This book is fantasy-ish, in that it is a couple of worlds we know pretty well melded together. The setting is somewhere between mediaeval, and American West circa 1880. The book seemed to have a bit of trouble sorting out what it wanted to be and where it was going in the early stages. The main protagonist, Bree, has suffered the death of her wife from plague and is still in the throes of grief. For reasons she doesn’t understand herself, she rescues a little orphan girl being sold in town. A great battle of wills between Bree and the little girl Bree names Kaiti, ensues. They come close to killing each other before they find a way to communicate. Even when a kind of relationship has developed, it teeters always on the edge of violence and rejection. The first quarter of the book is taken up with the limited development of their relationship and this reader did begin to feel we were treading and retreading the same ground after a while.
For me, the book finds its feet when the world of the First Nation Shona collides with the more outwardly sophisticated Anacafrian world of the Bree, who as well as a farmer in the backwoods is a part time duchess at the Anacafrian court and an heir to its throne (how does she fit it all in?). The Shona have each a spirit guide with whom they are very close. The Anacrafrians also have such guides, but most are not even aware they have one, and are unable to communicate with them.
The orphan Kaiti – the spirit child of the title – becomes a bridge between the two peoples. And also between the seven realms of the series title. Unusually, she can see all the spirit guides.
I enjoyed the development of the spirit guides, which come into their own in the later stages of the book. The book is, in the end, about the guides and their troubles. But it does take a long time to orientate itself in that direction. The setup is complete in this book, so the ensuing volumes should be more certain of their plot direction.
I found it odd that the First Nation should be called the Shona. The characteristics of the Shona people had a strong feel of a native American tribe about it. But the Shona are a real African tribe, making up the majority of the population of Zimbabwe.
However, by the time the book drew to a close I was interested to find out what happens next and will probably give the second book a try.
Judi Moore 