Tracy’s review of Cottage by the Stream by Gail Wolfe
What would you do if you were forced to flee to another country because you were being pursued by a psychopath? How would you handle a situation where you were told you were from a long line of Celtic avengers called Star-Children and with the help of a two-hundred fifty year old druid who was a Watcher/Protector, had to kill a being from another realm called a Repeater to get your life back to normal?
Sarah King’s life is turned upside down when she becomes the victim of a psychopath. Fleeing to Scotland where she thinks she will be safe, she soon learns she is more than she knows. Meeting Ian McAlister who vows to protect her, she is drawn into a world she never thought really existed. Ian teaches Sarah about a certain Celtic legend that in actuality concerns Sarah herself.
Sarah was being stalked by a man who felt from the moment he saw her he knew they would be together forever – creeeeeepy! At one point he decides that if they can’t be together then he will kill her instead. Sarah manages to get away and the man, Joe, is arrested. But he escapes prison and Sarah has to go into hiding. She ends up at a cottage in the Scottish highlands and ends up meeting Ian.
While Ian and Sarah hit it off he starts to tell her about some of the legends of Scotland – about repeaters who are half-human/half-fey children whose souls move to other human bodies when their own bodies die. Not only do these souls move to a new body but they retain all of the knowledge and memories from their previous lives. Some of them turn evil with the power. He tells her about the Star-Children who were created to kill the evil repeaters and the Watchers who watch over the Star-Children. Well of course Sarah thinks that Ian is cracked in the head but eventually she is forced to believe that not only do these people actually exist but Joe the psycho stalker is a repeater, but she is a Star-child and Ian is her Watcher – pretty convenient, that.
Ian must force Sarah to face facts and Sarah must learn exactly what to do to face down the repeater and take care of the evil fey for good. During this time Sarah and Ian are falling in love but neither are willing to state their feelings to the other.
When I first started reading this book I was intrigued with the story of the stalker and Sarah going in to hiding but quite quickly I found myself rolling my eyes at some of Sarah’s actions (you are in hiding and you go to an event where not only a lot of people can see you but your name is announced as you walk in? Hello – doesn’t say hiding to me) because they seemed so ridiculous. She was very trusting of Ian right off the bat which seemed odd but she felt safe with him so I didn’t get hung up on that for too long. I didn’t particularly care for Sarah’s character as I thought most of her actions were usually overblown and overly dramatized. Even at the end when Ian is trying to confess his love she’s yelling at him and hitting him. Temper, temper.
In this story here were a ton of characters to keep track of when I didn’t feel there needed to be and the story got a bit convoluted at times for my liking. The style of writing wasn’t to my liking either as a ton of, what I felt, unnecessary detail was given. I think that the book could have probably been about 75 pages shorter and still gotten the same story across in a more clear concise manner. But that’s just me and what I like – I know some folks like extra details so it’s really a matter of person opinion, likes and dislikes. Unfortunately this one was just ok for me.
Rating: 2 out of 5
You can read more from Tracy at Tracy’s Place
This book is available from New Concepts Publishing. You can buy it here in e-format.
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