This
is a winning tale set in Ireland in 1169, at a time when Ireland was ruled by
independent kings. This was my first by Fetzer and I was impressed. She tells a
good story with lots of action and interesting, well-developed characters.
There are some mystical elements thrown in as well with the heroine's unique
ability to conjure mist, her sister's ability to see the past and the future,
and a cousin who is a witch.
This is the story of Siobhan O'Rourke, Princess of Donegal, and Gaelan
PenDragon an English mercenary knight, the bastard son of a nobleman, sent by
King Henry to take over Donegal and hold it for his king. Undefeated, PenDragon
is fierce yet fair and loved by his knights. He demands Siobhan's oath of
fealty and she refuses. Other Irish lords would swear to King Henry but not
her. Siobhan wants no husband forced on her (she's had one of those), but she
agrees to wed the PenDragon when it means she can save her people. PenDragon
had no intention of staying in Donegal but he was seized with the desire to
possess the Irish beauty. Now he wants her heart. Treachery abounds and both
have enemies who want to destroy them.
Fetzer does well at slowly developing the relationship between these two strong
people, each harboring past hurts and biases that cause each to mistrust the
other. Siobhan is a strong, feisty leader of her people. Gaelan PenDragon is a
man of great depth who has never known love. When they ultimately come together
it is sweetly done and very believable. I found only a few negatives: It took
me a while to adjust to Fetzer's style. Frequently she changed perspectives and
some of her scenes were described in a way that made them somewhat difficult to
picture. The ending, though dramatic, was a bit drawn out to my thinking. And,
a minor point: supposedly, Siobhan lives in Donegal Castle, though in actual
history the castle wasn't built until the 15th century. None of this took away
from what is a very good story. I recommend it.
The Irish Trilogy:
The Irish Princess
The Irish Enchantress
The Irish Knight
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