The Veil by Megan Chance

The Veil (Fianna Trilogy, #3)

by Megan Chance

Great stones crack and split. Storms will tell and the world is changed.…

Seventeen-year-old Grace has found the archdruid who can teach her to use her power as the veleda—the priestess prophesied to save Ireland. But nothing is as it should be. The archdruid is a dangerous fairy, and Grace can’t learn the spells, no matter how hard she tries. Something is wrong…but what?

Meanwhile, gentleman Patrick Devlin and warrior Diarmid Ua Duibhne both struggle with their love for Grace, their duty to their warring brotherhoods, and their support of Ireland. And New York City is in chaos with protests, immigrant gangs, and police crackdowns. The only hope for the future is the ancient ritual, just weeks away, in which Diarmid must take the life of the girl he loves.

Secrets, legends, and prophecies collide in an explosive finale that will save the world—or destroy it.

Reviewed by Charli G. on

3 of 5 stars

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** Thank you to NetGalley, Megan Chance, and Skyscape for allowing me to read this book for free in exchange for my honest opinion **

The Veil was, as much as I hate to say it, rather disappointing. Now… that being said, let me explain why it was rather disappointing to me. I didn’t get to read the first two books in the trilogy, so I came into The Veil completely blind. I did manage to get the gist of the plot that encompasses the trilogy – the freedom of the people of Ireland is at stake and between Grace Knox, Patrick Devlin, the Fianna, and the Fomori, a choice and sacrifice must be made in order to allow either the Fianna or Fomori to be the “winners” and get the Irish their freedom.

Being that I missed out on reading the first two books in the trilogy, I had a very difficult time keeping the plot of the book in mind. It is clear that while some series/trilogy books can be read by themselves, even if they come later in the series/trilogy, The Veil is not one of them. You need the first two books to make sense of the third.

There are a couple of things I found interesting. Many times in reading various books, I’ve found the fae, especially the sidhe, to be very violent and often times mean creatures. However, this trilogy takes an interesting tack in that the sidhe have the power to drain a Druid of his/her power. Never before have I see the sidhe be able to disable an ancient race like the Druids. It definitely is an interesting twist.

The love triangle among Patrick, Grace, and Diarmid is quite the interesting plot twist as well. One of the men has literally put a spell on Grace and she actually loves both men – but one of them is also destined to be the death of her, quite literally. Both men are hell-bent on saving her life even if there is no way to do so.

My favorite character is honestly Grace – because she flounders, she is clumsy, and she has to face the fact that her death is necessary to complete a ritual that was prophesied long ago. Her need to make a choice that will be difficult resonates with me and I find her to be a very likable character.

The ending to the book was great, but I suggest that you have a box of tissues handy because you might just need them.

In all honesty, I truly believe I would have liked this book a lot more if I’d been able to read the first two books in the trilogy.

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  • Started reading
  • 20 September, 2015: Finished reading
  • 20 September, 2015: Reviewed