Liobhan is a tall, flame-haired singer and whistle player with a quick temper and a powerful right hook. The daughter of a healer and a master thatcher, she dearly wants to prove herself, as she is the only woman training at Swan Island. Her adopted brother, Brocc, is a sweet soul with a beautiful voice and great skill at playing the harp, but he's no slouch in a fight. Finally, Dau is the handsome, entitled and arrogant son of a cheftain, and he finds himself at constant odds with Liobhan, who happens to be his primary competition, but her attitude towards him only fuels the fire.
Although they haven't yet finished their training, the three are tapped to join a mission in the kingdom of Breifne (unheard of for those still in training), where the Harp of Kings has been stolen. This magical artifact was a gift to the humans from the Fae Kingdom during a peace truce hundreds of years before and is played on Midsummers Eve at the coronation of every king, and Prince Rodan is set to be crowned in a few short weeks. They must locate the harp and replace it before anyone is the wiser or the people at large will reject Rodan's kingship. With Liobhan and Brocc's natural musical abilities, they will masquerade as traveling musicians, along with team lead Archu, with Dau playing the part of a mute farrier's assistant and Illian acting as an additional farrier at court.
But nothing is ever easy. Information is hard to come by, and Liobhan has a way of angering some of the locals, specifically the not-so-good Prince Rodan, while Dau finds himself on the end of the Prince and his friends' proverbial punching bag, and with him playing a mute, he can't even verbally defend himself, much less strike a royal. Meanwhile, Brocc has found alliances in the local order of druids, making fast friends with one novice in particular, which leads him on a strange quest for information that takes him places he could never have imagined. As they learn more of the missing harp and the drama surrounding this kingdom's upcoming coronation, they realize that not only is the fate of the entire kingdom of Breifne at stake, but those in the Otherworld as well, the little folk of the Fae kingdom. As certain things come to light and the team is placed in the oddest of circumstances, it will take all of their faith and trust in one another to get through it. Even then, will they complete the mission as ordered, or make another choice, one that might seem better for the fate of all? Only time will tell.
I will admit I had trouble getting into The Harp of Kings at the beginning. I'm not sure why, but it just didn't drag me in immediately. However, as the characters developed and the story unfolded, I found it quite engaging and I am looking forward to the next installment. I can't wait to see where the series takes these folks.
