Ailsa is a 19 year old Hermit. Living a life of self-imposed isolation in a beach cave 5 years after her mother died, Ailsa has come to terms with her loneliness and convinced herself that she’s happy. Then she saves two selkies from ravagers and her life is flip turned upside down leading her to discover more about her own history.

In a world where Fae run rampant and the imprisonment of the evil faerie queen Nicnevan is perilous at best, Ailsa finds herself thrown into a quest to secure the throne for the royal family and protect her new friends from the powers that want to destroy them.

Logan has created a wonderful fantasy world, heavily influenced by Scottish Culture – kilts, bagpipes and thick Scottish accents abound, the Selkies themselves are named after Scottish Islands which don’t exist in this realm – and an engagingly grumpy heroine whose heavily foreshadowed destiny is much greater than she’s initially willing to accept.

There are a couple of minor problems, such as a relatively confusing backstory timeline that seems to give different time stamps every time it’s brought up and Harris, the younger of the two selkies that Ailsa rescues. His arrogance is more irritating that endearing, however there are enough hints that Harris’ main problem is immaturity that I’m hopeful he will grow out of his less likeable character traits and vindicate Ailsa’s faith in him.

But these are quibbles, and there are many many joys in this tale. The themes of family, both blood and found, which run through this are wonderful; there are themes of mental health and trauma; bullying and superstition and things not always being what they seem – be that monsters or people’s intentions. Groundwork is laid for what promises to be an epic multi-part tale. There are intriguing hints that Nicnevan may not be entirely bad, but rather wronged and misunderstood and perhaps even empathetic – I’m thinking Angelina Jolie’s Maleficient.

The initial characterisation and scene setting is sedate and then about half way through the story picks up a headspinning pace and revelations come thick and fast. Certainly enough is laid out to keep you excited for the next instalment and see what’s next for Ailsa. A real joy of a new Fantasy series. (AND IT HAS A MAP…and I LOVE MAPS!)

Thanks to Cranachan Books for letting me review this as part of their Blog Tour, and thanks to Caroline Logan for writing it!