Of Blood and Honey

Stina Leicht
Of Blood and Honey Cover

Of Blood and Honey

paola_fi
7/28/2014
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This book was an original take on a shapeshifter. Liam is not an ordinary boy, even though he seems to lead a life of one. His trouble starts when he is thrown to prison for participating in a riot against the British forces. What happens to him in Long Kesh stays a secret, but the nightmares and shame never leave him. He decides to join the IRA for all the wrong reasons, and slowly his life turns into a mess for reasons both mundane and fey.

Leicht struck gold when she decided to combine 1970's Northern Ireland and Irish folklore. The story starts when The Troubles started: riots, gunfire, random arrests and violence against civilians form an unique background for a fantasy story. There's a war on both sides: Liam's fey father is fighting his own war against the Fallen the same time his son is fighting against the British and protestants with the IRA. Both men struggle with love, loss and loyalty. I found this book both fascinating and heart-breaking: how much are you ready to suffer for your loved ones?

(Roll-Your Own Reading Challenge 2014: Women of Genre Fiction)