Nothing is ever what it seems which can easily be said of Patricia A. McKillip's fantasy 'In the Forests of Serre'. The tale, cast over by a web of greed, grief and the striving for power, comes together at the end of the book to have formed an endearing tale of how love can bring a kingdom back together if a person only has a heart.

Getting there, however, had its share of stumbling blocks, with various characters in the book appearing as something they're not, blinded by obsession or becoming an obstacle in someone else's game plan.

These aspects of the book entice the reader to read on, wondering as they read on what will become of Prince Ronan and his bride-to-be Sidonie; the witch Brume who ate anyone who - as legend has it - dared to enter her hut of bones and marrow; and Gyre, the wizard set out to accompany and protect Sidonie to Serre, only to desire the kingdom himself.

Would he achieve what he desired while Sidonie learns to love the man to whom she was betrothed, despite his shortcomings physically and emotionally? Could Ronan in turn overcome his grief for his dead wife and child? Accept the marriage that his father arranged in hopes of producing heirs and additional magic powers?

Readers will not be disappointed with the answers to these questions by reading 'In the Forests of Serre.' It delivers on all of these points, if not the majority of them.

Even though I was satisfied with the outcome, I found McKillip's style of writing as ... well I wouldn't go as far as to say as barbaric as Ferus, King of Serre. McKillip is a great writer. It's just the manner in which she delivers her tales. She tends to write with longer sentences. Shorter, more abbreviated sentences are thrown in sporadically. If she threw in more of these shorter sentences or varied the length of her sentences, I believe the story would have progressed more quickly than it did.