Heart's Blood

Heart’s Blood by Juliet Marillier

Release Date: November 3rd, 2009
Publisher: Roc Hardcover
Age Group: Adult
Pages: 416
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This is a stunning gothic love story based on the legends of Beauty and the Beast. Whistling Tor is a place of secrets, a mysterious, wooded hill housing the crumbling fortress of a chieftain whose name is spoken throughout the district in tones of revulsion and bitterness. A curse lies over Anluan's family and his people; those woods hold a perilous force whose every whisper threatens doom. For young scribe Caitrin it is a safe haven. This place where nobody else is prepared to go seems exactly what she needs, for Caitrin is fleeing her own demons. As Caitrin comes to know Anluan and his home in more depth she realizes that it is only through her love and determination that the curse can be broken and Anluan and his people set free.

Juliet Marillier is the writer of my favorite series The Sevenwaters Trilogy which I think I have reviewed at least two of them earlier on. She has also written Wildwood Dancing and Cybele’s Secret. Being my favorite author, I might be slightly biased, but I loved the book and story.

While the story mimic’s that of the typical Beauty and the Beast storyline, the characters are unique and immediately loveable. The thing I liked more about these characters was that Caitrin, (who plays the Belle character in comparison to the Beauty/Beast story) does not become a beauty until after she spends time at the enchanted fortress with the ‘Beast’ or Anluan. The character of Anluan is different from the typical Beast; yet share many of the same qualities. The curse that is placed upon Anluan’s people is also amazingly new and unique. I loved the Host and the characters it brought to life through them.

The beginning is a little slower than some of her other books, but it did not stop me from being sucked in after the first few chapters. It is more complex than her teen fiction novels, but could still be enjoyed by mostly anyone. It was nice to read a book that was a little more challenging and could not be finished in a day like some other books that I have read.

It was a great story, and I would definitely reread it at some point in the future. Juliet Marillier has a way with taking an old fairy tale and putting an amazing twist on it that people do not expect, with characters that stay with you long after the story ends.

Who Might Like This Book:
Fairy Tale Lovers
Fantasy Romance Lovers

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Son of the Shadows

Son of the Shadows by Juliet Marillier

Release Date: June 17th, 2009
Publisher: Tor Fantasy
Age Group: Adult
Pages: 608
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Second of the Sevenwaters trilogy of novels about the last days of heroic Ireland, Son of the Shadows takes up the story of the children of Sorcha, who saved her enchanted brothers, and Hugh, the Briton she married. Sorcha's daughter Liadan is a gifted seer and healer who thinks, in spite of her visions, that she knows what the future has in store for her--caring for her dying mother and then an alliance marriage to Eamonn. A chance meeting on the road carries her off to care for a dying man--one of the mercenaries of the sinister Painted Man, Eamonn's archenemy and a killer for hire. Liadan discovers that she cannot choose whom she loves and that she and the Painted Man are as bound up in destiny as her mother and father were before her.

This is the second book in the Sevenwaters trilogy. This book is just as good as the first one. The magical charm that Daughter of the Forest had is seen in the Ireland landscape once again in the sequel.

The new characters that are introduced are just as interesting as the first book’s. Liadan is just as head strong as Sorcha was, set on getting what she wants out of life: love, adventure, and family. She expresses herself and refuses to be swayed from her love for the Painted Man even though her family frowns on her choice. The Painted Man is also an ideal bad boy that girls fall for with the haunted past that has created the man he is.

This book is a great folktale, continuing the first magical story. The third book is only bound to be as great.

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Daughter of the Forest

Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier

Release Date: February 18th, 2002
Publisher: Gollancz
Age Group: Adult
Pages: 560
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At the heart of this surprisingly accomplished first novel, first book of the Sevenwaters trilogy, is a retelling of an ancient Celtic legend. Marillier's story, however, is much more than a slightly disguised fairy tale. Young Sorcha is the seventh child and only daughter of Irish Lord Colum of Sevenwaters, a domain well protected from invading Saxons and Britons by dense forest where, legend says, fey Deirdre, the Lady of the Forest, walks the woodland paths at night.

Colum is first and foremost a warrior, bent on maintaining his lands against all outsiders. Not all of his sons are so bound to the old ways, and that family friction leads to outright disobedience when Sorcha and her brother Finbar help a Briton captive escape from Colum's dungeon. Soon after, Colum brings home a new wife who ensorcels everyone she can't otherwise manipulate. By her spell Sorcha's brothers are cursed to become swans. Only Sorcha, hiding deep in the forest, can break the spell by painfully weaving shirts of starwort nettle--but then Sorcha is captured by Britons and taken away across the sea.

Determined to break the curse despite her captivity, Sorcha continues to work, little expecting that ultimately she will have to chose between saving her brothers and protecting the Briton lord who has defended her throughout her trials.

Marillier's writing is deft and heartfelt, bypassing the usual bombast of fantasy fireworks for a rich, magical story of loyalty and love. --Charlene Brusso

Juliet Marillier takes an old fairy tale and gives it new magic. I absolutely loved the way she wrote the book, and it is by far one of my favorite books.

The characters are completely original, and never have I seen a character so full of spunk as Sorcha is. All of the characters have the serious persona when times are difficult, but their light humorous side comes out when the time allows for it. You can see the true love that the characters have for each other, as well as the hate they feel toward Lady Oonagh. Even Sorcha's brother have characters that astound, and Marillier does a great job describing how hard it is for them to change from swans to men.

I truly love this series and can't wait for more books to come out by Juliet Marillier because they will definitely be on my list to read.

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