all this excitement, the plot basically boils down to the following repetitious cycle: train with medieval weaponry, cook a meal, train with medieval weaponry, discuss magic, train with medieval weaponry, and have mind-blowing sex. This is, apparently, all that's required to stave off the apocalypse. And who has instigated this apocalypse? Lilith, the world's oldest and most powerful vampire. However, her motivation for this apocalypse is standard issue power-hunger with only nebulous explanation as to what she actually plans to do with the world once she has it. She spends her days skulking around the caves off the coast of Ireland, wearing sumptuous clothes (oh, except, for when she's lying around bare-breasted in bed) while preening, whining, and bitching about how, damn it, she can't see her beautiful self in the mirror. And Morrigan? She just pops in every now and then like a good-natured fairy godmother wanting to check on the fate of our heroes. Will I be able to resist reading the rest of the books in the series? That would be a hell yes. Now please excuse me while I trot on over to Swaptree to hopefully swap this piece o' trash.

[phyllis2779 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The best book in this trilogy. On the whole, this genre is what I really prefer from Roberts. However, she is a very skillful writer. However, she isn't as good as the best fantasy writers so that undercuts her talent as one of the best romance writers in in mind.

[mintypink · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A vampyre queen, Lilith (a traditional choice for a female of evil and destruction), wants to destroy the world and spread ‘beautiful chaos’. Morrigan, a goddess, chooses six people to form a circle and fight her. They are chosen from across space and time to form the band and defeat Lilith and her army of vampyres. (It’s spelled with a y in this book.)This book is a flat soda that you keep drinking only because it tastes a little like something you would like, but mostly because you paid for it. Every character is one dimensional, predictable, and so very uninspired. Roberts can tell a story, but she managed to spin such a hackneyed plot that it was beyond saving. I bought the trilogy for my boyfriend’s mom who loves Nora Roberts, but I am almost embarrassed to send them to her now that I’ve read the first book. I hope the second and third are better, for her sake and not mine because I’ve already been scared off from this trilogy.

[Teri Wise · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The book itself is very good. I’m not crazy about female characters narrated by men in general but this narrator is better at female characters than most.
The voice talent can make or break an audiobook even if the story itself is amazing.
I recommend this recording.

[silversi_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book and it's trilogy continue to be one of my absolute favorite by Nora Roberts. It was exciting and suspenseful and left me squirming everytime I had to put it down. The characters are vivid and demand attention. A must read for the fans of the darker side of Nora's love stories.

[talksupe3blogspot · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The characters' profiles are interesting but it wasn't supported that much by their back stories aside from the leads. Book one focused a lot on Hoyt and Glenna and a bit about Cian but I wanted to read more about the other circle members, Queen Moira, Larkin who is a shifter, and Blair a demon hunter who is a descendant of Hoyt and Cian's sister. And of course contrast it with Lilith and her minions.

[risadabomb_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

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.

[bhryk0 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is a re-read for me. I first read it in hard copy form and this time I listened to the story. This is one of my favourite Nora Robert's series.I absolutley fell in love with Cian the 900 year old vampire. I really enjoyed the whole concept of the story though - Hoyt, a warlock, with the help of the Goddess Morgana, travelling through a time portal from the 1100's Ireland to modern day New York to ask his vampire twin brother for help to fight a growing army of vampires, led by the Lilith, the vampire who made Cian. Hoyt was told to gather 6 people to help in the fight. First he had to convince Cian to join him and Cian's mortal friend King joined them, next Glenna, a witch, came to him, first in a dream and then in real life (they fell in love). They travelled to Ireland for their fight, to the house that Hoyt had only left a short time ago but has now been owned by Cian for a couple of hundred years. I loved that idea. When they arrived in Ireland they were joined by Moira and her cousin Larsen (a shapeshifter) who were from a created dimension that was thought to be lore. the last person to join them was Blair, a vampire killer from America who turned out to be a descendant of Nola (the youngest sister to Hoyt and Cian).I enjoyed just as much this time as I did last time, I would recommend this series to all.

[wensdaeheltman · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Action and adventure, but most importantly, love. The six are complete

[thebooknerd · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

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.

[emrya_1 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Crap!! Nora Nora Nora, I have been a devoted reader for years, enjoying your varied, yet formulaic romances. Yet this one was more of a 'how much crap can we toss in one book' book, and felt half hearted, as though you were merely jumping on the vampire bandwagon. Not even the personal relationships which you do so well were present in this one!! aaaahh!!!

[Dee Ann Evans · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Love the book, unfortunately this recording skipped over a crucial part in the end. ?

[russelllindsey · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I don't normally like fantasy books, but this one really had me hooked. It is simply amazing. The romance in the book is realistic and has an organic feel to it. I can't recommend this book enough, especially for people who don't typically "do" fantasy.

[jayble_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

From my amazon review:This book has been summarized often enough that I don't think it will be necessary for me to give yet another summary.I have to say that I am very surprised by so many negative to luke-warm reviews for this book. I loved it! I found the "Key" trilogy unreadable, but the first book in this series was simply fantastic! I think that the problem that people are having is that this book blends a couple of genres, notably urban fantasy/fantasy with romance. Therefore, this book is neither an urban fantasy nor a romance, but a story that contains elements of both.I loved Hoyt and Glenna as characters, but really other than the "bad" guys most of the people in this book are really well drawn characters with likable characteristics. The introduction to the world and the characters was well done without being simply an "intro" book. A story complete in itself, this book drew me in and was impossible to put down!I say that you should ignore the bad reviews, unless you are romance purist or a fantasy purist that expects all of the conventions of those genres to be adhered to strictly. If you like a great story with great characters, action, and romance then read this fantastic addition to Nora Roberts' already outstanding booklist.

[Alison Damien Barker · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Great start to the series, look forward to seeing how the rest of it pans out

[saltypepper_1 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

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.

[gaialover · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

An enjoyable read, but her vampire lore is a bit shaky when compared to others, such as Buffy. Also, the romance happened so quickly that it was unbelievable. Finally, the sex scenes were not as good as her earlier books. Overall, a good beach read, but not up to Nora's usual level.

[readingraven · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Ahhhhhhh! I just love a read like this -- true Nora Roberts. In so many ways, her writing -- because of the genre -- is utterly predictable. You know love will out. You don't need to worry about that. But, the ride on the way will be unique and better than anyone else can do it. I particularly love that she writes in trilogies. Gives time for a nice juicy story, better than average characters, and creativity. This time VAMPIRES! Totally fun. Anne Rice doesn't need to worry but still I enjoyed this first one and will be eagerly awaiting the rest!

[blehner_4 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Nach einer recht herben Entäuschung, die ein J.D. Robb Buch bei mir ausgelöst hat, habe ich dennoch mein Glück mit diesem Nora Roberts Roman versucht. Dabei handelt es sich um den ersten Teil der Trilogie rund um Hoyt und Glenna sowie deren Gefährten, die sich dem Kampf gegen die böse Vampirkönigin Lilith stellen. Und, dies sei gleich vorweg gesagt, von Vampiren war auf dem Klappentext nichts auszumachen. Leider. Mit Elementen wie dem Kampf Gut gegen Böse, Zeitspüngen und Magie gewürzt, präsentiert sich ein durchaus flüssig geschriebenes Buch, welches allein vom Stil zum Glück nichts mit dem gemein hat, was die Autorin unter ihrem Pseudonym J.D.Robb so schreibt. Trotz klar gezeichneter Charaktere und abgerundetem Plot konnte es mich aber aus zwei Gründen nicht wirklich überzeugen, was zugegeben sowohl an den Vampiren sowie der allgemeinen Thematik der Geschichte lag. Dazu kommt noch die Tatsache, dass das Buch ein dermaßen offenes Ende aufweist, dass es besser gewesen wäre, es kürzer zu halten und die anderen beiden Teile dazuzupacken. Kurz: Nur Freunden von Vampirbüchern und Vorliebe für Magie zu empfehlen!

[eljabo · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I've read tons of Nora Roberts books - love them for a quick brainless read. However, they're all pretty much exactly the same, only with new character names, locations and twists. Morrigan's Cross sticks to the formula; the twist involves the ubiquitous vampire. (I know vampires are popular, but it’s bad when even Nora Roberts is writing about them!) Even though the book felt like deja vu, I still liked it and, of course, will devour the next two. What can I say? I'm a sucker! (Not in the vampire sense...)

[millett23 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I liked this book. I definately didn't know that Nora Roberts did Vampires. It was a shocker.

[loritori · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This book is the first in the series and it took sometime of it to set the stage for the series.

[crossloch · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Circle of 6 is called by Morrigan, goddess of battle, to assemble and train to prepare for the coming apocalypse. Lilith, queen of vampyres is ready to do away with human kind. The 6 are assembled from different centuries and worlds - a sorcerer, a witch, a vampyre, a warrior, a shapeshifter and a scholar.

[cheriepie69_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

As a storm rages, the tale of a powerful vampire's lust for destruction—and of the circle of six charged by the goddess Morrigan to stop her—begins. One of the chosen is a medieval sorcerer whose quest will take him through time—and into the arms of a woman courageous enough to link her destiny to his own.Going in, I wasn't sure how I'd like this book, seeing as I'm not a huge fan of romances. But if it's paranormal, you know I've gotta try it out! :P So I was pleasantly surprised that I liked it as much as I did. I found that Roberts', who tends to be too overly descriptive and flowery in the romances of hers that I've read, didn't annoy me so much here. Probably because those descriptions were instead directed towards a different outlet. These descriptions nicely portrayed the beautiful landscapes and hills of Ireland. And even New York city, while the characters were there for awhile... I felt as if I were able to see it from the point-of-view of a tourist visiting for the first time.Overall, a fun read, and I'm looking forward to the next two in the trilogy, both of which are waiting here on Mt. TBR. :D

[cathye_29 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

I was not thrilled with this book. It is one of the worst that I have read by Nora. Not a lot happens in it and it is rather a long book. I even took a break in the middle to read Life Guard. But since I have started the trilogy I will read the next two. I hope they pick up.

[dianer_19 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The Circle Of Six is assembled.Hoyt and Glenna's story.

[hoosgracie · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Enjoyable paranormal romance with a lot of action involved. A circle of six has been formed to combat Lilith, a vampire queen, who wants to destroy the worlds. This is the first in a trilogy, which will culminate in a final battle with Lilith. Each book also features a romance between two of the characters. Nice!

[BrendaThrockmorton · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I absolutely love Nora Roberts.She is an amazing author .Ready to start second book

[miyurose_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I’m not the greatest fan of Nora Roberts’ romances with a supernatural twist, but I thought I’d give this a try. It was just okay. I felt like the set-up was really weird. Everyone just falls together and shows up where they are supposed to be, and making the reason be "because the goddess said so" is just a little too convenient. Overall, I guess I was a little bored with it. No one character stands out as anything other than a stereotype. I might read the other two books, just to complete the story, but I won’t rush to do it.

[klarsenmd · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

As far as vampire/paranormal romance ect. goes, I really enjoyed this book. There wasn't too much over the top and the basic story line was really enjoyable.