Mark of a Crescent Moon by Clara Fay

Dancing between the modern world and sixth-century Scotland, this riveting tale blends portal fantasy with an exploration of what it means to align with one’s true self. Struggling to make sense of her life after a bitter divorce, Fleur La Salle has returned to her hometown of Antigonish, Nova Scotia, to rebuild her self-confidence. She longs to rekindle the passion for painting that she lost during her brief marriage. Even more urgently, she hopes to discover the meaning behind her recurring dreams of a mysterious woman pleading for help, dreams that increasingly feel real. Fleur’s grandmother Eileen, the healer who raised Fleur, intuits a connection between these dreams and their family secret: generations of women said to suffer from an ancient curse. So when a strange letter arrives from Scotland, Eileen encourages Fleur to act quickly, to go claim her disputed inheritance and uncover the details of their shadowy ancestry before it’s too late. On the remote Scottish Isle of Mull, Fleur stumbles upon a hidden portal of standing stones where her dreams become visceral encounters that cause her physical trauma. Suddenly, the year is AD 560, when Picts roamed, establishing societies of myth and magic. Fleur finds herself racing against time to unlock the secret of her family curse and to unravel the meaning of her dreams. Could she be the mysterious woman, and could the man recently appearing beside her be Thomas B. Hayden, the attractive historical architect Fleur briefly dated back home—the same man now disputing Fleur’s inheritance? Are her dreams a peek at true love’s destiny . . . or a warning?