Mother Ocean, Daughter Sea

by Diana Marcellas

The shari’a were an ancient race, but when the Allemanii came to live in their lands, the peace only lasted 80 years. Now, several hundred years later, the shari’a are nearly extinct, believed by some Allemanii to be merely a myth of a long-ago era.

Brierley is a young shari’a witch living in Yarvannet. She’s a healer living a quiet life, trying not to bring attention to herself. She knows that if she is found out, her days will be numbered. Her secret, however, comes out when she saves the life of a noblewoman. The Earl of Yarvannet feels obligated to protect Brierley from the shari’a laws, since she could hardly be seen as evil.

This launches her on a quest to find other shari’a, her ancient lands, and lands her in love.

Wow! I went into this book expecting to enjoy it, but I didn’t think I’d like it as much as I did. The writing style took me a chapter to get into, but I must agree with the quote on the book’s cover from Morgan Llywelyn that the writing is often lyrical. I’ve never thought that about a sf book before. I’m looking forward to the second book, The Sea Lark’s Song.