Ancasta ~ Guide me Swiftly Home
The Riduna Series, 2
by Diana Jackson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Reviewed for +Readers' Favorite
Ancasta is the continuation of the family saga that began in Riduna. Harriet is now a widow with four grown children. Edward is still traveling the seas enjoying his freedom. As the world starts to change and a war looms and progress, follow the former childhood friends and sweethearts as they deal with the ravages and realities of war in England. No one is untouched by the war, as Harriet will watch her twin sons both volunteer for service along with her daughter's husband. It will also be a time to reunite with old friends, Jane, that she had lost touch with who will become the steady rock of a friend that Harriet leaned on before she had Joe, and now with Joe gone, Jane will again become that rock. Diana Jackson doesn't pull any pushes with the tragidies and realities of the war and what it was like, still that does not diminish the glow of the story of a family once again facing the idea that dreams change and live goes on.
First Riduna and then Ancasta, these two books follow Harriet and Edward, who always thought their path in life would be together, but the realities of life was that it was not to be, finally in their retirement years are they able to realize that it wasn't them who changed but the world around them and the things than happened to them to make the dreams change. Diana Jackson weaves a story that is real and true and makes you feel that you are right there living it. It is a wonderful mix of the romance and realities of life with some of the technology advances of the historical time period of the novel. It is defintely a novel of moving on and never giving up, any reader will enjoy.
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Riduna
The Riduna Series, 1
by Diana Jackson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Reviewed for +Readers' Favorite .
Harriet always thought she had her simple life planned out. She would grow up on Riduna, marry and raise a family never leaving her tiny island home. Sometimes dreams aren't enough to face the realities of life, and the harsh realities of life can change even the best of dreams. Edward grwe up next door to Harriet and he had always dreamed of traveling, going to sea and adventuring but he always thought he would come back to the safe port of home in Riduna, and Harriet. When tragedies occur and Edward is far at sea and nowhere to be the rock that Harriet needs, his cousin Joe becomes her rock and protector. Riduna follows these three people through life and the developments of the world and war and all the changes that occur to change all of their dreams. Diana Jackson does a wonderful job of giving a family saga that touches your heart with love and heartache. You become involved in the family and want to know more and want to see what occurs.
Riduna is such a small island, but among the friends we met in the beginng, some can't wait to leave, some can never see leaving, and some who never planned to leave find things that they have no control over can change even the best of plans. Diana Jackson is a great writer and develops a wonderful story that has you feeling part of the lives of these people. You can almost imagine yourself on the island of Riduna right in their lives. There are historical events that truly occured mixed into the story that makes it feel even more real, and like this could really be someone's actual life. This is a great book, the first of two book in the series, and would be a wonderful read for anyone of interest.
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Dark Witch
by Nora Roberts
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Nora Roberts is known for her wonderful Irish magic novels. She has written a number that are set in Ireland, involve some magic that has been passed down through the generations and needs a new set of people to hopefully correct a wrong from long ago.
Dark Witch came out around Halloween of 2013 and starts in the year 1263, a long, long time ago. Socha is a dark witch, and no that is not a bad thing. In this context the dark witch is not evil, but one who protects and heals those of the village are castle during that time period. Socha's man, Daithi is off at war, and she is home with their three children. Brannaugh is the oldest and has her mother's abilities and temperament. She will be a great healer one day. Eamon is the middle child and only boy, and he has his own way with birds, specifically Falcons. Teagan is the youngest child, a daughter and only three when the story starts, but if full of magic even at that young age.
The evil sorcerer Cabhan is greedy and power hungry. He wants Socha's power and he thinks he can tempt her into giving it over to him. Socha is a mother above all and she is not falling for his lies, she is set to protect her children. She passes her magic down to her children, dividing it among the three, not giving it all to one and then sets to defeat Cabhan. She tricks him, and poisons them both, she willingly gave her life to protect her children and to end Cabhan, only it's not over.
750 years later, modern day Ireland and the story picks up as three descendants, one of each of Socha's children must come together to defeat Cabhan.
The beauty of Ireland, seen through the eyes of an innocent and naive girl who is left in wonder of the county. The magic that is just accepted as part of your being without question, and the quest to save the world. All themes that Nora Roberts is known for and does so well, are present in this novel. It will become the first book in a trilogy, the Cousins O'Dwyer series.
If you like The Three Sisters Island Trilogy, or the Dreams Trilogy, or well just about any Nora Roberts book, you will once again find yourself at the mercy of her storytelling abilities.
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