Brighid's Quest

I received this book as part of the Early Reviewers program. I'm going to have to give it a "DNF" or "Did Not Finish." I'm about 150 pages in and quite frankly, bored out of my skull. Not to mention, slightly grossed out when I read the other reviews and found out this is a romance between a female centaur and a human male.

There is nothing about this book that makes me want to KEEP reading. Over a hundred pages in, thirteen chapters in, and there is no conflict. I don't especially care about any of the characters.

Also, every so often the author throws me out of the narrative by using very modern language suddenly out of nowhere in this very high fantasy type world. For example, Brighid says to another character: "Oh, don't go all happy show more on me." Hello?

Lastly, I downloaded this book and put it on my Sony Pocket Reader. The font was small so I pumped it up to the next size. The formatting is absolutely awful. Sentences and words run into each other. Spacing means nothing. You'd think a professionally put together ebook would have better support, especially when I can read a PDF file I converted and not have a single one of these formatting issues. This leads me to think the problem is with the publishing company and NOT the Sony Reader. show less

In the final novel in the Parthalon series, Centuar Huntress Brighid embarks on a quest to retrieve her friend and chieftain's brother, Cuchulainn and repair his soul after the loss of his betrothed. Brighid must choose to embrace the shaman powers she's been denying in order to save her friend. She must also struggle with her desire for the human man, and her guilt over betraying her late friend by loving him.
Cast's world of Partholon is so vibrant and well built, leaving open myriad possibilities for future stories set there. Her characters are strong and capable, both male and female, and overcome both internal and external conflicts. Even the "villains" aren't always completely beyond redemption. I highly recommend this whole series.

My Synopsis:

Brighid's Quest (Partholon series - Book 2) by P.C. Cast

(For review from Harlequin Teen)

Brighid Dihanna the Huntress for Clan Macallen, is asked by the Chieftain of the clan, Elphame to go to the Wastelands in search of Elphame's brother, who is leading a group of outcasts to their new home in Partholon. When Brighid finds Cuchulain, she begins to understand that Cu's soul has been shattered by the death of this lover, Brenna. Unable to deal with her death he has lost a part of himself that he may never regain without her help.

The Fomorian's have long been outcasts because of their demon blood. When Elphame sacrificed herself and took on the madness within their blood they became new. Now the Fomorian's will enter Partholon show more and try to find a place in a land that believes they are capable of anything. But, with the help of Brighid and Cuchulain the Partholonians begin to see that the New Fomorian's are so much more than they could have known.

Brighid must face her past as she quest's to take her place as High Shaman and leader of centaurs. She must undo the damage created by her mother when she could not control her hunger for power. Will Cuchulain find the shattered part of his soul and love again? Can Brighid find the Chalice of Epona the beloved Goddess and drink before her brother seals the fate of the centaur herd. Will the New Fomorian's find a home or another prison in Partholon?

My Thoughts:

Brighid's Quest is the second book in the Partholon series. This is the first book I have read by author P.C Cast. I had heard many good reviews of the Divine series also by P.C. Cast and was excited when I got the opportunity to review this book. I was certainly not disappointed. I don't usually go for novels that are what I would term "fantasy" even though I do like the paranormal. This book would have to be an exception. I really liked the world that P.C. Cast has created in this novel. Partholon is full of different creatures from centaurs to demon's with wings and yet it has features we would expect of any world, like waterfalls and rolling hills, and the plains.

There were several themes going on in this book. Brighid's quest was about so much more than drinking from the chalice and becoming the High Shaman. It delved into overcoming your past and making choices to break the cycle, when Brighid must figure out how to use the same power wisely that drove her mother crazy with the hunger for more. The book also dealt with the issue of what happens to a person's soul when they experience not only trauma but deep and agonizing grief, when we see Cu's battle to get over Brenna's horrifying death. Another theme in the book was tolerance and being able to look at a what's inside of a person and not judging them on what others like them may have done, with the New Formorian's entry into Partholon. So, this book may have been fantasy but there was whole lot of reality going on it.

Author, P.C. Cast has done an excellent job with this book and I was really impressed. I going to give this one 5 out of 5 apples from my book bag! show less

When we last left our heroes; Cuchulainn was in mourning for Brenna and Elphame had mostly defeated the evil in the blood of the Formorians (don't get me started on the issues I have with inherited evil). Now Cuchulainn is on a quest to bring the Formorians to Castle MacCallan. Brighid decides to join him, along the way she discovers more about herself and about her future and as she goes she has to make some very hard decisions.

It's not a bad story and the shaman stuff was actually interesting to me. I do have issues with inherited/inborn evil and she does set up for the next book. Not deep but diverting.

This book in the Parthanon series felt very different than the rest of the series for some reason. It was sort of slow and it jammed all the action in the last tiny bit. Ms. Cast stays true to totally and brutally exposing her characters to emotions, which is a great thing, it makes them feel way more real.

The story line is good but as I said, starts out slow and then it packs the action to the end of the story, I couldn't get a feeling about where I was in the story and the climax wasn't obvious until I actually thought about it after closing the book. I did fall in love with all the characters, Ms. Cast writes them so real that is hard to separate yourself from them and they stick with you long after you are done with the story. The show more charachters just seem like they can walk right out of the page and after reading the rest of the Parthanon series the world of Partanon just seemed all that more real to me as well. I hope there is another book in this series and Ms. Cast left the end totally open for one, so I guess...we shall see. show less

I liked this better than Elphame's Choice. Even though I did end up liking Elphame's choice in the end. In this book I thought the character of Brighid was more real and I really liked how she developed throughout the novel. I also liked that both Brighid and Cu had big issues to overcome. In many ways this book wraps up the stories of the new Formorians reintegration into the world. But of course, it leaves the door open for other books too. The only reason I'm not giving this a 5 star is because, like Elphame's Choice, it relied heavily on emotion (which was great) but I also wanted more action or tension built in beyond the primary relationship. I'd still recommend it though--particularly to the YA set.

I received this book as an Early Review copy and didn't know it was a romance/Harlequin Teen novel. I was reluctant to read it but, as with some of the other books I've received, I decided to give "Brighid's Quest" a fair chance.

While "Brighid's Quest" is a "typical, old school fantasy" (to quote another reviewer) and not particularly literary, I don't think the author intended it to be anything more than what it is. This novel is escapist entertainment and geared for teens/young adults. Melodrama comes with the territory! Cast writes in a way that I can compare to Stephenie Meyer, but Cast's female characters appear to be stronger, more independent and more self sufficient. As is expected with a Harlequin Teen novel, this one includes show more more naughty bits than Meyer's books but is no more graphic than what can be seen on T.V.
I think there is enough variety in Cast's characters that this storyline won't become as repetitive and tiresome in its progression as the Twilight series. If I were to place this novel on a scale of teen fantasy I would place it somewhere between the Twilight novels and the Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare. None of these novels are what I would call literary, but they are entertaining and fun to read. I think there is value in books that are purely for entertainment.

While the first novel in the series may have helped me understand the characters' personalities more deeply, I don't feel like I missed anything by reading this mid-series. The book was a fairly easy read but, because of some of the more mature subject matter, I wouldn't place it below Young Adult. Reading abilities vary greatly and the fact that this book is an easy read does not detract from the entertainment value of the story. show less