Filtiarn, a knight with a dark past and a surprising secret, has been tasked
with guiding the heir of Tír na NÓg through countless perils to be returned to
her family. Once Morrigan has been reunited with her mother and grandmother,
their triad can save the forgotten land of magic from being devoured by an
ancient evil.
~ EXCERPT ~
“Guardians!” A low snarl emanated from the back of his
throat. “What are you doing with Guardians?”
“Stop it! Sit down!”
Morrigan wasn’t sure who she was addressing, the man or the
animals. Luckily, they both obeyed her command. She stepped in between them to
avoid any further confrontations. The cats took a seat on either side her legs,
but their posture hardly relaxed. They still glared warily at the newcomer,
even though their hisses died down to an occasional soft growl.
“Dirty, filthy beasts!” Tiarn snarled as he climbed to his
feet. “I hate Guardians.”
“They’re just little cats,” Morrigan told him. “What’s the
big deal?”
“Just cats! Hah!” He was standing at a careful distance,
even though they had started licking their paws nonchalantly. “They are much
more than simple cats! Though even those I find distasteful.”
Morrigan narrowed her
eyes. “What do you mean?”
“Never mind. It does not matter.” Tiarn dismissed her
question with a wave of his hand. “They are not coming with us.
“They most certainly
are coming!”
Tiarn growled again. “I beg to differ with you, Your
Highness. They would only get in the way.
Possibly even get killed.”
Danu raised her head from her grooming to hiss at him again,
as though she had taken that last statement as a personal threat. The strange
reaction of her faithful sidekicks made Morrigan wonder again just how much
Tiarn could be trusted. She also wondered why, when she wasn’t sure she could
trust him, she still felt the undeniable urge to wrap her arms around his neck
and kiss him.
“If they stay here
alone, they’ll definitely get killed or at least sent to the pound,” Morrigan
told him. “I can’t let that happen. So, they’re coming. End of story.”
~ MY REVIEW ~
The thing I like most about reading fantasy is that, for those few hours, I really feel gripped by another world. Like I've been dumped into an outrageous, yet fascinating land and get to explore without limitations. I first glimpsed Morrigan last fall, and I knew I wanted to read it immediately. I adore the girl on this cover, she's soft, yet fierce all at the same time. I love fantasy and magic, and of course a heroine's quest to find where she truly belongs. Morrigan has all that and more. It makes me think of the 90's TV show, Charmed, which I will unabashedly admit was one of my obsessions. In fact, Laura has truly filled this story to the brim with goodness! She has a fluid and fresh style of writing. It captures you and keeps you pushing through the pages at a great pace.
It is hard for me to find faults with a good fantasy story, and this book was no exception.
Laura makes it easy to loose yourself in this tale and these characters. Right away Morrigan was someone I could root for. She wants what a lot of other children want--to feel normal and accepted.
Tumbling through the foster system since she was a child, Morrigan feels like she is from another world entirely. Her two cats (I just love them by the way!) are her only friends and she also has some amazing abilities--which make it hard for her to keep a low profile.
Morrigan gets her wish fairly early on in the book and is whisked away into another realm. One full of all kinds of creatures and the answers she has always wanted. This realm is hers, where she belongs. But, that doesn't mean things go smoothly for her once she's there.
Morrigan must embark on a journey to save her mother and eventually the entire land from a great evil.
It is not just Laura's main characters that stand out. All of them have their place in this book and readers will definitely enjoy Morrigan's knight, Tiarn, immensely.
You can tell that the author writes with passion and clarity. She has discovered these places and characters and brought them to life for readers.
This is a story about family, love and finding a place to call home. It was a fun and exciting read. If you are into YA fantasy, you will definitely enjoy Morrigan!
