I got on a role this weekend, thanks to some excellent books. I finally read O. R. Melling's The Hunter's Moon, which was excellent. It's the story of two cousins, one American, one Irish, who take off on a journey about Ireland to search for the world of Faerie. They find more than they bargain for when they sleep under a faerie mound and one is kidnapped by the King of Faerie.
For those of you not familiar with her, O. R. Melling is an Irish author whose series, The Chronicles of Faerie, are being published in the U.S. She has re-written the first three books in preparation for this release, so if you're already familiar with the Chronicles, you may still want to take a look at these new versions. The Hunter's Moon, the first in the series, is the only one so far released; the second, The Summer King, will be released in May. They are stories of the connection between our world and the world of Faerie, set in Ireland, where the veil between the two sometimes seems to be very thin. The covers are gorgeous; any fan of fantasy will be tempted by them and will be just as satisfied with what's inside.
Since Melling's novel put me in the mood for fantasy, I indulged myself by reading another of Tamora Pierce's series. I must admit, I've come to be a fan of hers late. Over the years, several students have recommended her books to me, but I never bought them at my previous position because there seemed to be so many, with so many different series, that I never took the time to sort them out and figure out what to buy. However, last winter, at my new job, we took a group of students to Barnes & Noble shopping for books, and they bought the Lioness Quartet and the Protector of the Small series. Since they were now in my library, I decided to take a look. I started with Alanna (the Lioness) and was hooked immediately; I couldn't put them down! We didn't have the Immortals series yet (next in order; all these series take place in the kingdom of Tortall and characters from each series appear in the next, so it's fun to read them in order - like bumping into old friends - although you don't have to), so I read Protector. Then, I stopped reading, although I bought the rest of her books for the library. I decided to save the others and savor them, instead of devouring all of them at once.
So, this weekend I took home the entire Immortals series and read the first three, mostly in one sitting ( I was terribly lazy yesterday!). I started the fourth during lunch today, and I know I won't go to bed tonight until it is done. The Immortals series is just as wonderful as the other two, and I'm considering re-reading the Protector series again just so I can run into Daine & Numair again. I haven't decided if I'm going to forge ahead with the two Daughter of the Lioness books, or save those for another time.