I had been waiting a long time before I finally came across a copy of this book.

The premise intruiged me very much, and I was looking forward to read about this Beast Mistress in the ancient wood of Eld. And boy it did NOT dissapoint.

The book is written from the Point of View of what would essentially be The Mentor in any other fantasy novel. And it works quite well. The beasts weren't as prominent as I expected, but still prominent enough, and the focus lays mostly on the emotional aspect. And it that way the beasts suffice very well.

Had her young protogé been the protagonist however, it would have been a much different book. Bigger and more epic of scale. And I could've enjoyed it very much too, but I am happy for the way this book turned out. I loved the fairytale quality of it that otherwise would've been lossed.

Indeed this is simply a splendid book, well worth the wait and one of the best I've ever read.