Morrigan's Cross: Book One of the Circle Trilogy by Nora Roberts

At first I thought this book, written almost ten years before the Dark Witch trilogy, was too familiar for words.  Six people in Ireland fighting in this, case the head of the vampyres, Lilith, and in the Dark Witch, a Sorcerer.  But soon I began to see the differences.  For one thing, not all of them make it out of the first book (you only need three to form a circle of power and protection).  For another, they don't continually go after Lilith, as the witches in Dark Witch do.

This book opens with the sorcerer Hoyt, trying to save his vampire brother's soul, by killing him and Lilith, who had made him one.  Unfortunately, he fails.  However, he gets a vision from the Warrior Goddess Morrigan that there will be six of them to fight against the powers of Lilith on Samhain, the last day of summer.  There would be him, the sorcerer, the lost one, his brother, a witch, a warrior, a scholar, and a shape-shifter.  Morrigan sends him forward in time from the twelfth century to modern times America, where the witch and Hoyt's brother live.  His brother's human friend, is the strong warrior.  The four set off for Hoyt and his brother Cian's old family home, that Cian has managed to keep up and modernize over the centuries.  Soon two people from the land of Gaell have arrived and they save the scholar, Moira, and the shape-shifter, Larkin from a horde of vampires. 

Soon, Glenna, the witch, and Hoyt fall in love, of course, but that isn't the main story, which is refreshing.  The only fight they have is not whether to admit they love each other, or some such nonsense, but whether Hoyt will realize that Glenna can and will fight, not just with magic, but with a broad axe or sword, just like the others and doesn't need him to protect her.

As they train under King's, the Warrior,  tutelage by day, and Cian's by night they are forced to realize that they aren't ready for a battle against Lilith and must work even harder than they at first thought, even thinking outside the box for ways to fight. 

I really enjoyed reading this book, and thankfully, I won't have to wait to read the next one in the trilogy.  Its a refreshing look at vampires, who can go out during cloudy days and are lead by a ruthless woman.  This book ends with a mighty bang and then a funny moment, leaving you wanting more.

Link to Amazon:  https://www.amazon.com/Morrigans-Cross-Circle-Trilogy-Roberts/dp/0425280209/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1466001609&sr=1-1&keywords=morgan%27s+cross