Maeve of Connacht lives just as a princess should--her five older sisters do make things difficult sometimes, but her mother Cloithfinn is strong and fierce, and her father Lord Eochu has just become High King of Eiru after he cut off the head of Lord Fachtna, the old High King, in a battle. Now Fachtna's head sits in the lintel above their doorway--the place of honor. Maeve has managed to cut a piece of hair off of the end of the tail of Dubh, widely reputed to be the fiercest bull around. Quite an accomplishment for a five-year-old girl, she thinks! But as Maeve gets older, her sisters are sent off into fosterage with other families--the annoying ones and, less fortunately, sweet Derbriu, Maeve's only friend--and every single male guest at the Cruachan ringfort keeps following her around, seeing her as either their wife or daughter-in-law. Maeve decides that the only way to throw off these troublesome suitors is to learn to be boyish, and the best way to do that is to take fighting lessons. But it's not easy for a princess to suddenly start vanishing and learn to swing a sword and toss a spear, and her secret lessons don't remain secret for long. Punishment results, and the outcome will haunt Maeve for a long time. But when she is nearly fifteen years old, a druid named Master Iobar shows up at Cruachan, along with a very strange son named Odran. The boy's hair is waist-length and blue-black, he wears a thick cloak even in May. But strangest of all, Odran carries with him two animals, Guennola the stoat and Muirin the red fox. Maeve and Odran quickly become friends, spending time together healing injured animals in an old shack. Maeve learns how much Odran loves healing small animals, and that he doesn't want to be a druid like his father, which is the path that Iobar is set on his son following. Like Odran, Maeve resists the future set before her, but neither one of them will get their way without a fight...
I have seen it mentioned in other reviews of Friesner's books how interesting the time frame of her stories is, and I agree. She always begins with a little girl of four or five who has something momentous happen to her, and ends with a teenage girl. When she picks up the character's story again in the sequel, the teenage girl finishes a young woman. Not a lot of stories are told this way, and it really helps to develop the character.
Friesner is one of those authors who is good--just good. There's not a whole lot in her Princesses of Myth books for me to praise, but there's nothing really for me to complain about. Even though her writing isn't fantastic, she knows how to craft a good story and build up an intriguing character, so I will continue reading her series.
In short, I would recommend this book to most people who like historical fiction and are looking for something fun and not too demanding.