After the last trilogy, I was beginning to lose faith in Carey - the "Kushiel's" trilogy were Desert Island books for me, but the story of whiny Imriel and his star-crossed bride just left me annoyed and bored. I'm happy to say, this was back to the things that made the first three books great; wry humour, likeable characters, a fate-driven plot, and a heroine who doesn't let her destiny drag her down. Moirin is every bit as likeable as Phaedre was, but in a different way, and I look forward to seeing where her fate takes her. Brava!

This book takes 100 years after the last book, or the last tale of Prince Imriel and Queen Sidonie. It follows Moirin a child of the Maghuin Dhonn, Bear Witches and the first inhabitants of the Isle of Alba, and a priest of Naamah's Order. Moirin's coming of age ceremony has the Maghuin Dhonn, setting her on a sweeping saga to discover her path, as it does not include her clan and Alba. Although she is reluctant, to leave on this journey, but she knows she has to when she looses her childhood sweetheart and that she is of mixed blood. To fully understand her path she must leave Alba, to go to Terre D'Ange, to try and track down her father and develop her magical and healing talents. Moirin's talent at hiding in the twilight get her in trouble when she enters into the City of Elua. She thinks she finds her destiny when she is run down by the courtier Raphael de Mereliot, a gifted healer and lover of the Queen Jehanne. But, Raphael and his circle of would be sorcerers only want to use Moirin's ability to their own ends to summon demons, they foolishly believe that that they can control. When they almost kill her in one of the summoning Jehanne saves her from them and herself. Moirin does meet Master Lo Feng a master of Ch'ni medicine through Raphael, who is the part of the destiny that the Maghuin Dhonn predicts for her. It is Moirin's path to save the princess Snow Tiger of Ch'in, and the Celestial Dragon imprisoned within her by the evil sorcerer Yo Yaozu or Black Sleeve, also son of Master Lo Feng. Not only does she save the princess and the dragon from death, but helps heal Snow Tiger's soul with the gift of Namaah's order that she inherits from her father.In the process she meets and for the time being looses her lover, Bao student of Master Lo Feng. This was all in all an excellent read, although the characters other than Moirin were not as engaging as in Carey's other installments of this saga, and the story line not quite as exciting. It may be that this is only the second book in this series that truly deals with magic and sorcery, which are not huge parts of most of the other installments, which have been more politically motivated plots. These politically motivated plots are her forte, I do hope she returns to them, or discovers the art of writing magic in fantasy. She does not loose her gift for writing erotic scene, although I find that the eroticism suits a politically motivated plot,more than the sorcery. But, maybe that could be the direction of the next book, the use of Naamah's arts and magic.

The book was superbly written as always. I loved seeing the world through Moirin's eyes and learning more about the Maghuin Dhonn. They were always so mysterious before. Learning their culture and customs was like a breath of twilight! :D It was nice to grow with her as she learnt about her gifts. I loved her wildness! (The previous review nicely details the plot so I'll skip that part, and go straight to my impressions) Three trilogies, 3 points of view... 3 worlds that meshed together perfectly. I wasn't disapointed at all. Imri's trilogy was amazing in that it gave us specific information about what happened throughout Phedre's life after the first series. Moirin's book, on the other hand, didn't go into specifics, but rather gave us a broad look into how the original characters were remembered generations later. It was delightful to see what happened to Favrielle, Amarante, Philippe, Eammon, even Connor! I savored these unexpected bits. I hadn't expected to see them again, and I'm glad they weren't forgotten. It is always comforting to come face to face with such obvious displays that no matter how insignificant we think we are, in a hundred years from now, perhaps we'll have changed the world without even knowing. While the writing remains spectacular, the resemblance ends there. It amazes me to no end how unique and TRUE she managed to make each character. Phedre, Imri and Moirin are all as different as night and day, yet she seemingly effortlessly jumped from one mind-set to another to another. It's hard to fathom how she managed to make each one so different, so believable, so unique. Each book makes you question life in different ways. Phedre brings us to explore our bodies and desires, Imri to explore ourselves and our daily lives, and Moirin to explore our soul and life and it's meaning. Truly something for every mood :) (Not to mention The Sundering for when we want action,epic battles, and tragic love)... I can't wait for the next book. I hope she never stop writing. I couldn't put it down. It was released in Canada this morning. By supper-time I'd finished the book. I recommend the whole series to anyone, no matter what style of reading you enjoy!