AWWC 2013: The Singing Mountain by Anne E. Summers

I mentioned I was reading this book as an e-book a while back and, yes it has taken me a while to do a proper review but here we go.

The Singing Mountain (published by Solstice Publishing ) is Anne E. Summers first published novel after she began her writing life mainly as a short story writer.

Set in the Welsh mountains, The Singing Mountain is the story of Megan, a coal miner's daughter, who marries up and out of her class. Initially happy, the marriage comes under pressure when she and her husband, Ian, move back to his family's land holding of Glaswallon.

Pregnant, unhappy and haunted by strange dreams of Rhiannon, the Welsh mother and horse goddess, Megan follows her husband's cousin, Marigold, to the top of Mynnyd Mawr where the other girl disappears through an opening into Rhiannon's world. Under suspicion and increasingly isolated and frightened following the birth of her son, Megan decides her only option is to follow Marigold into Rhiannon's world and bring her back.

But this is only the beginning of a story that stretches from 1918 to 1940 and where events in both the human and magical worlds collide, interacting on each other and eventually involving Megan's whole family as the story plays out. Rhiannon herself may be honourable, but the harsh and often cruel realities of her world have consequences of that seep into Megan's world and their impact can be devastating.

Summers is a born story teller, and in The Singing Mountain, she weaves a fascinating tale set in two very different but equally real worlds and in two different time periods. If you enjoy your fantasy with a strong adventure story and well drawn characters I can recommend this book.

The Singing Mountain is available as an e-book and in print from Amazon.com or Solstice Publishing.