The Fire Opal by Regina McBride is an intriguing foray into the world of Celtic lore.  McBride has created a strong and likeable heroine in Maeve O’Tullagh, a young woman driven to save her family.  The villain is fascinatingly twisted, and supporting characters are believable and well-developed.  Celtic lore is both mystical and mysterious, and McBride does an admirable job of describing an unfamiliar world without making it tedious or mundane.  As a first installment in a series, The Fire Opal does an excellent job of balancing a quest and resolution while still leaving lots of room for growth and character development in subsequent books.  The climax of this tale resolved a little too easily to be completely satisfying, the developing romance between Maeve and the Spaniard happens a little fast, but both issues have loose ends that leave lots of room for further exploration and will lead readers to pick up the next book.  Overall, a compelling tale that leaves one intrigued to learn more about Maeve herself and the mystical lore of Ireland itself.

This book was sent to Compass Book Ratings for review by Random House

Content Analysis:

Profanity/Language: **

Violence/Gore: A character kills birds and young,\; fantasy attacks; wartime violence: several shooting/killings; viewing corpses; a character is dragged by the hair; a character goes up in flames.

Sex/Nudlity: Characters embrace; developing romance; one character is infatuated with another; possessive touching of arms, hair, back.

Mature Subject Matter:

Infant death, War violence, Reincarnation, Abusive behaviors, Ghosts, Death.

Alcohol / Drug Use:

***