This is one of those books that make the "like/not like" rating here very hard to take seriously. When reading it I felt very torn. I certainly didn't "like" most of the parts, but some were quite amazing.

On the one hand it is a beautifully detailed version of an old fairy-tale set in a magical version of Ireland (with some annoying historical mistakes), on the other hand it is a story about a girl experiencing pain - a lot of pain over and over and over again. Sorcha being 13 years old when she is raped doesn't help, but at least that episode is mercifully short and appropriately non-voyeuristic. But from page 50 or so onwards to page 300, there is an ever-increasing amount of pain, both physical and emotional heaped on the poor protagonist. What's worse, the only positive characters to rely on are her brothers - and they are taken away relatively early, of course.

Indeed, with one exception there is no female character that helps her along unambiguously. Except for that one short episode Sorcha is only helped and supported by men - despite fearing them after her rape. The main villain of the piece is the stereotypical evil step-mother, a sorceress. Her brother's betrothed is so negligible she's almost invisible and used as a commodity. The nuns are impersonal, the maidservant not on her level, the lady of the house in England cold and distant. While the book feels realistic in some regards - e.g. recovering from trauma - it is kind of creepy in the way that Sorcha does not find any non-supernatural female allies who stay with her. Also the love interest, while not without charm has a creepy edge to it.

Add to that mistakes like druids famed for writing, turkeys in Europe and an overpowering sense of racism that was certainly unknown in the time period and you have a book that leaves a bit of a bitter taste behind, even though it takes you very much into its world.