Daughter of Aithne

The Silver Web #3

by K.R. Gastreich

After a decade of peace, crisis engulfs the kingdom. Eolyn’s students in magic rebel against the Mage King Akmael. Accused of treason, the forest witch Eolyn is imprisoned along with her children. Distraught for the fate of her son and daughter, Eolyn begins a desperate search for new allies. If she fails, the King’s enemies will kill them all.

Years ago, Akmael’s former queen, Taesara, was spurned for the forest witch Eolyn. Now Taesara’s daughter by Akmael has escaped his court to join her mother in exile. Taesara launches a brutal war against the Mage King. If she fails to claim the throne for her daughter, both will perish under the King’s wrath.

In the gripping finale to The Silver Web Trilogy, threads of love, honor, betrayal, and vengeance culminate in a war that engulfs four kingdoms. The victorious woman will claim the crown; the defeated will face her executioner.

“Fans of the trilogy won’t want to miss this hard-hitting finish.” –PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

“An enticing and elegant series finale filled with magic and turmoil.” –KIRKUS REVIEWS

Winner of the OZMA AWARD for Fantasy Fiction from CHANTICLEER REVIEWS.

Genres: Fantasy

384 pages, Paperback

Published May 1, 2017

About the author

K.R. Gastreich is an award-winning author of epic fantasy and paranormal fiction. Her stories feature smart heroines, forbidden magic, and dark mythology. Gastreich’s novels have been favorably reviewed by top editorial magazines such as Publishers Weekly, Kirkus, the Prairies Book Review, and Booktrib. Her short stories have appeared in Zahir, Adventures for the Average Woman, 69 Flavors of Paranoia, and World Jumping. Upcoming projects include the Ankala Oracle Deck, a divinatory deck based on the fictional World of Faelon from DGS Games.
An ecologist and nature lover, Karin has dedicated her professional life to environmental science education. After living and working abroad for many years, Karin now resides in the Kansas City area where she grew up. When not writing or doing biology, Karin enjoys hiking, reading, dancing, gaming, listening to music, and spending time with friends and family.

Reviews

[Darryl Ray · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed the entire series. Very thought provoking. For me, the central themes were the harm that occurs when women are subjugated, and the wastefulness of warfare. Both of these themes are extremely important for us to deal with in today's world. Women empowerment (as well as for people of color and the indigenous peoples) is crucial if we are to survive as a species. While the Silver Web series is fiction/fantasy, I know from my own experience and study that our real world is not that far removed from Eolyn's. I have recently discovered that I have accused witches in my family history, and that they could have been killed (a husband of one was). This knowledge gave me a much keener perspective on what happened to the Magas in Gastreich's book. As to the other theme, the wastefulness of war, one doesn't have to look far to see that our country has wasted so many lives and money on our wars for the last 20 years. What a sad waste! Suffice to say, this book series has given me a lot to think about and has given me hope for solving the problems of our world. Inclusiveness, trust, hope and love need to be major components of that solution.

[H. Duby · Rating 4 out of 5]

One thing that I hate doing is coming in on Act Three of a three-act play, but that is occasionally what happens through the luck of the draw when I read. I occasionally start reading a series not realizing I've started reading a series, and that is usually disappointing because I am left feeling very confused because I'm coming in in the middle of the action. When I first began reading this book, I did not immediately realize that it was A) part of a series or B) that it was not the first in the series. The story presented was cohesive enough, and there was enough backstory woven into the narrative that I did not feel utterly confused. However, upon completing the novel, I would definitely like to go back and read the first two books in the series to get a richer understanding of the world and of how the strong women in this book got their start. The book, and I presume the rest of the series, is full of intrigue, magic, treachery, betrayal, love... All of the best ingredients in high fantasy, and readers of Mercedes Lackey's Valdemar series would likely enjoy these books, as well. There are some love scenes, but they are not extremely explicit and would not be too much for mature readers 16+.

Reviewed by HR Duby for Romance Authors that Rock

[June Schneider · Rating 3 out of 5]

Again, these are my feelings more than my memory of the details since it’s been a while since I read these.
First of all I remember the book begins with a jump forward ten years. That really took me for a loop. I was like..wait…what about all that life to get here? I need a little more please. The first book was so languid and slow, growing into the character and her life, allowing you to feel for her, to believe her. The second book jumped up in pace, but more centered around a specific time. However, the third book just felt like a bit of a rush job to me. Especially the ending.

Once again, I felt, geez, are these women EVER going to elevate or catch a break? Are they always going to be battered? I wanted something to be right already. Adiana’s outcome…what!! That seriously broke my heart. And the way the Queen’s uncle spoke and thought of Eolyn really bugged me. I kept yelling..no, you got it all wrong! This character was so believable and the story so strong, it felt like a real portrayal of someones life. I didn’t want anyone to say anything bad about her. So kudos to the author for this accomplishment. The growing years of family, children. The King and that amazing love. It was one of the best love stories in this regard. And I'm not usually one for romance in my fantasy. And the King...I loved this King...I loved him as a boy too.
However, for me, the ending came completely out of left field. I didn’t even get it for a minute. I had to think back, hey wait why don’t I remember ANYthing relating to this whole HUGE experience? I actually looked back in the book a bit to see if I missed something because this was just so random to me. But I couldn’t find anything relating to this specific time…so..yeah? I don’t know what to say about that. I just put my kindle down and thought..really? That’s it?
To me the book was depressing. I never got back to any of that ‘magic’ of the first book, or the ‘hope’ of the second. Although the author can write, and had a terrific premise for this series, as well as creative world building, for me, the last book fell short. The ending just didn’t work for me, it was a let down from the first books beginning journey into a thoughtful life, and of something wonderful happening to this girl…this girl with so much promise and magic.

[L.A. Crawford · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was the hardest book to rate. Gastreich is an amazing writer. She is brilliant, talented, engaging, and creative in every way. I love her prose, her world-building, and her characters. I cannot wait to read whatever she chooses to write next.

I was, however, really, really unsatisfied with the ending. No spoilers, but suffice it to say, having consumed the other two books in this series in a weekend (and read them in order), I was left really unsatisfied, upset, and heartbroken. That being said, I see why she did what she did, and I can only assume that she has fallen in love with her characters and let that shape her story.

[Epiphany · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first book by Karin Rita Gastreich, and having not read the first two book I did not know what I was in for. I did have some difficulty getting in to this story which I found frustrating. Some of the wording for me was tiring and tedious. I found this book to be fairly well written and with enough back story so I was not completely lost. I feel this book should be read by 16+

[Kameka Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Depressing

Great storytelling and world building, but it ends with the idea that only women can build peace giving men a pass. Also do depressing, she loses husband and son and the last child belongs to someone else. It's supposed to be done epic devoted love and she cheated. It doesn't do the story justice.

[Khaled · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book has some highs and some lows. But I like the different characters from the previous books so I liked this one although less than the first two. I felt it was rushed at the end while the end of the first 2 books of the trilogy were breathtaking

[Joetta Spurling · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm an independent reviewer for Romance Authors That Rock.
I have not had the opportunity to read any books by this author before... being this is book 3 of the series I would recommend you reading them in order... Because of this I had a difficult time getting into the story.. but as I read I started to understand it... I liked it so much I will be renting books 1and 2 with my Kindle Unlimited... I recommend this book to readers that enjoy books about magic and fantasy... This is inappropriate for readers under the age of 16...