Genre: Fantasy

This book has a slight twist on the “modern person finds themselves in a fantasy world” trope: The people in the fantasy world are “mirror copies” of Shannon ’s friends and acquaintances in the modern world. Shannon and the mirror version of herself in Partholon (Rhiannon) switch places. It turns out that while Shannon and Rhiannon look alike and have similar tastes in jewelry, perfume, etc. that they are quite different personality-wise. Presumably this is due to different life circumstances; Shannon is a high-school teacher, and the daughter of a high-school teacher. Rhiannon is the daughter of a powerful lord (think Scottish clan chieftain) and grew up as the Beloved of the Goddess Epona – essentially treated as if she were the goddess herself, which made her rather spoiled and self-centered. The fact that Shannon already has a defined place in Partholon society, as well as feeling like she knows people already helps my belief in the ease with which she transitions into the new world. I wish, however, that it wasn’t only Shannon that had a different personality; everyone she meets that she recognizes from her previous life, behave pretty much as she expects them to based on her acquaintance with their mirror-selves in the modern world. It seems odd to me that it’s only Shannon that makes such different choices due to differing circumstances.

Mostly the plot is the standard “modern person finds themselves in a fantasy world, and must save the world from evil”. However, there is a huge romantic element to this book. For me, the love story between Shannon and ClanFintan is the main charm of the book. ClanFintan is even more of a romantic hero wish-fufillment then Colon Firth’s Mr. Darcy! I am not at all sure why ClanFintan falls in love with Shannon (when apparently he has every reason to dislike her body-double Rhiannon, and Shannon doesn’t tell him that she’s not Rhiannon until after they fall in love). The only explanation seems to be divine intervention, which is exactly how the Goddess Epona explains him to Shannon . ClanFintan is truly a dream-come-true as a romantic hero – he’s sweet, funny, and incredibly caring and giving. However, it did start to bother me that their relationship eventually felt rather one-sided – at one point he spends the evening massaging and pampering Shannon because she’s had a hard day. There is no acknowledgement that his day organizing the war effort was probably just as rough as hers. By the end of the book I was uneasy that it didn’t seem to me that Shannon gave back (or was allowed to do so). However, reading about all that caring and pampering makes me completely enamored of ClanFintan.

The fact that ClanFintan is a centaur while Shannon is human is an interesting one. Especially since one of the first things that happen after Shannon is transported to Partholon is their marriage. In my opinion, the question of bestiality is quite delicately handled; it arises as soon as Shannon realizes that her soon-to-be husband isn’t human. Happily, ClanFintan is a High Shaman which means he is able, with effort, to shape-shift into a human. However, he can’t always shape-shift due to the effort – so the book still has to delicately handle the question of an inter-species romance. The sex scenes are explicit enough that it is directly handled, in a way that worked well for me. I could see some people being uncomfortable with it, however.