Night's Child by Cate Tiernan

Title: Night's Child
Author: Cate Tiernan
Publisher: Puffin Books
ISBN: 0-14-131717-5
Pages: 318
Series: Wicca/Sweep #15
Type: Young Adult Paranormal
Source: Purchased
Goodreads


Moira Byrne has grown up hearing hushed whispers about her mother, the great Morgan of Belwicket, and the awesome powers she is said to possess. Moira just knows her as Mum and has only ever seen her work as a witch and healer. But when strange dark signs begin to plague Morgan and her daughter, Morgan fears that the darkness of her past has once again arisen to be fought once more and Moira begins to realise just how dangerous her mother can be.

This is the fifteenth and final book in the Wicca series (which began with Book of Shadows) and it set twenty years after the end of the previous installment. Morgan now resides in Ireland with her daughter Moira having been contacted to help rebuild her ancestral coven of Belwicket. Morgan thought she'd left the darkness behind, but this rollercoaster of a story proves her wrong.

From the tragic heartwrenching beginning, through the many unexpected twists and turns to the incredible conclusion this is a thrill ride of a book with heaps of tension. One thing that stood out for me in an outstanding way was the parallels between Moira's life and Morgan's. Moira is drawn to a young witch Ian Delaney whose mother is suspected of working dark magick and their relationship parallels Morgan's relationship with Cal in a fascinating way.

Moira herself is more like her mother than even she herself thinks, struggling with the balance of morality and discovering secrets her family had hidden for her whole life. It is also interesting to see how different Moira's life at sixteen is from Morgan's as she has been brought up surrounded by magick and is studying for her initiation. I loved seeing how Morgan managed to achieve her goal of becoming a healer, even if certain events are not what she wanted to experience.

The only thing that bothers me, and it is a tiny thing, is that while pretty much all the major characters from the previous books get updates Alisa does not. Whether this was to leave her storyline open for the possibility of continuance I don't know but a quick 'Alisa is doing...' could have easily been worked in.

All in all this was a great read and I heartily recommend the entire series.

Plot: 10/10
Characters: 10/10
Ending: 10/10
Enjoyment: 10/10
Cover: 9/10

Overall: 49/50