This book in the Parthanon series felt very different than the rest of the series for some reason. It was sort of slow and it jammed all the action in the last tiny bit. Ms. Cast stays true to totally and brutally exposing her characters to emotions, which is a great thing, it makes them feel way more real.

The story line is good but as I said, starts out slow and then it packs the action to the end of the story, I couldn't get a feeling about where I was in the story and the climax wasn't obvious until I actually thought about it after closing the book. I did fall in love with all the characters, Ms. Cast writes them so real that is hard to separate yourself from them and they stick with you long after you are done with the story. The charachters just seem like they can walk right out of the page and after reading the rest of the Parthanon series the world of Partanon just seemed all that more real to me as well. I hope there is another book in this series and Ms. Cast left the end totally open for one, so I guess...we shall see. ( )

In the final novel in the Parthalon series, Centuar Huntress Brighid embarks on a quest to retrieve her friend and chieftain's brother, Cuchulainn and repair his soul after the loss of his betrothed. Brighid must choose to embrace the shaman powers she's been denying in order to save her friend. She must also struggle with her desire for the human man, and her guilt over betraying her late friend by loving him.
Cast's world of Partholon is so vibrant and well built, leaving open myriad possibilities for future stories set there. Her characters are strong and capable, both male and female, and overcome both internal and external conflicts. Even the "villains" aren't always completely beyond redemption. I highly recommend this whole series. ( )

Oh my Goddess! Another beautyful book, amazingly well written, and telling a story that spoke to me on so many levels. ( )

I liked this better than Elphame's Choice. Even though I did end up liking Elphame's choice in the end. In this book I thought the character of Brighid was more real and I really liked how she developed throughout the novel. I also liked that both Brighid and Cu had big issues to overcome. In many ways this book wraps up the stories of the new Formorians reintegration into the world. But of course, it leaves the door open for other books too. The only reason I'm not giving this a 5 star is because, like Elphame's Choice, it relied heavily on emotion (which was great) but I also wanted more action or tension built in beyond the primary relationship. I'd still recommend it though--particularly to the YA set. ( )

I really enjoyed the House of Night series so I was looking forward to this different series. The story was a little confusing at first because I didn't read the first book in the series (I didn't realize that this wasn't first in the series until I received it). Once I got my bearing though I had a difficult time getting into the storyline. It wasn't as interesting as I thought it would be. I did enjoy the world and the characters though. This is a book I will probably pick up again in the future (after reading book #1 in the series first though) and give it another try. ( )