Guardian of the Promise: Merlin's Descendants #4 (original 2003; edition 2004)

This is book 4 of Merlin's Descendants. This story starts in 1572. Deirdre is the daughter of Griffin and Roanna. Griffin was a Catholic priest, the Merlin and the Pendragon. Roanna was a witch who housed a demon. Deirdre has been raised by her Uncle Donovan along with her cousins Betsy, Griffin and Hal. One of them will become the next Pendragon of Britain. Hal and Betsy go on a journey to France to stop a massacre that is to occur at the coronation of Henri III. Hal ends up being turned into a werewolf by El Lobison and Yassimine (who is a werewolf). Betsy and Dee end up going to court to attend Queen Elizabeth. In the meantime Donovan is still in love with the exiled Queen Mary of Scots. There is a vision of a war between Spain and England as the result of the execution of Queen Mary of Scots. Deirdre will have to join with her family and call upon the creatures of the otherworld to try to prevent this war.

I have not read all the other books in this series but I have read book number 3 which is directly before this one so I had a good background knowledge on these characters. The author did a good job of providing enough information that the reader could probably get through this book OK without having read the others. I had a hard time getting into the story but it picked up about 1/3 of the way through. I also had trouble keeping up with the timeline even though the year and place is provided at the beginning of each chapter. Time would progress sometimes quickly and I had no idea how old these characters were. There was a lot going on in this book and a lot of individual story lines going on at the same time but I didn't have a problem keeping up with that. I enjoyed seeing Hal and Deirdre grow up and I liked how the story ended overall, but there were some major characters lost at the end of this book. A good fantasy read with a lot of historical aspects thrown in with the werewolves, faeries and elves.

I received this ebook free through LibraryThing Early Reviewers in exchange for an honest review. ( )

Received this book as a early reviewers, knowing that this was a later book, went and found the first few to read first in case the book hinged on knowing backstory. It was a good book, I was hooked the first few pages. I loved the mix of history and fantasy. Would recommend to a friend. ( )

The year is 1572, Mary Queen of Scots is imprisoned in England and trying to overthrow Queen Elizabeth I. Deidre is the illegitimate offspring of when her mother, Roanna Douglas, possessed by the Demon of Chaos, seduced her father, Doug Kirkwood. Both parents dead, she lives with her Uncle Donovan, her father's twin, and his family. There, she's been training ot be chosen as the Pendragon, the magical advisor to the queen. Her uncle fear, however, that Dee was affected by her mother's possession. Recently, France has a new king in power and he is being influenced by an evil astir named De Guise. De Guise, with the use of the king and werewolves threatens to take over England and possibly restart the "holy war" that killed her father 2 years ago. Can Deirdre find a way to stop the past from happening again?

Overall, I like this book. The language was a little hard to follow at first, but is accurate for the time period this book takes place in. The book spans a 16 year period, so the time period jumps in each chapter were a little confusing even when you read the chapter headings. The characters were likable, and the magical elements and creatures were fun, especially the fairies and demons. The best part of the books was the entertaining non-stop action. I would recommend this book to any readers who like fantasy, King Arthur, magic, action, adventure, and books that take place in England, but would highly recommend reading the other books in the series first. ( )

I received this ebook free from the LibraryThings early reviewer program. This is the fourth book in a series of novels focusing on the mythical bloodline of Merlin. As this was the fourth book, I decided when I received it that I would find and download the first three in the series. I hate coming in to the middle of a series. I have already posted my reviews of the prior three books. This story is set about 13 years after “Guardian of the Vision,” which places the story in the 16th century, it is about the children of Griffin and Donovan Kirkwood, whom were the protagonists of “Guardian of the Vision.” The main protagonist is Deidre (Dee) Kirkwood the illegitimate daughter of Griffin Kirkwood and Roanna Douglas. Unlike the prior books in this series, to know what is happening, the reader really does need to read at least the third book if not the entire series first. In this installment Elizabeth still rules and England is plagued by werewolves. There is confusion as to who will be the next Pendragon, Dee or one of her Cousins Hal (whom Dee is in love with) or her other cousin Betsy (who is insane). This book spans a 16 year period and we see Dee, Hal and Betsy grow from pre-teens to adults. The Antagonist is Meneur de Loups more commonly known as El Lobison and his pet Werewolf Yassmine.

Many of the characters from “Guardian of the Vision” return in this book, so it was nice to know the backstory, although I suppose maybe if I hadn’t read the earlier novels this one wouldn’t have seemed so tedious. This book took me 2 tries and 4 months to read, I was just unable to focus on the story and had to take copious notes to not forget what happened from one chapter to the next. I think Radford made the same mistake in this book as she did in “Guardian of the Vision,” instead of focusing on and developing one character she spread herself to thin developing multiple characters. Radford had Dees storyline, Hal’s storyline, Betsy’s storyline, Donavan’s Storyline and Yassmine’s storyline. It was too much. I was unable to connect to any of the characters, they were all too shallow. What I really liked about the first two books in the series (which focused on a single protagonist) was that Radford went deeply into the characters, I connected to them. These last two books the characters are like shadows, an outline of what they could be with not enough detail to really see them. Also Radford dwelled too much on the history and not enough on the story. I like having historical facts being part of the story, but if I want to read only historical events and details I’ll pick up a history book.

Overall I give this book a 1 star. I have also received the fifth installment in this series through the LibraryThing early reviewer program, but I am not looking forward to reading it. I’m hoping Radford goes back to her writing style of the first two books, but I wouldn’t place money on it. ( )

Loved this book!! I got this free with a promise to review, and it was an amazing read, at least for me. It combines elements of Elizabethan English history (and her research and history are excellent!) as well as Arthurian legend with fantasy/magic to bring an interesting perspective to that era of British politics. Her characters are well rounded and her narrative style flows easily making the book very readable. There were some places where I struggled to understand all the interactions of the characters, but that is due primarily, I think, to the fact that this is book 4 in a series and I have not read the first three. But I enjoyed this one so much that I will read the rest now. The book appeals to me on multiple levels: her historical research and knowledge make the setting believable and contribute to the realism of her setting. She builds on Arthur and Merlin legends to bring a touch of legend to history, and then she sprinkles in a magical family who is ties to both Arthur and Merlin and who help the destiny of Elizabeth and influence the "holy war" between Protestant and Catholic. But there is evil astir, mixing up the politics and religion with a confusing threat and a desire to world dominance. Some of the heroic family whose destiny is to guard Britain and Queen get lost in their own desires, some get lost to the evil that threatens the land, and some overcome travail and turmoil to be victorious. While much of the plot is fantasy, the history is real and the struggles of the characters are struggles that many of us could easily relate to, no matter the era or time. Very well done, and I am glad to have an opportunity to read. I will be reading the rest of the series! ( )