Brighid's Quest by P.C. Cast

Brighid Dhianna is the huntress of Clan MacCallan. The Clan has recently gone through many changes, not the least of which is the Clan Leader, Elphame, ridding the Foromorians of the curse in their blood. The Formorians, or the New Formorians, as they call themselves, are half demon, half-human, descendants of the creatures that descended upon Partholon over a hundred years ago. After attempting to conquer the land, they attacked the temple of the muses and carried off many of the priestesses there, whom they raped and impregnated, seeking to breed more of themselves.

Before their plans could come to fruition, they were defeated, but the women they kidnapped prayed to Epona, the goddess, and survived their pregnancies, which usually killed them. Seeing their children, they felt that they could raise them as humans, not demons, and never returned to Partholon. But their children were troubled by the blood of their fathers, which whispered to them of madness and blood and death, and many killed themselves before they went mad.

When Lochlan, leader of the new Formorians, went to Elphame for help, she sacrificed part of her human self to take the madness of the Formorians into herself, where it was quelled by Epona's magic. During the last battle, Elphame's brother Cuchulainn's lover, Brenna the healer, was killed by a formorian turned to madness, Fallon. After, he left the castle to bring the rest of the Formorians back to MacCallan castle.

Elphame is worried about him, and since she cannot go herself, she sends Brighid to go find him and watch over him. Brighid does so for the sake of her friend. Along the way, Brighid recieves messages from her mother. She has never told anyone, but she is the eldest daughter of Mairerad Dhianna, High Shaman of the Dhianna herd, the one who was supposed to follow her mother as High Shaman. But after the death of her father, Brighid's mother became obsessed with power, and so drove away Brighid. Her mother also has a great dislike of humans, a dislike Brighid doesn't feel. Instead of a shaman, Brighid became a huntress and never looked back.

Now, looking after Cuchulainn, or Cu, as he is known, she becomes aware that something is terribly wrong with him. Ciara, shaman of the New Formorians, tells her that Cu's spirit is shattered by Brenna's death, and only Brighid can reunite the shattered parts of his self and make him whole again. Brighid is afraid of the power of the shaman, afraid it will corrupt her like it corrupted her mother. But she cannot leave Cu, who is one of her best friends, broken, either.

But Brighid may have to do more than just restore Cu's lost spirit to restore the Balance in Partholon. Indeed, she may have to follow her mother's path to prevent a war between the Centaurs she was born to and the clan she loves. Can she avoid becoming the thing she despises in the process?

P.C. Cast is one of the best romance writers I have ever read, and this book is no exception. We return to the land of Partholon, setting of her books "Divine by Mistake", "Divine by Choice", "Divine by Blood" and "Elphame's Choice". Brighid is a strong heroine forced by fate to rethink her choice and her path, and P.C. Cast brings us with her every step of the way.

The world is large and fully realized, appearing as real as the one the reader sees and lives in every day. The writing is sensual in that every sense is fully represented and used to show off the world of Partholon. The story reaches out and draws you in, and there is no wasted pages or scenes. A sequel is hinted at, but as far as I know, not yet written or published.

Nevertheless, this is a book that you will enjoy rereading over and over and over again. A fine example of both romance and fantasy world-building. A keeper, for me.