The first paragraph of 'Sing the Four Quarters' has our heroine, Annice puking up her breakfast in the privy. Now, if this had been a romance and not a fantasy, I would have guessed right away that she was pregnant, and not cursed by a wizard or suffering some equally fantastical stomach ailment. However, this book is a fantasy and Annice's long term lover is another woman, so I was as surprised as she was, when our heroine finally visits the healer. In spite of the fact that about a quarter of the novel is spent describing Annice's pregnancy, her reaction to being pregnant, and other people's reaction to her being pregnant, it is a good read. Among those who Annice manages to rescue before giving birth are a boy who can 'sing' to air and water sprites (saved from drowning), the one-night-stand who fathered her child (who was about to lose his head to the King's executioner), and her long-term lover (who was wasting away in a dungeon). Quite a list of accomplishments for someone who had problems maneuvering her growing girth up the curves of a spiral staircase! Anyway, the characters in this book are lovingly developed, and the mix of religion and wizardry is quite intriguing. The vividly described all-night vigil in the cathedral on the longest night of the year was the hook that drew me into 'Sing the Four Quarters' and I kept going through the night until I came to story's end. Now, I'll have to order the sequel. (from Amazon.com)

I am taking this along to the next Brisbane Bookcrossing catchup. If not picked up I will leave somewhere.