Review of Nimue: Freeing Merlin (Barnes & Noble Edition)

[Jevonte Malik]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Nimue: Freeing Merlin (Barnes & Noble Edition)" by Ayn Cates Sullivan.]

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4 out of 5 stars

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Nina, a regular teenager who grew up in the US, decides to visit her mother's homeland, England, just a few years after the death of her father. On reaching England, Nina and her mother stay with Nina's uncle, who is a university professor. Almost immediately, Nina feels a deeper but weirder connection with England than she ever felt with the US. It gets more weird when she begins to dream about things she can't fathom; she asks questions about the extraordinary and is left with nothing but further confusion from the answers she gets. Seeking an interpretation from a healer who lives nearby, she is recognized as the reincarnation of a really powerful ancient goddess, Nimue. When Nina comes in contact with Morgen (the mage from her dreams), she is assigned a task to acquire a relic that would be used to save Owen; however, this mission unlocks a bigger one, which sees her revisit her past life and try to free Merlin.

Firstly, I must talk about the plot of the book. I feel obliged to commend the author, Ayn Cates, on the uniqueness of the idea of the story in the book. I always admire authors who are creative. I love it when authors build stories in their books around a new plot. Of course, when we read about the same idea over and over again, we just get bored; however, that isn't the case in this book. Even though this is her only book I've read so far, I firmly believe that Ayn Cates Sullivan is a creative writer, having cooked up such an interesting plot.

I rate the book 4 out of 5 stars. The book's editing was done by a professional, as I found no errors while reading. The Kindle version of the book had some errors when I read it, but I think the author must have edited it to filter those errors. Also, I found the idea of switching between the lifetimes of the same person to be rather intriguing. I enjoyed how it reworked Arthurian stories and combined them with prehistoric religion to make a tale that bridged the gap between the past and present about a time when nature was in peace. Although I'm not into romance, other readers will undoubtedly be able to judge this aspect more accurately than I can. I suggest it to fantasy readers, particularly those who enjoy works that have ties to antiquated religions and Arthurian legends.

I deducted a star from my overall rating of the book because the parts that were much more interesting were rounded off quicker than the boring parts, which didn't exactly have much contribution to the plot. Even the part after Nimue's attempt at freeing Merlin (I wouldn't say if she succeeded or not; no spoilers), which is crucial, was rushed. I would have preferred to read more about that part instead of having to read about those other boring and unnecessarily long parts.

I never knew that this novel was part of a continuing series, Legends of the Grail, until I was done reading it. This goes to show that it can be read as a standalone and that it doesn't exactly rely on the stories of the previous books in the series. Readers who enjoy mystery and fantasy books would love this one as well. The book has light sexual content and is advisable for readers older than 16.

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Nimue: Freeing Merlin (Barnes & Noble Edition)
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[Anozie Stephanie]

Such twist of fate for Nina, it is so unexpected and I can understand the deeper connection one have for a country than the other, the reincarnation came as a suprise to me.