The Moonstone by Nikki Broadwell

• Paperback
• Publisher: Airmid Publishing (4 Feb 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0615534724
• ISBN-13: 978-0615534725

Finna’s mother is dead. So why is this woman standing on her stoop claiming to be just that? Catriona arrives bearing a gift—a luminous moonstone that holds the secrets to Finna’s heritage. What heritage? Catriona insists that the two of them must journey to the castle of the Celtic moon goddess, Arianrhod. Moon goddess? The story Catriona weaves is preposterous. A parallel reality, known as the ‘Otherworld’, exists next to this one. According to her, this place has no electricity, cars or any other modern conveniences. “The moonstone will show the way,” Catriona intones cryptically. Newly pregnant Finna is naturally skeptical. Where has this woman been for the past eighteen years? And why would her father lie about her mother’s death? All her instincts tell her to stay put during this critical time. But Catriona is uncannily persuasive, convincing her despite Finna’s misgivings. What a trip through this alternate reality really means, and the secrets Catriona reveals about their family and the baby Finna carries, have Finna questioning everything she has ever known. With her life and that of her unborn child in jeopardy, Finna must find a way to survive.

Synopsis from Amazon U.K

Having received this book for review I started to read it straight away. I was instantly transported to the 1980's and into the main character Finna's life. Having become pregnant after a terrible experience she receives a knock on the door from her 'deceased' mother and is given a family heirloom in the form of the Moonstone which is central to the sstory. We are then, through the Authors narrative taken on an amazing journey through the 'Otherworld' where we encounted all sorts of wonderfully magical beings and unexpected twists and turns. Being Scottish myself I found the dialect very easy to understand and I also thought this brought the character of Catriona to life and gave me a better understanding of the life she leads. I would have liked more mention of The Moonstone itself and I would also have liked to delve more into the history of some of the strange creatures encountered throughout the book, but this is more a personal prefrence than me complaining. I felt that Finna's thoughts and feelings were very well described and on more than one occassion I felt compelled to yell at the book for Finna to tell her mother Catriona how she was really feeling about all the bizarre going ons she was experiencin. The 'Otherworld' was described so well it actually felt to me like it was a real place I could go to, I was transported there everytime I lifted the book and I could really smell the herby concoctions Catriona was giving Finna to keep her well. All in all I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I am eagerly awaiting the arrival of book 2 in August.


                              

*Originally Reviewed in March 2012, I updated this review as I had decided to start my blogging career*