Reviews

Looks like today is the day for me to post my 5-star I-love-this author reviews.

I LOVE this author. She is so consistently good. Her books are fae-filled, magical, and captivating. But old school, Irish type fae … if you’re into folk tale fae this is good. If you’re into gothy fae this is probably not going to do it for you.

This is another solid series from Ms. Marillier. Excellent characters, in particular the main character Liobhan. She is the epitome of a strong female character in my opinion. Yes she is good at spying and fighting and such. She is strong and independent and intelligent, but she is also an artist. She is good at way more than beating people up. Also, she cries. That doesn’t sound like a big deal, but I was so surprised when she would just openly cry in front of people when she was truly hurt or sad, and I had to sit with that for a minute. I had trouble reconciling for a moment this kick ass girl with someone who could show emotion openly and without embarrasment … how feminist of me. (ha!)

Which really goes to show what a good job the author does of creating characters with realistic human characteristics. Add to that the excellent world building and storylines and her books are must reads for people who love epic fantasy. Please do yourselves a favor and pick up a book, any book by Ms. Marillier. Wouldn’t hurt if you started with these ones!

Disclaimer: I received this book free from Netgalley

lcarolyn_author's review

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

5.0

I love literally everything Juliet Marillier writes and this was no exception! She's an auto-read author.

sylaratheranger's review

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I was so excited to get into this sequel, and I enjoyed most of the book up until the ending. As with the first book, I was not a huge fan of the Otherworld elements and they take much more of a central role in this second installment. If those parts are your favorite, then you will likely love this book. The ending is not all that surprising with the kind of fairytail-esque books that Marillier writes, but it was not something I enjoyed.

Spoiler

I enjoyed getting to see Dau learning to cope with his blindness and start falling for Liobhan, and I felt that the fact that he got his sight back was such a cope out! There was no point in having his go through all that he did if he was just going to have everything return to normal. As someone who has an autoimmune disease that affects my everyday life, I related to Dau's struggle to find hope and continue to live his life with his newfound limitations. It felt like a bit of a betrayal to his growth that he suddenly no longer had to deal with a disability.

ashryn's review

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adventurous emotional hopeful lighthearted reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

Another sweet tale about overcoming unfair odds with determination and kindness.

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