It's been such a long time since I read the Muirwood series that I feel like I probably should have read it again before I read this. Especially when reading the Author's Notes says "Now you know how Eilean's (probably spelled that wrong) story begins!" So kind of a heads up for those who have read Muirwood, if it's been a while you may want to go back and read it again before starting this.
Eilean is a wretched living in Tintern Abbey when the Aldermaston informs her that she will be leaving to help build a new Abbey at Muirwood. At first, she's excited, especially since her best friend Celyn will be going with her. However, the Aldermaston drops a bombshell on her, and she will be the servant to the Druid Mordaunt, a powerful druid that has been held prisoner in the old castle at Muirwood, her job is to befriend him so he will reveal where he's hidden a tome of magic. Eilean is terrified but determined to do her job and prove her loyalty to the Aldermaston. However, the longer she is in Muirwood the more she comes to believe that there is something very wrong within the Mastons and it's not Mordaunt.
A few years ago I was obsessed with everything Wheeler wrote, I consumed the Kingsfountain series and the Muirwood series in just a couple of months. And then I tried to read some of the rest of his other series and I was never able to really get into the rest of his books. So when I heard about a prequel to Muirwood I figured this would be perfect. And while I did read it in just a few hours I still didn't feel that connection I did with the earlier books. I still enjoyed it but I didn't get that OMG I'm in for a treat, feeling I did with some of his other books.
I enjoyed Eilean's character, she's intelligent and resourceful, and she really cares about the people around her, however, there was just something about her that felt off. There's a point where she is supposed to become really firm in her resolve to carry out the Medium's will but she never feels very firm at all, in anything. I hope that this will change in later books, as one of the things I've loved about Wheeler's characters is that he's made some impressive female characters who are strong leaders. Eilean fell a bit short from what I remember of the heroines in the other books in this series. Capt. Hoel is a very cookie-cutter type of character. He has a rare form of magic from the Medium, which of course means he hates it and wants to end the Druids. While I honestly did not expect him to have such strong magic, I honestly feel like I should have seen it coming given his attitude so it's a bit of a plot twist. In the end, though what is really going to keep me reading this prequel series is that Hoel and Eilean are going to crash into each other at some point and I am really interested in seeing how this plays out.
The progression of the story was well done I never felt like it was going too quickly nor did I feel like it was lagging at any point. One thing Wheeler is excellent at is fitting a huge world into very few pages. Mordaunt's character spans two completely different worlds and I honestly don't know how Wheeler keeps it all straight sometimes! But somehow he does it by bringing a little bit of the history of two worlds into one book.
Overall, even though I didn't enjoy this as much as other books in the Muirwood series I'm still looking forward to seeing how this plays out so I'll definitely be reading the next one.
And thanks so NetGalley and 47North for the advanced copy, I am leaving this review voluntarily.
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