The Ciphers of Muirwood (Covenant of Muirwood Book 2)

This series is great. Never a dull moment. I love how the author develops his characters and gives us a sense of warmth seeing how the heroine constantly rises to the occasion to do the right thing, no matter how difficult.

The story telling in this series is great. I found it unfortunate however, to so heavily reference Henry VIII, and his wives and not credit that history in the author's note or the acknowledgements. The last line of the letter from Maia's mother to farther is a direct quote of the last line of the last letter Katherine of Aragon wrote to Henry VIII, and should be credited at the very least.

This was my absolute favorite book by Jeff Wheeler so far.

I originally read the Muirwood books, and in spite of Jeff's other wonderful new stories and characters they have lasted as my favorites throughout. For me, there is something about the type of magic in the Muirwood series, both with the Medium and the Leerings, that intrigues me. It's got a spiritual flavor that makes it very real and gives it great depth. Add to that characters that are rich and real, and you have a great story. In subsequent books, I found that the tone delved more into various cultural differences, which in its own way is a great type of story. Getting to see how people's differences make them better and bring them together is a special talent.

For me, this book took the best of what I loved about the original Muirwood books, and combined it with all the new talent and style that the author has developed. As a reader, I was treated to a dive back into the magic, the structure of it, and how it works. It was like deep sea diving. Refreshing and full of wonder. I absolutely loved the detail, finding out more about how the fabric of the magical reality worked, and getting to see a little more in the way of magical fireworks. On top of that, this book layered in the various cultural differences and flavors that have bloomed in more recent stories, and the two together were like ice cream and hot fudge. Both rich, and wonderful, but together just delicious.

I don't want to give away too much of the story line itself (I hate spoilers), so I'll just say that I loved getting to see some old friends, as well as having the story unfold on all of the new friends. I can't WAIT to read the next book, although it will be bittersweet because I know it will mean the end of another adventure. I can only hope that Jeff Wheeler keeps writing, so I can keep spending time in these wonderful worlds he creates.

I tend to try to find the good in any book I read, although I'm not shy about pointing out issues when I find them. I can honestly say that I ate this book up, and loved every bite. I gave it 5 stars, but if I could I would have given it more. This one stays in my library permanently. Bravo, Mr. Wheeler.

Slow down in plot, with character development an apparent priority, took a lot of the excitement from the first book away. Would have preferred a more edge of your seat pace here and as it is set up for the third instalment, hopefully it will return.

These are really good stories...they are not fleshed out like other more intricate series but the stories and characters are easy to like...they could be unreal with just a little more detail...bit again..for a quick read...nearly unbeatable