Could have been longer. :-) ( )

Cute, a bit shallow - well, it is a fairy tale retelling (variant - I don't think this one exists, exactly). She is abandoning her people, at the end, but it's not like she has much choice in the matter. And a Kelpie swan-man is going to be interesting...I wouldn't mind seeing these characters again, somewhere. ( )

Ariella lives a somewhat sheltered life in the family manor, under the watchful eye of old cousin Magda. Spending her free time in the forest, she discovers she has a talent for healing the woodland animals. Indeed, one day a handsome, wounded Kelpie, a water-living, magical creature in the shape of a horse, requires her assistance. Soon after, Ariella's world is shattered when tragedy befalls her father, and she is sent off to marry a horrible cousin. The River's Gift is filled with many, many predictable and clichéd story elements. However, for me it was a short, sweet escape from mundane reality during my lunch break. ( )