Reviews

Marillier needs to stop being lazy and write better books. Daughter of the Forest was fantastic but her following books are incredibly predictable as she uses pretty much the same formula throughout her books.

tjwallace04's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

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

4.0

"Child of the Prophesy" is the final book in the original Sevenwaters trilogy by Juliet Marillier. (She later wrote additional books based in that world). While the first book, "Daughter of the Forest," was one of my favorite fantasy reads of 2023 and received a full five stars, each subsequent book has received a lower score. I still quite liked the second book, "Son of the Shadows," but "Child of the Prophesy" was kind of a disappointment. I enjoyed 75% of it; unfortunately, the end fell apart. I am still giving it 4 stars overall, but the flabby, melodramatic conclusion felt like a different book and was really unsatisfying.

Premise: Fainne has been raised in a lonely, remote corner of Ireland by her dour sorceror father, learning the sorcerous arts. She has only one friend, Darragh, son of a band of travelers who come to stay near her coastal home every summer. When Fainne's evil grandmother, the hateful Lady Oonagh, arrives to further her education, Fainne is drawn into the Lady Oonagh's twisted plan for vengeance against the Sevenwaters clan, to whom Fainne is related both through her mother, Niamh, daughter of Sorcha, and her father. Sent to Sevenwaters to disrupt the family's campaign to take back the magical islands that give the wise folk and their lands power, Fainne is torn between her grandmother's threats and her growing love for her uncles and cousins. Can Fainne walk the fine line of protecting those she loves while also staying true to herself?

Positives: I liked Fainne as a character (although not as much as Sorcha or Liadan). Fainne is a complicated, morally grey character, which was interesting, and I appreciated seeing her growth over the course of the book. I just generally enjoyed being back in the world of Sevenwaters, and I loved encountering favorite characters from the previous books, especialy Finbar. The plot kept me turning the pages, even at the end, when I was questioning the craft and narrative choices.

Negatives: The end was just a hot mess. It went on and on and didn't even really make sense to me. I was expecting a decisive moment of triumph, and instead we got a limp, meandering mix of melodrama and unbelievable choices.

Lady Oonagh was de-fanged; the final revelations of the prophesy were underwhelming and also frustrating. Fainne's relegation to Watcher of the Needle? So unsatisfying, even with the lackluster attempt at romance. Are we really expected to believe that social, happy-go-lucky Darragh was completely happy to be stuck with Fainne on a rock for the rest of their lives? Especially considering her consistent rejections of him? Oh, and suddenly Eamonn is redeemed and forgiven? Blah. His obsessive villainy was one of the best parts of the book.

The romance was also completely underwhelming in this book. Darragh's devotion to Fainne is implausible at best and didn't stir my soul.

I almost regret reading this book. It detracts some from the joy I found in the previous two volumes. I still highly recommend "Daughter of the Forest" and generally recommend "Son of the Shadows," but maybe stop there....no matter how tempting it is to learn about what happens to the next generation. And I don't think I will be reading the later three books in the series, as I have heard they suffer from some of the same issues as "Child of the Prophesy."

dealwitheli's review against another edition

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slow-paced

2.5

secretnessie's review

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adventurous emotional inspiring slow-paced

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

4.25

hollyford19's review against another edition

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dark emotional slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

lizzderr's review against another edition

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3.0

I would give the first half of the book two stars and the second half three, if I could. It takes a while for things to really get started, and while I appreciate dramatic irony, I think a little goes a long way -- or, if nothing else, when the reader finds herself wanting to bop the narrator on the head for being such an easily manipulated twit and thinking longingly of the strong, self-assured heroines from the previous novels, then I wonder if perhaps the author has gone a bit far. I can understand why Marillier created Fainne the way she did (though the whole "my mom fell in love and had me with her mother's half-brother, and all I got was this lousy deformed foot" thing strikes me as a questionable choice...), but she built up a great deal of good will for the folks of Sevenwaters in the first two books of the trilogy, and so having the protagonist in the third book acting in opposition to those folks was frustrating.

All that said, though, I was happy to see the way all the various threads got tied up (except I feel a little bit like Eamonn got better than he deserved, but I'm bitter that way), and how the prophecy worked itself out. I would still recommend the trilogy as a whole, though it ends nowhere near as strong as it begins. Ah well.

wizardpi's review against another edition

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adventurous dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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