Deception's Pawn

Gr 6–10—In this sequel to Deception's Princess (Random, 2014), Maeve, daughter of King Eochu of Connacht, is grasping for independence from her father's reign while navigating a new court in a nearby highborn family's home. She finds herself among a group other foster girls her age who can be friendly and prankish. Caught between the vying love interest of her host family's son, and her father's greatest rival, Maeve pines for her lost love Odran. When a former foster returns to the court, the pranks turn vindictive and directed solely against Maeve, forcing her to wrestle free from building situations, and take destiny in her own hands. Friesner brings this rarely showcased first-century A.D. Irish setting alive with common traditions and roles of the Iron Age, but this tenderhearted Maeve is more a character of imagination than the one of Celtic folklore. The story's themes center on independence and personal agency. Moving at a faster pace than its prequel, most of the dramatic tension comes from Maeve's interactions with the other fosterling girls than through romance and adventure, leaving this book best suited for readers content to meander in a time and place, rather than those who prefer a high-action plot. Friesner's storytelling and context do not require having read the first in the series, but unresolved loose ends from the previous volume are tied up here. Romance scenes are tame, and though sex is alluded to having happened, it is offstage.