Description
Listen. I have a story to share. Will you hear it howling in my eaves? Feel it gusting down my chimney with a fine mist of rain? See it in the gossamer ghosts flitting over the dust and ashes? Scent it on the salt wind that whispers and wails with the voices of the lost? I can only hope you will.
Fiadh wears a stolen pelt that eats away her humanity, night by night. When she stumbles into an abandoned lighthouse with blood staining her hands, her teeth, she has almost given up hope of claiming back her life.
A daughter of fire, Brenna’s only wish is to flee her father’s legacy and the people who call her accursed. After a wolf attack leaves her injured and awakens the superstitions of the townsfolk, she strikes a bargain with the Council in a desperate bid for her freedom.
A son of the sea, Túathal seeks answers the tide alone cannot give him. Chasing the memory of his mother, he is drawn to a fragile stranger who might be the only one who can unveil the mystery of her disappearance.
Within the lighthouse’s walls, on the cusp between fire and storm, an old story begs to be heard, heeded, and understood. Each tread in the footprints of the past, but what will it cost to tell a new story, to set old wrongs right?
Review
This is the story of Fiadh, Brenna and Túathal. They are initially strangers to each other, but then their lives intertwine in ways that they could not have believed. And at the heart of it all is the sea and the lighthouse, and all of it's secrets...
Fiadh finds herself alone and confused at an old lighthouse, where she sees visions and hears lullabies. The wolf’s pelt that she wears was given to her by her father. She was warned about it and it has started to control her - and at night, she loses all control. She doesn't know how she is going to stop it from taking over her life and causing destruction.
Brenna is also alone, and according to the towns people of Sjavaba, she is cursed. They all blame her dead father for the fate of their town, and their fear of her knows no end. They will not help Brenna, even when she is mauled by a white wolf—they just see this as another reason that she must be banished.
Whilst trying to run from the enormity of what the wolf has done, Fiadh finds herself at the beach. Túathaland other selkies or ‘skin changers’ appear from the sea. Túathal finds himself drawn to Fiadh. But what is the connection with the strange, yet familiar, music and language that Fiadh can hear? And how is this linked to the abandoned lighthouse?
You will find yourself drawn to all three main characters, and how the stories of their past have now intertwined in their futures. They all are strong willed, and determined to find out the truth. This is a wonderful debut fantasy novel, full of superstition, folklore and mythology, that will be enjoyed by secondary readers.
Reviewed by Sam
