One of my biggest pet peeves when authors decide to use real people and events from history in their fictional tales is when they change the essence of who those people were so really they’re only using the “celebrity” and not the truth.

Then you have wonderful authors like Cindy Thomson who are able to use their talented imaginations to create an entire fictionally based story around history but stick to the truth of the time and the people so well it’s nearly impossible to know where she begins and the past ends.

Thomson did a fantastic job in creating characters that breathe accuracy to the time and culture of ancient Ireland. Her dialogue, although it took some getting used to as she set the tone and sentence structure to the times, was easy to understand and follow. I loved how she created such a strong, intense character in Aine particularly since it’s most often that men get all the glory and focus in historical fiction even though countries like Ireland have a plethora of female heroes to choose from. Kudos to Thomson for showcasing some of that fierceness by creating a representation of that in Aine as she stood up to royalty, warriors and her peers for her beliefs.

I know most of what she created around Brigid was illusory but I liked that she kept true to the integrity of the person and what we know of her from the little that survived in Irish history. It helps to stay in the story when you don’t get angry at the author for having someone that well known do something they’d never do in a million years which only reminds you that you’re reading a book instead of getting immersed in a world different from your own.

Her plot line made sense, was straightforward and moved fairly quickly for a historical novel. I also felt it picked up from its predecessor really well although you really need to make sure you read the first book to truly appreciate the whole context of the second.

Thomson handled the burgeoning Catholicism and well-practiced Druidic faith evenly without coming off too biased one way or the other so it truly felt like a story being told in the context of that time; not an author with an agenda.

Overall I’d recommend this and its predecessor for anyone who likes to read about ancient Irish history. Although this is a work of fiction, and therefore it should not be taken as completely historically accurate, Thomson handled the past with grace and honor. ( )