Maire (pronounced Moy-rah) is the first installment of "The Fires of Gleannmara" series; stories set in Fifth Century Ireland and starring a cast of warrior queens, druids, Christian priests and firm-bodied, sensitive yet entirely masculine heroes.
I picked up this book hoping for a little historical fiction - found the first chapter rather wordy but managed to trip through it, and finally sank my teeth into the story and didn't want to put it down. It's not my favorite style of book - a little heavy on the unrealistic romance side, but the plot is engaging enough to make it worthwhile.
Maire is missing some of the elements of historical fiction that I like best - vivid descriptions of settings, clothing, and food... and the characters are a little shallow and unbelievable, but that's typical of a romance novel. The heroine who's inner thought life is hidden, making her seem cold and aloof while she secretly longs for love, her hero who embodies every single characteristic that a woman wants in a man, and no man in real life can possibly portray - a man who perseveres against all odds and finally warms the heart of the warrior woman. Blah blah blah. Mostly I don't read these books because I feel that women are set up for disillusionment if they think that there really is a man out there who will always be ultra-sensitive to our every inner desire, yet step up and fiercely protect us, flexing glistening biceps while rescuing every kitten from the treetops. And in this book the hero also displays Christian maturity and a deep relationship with his saviour to boot! We all know that our real men do their best but mess up sometimes, and I prefer fictional characters that blow it, too. And then forget to apologize.
That being said, there is a true sense of Christianity in this novel, with the main character struggling to maintain his faith in the face of pagan ritual and spiritual warfare. The story does give some sense of what it may have been like to bring the gospel to the ancient Celts, and some of the trials faced by those early missionaries. There is a glimpse into the difficulty of understanding the One True God after living a life based on worship of creation and fearing many gods. And the main plot does keep one reading, looking forward to the events unfolding, even if the reader does have a pretty good idea of what's bound to happen.
While Maire isn't really up my alley and I'm not likely to read the rest of the series, if you like a little romance mixed in with your history and adventure this is the book for you. There is a little violence, with the most graphic scene right at the beginning - in a nightmare... but other than that there is no inappropriate stuff described, despite the steamy tension between the two star-cross'd lovers. Overall, a Good Enough Book.
