Cirrus@Austlit

'Southwest Britain, AD 43.

'For the people of Caer Cad, ‘skin’ is their belief, their greeting, their ancestors, their land.

'Ailia does not have skin. Abandoned at birth, she serves the Tribequeen of her township. Ailia is forbidden to marry, left out of tribal ceremonies and, most devastatingly, barred from attending lessons. But an encounter with a mysterious fish sets her on another path. The Mothers, the tribal ancestors, have chosen her to become their highest knowledge-bearer—the Kendra.

'Lured by the beautiful and enigmatic Taliesin, who appears to her as both man and fish, Ailia embarks on an unsanctioned journey to attain the knowledge that will protect her people from the most terrifying invaders they have ever faced.

'Set in Iron-Age Britain, on the cusp of Roman invasion, Skin is a thrilling, full-blooded, mesmerizing novel about the collision of two worlds, and a young woman torn between two men.' (Publication summary)

'When Maeve, twenty year old daughter of Lord Sean of Sevenwaters, accompanies a skittish horse back to Erin, she must confront her demons. For Maeve carries the legacy of a childhood fire in her crippled hands. She has lived with her aunt in Britain for ten years, developing a special gift for gentling difficult animals.

'Maeve arrives home to find Sevenwaters in turmoil. The forest surrounding her father's keep also has uncanny inhabitants, including a community of Fair Folk. Now the fey prince Mac Dara has become desperate to see his only son return to the Otherworld to rule after him. To force Sean's hand, Mac Dara has made innocent travellers on the Sevenwaters border disappear, and now their bodies are appearing one by one in bizarre circumstances. Mac Dara's malign activities must be stopped. But how? What human army can defeat a force with magic at its fingertips?

'Maeve's gift with animals earns her respect at Sevenwaters. She bonds with her enigmatic small brother, Finbar, his druid tutor Luachan, and two stray dogs. When Maeve discovers the body of one of the missing men, she and Finbar are drawn into a journey where the stakes are high: they may bring about the end of Mac Dara's reign, or suffer a hideous death. For Maeve, success may lead to a future she has not dared to believe possible.' (Publisher's blurb)

'Sibeal has always known that she is destined for a spiritual life, and is committed to it with all her heart. The only thing left for her to do before she enters the nemetons is to spend the summer visiting her sisters, Muirrin and Clodagh, on the northern island of Inis Eala.

'But Sibeal has barely set foot on the island before a freak storm out at sea sinks a ship before her eyes. In spite of frantic efforts, only three survivors are fished alive from the water, and one of them, a man Sibeal names Ardal, clings to life by the merest thread.

'Life continues on the island, as it must, and Sibeal befriends Ardal as he begins to regain his health. But it becomes clear there is something unusual about the three shipwrecked strangers. Why won't the beautiful Svala speak? And what is it that the gravely ill Ardal can't remember - or won't tell? When a visiting warrior is found dead at the bottom of a cliff, and an attempt is made on Ardal's life, Sibeal finds herself a pawn in a deadly game. The truth will be far more astonishing than she could ever have believed - and the consequences for Sibeal unimaginable.' (From the publisher's website.)

'The chieftains of Sevenwaters have long been custodians of a vast forest, said by some to be one of the last refuges of the Tuatha De Danann, the Fair Folk of ancient story. Whatever the truth, Human and Otherworld dwellers have existed side by side in peace, sharing a wary trust. Until the spring when Lady Aisling of Sevenwaters finds herself expecting another child, and everything changes.

'With her mother pregnant, Clodagh fears for her health, as Aisling is well past the safe age for childbearing. Her father, Lord Sean of Sevenwaters, son of the famous Sorcha who performed her miraculous sacrifice all those years ago, faces his own difficulties, as warring factions threaten his borders. When Aisling gives birth, the responsibility of caring for the infant falls to Clodagh while her mother recovers.

'Then the family's joy turns to despair when an unspeakable horror falls upon Sevenwaters. Clodagh must finally confront the shadowy mystery of the silent forest and descend to the Otherworld, to find out why the trust between the two realms has been broken so tragically.

'Accompanied on her quest by a warrior of uncertain allegiance, Clodagh will have her courage tested to breaking point. The reward may be far greater than she ever dreamed...' (Publisher's blurb)