A Tapestry of Spells

Very much like Star of the Morning (the first book in the series). It was full of rounded, rich characters, adventures, and mystery. You don't need to read the previous three books in the series to enjoy this one. It begins with a new character and setting, but I would recommend that you read them in order anyway. A Tapestry of Spells's timeline coinsides with Star of Morning. Knowing the story of the "Well" beforehand would help the reader understand what is happening. I especially liked the very small tidbits that Kurkland threw in here and there mentioning the warrior woman hero from the previous books. For those of you who have read the previous three, this story begins with a surviving brother from the "Well." Ruithneadh was 10 years old when his father opened the well. When he came to, and searched the clearing, he thought he was the only one left alive. He ran. He ran far and long until he came to an empty cabin in the south. When he woke up, it was to find the cabin stocked and warm. And so he stayed for 20 years, and would have stayed longer if the lovely witch's daughter from the nearby town did not knock on his door to ask for help. I read this book in two days. I thought it was lovely. I really like how Kurland slowly weaves together a strong romantic couple and yet provides for them the adventure and conflicts that does not tear them apart but makes them stronger. I'm looking forward to the next one. Especially since, she left us with a huge cliffhanger at the end of this one.

Sarah of Doire fears her brother has embraced the dark arts. Although she is a witchwoman's daughter, she does not have the power to stop him from destroying the Nine Kingdoms, and thus, must find a mage willing to help her in her quest. After seeing his entire family slain by dark magic, Ruithneadh has sworn to never use his powers again. He has buried his magic deep down inside himself, but when Sarah comes to him for help, he knows he must make the impossible journey back to his past, before the fabric of the Nine Kingdoms is unraveled forever. A TAPESTRY OF SPELLS continues Lynn Kurland's successful Nine Kingdoms books, giving readers a whole new trilogy that is sure to thrill and delight her fans. Though I am not normally a fantasy reader, I have been enamored of Ms. Kurland's Nine Kingdoms books since the first one was released, and am happy to say that A TAPESTRY OF SPELLS is every bit as good (if not better) as that first book. Ruithneadh is a conflicted hero, tortured by his past, and driven by a future that is deeply rooted in things he'd rather forget. I absolutely adored him. He is beautifully written, complex, honorable, and charming. Lynn Kurland excels at writing heroes to root for, and Ruith is definitely a man that readers will remember long after the final page. Sarah is a strong, capable heroine, who sees threads of magic in places that others cannot. I loved that about her. She doesn't shy away from danger and adversity, even though she has a healthy dose of fear and self-preservation when it comes to the strange creatures that are shadowing her and Ruith's every move. Ms. Kurland's writing style is, as always, lyrical and beautiful, drawing us into an enchanted world and making us believe in mages, elves, and powerful magic. Her plot is expertly weaved from beginning to the final cliff-hanger climax that puts readers on edge for the next book. A TAPESTRY OF SPELLS is not to be missed! Reviewed for CK2S Kwips and Kritiques

I know what I like. I want to have fun while I am reading a book. I want to feel pleasure. I really want to enjoy myself. I want to stop and say, "I like this". Well I did all of these things with this book, just as I did with the first 3 in the Nine Kingdoms series. I like magic, adventure, romance and mystery. This book has it all, without sending the leading characters into too much pain and continuous suffering. The only problem I had, though not a very big problem, was that I wanted to at least "see" them kiss. Oh well. To be continued. I understand I have to wait another year to get my kiss. But I believe Sarah is worth the wait.

Ruithneadh, or Ruith as he is called, is the youngest of Morgan's older brothers as well as the once-boyhood-friend of Miach. (Miach and Morgan being the heroes in Star of the Morning (The Nine Kingdoms, Book 1), The Mage's Daughter (The Nine Kingdoms, Book 2), and Princess of the Sword (The Nine Kingdoms, Book 3).) In those books, Ruith was presumed dead, but there was no proof. A Tapestry of Spells is the first in a new trilogy telling his story. After a prologue which describes the terrible events at the well, Ruith was so horrified by what his father did and so mistrustful of himself, his temper, and his own power that he buried all three near Diore, a village which "lay to the south in the county of Shettlestoune, which found itself comfortably to the south of anywhere else." And there they stayed buried...until the very pretty and fiery and mysterious Sarah comes along. To make things even more uncomfortable for him, the silvery ribbon of fate that accompanies her is colored with both the beautiful elvin colors and magic of his Fadairian heritage, but also the darkness embraced by his father, the infamous (and thankfully dead) Gair of Caingail. Sarah has been carefully hiding both secrets and gold toward the day when she can escape Doire and make a life somewhere without thieves and thorns and everything else that Doire is filled with. She'd rather weave her patterns of beauty in the kingdom of Neroche, or possible Meith, and hopefully begin the trip there before her brother brings his evil magic home again. But Daniel arrives with more than she'd bargained for, forcing her to abandon her carefully laid plans and set out to stop him instead. The result is a quest led by a woman who doesn't seem to have magic, though she does have the steadily-increasing ability to see magic that others have wrought...guarded by a mage hiding vast amounts of elvin power and his past behind a heavy cloak and every non-magical weapon available...and accompanied by the extremely odd assortment of companions they pick up along the way. Their aim at first is merely to stop Sarah's brother, but it isn't too long before we discover that Gair of Caingail's reach extends beyond the grave, and only Sarah's sight and Ruith's knowledge of his father are capable of stopping the evil that Gair's spells have planted. Why do I love it? Well...though some might call it a bit slow in places, it is (as all of Lynn Kurland's books are) a beautiful unfolding of characters and relationships, as well as a careful weaving of a tale that must have all of it's anchoring threads in place for the beauty and power of it to be shown. It's intriguing to discover that this story actually takes place WHILE Star of the Morning and The Mage's Daughter are happening. A Tapestry of Spells is also nicely different from the first trilogy. Ruith is not just another Miach, Sosar, Turah, or whatever other mage or elvin prince you care to name. His fear of what he might do is very real, and h