Shadows at Stonewylde (Stonewylde 4) [Paperback]

It is thirteen years since Yul fought with Magus at the Quarry and eventually vanquished him. Now, Yul is the Magus and Sylvie is his wife. Stonewylde has flourished with them at the helm and their continuing deep love for one another has sustained the village and made it a happier place and also more profitable. They have also had two daughters, Celandine and Bluebell but Sylvie had become very ill after giving birth and now Yul is treating her like cut glass and not allowing her to do anything. This is partly where some of the rot starts to set in because the power must be shared equally. It is at Samhain when the real problems begin, for someone or several people have cast a Dark Moon spell to raise a spirit from beyond the veil. An entity is loosed and one that up until nearly the end of the book, only poor Sylvie can see. Her relationship with Yul goes downhill too as he becomes less like himself and more like his Father the late, cruel Magus. He appears to have lost the Green Magic as well!

This book though is more about Yul's youngest sister Leveret who wishes to become like Mother Heggy, the late Wisewoman of Stonewylde. Sadly for Leveret she is relentlessly bullied by her other brutish brothers and their friends and her Mother will not believe anything bad about them. Consequently Leveret finds herself constantly in trouble with Yul, her Mother, her teachers and the only person who can see beyond all this is Clip, Sylvie's Father. He vows to help Leveret on her path to enlightenment but will he be too late?

There are certainly shadows at Stonewylde now with everything going wrong for Yul, Sylvie, Leveret and the village in general and so far, everything going right for..........well, unless you've read the book it would be a huge spoiler.

I am a solitary Witch myself and although Witchcraft is never actually mentioned by name in these books, the fact the all the main Sabbats and Esbats are celebrated denotes to me that Stonewylde is in fact a colony of Witches/Pagans. I found this book not only a superb read, (white knuckle reading at times) but it is accurate in its portrayal of what I personally would call Witchcraft. This novel will leave you gasping at the end and bursting for the next one to be published. A truly excellent book and one that I will read again and again. It was certainly worth waiting for that's for sure.

I also liked the fact that there is no mention of 'the threefold law' i.e. do what thou wilt but harm ye none' as this is Neo-Pagan fancy. Mother Heggy and the old Crones like Vetchling celebrate Dark Moons which are usually devoted to spellcasting whether for good or evil.

Shadows at Stonewylde is the fourth book in the Stoneywylde series of five books.
When we left Stonewylde in Solstice at Stonewylde (Stonewylde Novels) , the community seemed to be on the verge of a period of prosperity and happiness as Yul became the new Magus and Sylvie joined him as guardians of Stonewylde. Now 13 years have gone by, and Stonewylde is changing, and not for the better. It hasn't quite given in to the Outside World and its way of life, but how much longer can it remain self-sufficient and resist the temptation. Furthermore, cracks have started to appear in Yul's and Sylvie's relationship which is having an affect on the whole Stoneywylde community. Discontent begins to brew, cruelty goes unnoticed, and sinister hints of Shadows at Stonewylde start to unfold.

Yul's reign as the Magus of Stonewylde is definitely a much fairer one than the previous Magus, his father. The division which existed between the community in prior years, i.e. Villagers and the Hallfolk, has been eradicated. The Stonewylde rule has become more considerate to its children, giving them more freedom and opportunities.
However, as the story unfolds, it becomes clear that Yul's attitude is changing and his relationship with Sylvie begins to suffer. In addition similarities between Stonewylde's old Magus and Yul begins to appear. As much as he has tried to differentiate himself from the legacy of Magus, Yul is slowly slipping into the very traits that he despised his father for. What is the reason for this?
Yul's treatment of his sister Leveret, (who places a major part in this book), leaves a lot to be desired, also the lack of the trust that the community have in him, bring back disturbing memories of the prior Magus. Leveret is a strong-willed free spirit and confident in her calling in the world. Unfortunately, her resemblance to Yul doesn't stop with her personality, and her suffering at the hands of her two brothers and their psychopathic companion Jay mirrors the trials that Yul faced in the previous novels, history is repeating itself,

I have read all the books in the Stonewylde series; Magus of Stonewylde (Stonewylde: Book 1) (Stonewylde Novels) Moondance of Stonewylde (Stonewylde Novels) and Solstice at Stonewylde (Stonewylde Novels), and find this one the least gripping of the four. I felt it lacked substance a little and tended in parts to waffle somewhat, leaving me wanting to skip parts several times throughout the book. I was slightly disappointed in it, but having said that, it hasn't stopped me from buying the final book in this series, Shaman of Stonewylde.

The wait is finally over.....the fourth book in the Stonewylde series by Kit Berry is here.

Shadows at Stonewylde picks up some 13 years after the climatic events at the end of Solstice at Stonewylde when young Yul, our bruised and much abused 'hero' defeated the charismatic but wicked Magus of Stonewylde....whom he had discovered was actually his father. As Yul embraced his equally abused and traumatised young sweetheart Sylvie, it seemed as though they and Stonewylde itself, were heading towards a brighter and happier future.

Well, a lot can happen in 13 years.........Shadows re-introduces many of the characters from the earlier books, seeing them grow and move forward in their lives. The author introduces new and 'interesting' characters and also adds significant depth and layers to some who were not 'main' characters then, especially those who were youngsters, effectively creating 'Stonewylde - The Next Generation' ;-). From the very first couple of pages, it becomes apparent that the bright horizon that beckoned at the end of Solstice may not have materialised. As you fall further into the pages, you become aware that at Stonewylde the shadows may not be empty, the past may yet have a part to play in the present and echoes from that past may yet take hold of the future.

I finished Shadows late last night: like Claire who has also written a (fantastic) review I just couldn't resist reading it the whole way through, having got it yesterday. As I closed the book I couldn't believe that Kit had done it to us again.........the wait for book 5, the final one in the series is going to be even more 'challenging' this time than it was between Solstice and Shadows! At the end of Solstice there was the promise of a happier times ahead for characters such as Yul, Sylvie, Miranda and even Clip however, the end of Shadows leaves the reader desperate to know what happens next...... All I can safely say, without spoiling it for anyone who hasn't yet read it, is that although I expected to enjoy and adore this book, I wasn't prepared for just how much it would affect me....at times I was yelling 'no!!!' at various characters as the story unfolded! The descriptions of the things the 'main' character Leveret experiences are compelling but sometimes not easy to read, however towards the end, as she realises what she must do, I was amazed yet again at the sheer brilliance of Kit's words: when you get to pages 415 - 417 you'll see what I mean...... I found this to be beautiful and powerful - it stirred my emotions more than I can adequately explain.

I admit that I am unashamedly a Stonewylde 'groupie', I adore Kit Berry's books and indeed the lady herself: Kit is one of life's lovely people. That aside, and without any bias (!) I find that Kit's writing style lifts the reader up into her imagination, transporting you to Stonewylde in a manner that makes you slip into the pages so that you wander between the words, feeling like a bystander rather than a reader. Kit has created a fictitious place but once you submit to the 'Stonewylde Effect' you can close your eyes and imagine untold aspects of the place for yourself. For me that is the true genius of Kit's writing, in that her style allows the reader to see and imagine things that she HASN'T written into the story line.......so for each reader, her books become both a collective and yet also an intensely personal experience.

Would I recommend this book to someone else? In a heartbeat - but if that person had already read Magus, Moondance and Solstice I wouldn't need to because they would already have it on pre-order!

Congratulations and heartfelt thank to Kit....Shadows has been well worth the wait.