Dark Birthright

Dughall and his brother Ian Hay share the same birthday of Oct. 31st, the day of the dead. They have the sight and can sense each other's pain and pleasures. Doughall also has a connection with Keira, a pagan priestess. They dream of each other and hope to marry one day. For a while, everything is wonderful at the seaside village of Whinnyfold, until Dughall's real father shows up to bring him home to Huntly. Ms. Treat has captured the life of medieval Scotland with clear and vivid prose. You'll enter a world where you can almost feel the spray from the sea, the warmth from the peat fires and the love as you enter the homes of the seafaring people of Whinnyfold. She shows how a noble may rule with grace and understanding or with unforgiving bitterness. She'll take you to the stone circle to honor the goddess with pagan rituals and celebrations. She touches on the healing powers of herbs, and the medieval superstitions concerning these rites. The relationships are believable whether there's love, loyalty or vengefulness. This is definitely a tale for everyone. It is rich with history, myths, magic, and the paranormal. Characters you'll fall in love with and those who you may actually hate.

A book has to be really great to hold my attention for long. This one sure did! It was a treat from start to finish! I couldn't put it down and finished it in just a few days! The wonderful writing and lovely illustrations from Jane Starr Weils brought the characters to life in a way I quite haven't experienced before. The reader gets a chance to get to know each participant in this complex tale in great detail. The history of the region and those who inhabited it was a gem to see on the pages. In particular the history of pagans and healers so beautifully written and with such grace. The character of Dughall and the events surrounding him was a real page turner! I recommended this to many friends and they are now experiencing first hand the greatness that is Jeanne Treat's writing! I can hardly wait for her next book and hopefully with those beautiful illustrations again! Five stars all the way! Put down the remote and pick up this great book!

" The excerpt on the book's website hooked me immediately. Now I am hooked on Jeanne Treat. It has been weeks since I read this book and I am still thinking and wondering about the characters and their lives. Dark Birthright was enthralling! I know it's fiction but it was so real to me. This book is not just words on a page; you are there. You feel all the sensory stimuli and the whole gamut of emotions. The sketches of the characters are the icing on the cake. It takes you back to a time when life was simpler but much harsher. When holistic medicine was a way of life, not a treatment choice. When you could be executed for your beliefs. When ESP was a gift to be used wisely, not a joke. When government or authorities were the wealthy landowners, not elected officials. What a treat to see love and fidelity between a man and a woman; parent and child and the great value and respect given to elders. I would love to see this book become a movie. Johnny Depp would be a great Earl of Huntley. Hope the second book is at the publisher's already." Carolyn

I fell into this book. After I started reading it I became more and more interested in it. I really cared about these people. I know nothing about Scotland, certainly nothing about seventeenth century Scotland. But I feel that I now know a lot about those times and those places, because I was there, inside the rooms where the events in the novel happened. That is the way I felt while I was reading this book. Because I cared about these people I wanted to find out what happened to them next. And then what happened? Jeanne Treat is female. How does she know what a man thinks? She does. She knows how every man in the book thinks, in different situations. This was a terrific book, an absorbing read. Well worth the money. Many times I've spent lots more for a book and didn't get anywhere near the satisfaction I received from Dark Birthright. I look forward to reading the next book that Jeanne Treat writes.

Although I read a lot, some books just can't hold my attention or they become a chore to finish. Dark Birthright is not one of those books! From the minute I started reading it I didn't want to stop. The imagery was vivid, yet it didn't slow me down. I could see the small fishing boats, smell the salt air, hear the whispers, and feel the chill in the air. I fell in love with (some of) the characters and felt like I was living among them. Reading the book evoked a lot of different emotions and I found my heart pounding during some of the scenes. This book is exciting, fast paced, mysterious, and ends with you wanting more. I highly recommend this book.