I don't think there are any bad points at all with The Gift by Alison Croggon. The series is fantastic. I couldn't read another book until I'd had read the fourth book. I tried and failed miserably. I liked the vivid descriptions and the constant action. The characters are also absolutely wicked. I also liked the emotion shown by alison croggon within her writing always wondered whether the people of edil-amarandah were real. It's confusing

The first in the Pellinor series, I was immediately entranced with The Gift. I almost didn't return it to the library! I am getting my own copy now, and highly recommend anyone and everyone to read this series! It's my favorite series of all time, which is a pretty hard title to claim. I read an awful lot of books, after all. ;P
If I could, I'd give this book a rating of 50 out of 10!!!

The Gift by Alison Croggan is a really wonderful book. I really enjoyed reading it. In fact, I have just re-read it in the past day. It is probably one of my all time favorite books. I mean, the way Allison Croggon expresses Maerad's confusion at who and what she is is amazing, and I cannot wait for the second book to come out this fall.

I loved it, and I cannot wait to see what happens next.

Alison Croggon The Gift.

Maerad is a young woman growing up facing tyranny and oppression. Her family is dead and she is forced to work in Gilman's Cot as a slave.
One day she meets a man, named Cadvan and he can do magic.

As it turns out, so can she.

I had never heard of Alison Croggon until I checked out the book in WHSmith.

As this is quite a large book, it took a fair while to read.
But trust me, it is worth all the time and money in the world.

From the moment I read the first page, I knew I was trapped. I needed to read the book, and finish it as quickly as possible.

Like The Black Magicians Trilogy (Trudi Canavan), there is a strong female lead, immersed in magic and defying their status to become strong people, but they are never the same story.

Among the magic, the book still gets across the humour, pain, suffering and action, as well as a simmering potential love story.

As this is only one book in a quartet, I suggest, no, beg you, to buy this book, along with The Riddle its sequel, and the others in the series when they are released.