THE STORM KEEPER'S ISLAND.

THE STORM KEEPER'S ISLAND by CATHERINE DOYLE. 

When Fionn Boyle sets foot on Arranmore Island, it begins to stir beneath his feet ...

Once in a generation, Arranmore Island chooses a new Storm Keeper to wield its power and keep its magic safe from enemies. The time has come for Fionn's grandfather, a secretive and eccentric old man, to step down. Soon, a new Keeper will rise.

But, deep underground, someone has been waiting for Fionn. As the battle to become the island's next champion rages, a more sinister magic is waking up, intent on rekindling an ancient war.

- Back Cover Blurb

In a field full of flowers, a boy and a girl stood side by side beneath an ancient oak tree.

- First Sentence; Prologue

His grandfather pointed the candle towards the middle of the fleet, where the ravens were gathering.They dipped and swirled in a tornado of black feathers until from within, a figure emerged as though it had formed from the birds themselves. She stood on the bow of the foremost warrior boat, her long black hair bleeding into strange shadows that billowed from her like a cape.

- Memorable Moment; Page     72

SOURCE ... Bought with a book token received as a Christmas gift.

READ FOR A CHALLENGE? ... No.

MY THOUGHTS ...  Stopped reading these kind of books as you've got older? Your missing a treat. Find yourself in a bit of a slump reading wise? If ever there's a book in which you'll rediscover the joy of reading... the writing so beautiful as to be lyrical, chances are The Storm Keeper's Island just might be it.

Deliciously dark (too dark I'd suggest for the really wee ones), full of adventure, magic and, best of all {squeal}, Irish mythology. 

The mystery of Arranmore (a real island and the ancestral home of the author, Árainn Mhór is off the west coast of Ireland) and its 'odd' inhabitants, the gradual peeling back of events and memories over a hundred year period; the awakening of a sinister magic intent on rekindling an ancient war keeping me reading way past my bedtime. The 'love-hate' relationship between siblings Fionn and (elder sister) Tara bringing a knowing smile to my face, Fionn and grandfather, Malachy's beautiful relationship a tear to my eye and as for Fionn's meeting his father ... Oh my goodness! 

Such an incredible cast of characters; I know it might sound strange to say so but even Arranmore itself, so vividly described as to be alive, has a heartbeat and a 'voice' all of its own; a voice that calls to Fionn in his deepest dreams ... and is proof that as he believes “places can be just as important as people ..." 

Multilayered, just as in one of those stacking Russian novelties there is a doll within a doll within a doll so within this there is a story within a story within a story all just waiting to be revealed. Its Morigan's (the 'evil' sorceress and along with Malachy one of my favourite characters) introduction when things become even more intriguing (if perhaps a trifle complicated) as different timelines begin to interweave in a story that  is surely a classic of the future.

One of my favourite reads of 2019, I'm looking forward to the sequel due out in July of this year.