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Circle
As the world grows sick and dark, the Sisterhood must gather across all times and all planes, and together, heal and save humanity from impending disaster. A Circle. Unity. Eternity. Strength, and the future born from lessons of the past. In the third instalment of Award Winning Author, Alison Clarke's 'Sisterhood Stories', the reader is transported through a magical story with a powerful message. Abi has always been good at reading, but she never expected to travel through eons of myths, legends and folklore, on a journey that teaches her the interconnectivity of the world, and the power she holds to change it for the better. With a cast of sisters from all over the world and through all time, The Sisterhood is a powerful collection of herstory, woven magically into a rallying call for us to be the light in the darkness.
172 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 27, 2018
6 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
February 21, 2019
The power of love, the strength of unity and a never ending circle of life will bring strong women to the forefront when the world is threatened by evil in CIRCLE by Alison Clarke.
The powerful Sisters will unite in their greatest battle, a war to possibly end all wars against evil. Strengths will be honed, weaknesses bolstered and loyalty to one another highlight an incredible tale of personal strength. Alison Clarke gives her tale an almost magically feel as old characters and new come together in solidarity, no matter their backgrounds or the century they lived in. One young girl will become part of this journey through the power of reading and her adventures will awaken the inner powers we all have to create change.
Wonderful reading, intense, yet almost poetic as a Sisterhood comes together with a message for all! Ms. Clarke imbues a feeling of hope in the darkest hours and makes this tale a refreshing escape into a world of fantasy spotlighting fine young adult reading.
I am always impressed with the messages Alison Clarke sends out through her well-chosen words and talented imagination.
Series: The Sisterhood Stories - Book 3
Publisher: Little Bird Publishing House (November 27, 2018)
Publication Date: November 27, 2018
Genre: Fantasy - YA
Print Length: 172 pages
Available from: Amazon
For Reviews, Giveaways, Fabulous Book News, follow: http://tometender.blogspot.com
The powerful Sisters will unite in their greatest battle, a war to possibly end all wars against evil. Strengths will be honed, weaknesses bolstered and loyalty to one another highlight an incredible tale of personal strength. Alison Clarke gives her tale an almost magically feel as old characters and new come together in solidarity, no matter their backgrounds or the century they lived in. One young girl will become part of this journey through the power of reading and her adventures will awaken the inner powers we all have to create change.
Wonderful reading, intense, yet almost poetic as a Sisterhood comes together with a message for all! Ms. Clarke imbues a feeling of hope in the darkest hours and makes this tale a refreshing escape into a world of fantasy spotlighting fine young adult reading.
I am always impressed with the messages Alison Clarke sends out through her well-chosen words and talented imagination.
Series: The Sisterhood Stories - Book 3
Publisher: Little Bird Publishing House (November 27, 2018)
Publication Date: November 27, 2018
Genre: Fantasy - YA
Print Length: 172 pages
Available from: Amazon
For Reviews, Giveaways, Fabulous Book News, follow: http://tometender.blogspot.com
January 25, 2019
I received an Advanced Reader Copy of Circle and like it's predecessors before it, it was an empowering and inspirational read. Circle is the third installment of Alison Clarke's Sisterhood series. It stays true to the previous narratives of the other books; teamwork, strong women, and mythology from all over the world.
This book starts with Abi, a high school student who struggles not only with her studies but with believing in herself. She is guided by an array of powerful women in folklore and mythology to find her true self, and answer the call to save the world. Through Abi, we also see characters from previous books as they answer the call to arms and their circle is formed. I enjoyed reading this book very much. The characters are diverse and from a broad range of backgrounds and are developed very well. The story itself flows at a slow pace but I found myself savoring the details and appreciating the action and progression because of it. After finishing this book I felt like I had accomplished something big. The message Clarke leaves with her readers is awesome and encouraging.
Did I mention there were swords? Dragons?Fairies? Gods, Goddesses, fantasy creatures, etc? There is an abundance of them! Clarke uses a rich and detailed array of mythology to weave a glorious tapestry and message that women can do anything. I recommend this uplifting read to all ages.
This book starts with Abi, a high school student who struggles not only with her studies but with believing in herself. She is guided by an array of powerful women in folklore and mythology to find her true self, and answer the call to save the world. Through Abi, we also see characters from previous books as they answer the call to arms and their circle is formed. I enjoyed reading this book very much. The characters are diverse and from a broad range of backgrounds and are developed very well. The story itself flows at a slow pace but I found myself savoring the details and appreciating the action and progression because of it. After finishing this book I felt like I had accomplished something big. The message Clarke leaves with her readers is awesome and encouraging.
Did I mention there were swords? Dragons?Fairies? Gods, Goddesses, fantasy creatures, etc? There is an abundance of them! Clarke uses a rich and detailed array of mythology to weave a glorious tapestry and message that women can do anything. I recommend this uplifting read to all ages.
May 20, 2019
Circle (Book#3 in The Sisterhood Stories) by Alison Clarke gives us more adventures, spanning time and space with the beloved, realistic and relatable protagonist Abi. “She was frustrated because she found it hard to learn; she was easily distracted and didn't know the reasons.”
The story is rich with themes of struggle against tyranny or hardships many of us face daily or secretly, the importance of finding your place is a constant while being aware and pro-active against the negative energy that exists and grows in the real world. If you love mythology, fantasy and adventure stories with diverse and magical characters, you will love reading this series that is appropriate and highly recommended for all ages.
“A woman with beautiful mocha skin, wearing a flowing purple dress stepped forward. “This is your history, your Herstory – come with me.” This line was in the opening chapter and I fell in love with the story, because we get to tag along with strong, and empowered, female characters that have magic, wisdom and inner strength stemming from their life experiences.
“You are the seventh generation under the blue moon.” The imagery throughout captured and held my imagination. I envisioned what it might mean to be 'under the blue moon' and longed to be part of their family too.
“She was the Celestial One, who had come from Venus, and had given him the moon and the stars, he did not want her burdened with concern.” The story has many adventures, and the language is always captivating and lush. “There were other women around her, and a woman in a flowing purple dress, with stars in her hair.” Love, love, love this whole section.
“My name is …..,” she shouted over the din of crunching metal. “ I wont give away who returns from another previous novel, but it was a fabulous addition to the final combat scene between good and evil.
In a time of great darkness and extreme ignorance emerging in our world, this book gives the reader renewed hope that goodness can prevail and whispers––rather than shouts that all of us are worthy of beauty and are so much stronger than we think.
Well done! Isn't the cover art incredible? Wow!
The story is rich with themes of struggle against tyranny or hardships many of us face daily or secretly, the importance of finding your place is a constant while being aware and pro-active against the negative energy that exists and grows in the real world. If you love mythology, fantasy and adventure stories with diverse and magical characters, you will love reading this series that is appropriate and highly recommended for all ages.
“A woman with beautiful mocha skin, wearing a flowing purple dress stepped forward. “This is your history, your Herstory – come with me.” This line was in the opening chapter and I fell in love with the story, because we get to tag along with strong, and empowered, female characters that have magic, wisdom and inner strength stemming from their life experiences.
“You are the seventh generation under the blue moon.” The imagery throughout captured and held my imagination. I envisioned what it might mean to be 'under the blue moon' and longed to be part of their family too.
“She was the Celestial One, who had come from Venus, and had given him the moon and the stars, he did not want her burdened with concern.” The story has many adventures, and the language is always captivating and lush. “There were other women around her, and a woman in a flowing purple dress, with stars in her hair.” Love, love, love this whole section.
“My name is …..,” she shouted over the din of crunching metal. “ I wont give away who returns from another previous novel, but it was a fabulous addition to the final combat scene between good and evil.
In a time of great darkness and extreme ignorance emerging in our world, this book gives the reader renewed hope that goodness can prevail and whispers––rather than shouts that all of us are worthy of beauty and are so much stronger than we think.
Well done! Isn't the cover art incredible? Wow!
January 24, 2019
Each book in this series gets better and better. They are standalone reads with common characters. We knew a battle was coming and the first two books had incidents that led up to the culmination of the war of all wars. As humanity is threatened by evil the Sisterhood members are awakened, memories are restored, and the war is fought. In this the strengths and weaknesses are lessons and used to help with growth which was a nice change from standard reads. The characters do time travel and live lives passing on stories and there's a ton of characters and things that help build a background and connection with them and helps you connect with the characters, if you can keep track of them. There's even a spiritual/inspirational type of feel to the story which makes it even better. Great read.
March 8, 2019
Another sisterhood inspiring story by Alison Clarke. “CIRCLE” rekindled my childhood memories. I admired the choice of words the author used. So magical and intense yet inspiring. I immersed myself in the book and I immediately related to Abinet (Abi). “I don’t know what I am capable of…, I don’t even believe in myself…, I don’t think I can do it…” The words resonated with me for a while until later in the chapter, the writer mentioned “Abinet is the first warrior I have ever seen in a very long time”. Very interesting how it was real in that moment. The writer combines all the mystery of this dynamic world and a sense of realty prevails. I have enjoyed reading the book, feeling the sense of belonging as one of the “sisterhood”.
January 19, 2019
Alison Clarke does it again.
A fast paced interstellar voyage through the heavens and back down to the underbelly of the Earth.
Her Sisters must reunite to fight the biggest battle yet. All the while, some are still discovering who they really are. In the midst of being thrust into arms, they have to draw on their ancestral strengths from the very founders that foresaw this outcome eons ago. They skirt time and space to get their messages sent to the Sisterhood.
I loved the beautiful names that Alison gave to these powerful women, "Aequitas, Urania, Veliane, Adera.... It makes us feel that we are in a different realm. The colourful imagery is shockingly bright in your mind's eye.
I especially liked my home town being used as one of the important locations of the story. The details were spot on.
Well done!
A fast paced interstellar voyage through the heavens and back down to the underbelly of the Earth.
Her Sisters must reunite to fight the biggest battle yet. All the while, some are still discovering who they really are. In the midst of being thrust into arms, they have to draw on their ancestral strengths from the very founders that foresaw this outcome eons ago. They skirt time and space to get their messages sent to the Sisterhood.
I loved the beautiful names that Alison gave to these powerful women, "Aequitas, Urania, Veliane, Adera.... It makes us feel that we are in a different realm. The colourful imagery is shockingly bright in your mind's eye.
I especially liked my home town being used as one of the important locations of the story. The details were spot on.
Well done!
March 12, 2019
I thoroughly enjoyed reading the third installment in this series, just like the first two. I found it to be relatable, inspirational and full of vivid imagery.
I recommend this book to anyone who needs motivation in life, and anyone who needs a reminder to stay true to themselves.
I recommend this book to anyone who needs motivation in life, and anyone who needs a reminder to stay true to themselves.
May 23, 2019
While, as a man, I could not relate to the characters as much as I am sure female readers will, as a reader, I loved the magical imagery, vivid characters, and as a father of daughters, Circle's universal, inspirational message. Truly a magical literary journey!
March 19, 2020
Alison Clarke is definitely developing as a writer. This is her third book in a trilogy (or will there be more than three?) and No 3 reads with more flow and moves with greater ambition than the earlier books. In the first book I read about Abinet, I found the writing more stilted. Or perhaps it is the reviewer who has changed. Perhaps - a deeper suggestion - Alison’s writing has contributed to changing me? Or perhaps I am simply becoming more familiar with her creative and stylistic approach.
Abi (her shortening of Abinet makes it international: Abi could be an African name, an American name, an Asian or a European name) represents much that is “good” in the world: she shows personal progress, and personal sacrifice is prime among her virtues. Abi as a young woman is frustrated because she finds it “hard to learn,” is easily distracted and doesn’t understand why she has such problems. A wink to the question of ADHD perhaps: a truly American childhood problem that may be caused by bad food (fatty burgers and fries), too many sugary drinks (sodas filled with chemicals), or simply to a lack of strong family routine and discipline …. Or perhaps ADHD is a real medical issue. Many Europeans remain skeptical !
Either way, Abi has adolescent uncertainties. A visit from a Jinn teaches Abi that she has strengths and capabilities, and that her role is to “to save the world.” So no lack of ambition! This is indeed a book of globalization, of magical realism and magic imagination combined with a coming-together of women from across the globe …. Into The Circle.
“A woman with beautiful mocha skin, wearing a flowing purple dress stepped forward. …. This is your history, your Herstory – come with me.” This line tells the reader at the very beginning of the book (in case a new reader is not familiar with Abinet’s previous adventures) that we are dealing with strong women of character, and of color, which is both the purpose of the book and its source of inspiration. The HerStory of globalization, The Circle has echoes (for this reader and reviewer, at least) of Salman Rushdie’s work: I am thinking of particularly of Midnight’s Children and Haroun and the Sea of Stories, which flow across and around the globe but with a different sort of magical realism to the creations of Alison Clarke.
This is good writing, good story-telling and it sends good messages. I am not saying that Alison Clarke is in the same league as Salman Rushdie, the greatest novelist of our generation, but I award Five Stars for The Circle.
Robin Edward Poulton
Abi (her shortening of Abinet makes it international: Abi could be an African name, an American name, an Asian or a European name) represents much that is “good” in the world: she shows personal progress, and personal sacrifice is prime among her virtues. Abi as a young woman is frustrated because she finds it “hard to learn,” is easily distracted and doesn’t understand why she has such problems. A wink to the question of ADHD perhaps: a truly American childhood problem that may be caused by bad food (fatty burgers and fries), too many sugary drinks (sodas filled with chemicals), or simply to a lack of strong family routine and discipline …. Or perhaps ADHD is a real medical issue. Many Europeans remain skeptical !
Either way, Abi has adolescent uncertainties. A visit from a Jinn teaches Abi that she has strengths and capabilities, and that her role is to “to save the world.” So no lack of ambition! This is indeed a book of globalization, of magical realism and magic imagination combined with a coming-together of women from across the globe …. Into The Circle.
“A woman with beautiful mocha skin, wearing a flowing purple dress stepped forward. …. This is your history, your Herstory – come with me.” This line tells the reader at the very beginning of the book (in case a new reader is not familiar with Abinet’s previous adventures) that we are dealing with strong women of character, and of color, which is both the purpose of the book and its source of inspiration. The HerStory of globalization, The Circle has echoes (for this reader and reviewer, at least) of Salman Rushdie’s work: I am thinking of particularly of Midnight’s Children and Haroun and the Sea of Stories, which flow across and around the globe but with a different sort of magical realism to the creations of Alison Clarke.
This is good writing, good story-telling and it sends good messages. I am not saying that Alison Clarke is in the same league as Salman Rushdie, the greatest novelist of our generation, but I award Five Stars for The Circle.
Robin Edward Poulton
May 11, 2019
Like the first two in this series, Circle is full of inspiration. It sends out strong messages and is uplifting. Highly recommended.
June 4, 2019
The Circle by Alison Clarke
Oh man what can I say! This entire series is so inspirational that I think it needs to be in the hands of every young women coming of age!
Each book can be read alone or can be read in sequence to build upon a great story. There is great fantasy as well as a spiritual growth through out. This is strong in mythology which is one of the many things I love about the story. I grew up with with a love of mythology and legends. I love that every struggle came with a lesson in those stories I read as a child, and that is evident here.
Character development is strong and well rounded. These are Powerful strong women inside and out. Many times a strong women is made to look over zealous, callus and often “The Bitch” of the story. These characters are made believable and true. The mix of magic and fantasy brings the pages to life with extraordinary beauty.
If you are looking for a strong inspirational read for your young lady of the house to build confidence and give a healthy character to look up to, here is the book great for gifts or buy 2 one for you and that young lady your shopping for! You will not be sorry.
I’ve been following along from the beginning of the story in book 1. I can tell you it's been a great ride so far. I also have become a fan of Miss Clarke and can tell you if you follow her social media you will find a genuine beautiful person and I believe that radiates thru her writing! Congrats to another AMAZING story and the Circle Continues!
Oh man what can I say! This entire series is so inspirational that I think it needs to be in the hands of every young women coming of age!
Each book can be read alone or can be read in sequence to build upon a great story. There is great fantasy as well as a spiritual growth through out. This is strong in mythology which is one of the many things I love about the story. I grew up with with a love of mythology and legends. I love that every struggle came with a lesson in those stories I read as a child, and that is evident here.
Character development is strong and well rounded. These are Powerful strong women inside and out. Many times a strong women is made to look over zealous, callus and often “The Bitch” of the story. These characters are made believable and true. The mix of magic and fantasy brings the pages to life with extraordinary beauty.
If you are looking for a strong inspirational read for your young lady of the house to build confidence and give a healthy character to look up to, here is the book great for gifts or buy 2 one for you and that young lady your shopping for! You will not be sorry.
I’ve been following along from the beginning of the story in book 1. I can tell you it's been a great ride so far. I also have become a fan of Miss Clarke and can tell you if you follow her social media you will find a genuine beautiful person and I believe that radiates thru her writing! Congrats to another AMAZING story and the Circle Continues!
October 21, 2019
3 CRANKY STARS
This is a very hard review to write. I checked out Amazon and everyone is giving it 5 stars but in good faith, I can’t do that. I have not read the first two books. Maybe if I had read them, I would have liked this book. However, if I had tried to read book 1 and it was like this one, I wouldn’t have even finished it.
From the comments in the other reviews, these are books empowering women of color. The very first story in this book is about Abinet (Abi). I did enjoy this story. It tells her history and the stories from her grandmothers. If the whole book had been like this, it might have made sense. However, the story morphed into changes in dimensions, mythological gods, angels, and demons. It lost me right there. From then on, each chapter was either about another girl “empowered” to fight in the upcoming war of good against evil or the gods deciding what to do next. Just trying to sort out who was who gave me a headache.
I really think the author could have found a less complicated way to empower women. If I got lost, imagine what would happen to a teenager. It’s not worth reading for me if I constantly must turn back pages to figure out what is happening.
This is a very hard review to write. I checked out Amazon and everyone is giving it 5 stars but in good faith, I can’t do that. I have not read the first two books. Maybe if I had read them, I would have liked this book. However, if I had tried to read book 1 and it was like this one, I wouldn’t have even finished it.
From the comments in the other reviews, these are books empowering women of color. The very first story in this book is about Abinet (Abi). I did enjoy this story. It tells her history and the stories from her grandmothers. If the whole book had been like this, it might have made sense. However, the story morphed into changes in dimensions, mythological gods, angels, and demons. It lost me right there. From then on, each chapter was either about another girl “empowered” to fight in the upcoming war of good against evil or the gods deciding what to do next. Just trying to sort out who was who gave me a headache.
I really think the author could have found a less complicated way to empower women. If I got lost, imagine what would happen to a teenager. It’s not worth reading for me if I constantly must turn back pages to figure out what is happening.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews