The Bitterbynde Trilogy - Book Three - The Battle of Evernight by Cecilia Dart-Thornton

Synopsis
In the strong conclusion to her Bitterbynde trilogy (The Ill-Made Mute; The Lady of the Sorrows), set in the Irish-tinged land of Erith, Dart-Thornton beguiles with poetic, songlike prose that at times lapses into verbosity and odd neologisms. "It was the second of Duileagmis, the Leafmonth, viminal last month of Spring." Viminal? Rohain, now named Tahquil-Ashalind, and her companions, Caitri and Viviana, set out for the Gate of Oblivion's Kiss, where they hope to discover a way to set aright what has been wrong for a thousand years. In their travels, the three young maids encounter a variety of wights, both seelie (good) and unseelie (bad, very bad and truly nasty), each falling prey to some harrowing wight-inflicted ailment. Rohain/Tahquil also seeks to free her true love, Thorn, aka King Angavar of the Faˆran, who's trapped in Erith. Heart heavy and duty torn, she feels that her quest to reach the Gate outweighs her need to find Thorn. Those who esteem the Irish and Scottish myths of faerie folk will be delighted by the magic folklore and tales within tales that fill the book. Those looking for straightforward fantasy adventure, however, may be disappointed.

My View
I won't rave on about Cecilia's artistic writing as if you read my previous 2 reviews you will probably know that I find her fantastic and needless to say it continues here. Now I have finished the trilogy its quite sad and I rally hope that one day she returns to write about this world she created.

Again Imrhien/Rohain has a name change seems confusing on the outset but, it isn't at all and you soon get drawn into the story. The ending however, could be disappointing but, hopefully it is set up for a return to Erith (a much nicer place than the Erith in Kent I might add - LOL!) The main character I liked a lot, which always helps I find.

Apparently her next series is set in the same world with different characters so look forward to reading that. The final book was possibly the weakest of the three but, by no means a weak book at all, The Ill Made Mute really stood out for me and is one of my all time favourite fantasy books of all time. Wanting to pick up the books at every spare moment I had is always a good sign that these are fantastic books.

I would say this is not a series for every fantasy fan as it is possibly a little out of the norm and some may read them and not be as enthusiastic as me.

The Bitterbynde Trilogy - Book Two - The Lady of the Sorrows by Cecilia Dart-Thornton

Synopsis
Healed of her scars and given back her voice, the former mute known as Imrhien now carries an important message to the King-Emperor of Caermelor. Disguised as a noble to gain admission to court society, Imrhien finds that the emperor has embarked on a war against a hostile army of unseelie creatures (malevolent fairies) bent on the destruction of humankind. Her eventual meeting with the emperor proves both surprising and bittersweet, for as she finds her heart's desire, Imrhien also discovers that she is the target of the unseelie hordes. The sequel to The Ill-Made Mute continues the adventures of a resourceful heroine as she makes her way through a world filled with magic and treachery.

My View
As with the previous novel The Ill Made Mute the stunning writing is ever present here with descriptions of scenery, clothing etc its som easy to have a picture in your mind of these novels with the descriptive writing. I think its possibly these descriptions that some find quite laborious but, I think it only adds to the book. Yes if these descriptions were not there it would probably only be half as long but, IMO it would be far less interesting.

The main character again is Imhrien but, she takes on a new name here as Rohain I won't tekll you why as it could ruin it for you. This book again is full of lots of lore, legend & myth and if you loved Lord of the Rings I am sure you will love this of course, it is not in the same league as LOTR but, I am sure you will love the Faeren who are the next best elves (IMO) to those in LOTR.

Another totally fantastic book from Cecilia, I almost don't want to read the last book as I don't want this woprld Cecilia has created to end.

The Bitterbynde Trilogy - Book One - The Ill Made Mute by Cecilia Dart-Thornton

Synopsis
A landmark publication in the world of Fantasy writing In a world where creatures of legend haunt the lands of men, and to be caught outside after dark means almost certain death, the inhabitants of Isse Tower are amazed when a mute, starving foundling is discovered outside their gates. With no recollection of her name or past, the girl soon realizes that her only hope of happiness lies in distant Caermalor, where a wise woman might be able to restore her memories. To get there, Imrhien must survive a wilderness of endless danger. Lost and pursued by unhuman wights, Imrhien is saved by Thorn, a mysterious, handsome ranger who becomes her protector-and the object of her hopeless love. But unknown to them, a dark force summons the Unseelie, and malignant hordes amass in the night.

My View
I have to start by saying aaaaaaaaah! This IMHO is fantasy at its best, I have read this before but, for some reason never got round to reading the other two in the trilogy so a perfect excuse for a re-read. If you have read any of the reviews of this book on Amazon I think this book is a perfect example of trying it yourself and making up your own mind. Yes it is long in parts and some may find it quite drawn out by Cecilia is such a word weaver I personally didn't find it drawn out at all.

There isn't a huge plot the book is essentially about a facially scarred mute who begins a journey to find someone to heal her and the book is mostly Imrhien's journey to find this healer.

Cecilia has created a truly magical world and she is one of my favourite authors (and I've only read this book, I guess that tells how much I love this!) so if after reading the reviews you thought to give this a miss please don't its easy to overlook this as a laboriously long read with not a huge plot within its pages but, you will be missing out on a beautifully written book!