The Hob's Bargain by Patricia Briggs

Hated and feared, magic was banished from the land. But now, freed from the spells of the wicked bloodmages, magic-both good and evil-returns. And Aren of Fallbrook feels her own power of sight strengthen and grow...

Overcome by visions of mayhem and murder, Aren vows to save her village from the ruthless raiders who have descended upon it-and killed her family. With the return of wildlings to the hills and forests, she strikes a bargain with the Hob, a magical, human-like creature imbued with the power of the mountains. But the Hob is the last of his kind. And he will exact a heavy price to defend the village-a price Aren herself must pay...

I love Patricia Briggs. This book was exactly what I needed for the reading mood that I have been in lately! I actually have finished a few books in the last few days, but I just finished this one a matter of hours ago and decided that I would review it while it was fresh in my head. I have a few of her books, but I just grabbed this one for whatever reason. I have an older copy of it and I have to say that I really do not like the cover for the new release... This whole attempt to make books by female authors look like romance novels is rather annoying when you think about it... Meaning, the cover does not do a lot for me!

Anyway, this is not a very long book, but a lot happens in it. It reminds me a bit of modern times because we hear stories about trolls, dwarfs, hobgoblins, etc, but as far as we know they either never existed or they died off long ago. This is the situation that the people in the novel find themselves in. They are just a group of people working their fields and keeping their families fed, but then the magic of the world awakens and they find their world turned upside-down. It would be very similar if the same thing were to happen to us, we would not really know how to handle all these 'new' species and learn to live in harmony with them...

Magic does exist in their world, though, it is just not something that you admit that you possess. If it is found out that you do have it, you are taken over and eventually go insane. It is better to just pretend that you are like everyone else. Aren has magic, though, and with the reawakening of the world, she finds that he magic becomes a lot stronger. She has visions and she can speak with spirits, ghosts, etc. With the help of the Hob, another magical creature, she learns more about the powers that she has always possessed, but never acknowledged. The Hob is a great character, I have to say. He is reawakened into a world very different from the one that he last lived in, so he has to relearn a lot of things, too. He is also the comic relief to the story, which is needed from time to time.

All I can say is that this was another excellent book from an author that I have come to greatly enjoy. It is not paranormal, like her present series are, but it stretches the imagination and has a very readable storyline. Aren was a likeable character, too, which is always good. She was not too stupid to live, that's for sure! She has help along the way, but mostly she has to rely on herself. She is living in a town where she is feared for the powers that she possesses, but at the same time she will do anything to save these people based on what they have done for her in the past. I also really enjoyed her horse... There are a few good secondary characters, but the story is mostly Aren's and her Hob.