A Necklace of Water

All four of these books will be coming out in an omnibus edition (I think even in hardback), sometime in December!!! I checked Cate Tiernan's website...

I could not find this book anywhere at a reasonable price. I was shocked when I found it under $30 and even more impressed when I received it in perfect condition.

Purely by coincidence, my 16 yr. old daughter and I read this book (and the previous three books in the series) at essentially the same time with the same reacion. I was already a fan of the "Sweep" books, and so was excited to see these "Balefire" stories become available. Both my daughter and I enjoyed the entire chain of books in this series and this proved to be a satisfying culmination (at least so far!) to the main mystery thread. We did think that it was a bit far-fetched that the two twins, having found each other, forged a sisterly connection, moved in together and pursued learning witchcraft wouldn't be more forthcoming about their "hidden" agendas, but overall, my daughter and I enjoyed the stories, and hope for more of the same from Cate Tiernan.

The great rite has been performed but it did not work the way anyone hoped that it would. But what was it supposed to do? There were many ideas as to what could be done but nothing definite about what would be done. Now that it is over some members of the Trieze have been affected, each in a different way. Some have hopes of doing the rite again. There is the question of who has tried to kill the twins. But one thing is sure, everyone still has their own plots and goals. For the twins things are no different. Clio wants to increase her power, become immortal, and thinks that studying with Deadalus will help. Thais is against the idea as she is sure he killed their father. What Thais wants is revenge against Deadalus. Each in there own way begins to experience the dark side of magic and each approaches it differently. How they deal with their goals is a major part of the book. But in the end all the plots of all the characters come together with a number of surprises and the series winds itself up. At the end the series is over but there is plenty of room for more books and stories. Like with the previous books, things move quickly and there are a lot of plots to consider and keep track of. But it manages to stay together and remain concise without getting lost in the confusion. A good book and a fine end to the series. Check it out.

I just can't believe this could possibly be the end! Well, it definitely went out with a bang! So, this book was mostly about Thais and Clio's battle within themselves (Will they truly become as evil as Melita?). Also it was totally about relationships, which is the part I've always loved the most, who does Clio want to be with, really? what about Thais, will she find her match? and even the other members of the Treize besides Richard and Luc, are mixed up in some relationship drama! and then you have the underlying thoughts of what could be next! i mean they already performed the Rite what could they possibly do to top that? well you'll see! This book had so many twist and turns! Thankfully some outstanding questions that were left on everyone's mind from the last three books were answered although out the book. But the ending unfortunately left me with more questions that could probably be answered in another book if only Cate would make one! maybe she could make a super edition like in the sweep series. that would be great! but i guess its up to you to decide that for yourself! go get this book, it will make you laugh, it will make you cry, it will make you talk to yourself! And it will make you happy that you own such a great book!