The Librain……retired

Wednesday means it’s time to write about the books I have been reading in the previous week. I finished Juliet Marillier’s Sevenwaters series, reading the last two books. Here they are…

Seer of Sevenwaters and Flame of Sevenwaters are books five and six of the series and the latter rounds off the tale with a satisfying ending.

This is the blurb for Seer of Sevenwaters!

“Sibeal has always known that she is destined for a spiritual life, and is committed to it with all her heart. The only thing left for her to do before she enters the nemetons is to spend the summer visiting her sisters, Muirrin and Clodagh, on the northern island of Inis Eala.

But Sibeal has barely set foot on the island before a freak storm out at sea sinks a ship before her eyes. In spite of frantic efforts, only three survivors are fished alive from the water, and one of them, a man Sibeal names Ardal, clings to life by the merest thread.

Sibeal befriends Ardal as he begins to regain his health. But it becomes clear there is something unusual about the three shipwrecked strangers. Why won’t the beautiful Svala speak? And what is it that the gravely ill Ardal can’t remember – or won’t tell?

When a visiting warrior is found dead at the bottom of a cliff, and an attempt is made on Ardal’s life, Sibeal finds herself a pawn in a deadly game. The truth will be far more astonishing than she could ever have believed – and the consequences for Sibeal are unimaginable.”

Here is my response on Goodreads…

I went straight on to read the last book in the series: Flame of Sevenwaters. Here is the blurb…

“When Maeve, twenty year old daughter of Lord Sean of Sevenwaters, accompanies a skittish horse back to Erin, she must confront her demons. For Maeve carries the legacy of a childhood fire in her crippled hands. She has lived with her aunt in Britain for ten years, developing a special gift for gentling difficult animals. 

Maeve arrives home to find Sevenwaters in turmoil. The forest surrounding her father’s keep also has uncanny inhabitants, including a community of Fair Folk. Now the fey prince Mac Dara has become desperate to see his only son return to the Otherworld to rule after him. To force Sean’s hand, Mac Dara has made innocent travellers on the Sevenwaters border disappear, and now their bodies are appearing one by one in bizarre circumstances. Mac Dara’s malign activities must be stopped. But how? What human army can defeat a force with magic at its fingertips? 

Maeve’s gift with animals earns her respect at Sevenwaters. She bonds with her enigmatic small brother, Finbar, his druid tutor Luachan, and two stray dogs. When Maeve discovers the body of one of the missing men, she and Finbar are drawn into a journey where the stakes are high: they may bring about the end of Mac Dara’s reign, or suffer a hideous death. For Maeve, success may lead to a future she has not dared to believe possible.”

I wrote the following review on Goodreads…

Now I am going to move on to a completely different kind of writer, although still in the Fantasy genre. All will become clear in next week’s Reading Roundup.

Until then I wish you Happy Reading!

Love and best wishes,

Anne

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Last week I returned to the world of Juliet Marillier’s Sevenwaters…

The fourth book is Heir to Sevenwaters. As I wrote a couple of weeks ago, I read the whole series a few years ago but now cannot remember the plot details, only some of the more important incidents. As I really love Marillier’s writing I thought that it would be lovely to read the whole series. Here is the blurb…

“The chieftains of Sevenwaters have long been custodians of a vast and mysterious forest, one of the last refuges of the Tuatha De Danann, the Fair Folk of ancient story. Human and Otherworld dwellers have existed there side by side, separated by a thin veil between worlds and sharing a wary trust. Until the spring when Lady Aisling of Sevenwaters finds herself expecting another child, and everything changes. With her mother pregnant, Clodagh fears the worst as Aisling is well past the safe age for childbearing. Her father, Lord Sean of Sevenwaters, faces his own difficulties as warring factions threaten his borders. When Aisling gives birth to a son—a new heir to Sevenwaters—the responsibility of caring for the infant falls to Clodagh while her mother recovers. Then the family’s joy turns to despair when the baby is taken from his room and something . . . unnatural is left in his place. To reclaim her brother, Clodagh must enter the shadowy Otherworld and confront the powerful prince who rules there. Accompanied on her quest by a warrior who may prove to be more than he seems, Clodagh will have her courage tested to breaking point. The reward may be far greater than she ever dreamed…”

And this is my response on Goodreads…

You can probably work out that I am currently reading the fifth book in the series! I will definitely write about it next week, all being well. So, as soon as I finish writing this post, I will return to the world of Sevenwaters!

Happy Reading!

Love and best wishes,

Anne

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It’s Wednesday, so it’s time for a Reading Roundup! This week I am writing about two works by one of my favourite authors, Lois McMaster Bujold…

The first was a short story: Penric’s Demon the first book in the Penric and Desdemona series. Bujold has written a whole lot of novellas in her Penric and Desdemona series which are a spin off from the wonderful World of the Five Gods series, which I have written about on here before. This is the blurb…

“On his way to his betrothal, young Lord Penric comes upon a riding accident with an elderly lady on the ground, her maidservant and guardsmen distraught. As he approaches to help, he discovers that the lady is a Temple divine, servant to the five gods of this world. Her avowed god is The Bastard, “master of all disasters out of season”, and with her dying breath she bequeaths her mysterious powers to Penric. From that moment on, Penric’s life is irreversibly changed, and his life is in danger from those who envy or fear him.”

I really enjoyed this novella as a break from much longer reads and will probably dip into more books in this series from time to time. There was an absorbing plot and the reveal of the character of Desdemona made my laugh!

The second book of the week was one of Bujold’s earliest publications, I believe…

The Sprit Ring is a stand alone fantasy novel, published in the 1990s. Here is the very short blurb…

“Set in an alternate Renaissance Italy where the church regulates magic and licenses magicians, young Fiametta must learn and control the powers of magic to rescue her murdered father’s soul and combat evil sorcerers.”

This is my response on Goodreads…

I am so glad that I am enjoying my reading again!

Happy Reading everyone!

Love and best wishes,

Anne

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