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Partholon #4
Elphame's Choice
This follow-up to Goddess by Mistake returns to the ancient Greco-Roman civilization of Partholon. Marked from birth as belonging to the Goddess Epona, an isolated Elphame must confront her people's ancient enemies while on a journey of self-discovery.
551 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 2004
109 people are currently reading
5760 people want to read
About the author
P.C. Cast
163 books28.2k followersPC was born in the Midwest, and grew up being shuttled back-and-forth between Illinois and Oklahoma, which is where she fell in love with Quarter Horses and mythology (at about the same time). After high school, she joined the United States Air Force and began public speaking and writing. After her tour in the USAF, she taught high school for 15 years before retiring to write full time. PC is a #1 New York Times and #1 USA Today Best-Selling author and a member of the Oklahoma Writers Hall of Fame. Her novels have been awarded the prestigious: Oklahoma Book Award, YALSA Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers, Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award, the Prism, Holt Medallion, Daphne du Maurier, Booksellers’ Best, and the Laurel Wreath. PC is an experienced teacher and talented speaker. Ms. Cast lives in Oregon near her fabulous daughter, her adorable pack of dogs, her crazy Maine Coon, and a bunch of horses. House of Night Other World, book 4, FOUND, releases July 7th, 2020. More info to come soon about the HoN TV series!
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 261 reviews
November 6, 2009
This review is also posted at Amazon:
It took a hundred pages for me to get even a little interested in this story. If I hadn't meant to review it, I would have put it away. I was uninterested in the protagonist and found the world-building to be nebulous for the most part. Very easy book to put down. I rearranged a junk drawer and an over-flowing cupboard while reading this book. Not a good sign.
I'd never read PC Cast, but I was interested in picking something of hers up because of how ubiquitous she is in the YA sections in my favorite book stores. Now I see why. Sex sells. A lot.
Now, I love a good sexy romance. My first adult romance was 'borrowed' from my mom when I was sixteen. I definitely get the draw. But there has to be a story that needs it. There has to be chemistry between the characters. And there has to be a reason for the sex scenes in the first place, otherwise they're either just padding or prurience.
The lead romance had the foundation of having the hero see the heroine in dreams for her entire life. Without ever having met her, he was in love. The heroine first sees him in her own dreams shortly before she meets him and she's just as smitten. I've read plenty of romances where couples mate immediately based on being fated, but I found their interaction so bland that their passion seemed out of place. It seemed like adding a sex scene was the purpose rather than furthering the story, which, sorry to say, seems disturbing and smarmy in a book written specifically for teenagers.
But let's get away from sex, if we can. Although it's difficult with all the 'throbbing' the hero was doing for the first two thirds of the book.
We start the story in an inaccessible world, with an unlikely couple and a vague goddess (one goddess, a number of 'goddess incarnates', a 'chosen one' and another 'goddess'). We know there's love and beauty, but there's no real context for any of it. It just sort of floats out there for a prologue and a chapter before we really get to know anyone.
It wasn't until the action moved to a totally different place that the world started to take shape. We learn next to nothing about the hero's world, though. Wastelands, apparently, where his people thrive but suffer. They suffer because the darkness in their blood is making them go insane. Good enough, I suppose, but we have no visual on the place itself. Maybe in a later book it will be explored a bit, but it was needed here and in this story.
The fix for the madness is a vague prophecy that our hero realizes has been misinterpreted and is worse than even he thought it was. His reinterpretation frankly does not fit with the words of the prophecy, so that whole sequence of plot is contrived. And, in the end, the execution of the prophecy doesn't make much sense even with his reinterpretation.
Add to this four interesting characters (I won't say who), three of which make it to the end of the tale. The character death here does impact the story but isn't necessary in the actual world the author has given us. Except, of course, that Cast seems to be setting up a book for another character. Again, contrived.
And finally we get an actual, true to it's name deus ex machina. What else would you expect with a goddess in the lead?
Sadly, I really wanted to like this book. But I didn't and I won't be continuing the series.
It took a hundred pages for me to get even a little interested in this story. If I hadn't meant to review it, I would have put it away. I was uninterested in the protagonist and found the world-building to be nebulous for the most part. Very easy book to put down. I rearranged a junk drawer and an over-flowing cupboard while reading this book. Not a good sign.
I'd never read PC Cast, but I was interested in picking something of hers up because of how ubiquitous she is in the YA sections in my favorite book stores. Now I see why. Sex sells. A lot.
Now, I love a good sexy romance. My first adult romance was 'borrowed' from my mom when I was sixteen. I definitely get the draw. But there has to be a story that needs it. There has to be chemistry between the characters. And there has to be a reason for the sex scenes in the first place, otherwise they're either just padding or prurience.
The lead romance had the foundation of having the hero see the heroine in dreams for her entire life. Without ever having met her, he was in love. The heroine first sees him in her own dreams shortly before she meets him and she's just as smitten. I've read plenty of romances where couples mate immediately based on being fated, but I found their interaction so bland that their passion seemed out of place. It seemed like adding a sex scene was the purpose rather than furthering the story, which, sorry to say, seems disturbing and smarmy in a book written specifically for teenagers.
But let's get away from sex, if we can. Although it's difficult with all the 'throbbing' the hero was doing for the first two thirds of the book.
We start the story in an inaccessible world, with an unlikely couple and a vague goddess (one goddess, a number of 'goddess incarnates', a 'chosen one' and another 'goddess'). We know there's love and beauty, but there's no real context for any of it. It just sort of floats out there for a prologue and a chapter before we really get to know anyone.
It wasn't until the action moved to a totally different place that the world started to take shape. We learn next to nothing about the hero's world, though. Wastelands, apparently, where his people thrive but suffer. They suffer because the darkness in their blood is making them go insane. Good enough, I suppose, but we have no visual on the place itself. Maybe in a later book it will be explored a bit, but it was needed here and in this story.
The fix for the madness is a vague prophecy that our hero realizes has been misinterpreted and is worse than even he thought it was. His reinterpretation frankly does not fit with the words of the prophecy, so that whole sequence of plot is contrived. And, in the end, the execution of the prophecy doesn't make much sense even with his reinterpretation.
Add to this four interesting characters (I won't say who), three of which make it to the end of the tale. The character death here does impact the story but isn't necessary in the actual world the author has given us. Except, of course, that Cast seems to be setting up a book for another character. Again, contrived.
And finally we get an actual, true to it's name deus ex machina. What else would you expect with a goddess in the lead?
Sadly, I really wanted to like this book. But I didn't and I won't be continuing the series.
January 25, 2010
I think I'm just not meant to read P.C. Cast. Maybe I'm just anal-retentive; maybe I just have too much trouble shutting off the "mythology geek" section of my brain. I crack open a Cast novel, and instead of sinking into the story, I find myself thinking, "Celtic mythology doesn't have centaurs," or "Apollo would make a lousy Prince Charming," or in this case, "Elphame's a place name, darn it, not a character name! It means fairyland." Elphame's Choice is so called because its heroine is named Elphame, and this never quite stopped being distracting.
Elphame is a descendant of the heroine of Divine by Mistake. She lives a cushy but lonely existence as the daughter of Epona's Chosen, and wants to strike out on her own and find her destiny. She finds it in the form of MacCallan Castle, which once belonged to her ancestors but was destroyed by the Fomorians generations ago. Elphame assembles a team of people to rebuild the castle, and soon the team becomes a family of sorts. I liked the scenes in which Elphame discovers leadership skills within herself, and those in which the ruined castle begins to shine again. But when Elphame sustains an injury in the woods, the plot switches gears. Her friends finish the bulk of the renovations during the five days she's laid up, and the true heart of Elphame's Choice--the romance--comes to the forefront.
I should say, the romances. There are two. One is between Elphame and the half-Fomorian, Lochlan, who believes she holds the key to the redemption of his people. They quickly fall in love, but Lochlan fears that the vampiric influence of his Fomorian ancestry will cause him to hurt her. I remember Divine by Mistake as being pretty raunchy and I'd been wondering why its sequel had been repackaged for the young adult market. Now I think I know. Elphame's Choice predates Twilight, and is much steamier, but I think the "boy meets girl, boy is afraid he'll drink girl's blood" aspect may appeal to some of the same readers.
The other romantic plotline focuses on Elphame's brother, Cuchulainn. Cuchulainn is something of a Casanova, but finds himself out of his depth when he falls deeply in love with Brenna, a young healer and artist who bears physical and emotional scars. I actually liked this secondary romance better than Elphame's story, at least until the very end.
This is one of Cast's earlier books, and it's rough in places. Most noticeably, there's a ton of head-hopping and a long sagging middle in which nothing much happens except lust and bickering. Then there's the Mary Sue-ness; I felt like the book would be half as long if the narrative didn't stop so often to mention how beautiful Elphame is. The copy-editing is spotty as well. Lots of typos.
But none of this would have been so bad if it hadn't been for two plot developments that occur toward the end.
SPOILER ALERT:
1) The prophecy. It makes no sense. Now, I love stories that hinge on an ambiguous or misinterpreted prophecy, the "no man of woman born" kind of thing. But this one quite simply left me scratching my head. The "real" meaning of the prophecy doesn't match the actual words of the prophecy. The Goddess Epona would have had to be brainless to word it the way she did. There's no logical way that the "real" meaning follows from what she said. And the consequences would have been disastrous if the characters had interpreted the prophecy in the only way that actually makes sense. Elphame would have been dead, and the half-Fomorians left with no hope of regaining their sanity.
2) Brenna. Way to ruin a perfectly good "reformed rake" plot. Cuchulainn learns to love and to appreciate inner beauty, and Brenna overcomes her fears, and for what? Cast kills her off a few days after they get engaged, and then partners him with a strikingly beautiful woman in the next book, Brighid's Quest. So, if you're pretty, you get a happy ending, but if you're not, you get to be the vehicle for some guy's character development? Ugh.
Also, and this isn't the author's fault, but what is with the new cover art? Elphame is described as having brown skin...
Elphame is a descendant of the heroine of Divine by Mistake. She lives a cushy but lonely existence as the daughter of Epona's Chosen, and wants to strike out on her own and find her destiny. She finds it in the form of MacCallan Castle, which once belonged to her ancestors but was destroyed by the Fomorians generations ago. Elphame assembles a team of people to rebuild the castle, and soon the team becomes a family of sorts. I liked the scenes in which Elphame discovers leadership skills within herself, and those in which the ruined castle begins to shine again. But when Elphame sustains an injury in the woods, the plot switches gears. Her friends finish the bulk of the renovations during the five days she's laid up, and the true heart of Elphame's Choice--the romance--comes to the forefront.
I should say, the romances. There are two. One is between Elphame and the half-Fomorian, Lochlan, who believes she holds the key to the redemption of his people. They quickly fall in love, but Lochlan fears that the vampiric influence of his Fomorian ancestry will cause him to hurt her. I remember Divine by Mistake as being pretty raunchy and I'd been wondering why its sequel had been repackaged for the young adult market. Now I think I know. Elphame's Choice predates Twilight, and is much steamier, but I think the "boy meets girl, boy is afraid he'll drink girl's blood" aspect may appeal to some of the same readers.
The other romantic plotline focuses on Elphame's brother, Cuchulainn. Cuchulainn is something of a Casanova, but finds himself out of his depth when he falls deeply in love with Brenna, a young healer and artist who bears physical and emotional scars. I actually liked this secondary romance better than Elphame's story, at least until the very end.
This is one of Cast's earlier books, and it's rough in places. Most noticeably, there's a ton of head-hopping and a long sagging middle in which nothing much happens except lust and bickering. Then there's the Mary Sue-ness; I felt like the book would be half as long if the narrative didn't stop so often to mention how beautiful Elphame is. The copy-editing is spotty as well. Lots of typos.
But none of this would have been so bad if it hadn't been for two plot developments that occur toward the end.
SPOILER ALERT:
1) The prophecy. It makes no sense. Now, I love stories that hinge on an ambiguous or misinterpreted prophecy, the "no man of woman born" kind of thing. But this one quite simply left me scratching my head. The "real" meaning of the prophecy doesn't match the actual words of the prophecy. The Goddess Epona would have had to be brainless to word it the way she did. There's no logical way that the "real" meaning follows from what she said. And the consequences would have been disastrous if the characters had interpreted the prophecy in the only way that actually makes sense. Elphame would have been dead, and the half-Fomorians left with no hope of regaining their sanity.
2) Brenna. Way to ruin a perfectly good "reformed rake" plot. Cuchulainn learns to love and to appreciate inner beauty, and Brenna overcomes her fears, and for what? Cast kills her off a few days after they get engaged, and then partners him with a strikingly beautiful woman in the next book, Brighid's Quest. So, if you're pretty, you get a happy ending, but if you're not, you get to be the vehicle for some guy's character development? Ugh.
Also, and this isn't the author's fault, but what is with the new cover art? Elphame is described as having brown skin...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 25, 2016
This one was slow getting started with any action. It got better farther on in the book and the ending was surprising which made it a great read.
December 18, 2009
sometimes i wish that there were negatives, or at least 'no' stars available.
this book was in the teen section of the library on their 'new' shelf. I was therefore, very surprised and unhappy that this book contained explicit sex (at least in my opinion). How could this be teen? recommended to children 14+?????
it made me feel sick. i decided that i must launch a complaint to the library. the librarian understood and helped me get the form. Did you know that you have to detail (with pg numbers) where you found the offensive parts. i understand, but what about when you don't want to read it all??? i worry that the review will not be as complete.
they are supposed to let me know what happens. I requested that they at least have a MC (mature content) on books like these. i've noticed that scholastic book club puts that on the Twilight series and this book was way beyond the Twilight bks.
this book was in the teen section of the library on their 'new' shelf. I was therefore, very surprised and unhappy that this book contained explicit sex (at least in my opinion). How could this be teen? recommended to children 14+?????
it made me feel sick. i decided that i must launch a complaint to the library. the librarian understood and helped me get the form. Did you know that you have to detail (with pg numbers) where you found the offensive parts. i understand, but what about when you don't want to read it all??? i worry that the review will not be as complete.
they are supposed to let me know what happens. I requested that they at least have a MC (mature content) on books like these. i've noticed that scholastic book club puts that on the Twilight series and this book was way beyond the Twilight bks.
August 28, 2010
There is sooo much I want to say about this book I don't even know where to begin. First off, I LOVED the Parthenon series and P.C. Cast is quickly becoming my favorite author of all time. I loved her Goddess Summoning series as well, anyway...This book fits in perfectly with the Parthenon series, it is actually set a hundred and some years after Rhiannon. The characters in this book are so vivid and so devoted to their faith it almost makes me jealous, and wish that I could also have that kind of faith in something, anything really. P.C. Cast makes you feel like you are in the book and you are actually there with the people and apart of everything. While reading (even up to 25 hours without sleep) it was like I was watching a movie and you know one of the characters is about to do something stupid and you are yelling at the TV "DON'T GO IN THERE" but they don't listen to you, of course. While reading this book I squealed, I laughed, I cried (yes, I actually did), I yelled, and I absolutely fell head over heels in love with Lochlan. Wow, what a character...I love him, and adore him absolutely. I know I can get an older copy of Brighid's Quest but...I want to wait so my whole series will match the re-release from Mira. I can't get enough, I have to go read the Parthenon series again, just because I don't want to let this world go just quite yet. The one thing that is even remotely not 100% positive was: I am unsure if this fits in the YA series genre...there is some sex in it, which is fine, but it still read like an adult novel to me, but who knows, book was amazing though.
March 19, 2010
I don't know why I even picked this up after not liking Divine By Mistake so much! I give myself 1 star for smart making choices!
Anyway, this book sounded way more interesting than book one (I love mythology and fantasy) so I picked it up (hunted down a used copy on amazon for $$$ is more like it...) and gave it a shot.
In contrast to the first Partholon book which tried to have Too Much Fun, this book was No Fun At All. Elphame is just the dullest character. I cannot remember anything about her except she liked running and her Vampire boyfriend, who also happens to be the Mayor of Dullsville, which is amazing for a vampire.
I cannot remember a whole lot that happened outside of Elphame running in the woods, getting stalked in the woods, and doing major renovations on a destroyed castle and seeing to the day-to-day operations of its upkeep, maintenance and so forth. Some gardening, I believe. There was probably a battle with the Vampire creatures. I read this a few years ago, but it wasn't very memorable beyond irritating me with how unexciting it was.
This book was surprisingly dark. There are a couple of weird, racy scenes and numerous references to rape which would have made Marion Zimmer Bradley tear this book into little pieces and feed it to Gertrude Stein. I am suprised to learn that this book has been repackaged for teens and placed in the YA section. One has certain expectations about the amount of sex in a YA novel and this definitely should be in the sci-fi/fantasy (maybe even Romance) sections. Very poor choice on the part of the publisher.
I don't think I am P.C. Cast's target audience.
Anyway, this book sounded way more interesting than book one (I love mythology and fantasy) so I picked it up (hunted down a used copy on amazon for $$$ is more like it...) and gave it a shot.
In contrast to the first Partholon book which tried to have Too Much Fun, this book was No Fun At All. Elphame is just the dullest character. I cannot remember anything about her except she liked running and her Vampire boyfriend, who also happens to be the Mayor of Dullsville, which is amazing for a vampire.
I cannot remember a whole lot that happened outside of Elphame running in the woods, getting stalked in the woods, and doing major renovations on a destroyed castle and seeing to the day-to-day operations of its upkeep, maintenance and so forth. Some gardening, I believe. There was probably a battle with the Vampire creatures. I read this a few years ago, but it wasn't very memorable beyond irritating me with how unexciting it was.
This book was surprisingly dark. There are a couple of weird, racy scenes and numerous references to rape which would have made Marion Zimmer Bradley tear this book into little pieces and feed it to Gertrude Stein. I am suprised to learn that this book has been repackaged for teens and placed in the YA section. One has certain expectations about the amount of sex in a YA novel and this definitely should be in the sci-fi/fantasy (maybe even Romance) sections. Very poor choice on the part of the publisher.
I don't think I am P.C. Cast's target audience.
July 9, 2010
In my opinion, Elphame's Choice by P.C Cast is a very interesting book. It is interesting in the fact that it combines many different varieties of genre into one novel. I liked the basic plot, however the constant description of cleaning the castle and whatnot became rather tedious.
My favourite character was Brenna and thought it entirly ruined the story when SPOILER ALERT she was killed. I did not feel a warmth to any of the other characters in the story as I found their lack of personality to bore me into oblivion.
On a high note, the book did somewhat intrigue me with the obvious imagination put into the world of Partholon, which is why I give this novel 2 stars.
Although, again on a down note, I have to express my concern at this book being in the teen section of the book shop. The story seemed to be going really well, and I'm not meaning to be prudish when I say this, but I did not enjoy the sex chapter.
Normally, I do not have a problem with sex chapters in books, on the contrary, as a 15 year old with ranging hormones i think I should be allowed to enjoy chapters like this.
But Cast's graphic description (and not in a good way either), left me quite sickened at the thought of a well brought up, modest thirteen year old girl innocently mistaking Elphame's Choice for a fantasy book and then having that thrust upon her. The thing that annoys me the most is that Cast seems to let her fantasies run away with her in her writing a little too far. Losing your virginity is meant to be a loving experience, but Cast portrays it as a hasty, lust filled moment with Elphame having rough, female dominated sex with Lochlan.
Strangely, Elphame seems pretty experienced with the whole process, considering she was a virgin who had only been kissed a week previously.
I also could not get to grips with the whole Goddess stuff (not intending blasphemy or offence to anyone), since I am not religious which made me view the whole thing as rather pretentious.
Overall, a decent idea to have as a story, particualarly the original idea of a human-centaur hybrid, although I would not reccomend this book to you as it can get tedious (apart from when Lochlan is graphically masturbating in the caves...not nice)and has some unneccersary upseting moments.
My favourite character was Brenna and thought it entirly ruined the story when SPOILER ALERT she was killed. I did not feel a warmth to any of the other characters in the story as I found their lack of personality to bore me into oblivion.
On a high note, the book did somewhat intrigue me with the obvious imagination put into the world of Partholon, which is why I give this novel 2 stars.
Although, again on a down note, I have to express my concern at this book being in the teen section of the book shop. The story seemed to be going really well, and I'm not meaning to be prudish when I say this, but I did not enjoy the sex chapter.
Normally, I do not have a problem with sex chapters in books, on the contrary, as a 15 year old with ranging hormones i think I should be allowed to enjoy chapters like this.
But Cast's graphic description (and not in a good way either), left me quite sickened at the thought of a well brought up, modest thirteen year old girl innocently mistaking Elphame's Choice for a fantasy book and then having that thrust upon her. The thing that annoys me the most is that Cast seems to let her fantasies run away with her in her writing a little too far. Losing your virginity is meant to be a loving experience, but Cast portrays it as a hasty, lust filled moment with Elphame having rough, female dominated sex with Lochlan.
Strangely, Elphame seems pretty experienced with the whole process, considering she was a virgin who had only been kissed a week previously.
I also could not get to grips with the whole Goddess stuff (not intending blasphemy or offence to anyone), since I am not religious which made me view the whole thing as rather pretentious.
Overall, a decent idea to have as a story, particualarly the original idea of a human-centaur hybrid, although I would not reccomend this book to you as it can get tedious (apart from when Lochlan is graphically masturbating in the caves...not nice)and has some unneccersary upseting moments.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 24, 2010
When I started this book I was a little nervous of what I would think, Im not usually a fan of the books that are a whole new world in themselves, but this one was fantastic. I will for sure be reading the other books in the series. Elphame is a part human, part cantar girl who since birth was obviously marked by the goddess Empona. All her life she has felt estrange and worshiped by her people, and because of that all alone in the world. This changes when she leaves home to rebuild the castle of the fallen MacCallen tribe. There her and her warrior brother meet their destiny, along with many struggles they are forced to overcome, including an interesting twist of fate in Elphame's life mate.
December 29, 2012
I just have one thing to say about this book.
I LOVED IT SOOO MUCH.
This book is absolutely my favorite book in the partholon series
I LOVED IT SOOO MUCH.
This book is absolutely my favorite book in the partholon series
March 30, 2025
One of my favorites!
November 22, 2025
This book is so far removed from Divine by Mistake that I can almost read it as a spin off, which is what saved it for me. Once I decided this was a spin off, I could get into the story.
March 23, 2010
I love P.C. Cast, so I was very excited to read this book. I dove into it as soon as I got a chance (which was about two days after I received it). I wasn’t immediately entranced, but the book did improve as the story unfolded. I would say this was almost like a roller coaster. I wasn’t immediately thrilled, then there were some really good parts, then it dipped to being almost boring, but it ended strong with a sense that I should continue the series. Here’s a bit about the book:
We begin the book in the head of Epone’s chosen one, Etain, while she is pregnant with her first born daughter. Etain mated with a centaur, which becomes very important when her daughter is born and is a perfect blend between a human and a centaur. Elphame, Etain’s daughter, has two legs like a centaur (hair and hooves), but the rest of her body is human. This marks Elphame as a goddess and makes her feel like she is consistently left out and lonely.
As we skip ahead in Elphame’s life, we find out that she is living her home and setting off to rebuild the MacCallan castle and her own kingdom. She sets off with her brother Cuchulainn and the adventure begins. Once Elphame gets to her castle, we begin to meet the other major characters in the story. Brighid and Brenna become Elphame’s first real friends and something may be stirring between Cuchulainn and Brenna. When Elphame takes off for a run, an accident happens and she runs into her lifemate, Lochlan. Lochlan’s a half breed as well. He is half human and half demon, the same demon race that killed the original MacCallan over a hundred years ago. The love between Elphame and Lochlan’s is going to be a hard one. I mean, how would you tell your parents and warrior brother that you were in love with someone that looked like the demons that killed your ancestors and could go insane because of that demon blood and kill you as well? No spoilers here, so you have to read to find out how our goddess Elphame manages the task of her forbidden love, rebuilding of her castle, and whether or not something happens between the heartthrob Cuchulainn and the sweet Brenna.
As originally stated, I love P.C. Cast. This is not her greatest work and probably not something that I would read again, but I’d like to continue the series and see how the lives of all the characters end up. Cast doesn’t necessarily wrap anything up, so there are so many different directions Elphame and all of the supporting characters can take. I like to see how all of the pieces fall together. This is a little too sexual for something that I would give my students to read. There is a scene in the book in which the three best friends are about to bathe together and they take a peek at what the others look like nude. It’s a little more descriptive than what I would like my eighth graders to take in. I’m probably being a bit naïve about that one, but in this case, it should be the parent’s decision not the teacher’s. There are also some sex and masturbation within the book that are described with more detail then I would feel comfortable sharing. It’s not pornographic in the least, nor romance novelish, but adult in my opinion.
With all that said, as a personal read I would give this a 4/5 stars. I would recommend it, but I’m not going to reread it. As a young adult for my classroom read, I would give it a 2.5/5 stars. I just would not feel comfortable sharing this book with students that were not mature enough to handle some sexual scenes. I would say this would be more appropriate for older teens.
P.s. I did this as half a read and half an audiobook. If you listen to the audiobook, the oddly spelled names are much easier to understand.
http://kaydencebookblog.wordpress.com/
We begin the book in the head of Epone’s chosen one, Etain, while she is pregnant with her first born daughter. Etain mated with a centaur, which becomes very important when her daughter is born and is a perfect blend between a human and a centaur. Elphame, Etain’s daughter, has two legs like a centaur (hair and hooves), but the rest of her body is human. This marks Elphame as a goddess and makes her feel like she is consistently left out and lonely.
As we skip ahead in Elphame’s life, we find out that she is living her home and setting off to rebuild the MacCallan castle and her own kingdom. She sets off with her brother Cuchulainn and the adventure begins. Once Elphame gets to her castle, we begin to meet the other major characters in the story. Brighid and Brenna become Elphame’s first real friends and something may be stirring between Cuchulainn and Brenna. When Elphame takes off for a run, an accident happens and she runs into her lifemate, Lochlan. Lochlan’s a half breed as well. He is half human and half demon, the same demon race that killed the original MacCallan over a hundred years ago. The love between Elphame and Lochlan’s is going to be a hard one. I mean, how would you tell your parents and warrior brother that you were in love with someone that looked like the demons that killed your ancestors and could go insane because of that demon blood and kill you as well? No spoilers here, so you have to read to find out how our goddess Elphame manages the task of her forbidden love, rebuilding of her castle, and whether or not something happens between the heartthrob Cuchulainn and the sweet Brenna.
As originally stated, I love P.C. Cast. This is not her greatest work and probably not something that I would read again, but I’d like to continue the series and see how the lives of all the characters end up. Cast doesn’t necessarily wrap anything up, so there are so many different directions Elphame and all of the supporting characters can take. I like to see how all of the pieces fall together. This is a little too sexual for something that I would give my students to read. There is a scene in the book in which the three best friends are about to bathe together and they take a peek at what the others look like nude. It’s a little more descriptive than what I would like my eighth graders to take in. I’m probably being a bit naïve about that one, but in this case, it should be the parent’s decision not the teacher’s. There are also some sex and masturbation within the book that are described with more detail then I would feel comfortable sharing. It’s not pornographic in the least, nor romance novelish, but adult in my opinion.
With all that said, as a personal read I would give this a 4/5 stars. I would recommend it, but I’m not going to reread it. As a young adult for my classroom read, I would give it a 2.5/5 stars. I just would not feel comfortable sharing this book with students that were not mature enough to handle some sexual scenes. I would say this would be more appropriate for older teens.
P.s. I did this as half a read and half an audiobook. If you listen to the audiobook, the oddly spelled names are much easier to understand.
http://kaydencebookblog.wordpress.com/
October 4, 2019
I absolutely love Elphame's Choice and the continuation of the world of Partholon 125 years after the events of the Divine series.
in this book, we meet Elphame who is half-human/half-centaur who has always felt the call of her ancestors home MacCallan Castle and it isn't until she sees the castle and feels a connection with the stone that she knows that she is home where she can become who she is meant to be and find her lifemate and there is a lot of ups and down where her lifemate is half-human/half-fomorian and descendant of the evil fomorians that invaded Partholon 125 years before but Lochlan and the rest of his race are nothing like their forebears and then Elphame's brother Cu unexpectedly finds love with his sister's healer Brenna and it all goes wrong for him and Elphame has to make a sacrifice to save her lifemates race.
what I love so much about this book is that it teaches that you CAN find love when you least expect it and with the people, we least expect and even though we have ups and downs with the person who we are fated to be with if you love them enough you will stand by them
in this book, we meet Elphame who is half-human/half-centaur who has always felt the call of her ancestors home MacCallan Castle and it isn't until she sees the castle and feels a connection with the stone that she knows that she is home where she can become who she is meant to be and find her lifemate and there is a lot of ups and down where her lifemate is half-human/half-fomorian and descendant of the evil fomorians that invaded Partholon 125 years before but Lochlan and the rest of his race are nothing like their forebears and then Elphame's brother Cu unexpectedly finds love with his sister's healer Brenna and it all goes wrong for him and Elphame has to make a sacrifice to save her lifemates race.
what I love so much about this book is that it teaches that you CAN find love when you least expect it and with the people, we least expect and even though we have ups and downs with the person who we are fated to be with if you love them enough you will stand by them
January 14, 2015
Elphame’s Choice tells the story of the firstborn daughter of Etain, the Goddess Incarnate and Midhir, her shaman/centaur life-mate. Elphame is “a perfect blending of human, centaur and goddess.” Human from her head to her waist, she has the legs of a horse that end in hooves. Elphame has grown to adulthood in the kingdom, worshipped by all that know her. She knows she is chosen by the Goddess, but doesn’t want to wait for her mother to die or step down to take over advising the citizenry. Instead, Elphame sets out on an adventure to find something special, herself. She travels to MacCallan Castle destroyed in a war years before, determined to restore it and discovers her identity along the way. She isn’t on her own – her brother, a trained warrior travels with her. He knows she’ll need his help. So do other misfits, including Brigid a centaur-huntress who has left her own family in search of one that matches her sense of morality.
This New Adult story, Brigid’s Quest picks up where Elphame’s Choice ends. A trusted friend to her clan leader, Elphame, strong, smart, huntress-centaur, Brigid has a new mission. She must seek out the chieftain’s brother and help him bring home almost a hundred children, survivors of demon army invaders who kidnapped Partholon women to mother the next generation. Now, these winged children are returning to a homeland they’ve only heard of in verse, story and song. During the journey, the reader learns a great deal about Brigid’s past, her tribe that has turned away from dealing with humans, and why she left the Centaur Plains. Eventually, she will learn what it takes to have a successful relationship with her own life-mate, even when it seems impossible for them to be together. Brigid may have left her own centaur family behind, but she needs to learn kinship doesn’t have to be defined by blood, or shape. It comes from the heart and she has plenty of that.
These are tremendous reads in every sense of the word, approximately 500+ pages each. Terrific characters, fabulous setting and well-structured plots will fascinate most readers. Since these are New Adult stories, that means drinking, partying, necking, sex – it’s safe sex – and consensual for the most part. Still, Elphame’s hero or life-mate is a child of rape. All of this forwards the various plots. There is also plenty of drama in these stories, but the two books may not be suitable for younger readers.
This review was provided by Shannon Kennedy for her column Shannon's Space for the June 2014 issue of The Book Breeze
This New Adult story, Brigid’s Quest picks up where Elphame’s Choice ends. A trusted friend to her clan leader, Elphame, strong, smart, huntress-centaur, Brigid has a new mission. She must seek out the chieftain’s brother and help him bring home almost a hundred children, survivors of demon army invaders who kidnapped Partholon women to mother the next generation. Now, these winged children are returning to a homeland they’ve only heard of in verse, story and song. During the journey, the reader learns a great deal about Brigid’s past, her tribe that has turned away from dealing with humans, and why she left the Centaur Plains. Eventually, she will learn what it takes to have a successful relationship with her own life-mate, even when it seems impossible for them to be together. Brigid may have left her own centaur family behind, but she needs to learn kinship doesn’t have to be defined by blood, or shape. It comes from the heart and she has plenty of that.
These are tremendous reads in every sense of the word, approximately 500+ pages each. Terrific characters, fabulous setting and well-structured plots will fascinate most readers. Since these are New Adult stories, that means drinking, partying, necking, sex – it’s safe sex – and consensual for the most part. Still, Elphame’s hero or life-mate is a child of rape. All of this forwards the various plots. There is also plenty of drama in these stories, but the two books may not be suitable for younger readers.
This review was provided by Shannon Kennedy for her column Shannon's Space for the June 2014 issue of The Book Breeze
May 18, 2012
Only now do I find out that this is book number four in the Partholon series. I kept feeling like I was missing something. This copy is from the library. If I can make it through fast enough maybe I can get done before the due date. If not at least I know where to find this.
***
The library book went back. It took me too long to get through the series and catch up with the one I had. So I bought my own Kindle copy. This series is worth the money spent. I wish I could loan my copies to my friends who are not able to buy books right now. I understand that the author deserves to be paid, but if this were a hard copy I could loan it to anyone. It's a rough economy we should be able to share what we can.
I love, love, love this series and P. C. Casts writing! Though there are a few typos in this book, most of her writing is error free, which is a relief for a Kindle book reader.
This particular book starts slowly. If I hadn't been so wrapped up in this series I might have let it go. But I knew it had to get better. Maybe it was because the characters I had known and loved in the previous books were no longer there and I had to get acquainted with new characters--I don't know. But it did pick up and became quite exciting. I did grow to love Elphame and her people.
What I miss most may just be a writing tool. When Ms. Cast would write about Shannon it was always in first person. And I loved Shannon's personality. The first person kept me closer as a reader, like I was talking with a friend. But outside of Shannon and now in Elphame's life where Shannon is a distant great grandmother, that immediacy isn't there anymore.
Even still I loved this book and easily give it the five stars. Ms. Cast is a great story teller. I recommend her books to anyone, especially my female friends. And since most of us grew up reading about males being the main character, I think many advanced male friends would like this series, also, as there is enough action and adventure to keep anyone reading.
Well, done, P. C. Cast!
***
The library book went back. It took me too long to get through the series and catch up with the one I had. So I bought my own Kindle copy. This series is worth the money spent. I wish I could loan my copies to my friends who are not able to buy books right now. I understand that the author deserves to be paid, but if this were a hard copy I could loan it to anyone. It's a rough economy we should be able to share what we can.
I love, love, love this series and P. C. Casts writing! Though there are a few typos in this book, most of her writing is error free, which is a relief for a Kindle book reader.
This particular book starts slowly. If I hadn't been so wrapped up in this series I might have let it go. But I knew it had to get better. Maybe it was because the characters I had known and loved in the previous books were no longer there and I had to get acquainted with new characters--I don't know. But it did pick up and became quite exciting. I did grow to love Elphame and her people.
What I miss most may just be a writing tool. When Ms. Cast would write about Shannon it was always in first person. And I loved Shannon's personality. The first person kept me closer as a reader, like I was talking with a friend. But outside of Shannon and now in Elphame's life where Shannon is a distant great grandmother, that immediacy isn't there anymore.
Even still I loved this book and easily give it the five stars. Ms. Cast is a great story teller. I recommend her books to anyone, especially my female friends. And since most of us grew up reading about males being the main character, I think many advanced male friends would like this series, also, as there is enough action and adventure to keep anyone reading.
Well, done, P. C. Cast!
September 19, 2019
Con este segundo volumen que nos presenta la factoría Darkiss, nos encontramos en un mundo completamente distinto, aunque eso sí, seguimos con la temática fantástica. La única pega que le encuentro, y MUY gorda, es que es el tomo 4, y no tenemos los anteriores...
Tenemos a Elphane la hija de la Elegida de Epona, y de Midhir, el sumo chamán.
Quizá la historia no fuese nada del otro mundo sino fuese porque su padre era un centauro, y ella gracias a la diosa, la transforma en medio humana-medio centauro, en vez de piernas de una chica, tiene la piel y los cascos de un centauro.
Qué? Cómo os quedáis? Sin palabras, verdad? Pues no os preocupéis tenemos más!
El, llamada así por sus seres queridos, esta cansada de que la observen como un bicho raro, así que se dispone a partir con el buenorro de su hermano (y sí, el es humano) e iran a reconstruir el Castillo de MacCallan un antepasado suyo, un lugar lleno de fantasmas y malos augurios.
Pero no irán solos, les acompañaran soldados leales (ya sean centauros como humanos), aunque Cuchulainn (el hermano de El) siempre ha podido predecir el futuro, y esta vez ve el futuro de su hermana, que el amor lo encontrará en el castillo, pero esa predicción la ve bañada de sangre...
Y es que tenemos a un nuevo protagonista, Lochlan... mitad humano- mitad demonio, de la raza de los Fummorians, digamos que no son muy amigables... y este en particular tiene una misión, una misión teñida en sangre.
El libro me ha parecido muy curioso, creo que es la primera novela que leo de esta autora y me ha sorprendido gratamente.
Lo único que me esperaba más protagonismo de Brighid, me ha encantado ese personaje, una centaura, y me ha sabido a poco sus apariciones. Quitando eso, es un libro para pasar una tarde en compañía de seres mágicos, os animáis?
March 28, 2008
A wee bit concerned about this one. In the previous books in the series, Epona's Chosen (the representative of this goddess on earth) has looked a lot like the previous one, beautiful, strong, and her mate is always the centaur (half man/half horse) Shaman of the land. (Don't worry, he transforms to his human form for the intimate necessities!) In this one, the new Epona's Chosen is born a satyr, a woman with the legs/feet of a horse (goat?). Still beautiful, but I'm not sure yet if she transforms, or if I'm going to be icked out if she doesn't.
OK, finished it now. Since her lifemate turned out to be not exactly human, either, the intimate part seemed to have worked out fine. I loved the fact that Elphame went out on her own to restore one of her family's castles, which was abandoned after the Formorian war 125 years before. I loved the kind of chieftain she was being. The relationships in this book were not as deep and complex as in previous books, though, and some things happened that ticked me off. Some of it was too pat. I suppose I'll order the last in the series from the library, and if I don't have too many other good books in the bag when it comes in, I'll read it.
OK, finished it now. Since her lifemate turned out to be not exactly human, either, the intimate part seemed to have worked out fine. I loved the fact that Elphame went out on her own to restore one of her family's castles, which was abandoned after the Formorian war 125 years before. I loved the kind of chieftain she was being. The relationships in this book were not as deep and complex as in previous books, though, and some things happened that ticked me off. Some of it was too pat. I suppose I'll order the last in the series from the library, and if I don't have too many other good books in the bag when it comes in, I'll read it.
June 3, 2010
For the most part, my opinion on this book is that it's bad. I just wasn't engrossed enough to get farther than halfway. The main character is insufferably perfect and boring. Brenna is the only character I felt like I cared about. Like other reviewers have said, somehow P.C. Cast managed to make her SETTING a Mary Sue. I never understood whether she was trying to evoke Scottish culture, Viking culture, or Ancient Greek. It felt like this book was taking itself so seriously and never took a step back to really explain what was going on. I felt lost, like I wasn't in on the joke for the most part. Just generally not a well-written book.
March 17, 2010
Cast did a great job, this is another great Partholon story. If you liked the first three books this one will not disappoint you.
September 21, 2018
With the Goddess on my side, I conquer all
This is part of the Goddess of Partholon series, which, per the publisher's blurb, is exceedingly popular. I found it difficult to imagine that the heroine and hero would actually face any difficulty in waltzing their way to a happy ending. After all, the Goddess is on the heroine's side, all the way from ensuring that she is born in satyr form to a human mother and centaur father, and is announced as the incarnation of the Goddess herself, right in chapter one.
On the other hand, I've never quite understood why such a stated-as-benevolent goddess would require such bloodthirsty sacrifices for good ends to result. It's not as if there are any real choices along the way, title notwithstanding.
Neither have I got my head around a rose-tinted view of a society in which there are tenth sons, who stand to inherit nothing, so they are super thrilled to have Elphame rebuild the ruined castle, rumoured (correctly, as it turns out) to be haunted. By benevolent ghosts.
Who show us what horrid creatures the ancient winged enemy were. But their descendants, equally winged, are human and stubbornly and relentlessly resist the call of their demon blood for several decades. Benevolently.
Aargh. Anyway, the second half of the book is somewhat better than the first, and the brother-sister dialogues are quite snappy and have a true sibling feel. Loving and benevolent though they are....
But I'm getting less tolerant of books with prophecies. Sigh. The older I get, the fussier I get.
Nope, not checking out more PC Cast books myself, but if you liked Twilight, this may well be up your alley, 170 year old hero, teen heroine, and all.
[Reviewed in 2013; uploaded here now]
This is part of the Goddess of Partholon series, which, per the publisher's blurb, is exceedingly popular. I found it difficult to imagine that the heroine and hero would actually face any difficulty in waltzing their way to a happy ending. After all, the Goddess is on the heroine's side, all the way from ensuring that she is born in satyr form to a human mother and centaur father, and is announced as the incarnation of the Goddess herself, right in chapter one.
On the other hand, I've never quite understood why such a stated-as-benevolent goddess would require such bloodthirsty sacrifices for good ends to result. It's not as if there are any real choices along the way, title notwithstanding.
Neither have I got my head around a rose-tinted view of a society in which there are tenth sons, who stand to inherit nothing, so they are super thrilled to have Elphame rebuild the ruined castle, rumoured (correctly, as it turns out) to be haunted. By benevolent ghosts.
Who show us what horrid creatures the ancient winged enemy were. But their descendants, equally winged, are human and stubbornly and relentlessly resist the call of their demon blood for several decades. Benevolently.
Aargh. Anyway, the second half of the book is somewhat better than the first, and the brother-sister dialogues are quite snappy and have a true sibling feel. Loving and benevolent though they are....
But I'm getting less tolerant of books with prophecies. Sigh. The older I get, the fussier I get.
Nope, not checking out more PC Cast books myself, but if you liked Twilight, this may well be up your alley, 170 year old hero, teen heroine, and all.
[Reviewed in 2013; uploaded here now]
October 23, 2011
Kay and I have always wondered if, free from whatever influences or ideas about the cognitive limitations of teenagers that resulted in the abysmal House of Night series, PC Cast might be a decent author. She's had plenty of books published prior to that series becoming a hit, and they seemed to have interesting enough concepts. Plus, as much as it pains us to admit it, there have been bits and pieces of interesting ideas in Cast's god-awful opus, even if they're easy to overlook given the context. We tossed around theories, like how perhaps House of Night is an extremely prolonged fluke, or made worse by the influence of her daughter and the insipid "teen speak", or even a calculated plot to capitalize on the Twilight craze, that was dumbed down intentionally in a misguided attempt to appeal to a younger audience. I mean, from an established author with like fifty bajillion books to her name, writing like the writing in House of Night can't be the norm, can it?
Hence the desire to read Elphame's Choice, despite our less than fuzzy feelings towards her most popular work. Choice is an extension of Cast's adult series, Partholon, and the first of a pair of books set in that world, intended for a YA audience. So how did it stack up? Surprisingly....not as bad as we'd expected. Don't get me wrong, it's not great, either; I'm not even sure it constitutes "good". But it's generally free of ear-bleeding stupidity, and quite honestly that's more than I expected.
First of all, let's be clear, Elphame's Choice is not really a paranormal romance novel. It takes place in a completely different world that has more of a fantasy influence, being in an unspecified medieval time period, with all the warriors, sorcerers, archers, hunters, and what have you that go along with that era. Oh, and centaurs. That's how you know it's fantasy, after all. But I wouldn't be so quick to shelve it with your Lord of the Rings or your Game of Thrones, either. Elphame's Choice places far too little emphasis on any sort of epic plot or conflict for it to even come near the realm of either of those books.
So what we really have in Elphame's Choice is an expanded dramatic romance novel, with fantasy touches and aspirations. Despite what the flap summary would lead you to believe, most of Choice is devoted to slowly developing the characters' relationships and situations. Conflict is almost an afterthought, and conflict on any sort of grand scale is totally non-existent.
Story-wise, Elphame's Choice primarily follows the titular heroine as she sets out to restore an ancient castle that was once home to her family's ancestors. Well, that's our excuse for setting the story in motion, anyway. Really it's about Elphame's quest for acceptance, after having lived a life being set apart from everyone else. Elphame is half-horse, you see - more in a satyr way than centaur, although her father *is* a centaur to begin with - and this is a manifestation of her being touched by Epona. Not the Zelda one, the horse goddess, who in Elphame's Choice is also apparently the goddess of dawn, and big shit in the world of Partholon. As someone so clearly "touched by the goddess", Elphame always been revered and worshiped and treated well, but never befriended, so naturally she's struck with a serious case of emo and alone.
On the goddess topic, I have to mention that this book has a lot of familiar elements. I do hate harping on the House of Night thing, but much of Elphame's choice feels like a template for the series. Though it doesn't get much expansion, the world is incredibly familiar - a matriarchal society devoted to the worship of a single goddess, with element-based rituals and ceremonies presided over by a single powerful woman who has a direct line to the Goddess herself? Sound familiar? Plus, we have a heroine who has been specifically chosen by the Goddess for some grand destiny, and a love interest who comes from a group of alienated and previously undiscovered hybrids who need magical saving from the dark impulses inside them. Seriously, swap the centaurs for vampyres, Epona for Nyx, Fomorians half-breeds for Red Fledglings, and shoddy teen-speak for sketchy "ye olde speake", and you've got your basic set-up for House of Night.
I know it's not uncommon for authors to re-use elements from their earlier works, and to be fair, the story is much more introspective than House of Night ever dreamt of being, but it's all so familiar. Elphame even performs the same sort of element-evoking rituals that I swear to God, you could paste over one of Zoey's in House of Night without anyone being the wiser. Characters even get the dreaded plot-convenience "Feelings" that allow them to make irrational decisions as the plot demands. Yay! I missed those so much. It just struck me as a little lazy, and rather disappointing, actually. I wanted to see if she could do outside of the House of Night spectrum, and was hoping for more of a variety.
But...well, Elphame's Choice puts the emphasis on the characters, not the world, which is a shame, because more world exploration might have yielded that variety. It's implied that Partholon is a polytheistic world, so apparently Epona isn't the only Goddess on the block, but who else is there? Is Epona at the top of the pyramid? Does everyone revere her the way Elphame's family does, or is she hot shit with them because they're the head of the Epona-worshiping cult? I don't know the answer to any of these questions, because we're not given much of a look at anything outside of Elphame's narrow realm of existence. It's never even really made clear what kind of gods inhabit this land - are they Greek, Roman, Celtic, all of the above? Most of Elphame's family heritage and mythology seem to be Celtic-based, but there are other bits that don't quite fit in with that - like references to a Temple of the Muses - and make the mythology muddled and unclear. It could be that all of these were questions answered in the previous Partholon books, which I suppose is fair enough, but it was still a bit disappointing to be teased with the idea of this huge, completely new world and not be given much information about it.
What we do see of Partholon is generally pretty idyllic - a bit unrealistically so, actually...
Read more at You're Killing.Us.
Hence the desire to read Elphame's Choice, despite our less than fuzzy feelings towards her most popular work. Choice is an extension of Cast's adult series, Partholon, and the first of a pair of books set in that world, intended for a YA audience. So how did it stack up? Surprisingly....not as bad as we'd expected. Don't get me wrong, it's not great, either; I'm not even sure it constitutes "good". But it's generally free of ear-bleeding stupidity, and quite honestly that's more than I expected.
First of all, let's be clear, Elphame's Choice is not really a paranormal romance novel. It takes place in a completely different world that has more of a fantasy influence, being in an unspecified medieval time period, with all the warriors, sorcerers, archers, hunters, and what have you that go along with that era. Oh, and centaurs. That's how you know it's fantasy, after all. But I wouldn't be so quick to shelve it with your Lord of the Rings or your Game of Thrones, either. Elphame's Choice places far too little emphasis on any sort of epic plot or conflict for it to even come near the realm of either of those books.
So what we really have in Elphame's Choice is an expanded dramatic romance novel, with fantasy touches and aspirations. Despite what the flap summary would lead you to believe, most of Choice is devoted to slowly developing the characters' relationships and situations. Conflict is almost an afterthought, and conflict on any sort of grand scale is totally non-existent.
Story-wise, Elphame's Choice primarily follows the titular heroine as she sets out to restore an ancient castle that was once home to her family's ancestors. Well, that's our excuse for setting the story in motion, anyway. Really it's about Elphame's quest for acceptance, after having lived a life being set apart from everyone else. Elphame is half-horse, you see - more in a satyr way than centaur, although her father *is* a centaur to begin with - and this is a manifestation of her being touched by Epona. Not the Zelda one, the horse goddess, who in Elphame's Choice is also apparently the goddess of dawn, and big shit in the world of Partholon. As someone so clearly "touched by the goddess", Elphame always been revered and worshiped and treated well, but never befriended, so naturally she's struck with a serious case of emo and alone.
On the goddess topic, I have to mention that this book has a lot of familiar elements. I do hate harping on the House of Night thing, but much of Elphame's choice feels like a template for the series. Though it doesn't get much expansion, the world is incredibly familiar - a matriarchal society devoted to the worship of a single goddess, with element-based rituals and ceremonies presided over by a single powerful woman who has a direct line to the Goddess herself? Sound familiar? Plus, we have a heroine who has been specifically chosen by the Goddess for some grand destiny, and a love interest who comes from a group of alienated and previously undiscovered hybrids who need magical saving from the dark impulses inside them. Seriously, swap the centaurs for vampyres, Epona for Nyx, Fomorians half-breeds for Red Fledglings, and shoddy teen-speak for sketchy "ye olde speake", and you've got your basic set-up for House of Night.
I know it's not uncommon for authors to re-use elements from their earlier works, and to be fair, the story is much more introspective than House of Night ever dreamt of being, but it's all so familiar. Elphame even performs the same sort of element-evoking rituals that I swear to God, you could paste over one of Zoey's in House of Night without anyone being the wiser. Characters even get the dreaded plot-convenience "Feelings" that allow them to make irrational decisions as the plot demands. Yay! I missed those so much. It just struck me as a little lazy, and rather disappointing, actually. I wanted to see if she could do outside of the House of Night spectrum, and was hoping for more of a variety.
But...well, Elphame's Choice puts the emphasis on the characters, not the world, which is a shame, because more world exploration might have yielded that variety. It's implied that Partholon is a polytheistic world, so apparently Epona isn't the only Goddess on the block, but who else is there? Is Epona at the top of the pyramid? Does everyone revere her the way Elphame's family does, or is she hot shit with them because they're the head of the Epona-worshiping cult? I don't know the answer to any of these questions, because we're not given much of a look at anything outside of Elphame's narrow realm of existence. It's never even really made clear what kind of gods inhabit this land - are they Greek, Roman, Celtic, all of the above? Most of Elphame's family heritage and mythology seem to be Celtic-based, but there are other bits that don't quite fit in with that - like references to a Temple of the Muses - and make the mythology muddled and unclear. It could be that all of these were questions answered in the previous Partholon books, which I suppose is fair enough, but it was still a bit disappointing to be teased with the idea of this huge, completely new world and not be given much information about it.
What we do see of Partholon is generally pretty idyllic - a bit unrealistically so, actually...
Read more at You're Killing.Us.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 9, 2018
Good story mostly, but the ending always brings a tear to my eye.
I think P.C Cast screwed up the generational gap. The 3rd book ends with Etaine's birth, this book begins with Etaine being the matriarch of the family, with Elphame as her child. So the generations are...
The MacCallan and sister Morrigan (the first)
Rhiannon/Shannon (35/36 yrs when they gave birth - about the same time as Lochlan is born too)
Morrigan (the second)/Myrna (18 yrs when she gave birth)
Etaine (child of Myrna, raised by Shannnon) (unknown age, but Elphame was her first child)
Elphame/Cuchulainn
Lochlan is supposedly 125 years old (having been born just after the events of book 1), and confirms that The MacCallan is his uncle. Lochlan would have been born within months of Morrigan and Myrna.
Elphame says that the MacCallan was her "Great-Grandfather" (actually Great-Great-Grandfather), so unless there were 3-4 extra generations that PC didn't mention, then Lochlan would actually be 55-75 years old, and Elphame would be doing her third cousin. Just eww.
I think P.C Cast screwed up the generational gap. The 3rd book ends with Etaine's birth, this book begins with Etaine being the matriarch of the family, with Elphame as her child. So the generations are...
The MacCallan and sister Morrigan (the first)
Rhiannon/Shannon (35/36 yrs when they gave birth - about the same time as Lochlan is born too)
Morrigan (the second)/Myrna (18 yrs when she gave birth)
Etaine (child of Myrna, raised by Shannnon) (unknown age, but Elphame was her first child)
Elphame/Cuchulainn
Lochlan is supposedly 125 years old (having been born just after the events of book 1), and confirms that The MacCallan is his uncle. Lochlan would have been born within months of Morrigan and Myrna.
Elphame says that the MacCallan was her "Great-Grandfather" (actually Great-Great-Grandfather), so unless there were 3-4 extra generations that PC didn't mention, then Lochlan would actually be 55-75 years old, and Elphame would be doing her third cousin. Just eww.
March 31, 2021
☆5 Stars☆
NOTES & THOUGHTS
• Writing style is different than the other books in the series - more settled and less "sarcastic". It worked well for the characters which the book focuses on.
• The book was set well in the future from the previous books in the series.
• Followed a storyline I didn't know I needed, and resolved some situations I didn't realise I needed to see resolved.
I LOVED
• The writing style: it suited the storyline and the characters - I loved it.
• The characters and the character development.
• That the storyline develops well.
• That this was a fun, well written, easy read.
• That the book was full of emotion throughout.
I DIDN'T LOVE
• I still wish there was more of a storyline surrounding the previous storylines and characters. There were some parts of the previous storylines which, while didn't need resolving, I wish they were resolved. It didn't stop me enjoying the book or take away from my enjoyment of the rest of the series.
NOTES & THOUGHTS
• Writing style is different than the other books in the series - more settled and less "sarcastic". It worked well for the characters which the book focuses on.
• The book was set well in the future from the previous books in the series.
• Followed a storyline I didn't know I needed, and resolved some situations I didn't realise I needed to see resolved.
I LOVED
• The writing style: it suited the storyline and the characters - I loved it.
• The characters and the character development.
• That the storyline develops well.
• That this was a fun, well written, easy read.
• That the book was full of emotion throughout.
I DIDN'T LOVE
• I still wish there was more of a storyline surrounding the previous storylines and characters. There were some parts of the previous storylines which, while didn't need resolving, I wish they were resolved. It didn't stop me enjoying the book or take away from my enjoyment of the rest of the series.
September 10, 2019
This series has taken a different road than I thought it would. As much as I would have liked to stay in partholon with Shannon; I quite enjoyed Elphame’s story. I couldn’t seem to put it down. The characters were lovable and I grew attached to lochlon almost immediately. I gave the last two books less stars then this for many reasons but I couldn’t seem to put this at anything but a 5, or even 4.5 although I don’t know where the both would have lost the .5. P.C cast always seems to make me feel all the emotions someone could feel in her books and this one definitely had me laughing as well as close to crying. I’ve been leary about reading the next one but since the main character of the next book is introduced in this one; I have come to already like them. I can’t wait to start on the last book in the series.
April 28, 2025
I don't have much to say other than meh. I liked the first book in the Partholon series when I read it in my late teens but after revisiting the series as an adult I haven't found myself grabbed by any of the later books in the series. This book follows Elphame who is the grandaughter of Shannon from the first Partholon book. It takes place 100 years or so after the action and follows Elphame rebuilding the Clan MacCallan castle and finding her lifemate who turns out to be another half-breed mix (Fomorian/human as opposed to Elphame who is centaur/human). I did enjoy the side characters like Cu and of course Brenna (how dare you kill her off Cast?!). I felt like the ending was rushed and a little too perfectly tied up in a bow. I have the last book in the series sitting on my shelf but honestly I'm in no rush to read it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 13, 2020
Elphame is a direct descendant of Rhiannon MacCallan. If Lochlan's mother really was a MacCallan then isn't that considered incest? I know he is a hundred years old but still they share the same genetic DNA, anyone else got a little disturbed by this? They were both aware that they are related to each other but jumped right in with unprotected sex.
I have to point out that it really bothered me the whole tortured shtick from Locklan. You guys know, the whole vampire gimmick who is racked with guilt and must control himself to not hurt the one he loves. Ugh, get out of here with that bullshit.
For full review: https://amandaweidensjo.blogspot.com/...
I have to point out that it really bothered me the whole tortured shtick from Locklan. You guys know, the whole vampire gimmick who is racked with guilt and must control himself to not hurt the one he loves. Ugh, get out of here with that bullshit.
For full review: https://amandaweidensjo.blogspot.com/...
October 17, 2022
Je n’ai vraiment pas aimé, clairement pas adhéré à l’ambiance du bouquin qui se base sur les déesses. J’ai trouvé que ça faisait un peu secte avec de la magie mais pas non plus de la réelle magie genre sentir la roche t’accueillir bref…
Je n’ai pas aimé les personnages, l’intrigue franchement where is the plot ? La prophétie non stop, hyper décousue, n’a aucun intérêt, aucun sens…
J’ai pu lire le livre en diagonale sans problème étant constitué d’énormément de passages qui ne servent à rien (plus des deux tiers du bouquin vraiment… à décrire la reconstruction du château… à juste parler pour dire des trucs bateaux du style « comment vas-tu ? » « tiens bois une tisane » yes).
La seule partie à la limite intéressante était à la fin et se finie en un paragraphe…
Je n’ai pas aimé les personnages, l’intrigue franchement where is the plot ? La prophétie non stop, hyper décousue, n’a aucun intérêt, aucun sens…
J’ai pu lire le livre en diagonale sans problème étant constitué d’énormément de passages qui ne servent à rien (plus des deux tiers du bouquin vraiment… à décrire la reconstruction du château… à juste parler pour dire des trucs bateaux du style « comment vas-tu ? » « tiens bois une tisane » yes).
La seule partie à la limite intéressante était à la fin et se finie en un paragraphe…
October 18, 2017
Amazing, another hit for P.C. Cast in my opinion. It does take a little bit to get into in the beginning, just a little bit of backstory and all. But I think it definitely adds into the excitement of it all! There's mystery, romance, adventure, grief, and magic. It definitely twists in a way that I didn't expect with the loss of Brenna, life mate to Cuchulainn, but I'm sure Cast has a plan to why this happened! There's something going to come up in a book following this one is this series and I can't wait to read it. I'm super glad that Elphame and Lochlan are together! And that she was able to help his people.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 30, 2020
Better writing,but the characters felt flat and I didn't really care about them. Lochlan was cool and I did like him,I loved the idea that he'd watched over her and dreamed of her his whole life. I was glad a Formorian was finally the love interest as they sounded so cool looking. Seeing him fight his dark heritage and instincts was unique and endearing.
I pretty much skimmed through the majority and read all the romantic or important scenes. Most of it was about rebuilding a castle, designing it, sibling bonds,etc. Just not in the same league as House of Night.
I pretty much skimmed through the majority and read all the romantic or important scenes. Most of it was about rebuilding a castle, designing it, sibling bonds,etc. Just not in the same league as House of Night.
July 2, 2017
Loved this book! I didn't know that it wasn't the first in the series and now I am going back and trying to read the others. P.C. Cast is now a favorite author. This book had my emotions all over the place and I loved it. I was laughing at every comment and sobbing at every tragedy. Beautiful language use.
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