Title: Sweep, Volume 3 [The Calling; Changeling; Strife]
Author: Cate Tiernan
Number of Pages: 565
Published: February 3, 2011
Rating: 5/5
SUMMARY
Morgan Rowlands holds profound magickal power. . . a power that some will stop at nothing to obtain. Though she knows she has much still to learn, magick has brought her more than she could ever have imagined: the love of her soul mate. Yet her dreams uncover something else - a dark force threatening her entire world. As the darkness closes in, Morgan realizes that she must make a choice - light or dark; hatred or love. Is she strong enough to make the sacrifice and discover her true nature, or will the darkness consume all she holds dear? (goodreads)
QUOTE
"Fire to fire and ashes to ashes. It will soon be done. I've already closed my heart to love. From this day on I give myself wholly to the darkness." - Ciaran [The Calling]
REVIEW [Spoiler Warning!]
Wow, so remember what I said about the interaction being sort of dull in the last volume? I spoke too soon! The gang is back and kicking this series to new standards—I couldn't put it down! It's so hard to sit down and make the review instead of grabbing the next one, but I know if I don't do it now you'll all be waiting for about two months. Oh, and let me mention the cover of this so awesooome.
So we start off with Morgan and the three main couples {Hunter and Morgan, Bree and Robbie, Sky and Raven} headed up to the Big Apple for some Amyranth information—considering Morgan just had a dream where they witnessed the coven's leader preparing to mutilate his child. The thing is no one knows their identities: they're disguised as animals.
Our new journal entries come from the POV of Ciaran, the man who we see killed Maeve Riordan and Angus Bramson, Morgan's birth parents. It's almost, if not more, interesting than Maeve's journal entries in the previous books. During all of this Morgan wonders if Hunter truly loves her, why Bree is so cold to Robbie, and how to ease tensions between Sky and Raven—all relationship stuff. Bree and Morgan are still trying to get a semblance of what they used to have, Robbie is growing more resentful for Morgan's easy use of her magick, and Raven is...well, Raven.
Enter Killian, stage left: Ciaran's son. Not that we know this right away, but we can instantly see he's a partying blood witch with no concern for how magic affects people other than himself. Flirtatious and self-confident, he is a force of nature who Morgan feels an instant connection to...the same with the man she meets outside of this party club, staring up at the moon.
Hunter and the rest of the Council come to the conclusion that Ciaran is leading the NYC sect of Amyranth, and find that Killian is his son—which means that Amyranth is after him, since Morgan's dream symbolized the wolf as the leader and a wolf cub as the victim. Hunter and Sky throw themselves into a hunt for the missing witch, and Morgan tries to help with her scrying abilities. After some delays Killian is found safe and sound, but leaves the next morning without a trace.
Here's where it gets GOOD. Morgan senses he's in danger after trying to patch things up with Robbie. [Something I didn't mention: She and Robbie went to find a watch Ciaran gave to Maeve way back when, and Robbie got ticked when she used her magic on a woman showing them around.] She decides there's not time to wait for the Council and goes to save him, but it turns out she's the victim. An edge-of-your-seat conflict of her trying to resist her magick being taken and discovering the truth of her heritage takes place, and Hunter rescues her after Ciaran himself gives him the power to do so.
Ciaran is Morgan's father, and Angus has no true relation whatsoever. Morgan falls into a phase of doubt, seeing herself as an heir to darkness and chooses to break up with Hunter now so she can't hurt him as badly later. And that's just The Calling!! Wow, I used up a lot of space for that... *ahem*
Onto Changeling, Morgan has isolated herself from most of her friends and especially Hunter, all the while wondering how in the world she can stay good. She meets Eofie, who inquires her help to put a tracking spell on Ciaran, and Morgan accepts. The entire book phases through helping her friends and having her friends help her and trying to get closer to Ciaran.
Killian makes reappearances after Morgan contacts him; she and the rest of the gang have a few parties with him (which ends up with a huge breakup between Raven and Sky) and Killian brings Ciaran into the picture for her. Morgan can't help but feel connected, wanting to know him and like him and trust him; but knowing she can't. It's a tough situation for her, and a dramatic one that leaves you begging for more.
She does get closer to him, which makes it all the harder for her to betray him. At one point Hunter accuses her of bringing Killian into the picture and ruining quite a few things between Sky and Raven; and Morgan is plunged into such disbelief and grief she rushes to Ciaran after he asks her to come to him. He decides to comfort her by teaching her to shape-shift. She uses the opportunity—while using this forbidden magick—to mark him with the tracking spell [OMG!].
Ciaran's testing her: he tricked Hunter to be in the same path as their hunt would be, and Morgan faces an internal battle between good versus evil: saving Hunter, or killing him. She chooses good, and Ciaran flees while the Council chases after him. Morgan, gratified in her choice, goes back to Hunter's side.
Strife... This book got unsettling at points, in a good way. One of the minor characters we haven't noticed all that much, Alisa, comes into the bigger picture as magick starts to affect her in unprecedented ways. She feels Morgan's magick is dark, evil; unsafe. Morgan faces tensions within her family as they finally acknowledge the fact that she is too different now; something needs to change. Her life spirals out of control as she learns her magick may be causing havoc in Widow's Vale; and her tutor, Erin, believes that.
Okay, this is getting a little long. In a nutshell, Morgan does her best to ease the rifts between her and her family, especially with Mary K. Erin proves herself to be a good tutor and kind friend, Morgan and Hunter are closer than ever though they believe his parents are trying to contact him, Bree and Robbie are trying to make their relationship work. Strife ends with Ciaran being apprehended in Spain, Alisa being hospitalized but coming out okay, Dagda [Morgan's cat] almost dying but turning out okay [thanks to Erin], and Hunter learning his parents are in Quebec. On this cliffhanger, the book ends.
Okay review finished time for Book 10. :P This volume was just amazing! [I made more of a freaking synopsis than a review. Dammit, sorry guys. Just know that it was freaking awesome and I basically highlighted the parts that I loved about it. XD]
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Reading: Sweep [Volume 3] by Cate Tiernan
Fire and Ice by Erin Hunter
Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia/Margaret Stohl
Listening to: Neji - Elfen Lied OST
Watching: Ghost Whisperer
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