The Summer King; O.R. Melling

Unlike the first book in this series (Hunter's Moon), The Summer King is bittersweet & heartfelt. There are themes galore: grief and mourning, denial and acceptance, life and death, sacrifice for the greater good. All of which are universal, none of which have pat answers. TSK is aimed at young adult audiences and stars a young woman on the brink of adulthood.

Laurel is returning to Ireland on the first anniversary of her twin sister's death. Her twin, Honor, died in what appeared to be a freak accident the previous summer. Laurel is mostly in denial about Honor being gone, an attitude which is not helped when Laurel reads Honor's diary and becomes suspicious about what really happened. There is a push-pull relationship with the male lead (Ian) & a time deadline. Faerie and the fate of humanity is integral, but what stood out most for me was Laurel's struggle to come to terms with Honor's death.

Like Hunter's Moon, The Summer King is a quest storyline. To achieve her goal, though, Laurel is forced to confront her inner demons and external forces working both for her and against her. For me, it was hard to balance Laurel's emotional struggles against the adventures she and Ian have together (and boy are they prickly!). Without giving anything away, I found the denoument simulatneously deflating and a relief & the epilogue sort of confused me yet was hopeful. I'm very muddled about it all, to be honest.

Then again, my own expectations of a stereotypical happily ever after, all problems neatly wrapped into a neat bow color my thoughts. Just as Laurel was stuck in denial, so am I stuck with hoping for a hint at a happy future. The Summer King is a thought inspiring work not easily set aside.

Hunter's Moon; OR Melling

This is the first in the Chronicles of Faerie series, originally pubbed years ago & is now being reworked & repubbed. Orla Melling is the pseudonym of an Irish Canadian author- or could be a Canadian Irish author, depending on how you look at things. Favorite little tidbits: the author supplies a glossary with pronounciation & translations & the book is filled with Gaelic poetry & lyrics & there have been at least two or three new words I had to look up. New vocabulary words for Scrabble games! Yay! Yes, I am a nerd.

Anyhow, Hunter's Moon is aimed at young adults. Ms. Melling's work reminds me of Tamora Pierce in that the heroines of this tale are young women on the cusp of full adulthood. HM is set in the present though & full of references to current musicians & technology. Gwen & Findabhair, which is pronounced fin-a-veer the book says (God I hope I spell that properly, I don't have the book to check), are cousins on a road trip/adventure in Findabhair's native country of Ireland. Gwen is actually American but the girls nurtured a close relationship despite the distance.

Gwen is a follower, thus when Findabhair changes the agenda Gwen goes along despite misgivings & disiking deceiving her aunt & uncle. Unfortunately, Findabhair has been bespelled by a hunky goth-type fairy guy & she ditches Gwen while they're illicitly camping inside a mound at Tara, the ancient seat of Irish kings (& fairies too). So Gwen wakes up alone in the mound. Where did Findabhair go & how can Gwen get her back? Will she prevail against the ancient magics conspiring to steal her cousin away for good? Also- hunky fairy guy #2 in command vs. young Irish guy who claims to be the hereditary king of his little island?? Decisions, decisions.

After that follows a wonderful road adventure, quest type storyline. Leprechauns and ancient magics older than faerie take their turn onstage. As I said- this book could be a tour guide for those of us in love with ancient places where the veil of the world is thin. Full of lore & poetry. Plus? An ending that made me cry. What more could a girl wish for?!

This is a library book, but I want one of my own. Enjoy!