The Puzzle Ring, by Kate Forsyth, is a book I discovered about a year ago. This is a slightly edited version of a review I posted on Goodreads.
Title: The Puzzle Ring
Author: Kate Forsyth
Hannah Rose is a twelve-almost-thirteen-year-old girl who lives in Australia with her mother, Roz. Years ago, just the day after her birth, Hannah's father Robert disappeared, somewhere in Loch Lomond, Scotland.
She comes home early one day, having been punished at school, to find a letter that turns her life upside-down.
Her great-grandmother is a countess.
In the letter, the Countess of Wintersloe, Hannah's great-grandmother, asks her and Roz to come to Scotland to see her.
In Wintersloe Castle, they meet the old, frail countess and her cook, Linnet. Hannah makes friends in the town- Donovan, the motherless boy who loves animals; Max, the science-crazy son of the Wintersloe gardener, Genie; and Scarlett, the dramatic daughter of the general store's owner. All four of them were born within four miles of each other, on four consecutive days of the same year- first Hannah, then Donovan, then Max and finally Scarlett.
And Hannah finds out about the magic the town talks of, and the curse on the Roses- how Eglantyne, the fairy wife of one of the Roses, was burnt to death and how she laid a curse on her husband's family:
By fever, fire, storm and sword
your blood shall suffer this bane.
No joy or peace for Wintersloe's lord,
till the puzzle ring is whole again.
The thorn tree shall not bud,
the green throne shall not sing,
until the child of true blood
is crowned the rightful king.
All the legends Hannah has read and loved are real!
On certain days of the year, gates to the Otherworld open- and one such gate is in Fairknowe, the hill near Wintersloe. But it is dangerous to go through, as after Eglantyne's death, the Unseelie Court, the 'bad' fairies, rule the Otherworld.
On one of the 'thin' days, Robert found one of the four parts of the puzzle ring, and hid it away. And on another of those days, he disappeared, trying to break the curse.
Two months after her thirteenth birthday, on one of the 'thin' days, Hannah, Donovan, Scarlett and Max go through the fairy gate, back in time to the reign of Mary, Queen of Scots- soon after Englantyne was killed.
Now the four friends, along with a younger Linnet (a fairy) and a new acquaintance, Angus, must look for the remaining three parts of the puzzle ring and try to break the Rose's family curse, without being caught by the black witch, now queen of the fairies, Irata.
And when they do they need to find a 'child of true blood' who will take the throne.
What happened that night, the night that Robert disappeared? Did Eglantyne actually die? Is Robert alive? Who is the child of true blood? Will the friends finish what Robert started and break the curse of the Roses?
To find out, read the book. Or you can read the spoiler below.
It's a really good book, and an excellent choice for fantasy lovers.
Title: The Puzzle Ring
Author: Kate Forsyth
Hannah Rose is a twelve-almost-thirteen-year-old girl who lives in Australia with her mother, Roz. Years ago, just the day after her birth, Hannah's father Robert disappeared, somewhere in Loch Lomond, Scotland.
She comes home early one day, having been punished at school, to find a letter that turns her life upside-down.
Her great-grandmother is a countess.
In the letter, the Countess of Wintersloe, Hannah's great-grandmother, asks her and Roz to come to Scotland to see her.
In Wintersloe Castle, they meet the old, frail countess and her cook, Linnet. Hannah makes friends in the town- Donovan, the motherless boy who loves animals; Max, the science-crazy son of the Wintersloe gardener, Genie; and Scarlett, the dramatic daughter of the general store's owner. All four of them were born within four miles of each other, on four consecutive days of the same year- first Hannah, then Donovan, then Max and finally Scarlett.
And Hannah finds out about the magic the town talks of, and the curse on the Roses- how Eglantyne, the fairy wife of one of the Roses, was burnt to death and how she laid a curse on her husband's family:
By fever, fire, storm and sword
your blood shall suffer this bane.
No joy or peace for Wintersloe's lord,
till the puzzle ring is whole again.
The thorn tree shall not bud,
the green throne shall not sing,
until the child of true blood
is crowned the rightful king.
All the legends Hannah has read and loved are real!
On certain days of the year, gates to the Otherworld open- and one such gate is in Fairknowe, the hill near Wintersloe. But it is dangerous to go through, as after Eglantyne's death, the Unseelie Court, the 'bad' fairies, rule the Otherworld.
On one of the 'thin' days, Robert found one of the four parts of the puzzle ring, and hid it away. And on another of those days, he disappeared, trying to break the curse.
Two months after her thirteenth birthday, on one of the 'thin' days, Hannah, Donovan, Scarlett and Max go through the fairy gate, back in time to the reign of Mary, Queen of Scots- soon after Englantyne was killed.
Now the four friends, along with a younger Linnet (a fairy) and a new acquaintance, Angus, must look for the remaining three parts of the puzzle ring and try to break the Rose's family curse, without being caught by the black witch, now queen of the fairies, Irata.
And when they do they need to find a 'child of true blood' who will take the throne.
What happened that night, the night that Robert disappeared? Did Eglantyne actually die? Is Robert alive? Who is the child of true blood? Will the friends finish what Robert started and break the curse of the Roses?
To find out, read the book. Or you can read the spoiler below.
It's a really good book, and an excellent choice for fantasy lovers.
