"Fantastic Retelling of an old Celtic Myth!"
Nolan Tremaine is a fisherman in the village of Baile Beag
and a rather successful one at that. Of course, that’s not
good enough for Nolan, and he has developed a tendency to
tell tall tales. So when he meets a stranger in the local
pub, he doesn’t hesitate to tell another of his stories.
When the stranger tells Nolan he is from the land of
Connachta, Nolan says he’s been there and ends up agreeing
to travel there to bring back the Blessed Bell of
Bellarmine in proof. Foolishly, Nolan has agreed if he
doesn’t bring back the Bell, he will give everything he
owns to the stranger and he has only one month to
accomplish this goal. So off Nolan goes to faraway
Connachta. When he finally lands, he runs across an old
woman who tells him the way to get to the castle. Once at
the castle, Nolan is shocked to find the Blessed Belle of
Bellarmine is none other than the princess! And everyone is celebrating her marriage to an evil mage.
Everyone that is, but the princess herself. It turns out
the princess is not happy at all and has no desire to wed
the evil mage, but it is the only way to remove the curse.
The mage has cursed her kingdom with infertility and he
will only lift the curse if the princess will marry him.
So when a stranger approaches her and takes her away from
the ballroom, Leslie doesn’t fight. She even agrees to go
with him on his boat. The sea becomes rough and they end up on an island with
the evil mage. The evil mage puts a spell on Leslie and
takes away her voice. When Noland calls for the god of the
sea three times, Mannanan shows up and does away with the
mage. For some reason, Leslie still can’t speak. Mannanan
tells the two to leave because soon, the island will be
reclaimed by the sea. So off they go. Will Leslie ever get her voice back? What of the growing
attraction between the two? Will Nolan take Leslie back to
the pub in order to keep his belongings, or will he return
her to Connachta? Is there a future for a fisherman and a
princess? THE PRINCESS AND THE CURSE is a thrilling retelling of a
Celtic myth. S.A. Martin has done a wonderful job of
bringing this story to life. We have a man and a woman of
totally different social status brought together through
unusual circumstances and wondering about the possibility
of a future. We have a Celtic god, a good witch, and even
an evil mage brought into the mix. S.A. Martin always does
a wonderful job when she writes a story and this one is no
exception, right down to the heartfelt sigh at the end.
Reviewed by Chere Gruver
Posted January 1, 2007
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