The White Deer of Kildare by Christy MathesonMy 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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