Book Review- The Fire Opal

The Fire Opal by Regina McBride
Published by Delacorte Books
Released May 11, 2010
3 Stars- It was a good read.

Synopsis from (Random House Kids)There was a time when Maeve O'Tullagh led a simple life; a time when she and her mother, Nuala, collected kelp on the foreshore near their cottage in Ard Macha; a time when she played among the Celtic ruins with her older brothers and daydreamed about the legendary Holy Isles, an enchanted land ruled in a past age by a beautiful goddess.

But after Maeve's sister, Ishleen, is born, her mother sinks into a deep, impenetrable trance. For years, Maeve tries to help her mother "awaken," and then the unthinkable happens: Ishleen succumbs to the same mysterious ailment as Nuala.
Heartbroken to think that her sister and her mother might be lost to her forever, Maeve sets off on an unimaginable quest to a world filled with fantastical creatures, a web of secrets, a handsome, devious villain who will stop at nothing to have her hand in marriage—braving them all to retrieve a powerful glowing stone that will help her recover the souls of her loved ones and bring them home to Ard Macha.

It took me a little longer to really get into The Fire Opal, about 100 pages. The story takes place in Ireland in the late 16th century and has a bit of historical facts in it. The book is filled mainly with ancient folklore and mythology that I had never heard about before but was pretty interesting to read. There's plenty of magic in this one, and a lot of creepy sea creatures, and swans that turn into women.

Maeve the main character is a strong and brave heroine that after her mother and little sister go into a sort of trance she never gives up hope that she will find a way to get them both back to normal. Maeve can talk to their spirits and sees them in her dreams and the cold place where they are being kept but she can't figure out a way to get them out. At the same time she's trying to keep the obsessive and evil Tom Cavan away from her and her family, and let me tell you this guy is creepy and disgusting, he gave me the chills.

There are a lot of things happening in the story and characters that come into Maeve's life and it all seems to be connected somehow but you really don't know how until you get closer to the end of the book. There's only a little bit of romance, not much at all, the main focus of the story was Maeve trying to rescue her mother and sister's spirits and finding the Fire Opal to defeat the evil goddess that has been causing all the problems. The writing was very descriptive and even though I didn't have a problem picturing the beautiful setting I still had a hard time connecting with Maeve. The ending left me feeling like there were some things that weren't resolved and I'm wondering if there will be a sequel, if there is I'll definitely be picking it up. This was an enjoyable read that I would definitely recommend to those that love Irish Folklore and fantasy.