Timothy and Linden left the Green Isles with more then a stone and a few good men of the Children of Rhys, they left with the means of protecting themselves and their fellow faeries against the all conquering Empress. Returned home to the Oak the real work is now to begin. At any time the Empress would descend on the Oak she has vowed to destroy with her many hundreds of follower, willing or otherwise. But would the faeries of the Oak be ready?When the Stone of Naming was taken from the Green Isles, the Children of Rhys were left confused, frightened and desperate to have their most precious possession returned to them. But as faeries of peace, the Children of Rhys have little chance of surviving on the mainland against the Empress and her faeries to take back the stone from the rebels, unless they are willing to break their most sacred law.As a Child of Rhys and daughter of one of the most esteemed elders, Rosemary is shocked to discover her mother plans to invade the mainland and break this sacred law. With little choice to save her people, Rosemary leaves home in an effort to reclaim the sacred stone and restore peace to her homeland. However the mainland is nothing like the sheltered home she left behind and Rosemary soon finds out how tricky faeries can really be.Arrow sees a new heroine take the spotlight in this charming yet dangerous series. Rosemary is a faery who is learning about life the hard way, but she is not the only one. As her innocence and naivety are turned against her, Rosemary is able to find inner strength in her beliefs. Even after being betrayed, humbled, dominated, kissed, forgiven and exiled she is still strong, smart and brave in the face of all. A delightful and endearing continuation of a wonderfully enchanting series. This series keeps getting better! In ARROW, we learn about Rhosmari, a young teacher and scholar from the Children of Rhys, a group of faeries. The Children of Rhys live on magical islands off the coast of Wales, and have forsworn all violence. But now their society is in turmoil. (Spoiler alert!) On the mainland, a faery who styles herself the Empress has enslaved many, and is intent on attacking and destroying those few faeries - the Oakenfolk and the rebels - who resist her. In a previous volume, two young people - the faery Linden and the human Timothy - came to Rhosmari's people to beg for the stone of naming, which could free anyone who held it from the Empress's slavery. Rhosmari's friend Garan stole the stone and gave it to them. Shortly thereafter, Garan and many other young males left the islands, presumably to join the rebellion against the Empress. The Children of Rhys are afraid that they will have no defense without the stone. Against her mother's wishes, Rhosmari flees to the mainland, intending to find Garan and bring the stone back.What follows is satisfyingly twisty. Rhosmari encounters several characters readers have met before, among them the faery Martin. Does he mean her good or ill? We meet the empress, as well, and, like Jadis/the White Witch, she is a satisfyingly horrid villain. Readers get to see how she treats her followers, and exactly where she gets her power. To give just one example of her villainy, we see her abuse of an innocent little pug and the dog's human owner. Rhosmari, smart and determined, schemes to right this wrong. She is a fascinating character - a committed pacifist, with a dark secret of her own, plunged into a war. We get to meet other old friends besides Martin, and to view them through Rhosmari's eyes. If I tried to say much more, I would probably relate the entire plot! Rhosmari - who happens to be a brown-skinned faery (yay!) - is another admirable heroine, intelligent and principled. And this book is a must-read for those who enjoyed the earlier two books in the series. It could stand alone, but gains in depth if read in context.
What do You think about Arrow (2011)?
good book, the story line was interesting because it was in the point of view of a Child Of Rhys.
—thilo
