"This one is even better than the first!"
For this story, we're back in Partholon with Oklahoma high
school English teacher Shannon Parker turned Beloved of
Epona. Only now, her centaur husband, ClanFintan, has been
gone for a while trying to put the kingdom back to rights
after their war with the Fomorians. Not only loneliness is
bothering Rhea, as she's called in Partholon, she's also
catching glimpses of something black and evil out of the
corner of her eye and food has lost its appeal. And not
only food, but the fruit of the grape as well. When the
warriors return, everyone in Epona's temple celebrates with
a feast. While trying to keep her meal of rice down, as
everyone else is eating all kinds of wonderful foods, Rhea
manages to projectile vomit all over Alanna, her
handmaiden, and her doctor. It turns out Rhea is pregnant
and will give birth to a daughter, as the Beloved of Epona
always has a daughter as her firstborn. Now everyone is
ecstatic with the news. Of course, Epi, Rhea's white mare,
is a bit on the anxious side since she's due to be bred and
the only thing that seems to calm her is when Rhea takes
her out for a ride. So with Rhea mounted on Epi, and
ClanFintan alongside, they go for a ride. Rhea has learned
to give Epi her head and Epi heads somewhere Rhea hasn't
been before. They end up in a glade and stop to get a
drink. Epi is acting a bit strange and ClanFintan is
exceptionally alert due to the mare's behavior. When Rhea
spots some trees on the other side of the glade which
remind her of home, she feels pulled to them. When she puts
her hands on them, she feels herself being pulled into
another world. Just like when Shannon ended up in Partholon, she blacked
out and when she comes to, she finds herself in bed with a
man sitting in a chair close by. This isn't any man either,
his face is the same as ClanFintan. It turns out his name
is Clint Freeman and he's the one who pulled her back to
Oklahoma. Not surprisingly, Shannon's only goal now is to
get back to Partholon. When she feels up to it, Clint takes
her to a grove which looks just like the one in Partholon.
On the way to the grove, the trees begin to talk to Shannon
and she can feel an energy whenever she touches one of
them. The two of them decide to both touch the tree and try
to send Shannon back. They try and Shannon sees none other
than her old nemesis, Nuada of the Fomorians. Now he's
coming to Oklahoma and vows to destroy everyone Shannon
loves. The strange thing is Nuada claims Shannon has called
him and brought him back from the dead. Not only that,
Clint tells Shannon that Rhiannon is now rich and making a
lot
of money by dealing drugs. Will Shannon ever get back to Partholon? Will she want to?
Exactly what is Rhiannon up to? Will Nuada succeed in
killing everyone Shannon cares about? DIVINE BY CHOICE is an excellent sequel. P.C. Cast once
again proves her talent in this highly entertaining story.
In this story, Shannon gets to see exactly what Rhiannon
did with her life as an underpaid teacher. Not only is her
condo gone, but Rhiannon was mean and nasty to Shannon's
step-mother and her best friend. But Shannon isn't alone;
her Goddess hasn't forsaken her and still advises her. She
also has the temptation of her husband's mirror image in
Oklahoma to deal with, and it's obvious Clint is in love
with her and is just as noble and caring as her husband.
How Clint and Rhiannon and Shannon end the conflict truly
makes this story something special and one I will never
forget. This is one story you don't want to miss!
Reviewed by Chere Gruver
Posted November 28, 2006
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After being mistaken for a goddess in the mythic world of Partholon, high school English teacher Shannon Parker settled in. She adores her sexy centaur husband, is getting used to her connection to the powerful goddess Epona and thoroughly enjoys the pampering from both! All is looking very right in her world…until she is wrenched from Partholon and sent back to Oklahoma. As she struggles to return to the world and the husband she loves, Shannon discovers she is not alone. A great evil has followed her. Now more than just Shannon's future is at stake, and she needs to somehow tap into our world's dormant magic. Her only ally is her husband's mirror image in Oklahoma--a man who loves her too much. Shannon must figure out a way to vanquish the ancient evil and not lose her life, her soul or her heart. Along the way she discovers that being divine by mistake is a lot easier than being divine by choice….
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