Arcane Circle (Persephone Alcmedi #4) by Linda Roberson

Even magic can’t solve everything... After facing down the forces of Fairy in mortal combat, Persephone Alcmedi still must deal with the aftermath. Not only does Seph now possess deadly secrets she must hide from the arcane and mundane world alike, but the dozens of magical creatures who’ve taken up residence behind her cornfield need food and shelter, and there’s still her foster daughter Beverly’s tenth birthday party to plan. 

And that’s not all... Seph’s boyfriend Johnny has revealed himself as the wærewolf Domn Lup, and the ruler of the wære world is en route from Romania to make sure Johnny really is the “king” he claims to be. But Johnny’s hiding a dangerous secret: his magic is locked in his mysterious tattoos. He and Seph must find a way for him to reclaim it—fast—despite those who have no intention of letting Johnny gain his full powers. Seph knows that, in the arcane world, strength is always a necessity and power must be constantly proven, but how far is she willing to go to succeed... and at what cost?

This book picks up right after the last book which is a good thing since a big question was left about one of the characters. Luckily we get to know what happened quickly so we can then settle into the new adventure and deal with the consequences of the last.

We also find ourselves with Persephone's new internal struggle. She must decide if she can forgive her mother who wounded her physically and emotionally when she was a child. She struggles with that particular problem throughout the book and the resolution to this question feels genuine. She also has to help Johnny unlock his tattoos. The twists about that were unexpected and became an interesting surprise.

My biggest complaint was the Rege. He is the head honcho for the weres. His misogynic rantings and how he dealt with women was hard to deal with, but it works for a bad "guy". What my problem was is that Johnny was willing to work with him. Yes, I did get the politics, but I would assume that eventually the dom loup would trump the Rege. Even if it was a harder road to travel, I wouldn't think that Johnny would shy away from it.

I give this book 4 stars. I enjoyed the twists at the end and I'm looking forward to the next book which I have close by! YaY me! :)

I received this book from Pocket Books and no compensation for my review was given.