What do you think?
Rate this book
A World Apart / The Witching Hour
A World Apart
Kadra is a warrior - a demon slayer from another world. With her highly tuned senses and Amazonian physique she was born to fight, and lives only to protect her people. That is her duty - something she accepts without question, just as she accepts she will always be alone.
But when the king of Demons escapes through a mysterious portal, Kadra must follow - and finds herself in modern day New York. This strange and dangerous city is a baffling place, even for a warrior like Kadra. And when she meets Harper Doyle, the handsome and sceptical private investigator destined to help her, things become very complicated. And exciting . . .
The Witching Hour
A kingdom is plagued by tragedy until a wizard-god's spell brings forth a courageous and beautiful young woman who must follow her heart in love and follow her destiny in battle . . .
Kadra is a warrior - a demon slayer from another world. With her highly tuned senses and Amazonian physique she was born to fight, and lives only to protect her people. That is her duty - something she accepts without question, just as she accepts she will always be alone.
But when the king of Demons escapes through a mysterious portal, Kadra must follow - and finds herself in modern day New York. This strange and dangerous city is a baffling place, even for a warrior like Kadra. And when she meets Harper Doyle, the handsome and sceptical private investigator destined to help her, things become very complicated. And exciting . . .
The Witching Hour
A kingdom is plagued by tragedy until a wizard-god's spell brings forth a courageous and beautiful young woman who must follow her heart in love and follow her destiny in battle . . .
310 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2011
44 people are currently reading
250 people want to read
About the author
Nora Roberts
1,216 books60k followersNora Roberts is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than 200 novels, including Hideaway, Under Currents, Come Sundown, The Awakening, Legacy, and coming in November 2021 -- The Becoming -- the second book in The Dragon Heart Legacy. She is also the author of the futuristic suspense In Death series written under the pen name J.D. Robb. There are more than 500 million copies of her books in print.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
August 31, 2017
The first novella is set in another world following the warrior Kadra who was born to fight with her highly tuned senses and Amazonian physique, and she lives only to protect her people. That is her duty – something she accepts without question, just as she accepts she will always be alone. However, when the king of demons escapes through a mysterious portal, Kadra must follow – and finds herself in an alternative world: modern-day New York. This strange and dangerous city is a baffling place, even for a warrior like Kadra. And when she meets Harper Doyle, the handsome and sceptical private investigator destined to help her, things become very complicated – and exciting.
This novella depicted a new outlook on the mixing of our modern world and an alternate paranormal one. Instead of people from our world seeking out another universe, there was a warrior from a magical one finding our world weird and far from normal. We were first invited to read from her perspective and I found this interesting because it definitely got me turning the pages to find out what happened next. I loved the bond between Harper and Kadra because they viewed everything differently, on account of them being from different worlds. I liked seeing how Kadra processed everything in “modern day New York”, and how alternate her world was. For example, I couldn’t stop smiling at her reaction to “the pie called pizza” and “the box that showed images”. I also enjoyed learning little things about her world, like the different ranks – Slayers, Healers, Seekers (etc) - as well as the rules about intimacy. On the other hand, I felt as if this book had more potential, and the final showdown between the two of them and the king of demons could have been more extravagant. If this was her life’s purpose, it could’ve had more emphasis. Nevertheless, I preferred this novella to “In Dreams” – the first novella of the previous double story book I read – because of the presence of secondary characters that gave the story more dimension.
This novella begins with the wizard-god Draco who holds a land full of happiness and righteousness until a time when men – some men – sought more. When the more they sought was riches not earned, women not wooed, land not honoured. And power, most of all – power not respected. Draco plagued the land to see fields of bloods echoing with the cries of starving children. For a long time, the world struggled – good against evil, hope against despair until the reign of a fair of face queen Gwynne and her loyal husband, the warrior-king Rhys. Hope shimmered into light, but its opposite lurked, and plotted. Before long, an evil mastermind invaded the land, killing all, leaving the queen’s disappearance a mystery… A wizard-god’s spell brings forth a courageous and beautiful young woman who must follow her heart in love and follow her destiny in battle…
I have to admit, I was confused upon seeing the blurb – because this three liner gave away nothing about the story – and when I began to read, Nora Roberts set a great scene, but bewilderment filled me because I thought the story revolved around a “beautiful young woman” rather than the widowed and grievous queen. It did. The exposition of the story was very well executed and set a firm foundation for the true story which followed on after. Aurora – “The true one”, daughter of queen Gwynne and King Rhys – was 100% my favourite character, but I didn’t quite understand why at the age of 20 “seasons” she digested the truth of her birthing and destiny so easily. I suppose she was prepped up for this revelation since her birth, and I loved how her confusion was softened up by the images of her “wolf” – her love – in her dreams and visions. My true interest peaked when she planned on gaining entry to the castle by acting as one of Prince Owen’s – a very filthy monster, following the footsteps of his sinister father - many, many suitors. The story developed and flowed easily, and I especially liked the double face Aurora presented. The romance aspect of this novel was filled with twists and dynamics as Roberts usually includes, and I loved how everything was wrapped together before the final attack. Even then there was some tension, but I loved it. The only thing I disliked about this was the potential of the ending. It could’ve been more extravagant and more emphasis could’ve been placed upon it because it was the ending of all things evil. More impact was definitely required. But excluding that negative, I’d say this novel was perfect and swoon-worthy.
Overall, I loved both stories and find the author’s fantasy interesting and exciting especially due to the different cultural design she incorporated. This aspect was unique, and developed the novellas more. Like in “In Dreams & Winter Rose”, I preferred the second novella – because I found the magic and the fight in the story more enjoyable – but I think that was a good thing, because it meant things could only get better from the moment I began reading. I’d recommend this book to readers of YA and adult fiction, readers of paranormal romance, as well as fans of Nora Roberts.
My Rating: 4 ½ / 5
This novella depicted a new outlook on the mixing of our modern world and an alternate paranormal one. Instead of people from our world seeking out another universe, there was a warrior from a magical one finding our world weird and far from normal. We were first invited to read from her perspective and I found this interesting because it definitely got me turning the pages to find out what happened next. I loved the bond between Harper and Kadra because they viewed everything differently, on account of them being from different worlds. I liked seeing how Kadra processed everything in “modern day New York”, and how alternate her world was. For example, I couldn’t stop smiling at her reaction to “the pie called pizza” and “the box that showed images”. I also enjoyed learning little things about her world, like the different ranks – Slayers, Healers, Seekers (etc) - as well as the rules about intimacy. On the other hand, I felt as if this book had more potential, and the final showdown between the two of them and the king of demons could have been more extravagant. If this was her life’s purpose, it could’ve had more emphasis. Nevertheless, I preferred this novella to “In Dreams” – the first novella of the previous double story book I read – because of the presence of secondary characters that gave the story more dimension.
This novella begins with the wizard-god Draco who holds a land full of happiness and righteousness until a time when men – some men – sought more. When the more they sought was riches not earned, women not wooed, land not honoured. And power, most of all – power not respected. Draco plagued the land to see fields of bloods echoing with the cries of starving children. For a long time, the world struggled – good against evil, hope against despair until the reign of a fair of face queen Gwynne and her loyal husband, the warrior-king Rhys. Hope shimmered into light, but its opposite lurked, and plotted. Before long, an evil mastermind invaded the land, killing all, leaving the queen’s disappearance a mystery… A wizard-god’s spell brings forth a courageous and beautiful young woman who must follow her heart in love and follow her destiny in battle…
I have to admit, I was confused upon seeing the blurb – because this three liner gave away nothing about the story – and when I began to read, Nora Roberts set a great scene, but bewilderment filled me because I thought the story revolved around a “beautiful young woman” rather than the widowed and grievous queen. It did. The exposition of the story was very well executed and set a firm foundation for the true story which followed on after. Aurora – “The true one”, daughter of queen Gwynne and King Rhys – was 100% my favourite character, but I didn’t quite understand why at the age of 20 “seasons” she digested the truth of her birthing and destiny so easily. I suppose she was prepped up for this revelation since her birth, and I loved how her confusion was softened up by the images of her “wolf” – her love – in her dreams and visions. My true interest peaked when she planned on gaining entry to the castle by acting as one of Prince Owen’s – a very filthy monster, following the footsteps of his sinister father - many, many suitors. The story developed and flowed easily, and I especially liked the double face Aurora presented. The romance aspect of this novel was filled with twists and dynamics as Roberts usually includes, and I loved how everything was wrapped together before the final attack. Even then there was some tension, but I loved it. The only thing I disliked about this was the potential of the ending. It could’ve been more extravagant and more emphasis could’ve been placed upon it because it was the ending of all things evil. More impact was definitely required. But excluding that negative, I’d say this novel was perfect and swoon-worthy.
Overall, I loved both stories and find the author’s fantasy interesting and exciting especially due to the different cultural design she incorporated. This aspect was unique, and developed the novellas more. Like in “In Dreams & Winter Rose”, I preferred the second novella – because I found the magic and the fight in the story more enjoyable – but I think that was a good thing, because it meant things could only get better from the moment I began reading. I’d recommend this book to readers of YA and adult fiction, readers of paranormal romance, as well as fans of Nora Roberts.
My Rating: 4 ½ / 5
October 23, 2023
Another wonderful bind up edition containing to two stories a world apart and the witching hour by the talented storyteller Nora Roberts. This book was intriguing focusing on different worlds and demons and demon slayers. I loved the characters of Kadre and Harper. I loved her child like wonder of Harpers world and his discription of her Amazon Valkyrie warrior. This book was highly entertaining and enjoyable book to read. I highly recommend reading this book or any book written by Nora Roberts.
In a world apart Kadra a demon Hunter is on the hunt for Bok demons, in the middle of a battle with the king of the demons Sorak he uses a stolen key to escape to a different world. Kadra is informed by Rhee the sorceress that he’s traveled to a different world much different from hers and that she must seek help from a man named Harper Doyle if she wishes to succeed in defeating Sorak. She’s teleported to the other world and meets Harper Doyle who initially doesn’t believe her until she shows him her world. Both Harper and Kadra feel a connection to each other and are attracted to each other. They begin the hunt and it leads them to the zoo where Harper gets hurt by a demon she takes him home and treats his wounds he recovers and is happy to discover she likes pizza, abs baseball, they have sex. They’ve both fallen for each other. He tells her he’s willing to go back to her world with her if that’s what it takes to stay together. They head to the subway next on their hunt for the bok demons and Sorak. Harper sacrifices himself to save a little girl, he manages to kill Sorak but not before being poisoned by him with the demons kiss he begins changing, desperate to save him, Kadra takes him to Rhee who tells her to heal him with a kiss of love and life which works because the love they share is true. She tells him she wants to stay in his world with him.
In the witching hour the wizard god Draco to save the kingdom of Twyka he casts a final spell to bring forth a courageous woman warrior to fight back the evil and darkness that is consuming the kingdom. Queen Gwynn and king Rhys pf the city of the stars, Rhys is killed and Lorcan makes himself king, the queen flees to give birth to her daughter Aurora destined to be the true one the queen dies and her loyal man gwayne watches over Aurora as she grows into adulthood. Aurora meets her wolf thane a stable boy when she infiltrates the city of stars. Thane and Aurora argue because he’s lost hope in fighting back, doesn’t believe in the true one unaware that Aurora is the true one. Aurora and thane eventually give into their connection and make love she tells him afterwards that she is the true one and he will fight with her. She reveals herself to the people as the true one amassing an army. Aurora and thane defeat Lorcan and his son Owen restoring light to the kingdom.
In a world apart Kadra a demon Hunter is on the hunt for Bok demons, in the middle of a battle with the king of the demons Sorak he uses a stolen key to escape to a different world. Kadra is informed by Rhee the sorceress that he’s traveled to a different world much different from hers and that she must seek help from a man named Harper Doyle if she wishes to succeed in defeating Sorak. She’s teleported to the other world and meets Harper Doyle who initially doesn’t believe her until she shows him her world. Both Harper and Kadra feel a connection to each other and are attracted to each other. They begin the hunt and it leads them to the zoo where Harper gets hurt by a demon she takes him home and treats his wounds he recovers and is happy to discover she likes pizza, abs baseball, they have sex. They’ve both fallen for each other. He tells her he’s willing to go back to her world with her if that’s what it takes to stay together. They head to the subway next on their hunt for the bok demons and Sorak. Harper sacrifices himself to save a little girl, he manages to kill Sorak but not before being poisoned by him with the demons kiss he begins changing, desperate to save him, Kadra takes him to Rhee who tells her to heal him with a kiss of love and life which works because the love they share is true. She tells him she wants to stay in his world with him.
In the witching hour the wizard god Draco to save the kingdom of Twyka he casts a final spell to bring forth a courageous woman warrior to fight back the evil and darkness that is consuming the kingdom. Queen Gwynn and king Rhys pf the city of the stars, Rhys is killed and Lorcan makes himself king, the queen flees to give birth to her daughter Aurora destined to be the true one the queen dies and her loyal man gwayne watches over Aurora as she grows into adulthood. Aurora meets her wolf thane a stable boy when she infiltrates the city of stars. Thane and Aurora argue because he’s lost hope in fighting back, doesn’t believe in the true one unaware that Aurora is the true one. Aurora and thane eventually give into their connection and make love she tells him afterwards that she is the true one and he will fight with her. She reveals herself to the people as the true one amassing an army. Aurora and thane defeat Lorcan and his son Owen restoring light to the kingdom.
September 6, 2017
2 good fantasy stories from a very popular author.
December 27, 2019
4.5 I really enjoyed both short stories!
August 6, 2020
Two beautifully written stories!
March 20, 2014
I loved both stories and find the authors fantasy interesting and exciting especial the different cultural she design I found them very unique. I thought enjoy both story's though my favourite would have to be the witching hour as I find the magic and the fight in this story very enjoyable.
Read
October 22, 2013both stories were short and sweet.
November 4, 2013
Not her best. Feels like a book she write to pad out the numbers
February 10, 2014
I enjoyed both of these short stories, Roberts manages to entertain the reader and still keep the plot moving.
More please!
More please!
June 20, 2015
Two short fantastical novellas in one..a lil too short and fast-paced for my taste..didn't really get enough time to connect with the characters..good storylines though..
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews