Book Review: The White Deer of Kildare (The Castle in Kilkenney, #2) by Christy Matheson

The White Deer of Kildare by Christy Matheson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Maura is swept back in time on the eve of the family's first winter solstice in Ireland.

The White Deer of Kildare is the second book in author Christy Matheson's The Castle in Kilkenney: Fairy Tales series featuring the melded Robinson family as they approach their first holiday season outside the U.S. and away from the children's father and the teens' mother. Everyone is settling into their new lives, and it's time for Aiden and Kaylee to travel back to Florida to spend the winter break with their mother. But this year, the kids are determined to continue guiding their own lives and refuse to board the plane. Maura understands their decision but worries about their mother's feelings. Roy, the father of all the children, is now threatening to go back to court and get custody of Oona and Oliver if she doesn't force the older ones to comply.

In the meantime, Oliver brings home a school friend, whom Maura has never met, along with his large pet, to spend the holidays with them at the castle. Maura soon discovers that Oisin's "deerhound," Saba, is really his mother, the former queen of their castle and wife to the legendary Finn mac Cumhaill, enchanted to take the form of one of the famed white deer of Celtic mythology. Although delighted by present times, Saba feels Maura could use a couple of ladies-in-waiting to help her run the household, so she crosses back in time to recruit some likely candidates to come to the future, taking Maura with her. However, while Saba can move between the centuries on her own, she has no real plan for returning Maura to her own time.

The story is a modern retelling of The White Deer and some of the tales of Finn mac Cumhaill. Apparently, the mentions of Saba are generally incomplete, so the author does a wonderfully creative job of filling the gaps in the emotional and tragic tale. Saba is a little naïve initially but stout-hearted and a true friend to Maura all the way to the end of the story. It will be interesting to see how Oisin's presence in the Robinson family is explained in future books. As for the question of the teens' holiday plans, I was glad to see how that played out in a satisfactory manner.

While this is the second book in the series, new readers can easily read and enjoy the story without having read the previous one; however, it really is not one to miss! I recommend THE WHITE DEER OF KILDARE to readers who enjoy contemporary retellings of classic fairy tales.

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advanced Review Copy from the author through Goddess Fish Promotions Book Tours.

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Book Review - The Horned Women: A Contemporary Retelling of an Irish fairy tale (The Castle of Kilkenney, #1) by Christy Matheson

The Horned Women by Christy Matheson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Eerie introduction to the Robinson family, Americans relocated to Ireland.

The Horned Women is the first book in author Christy Matheson’s The Castle in KilKenney series, contemporary retellings of some of Ireland’s most well-known fairy tales. When Maura divorced her cheating husband, Roy, she not only gained full custody of their two small children and an ancient castle in Ireland but, out of the blue, his teenage son and daughter from a previous marriage also applied to the judge to live with her as well. Soon, Maura finds herself a divorced mother of four living in her dream setting, although the dilapidated Irish castle requires some work to bring it up to standards, hopefully at Roy’s expense. As the merged family settles in, there are some bumps along the way, especially with spoiled teenager Kaylee, who appears to have been completely ignored by her parents for most of her young life.

After the children are in bed, Maura turns to needlework for relaxation. One evening, a strange old woman with a single horn growing from her forehead barges into the great room uninvited and, without a word, begins carding wool. She is joined one after another by eleven more old women, each with one more horn than the one that came before her, all with evil intentions in mind. Using her wits and knowledge of Irish folklore and with the much-needed assistance from a surprising source, she must figure out a way to banish the horned women from the castle for good and protect all her children.

The young family and how they are adapting to each other and their new life without their father is the heart of this story. Maura loves her own children, Oona and Oliver, but until the divorce, she had little interaction with the older two, which makes their request to the judge all the more unexpected. It seems their father and mother are real pieces of work, intent on their own desires, leaving their two children to grow up alone and unwanted. Despite this, Aiden is quickly growing into a kind, considerate young man; however, Kaylee, the daughter, has suffered from the lack of parental love and affection, something Aiden may have recognized and prompted his unusual request. The mystical intrusion of the fairy tale into Maura’s present time reveals how she’s gradually come to love the older two like her own.

I recommend THE HORNED WOMEN to readers who enjoy scary fairy tale retellings.

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