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williamsdebbied's review
5.0
Prequel to The Mists of Avalon.
A fascinating blend of fantasy and historical fiction that delves into the conquest of Celtic Britain by the Romans.
Eilan has always planned to become a priestess in the Forest House. She unexpectedly falls in love with Gaius Marcellius, a Roman soldier. Though they want to marry, neither family will approve the match. Heartbroken, they resume their former paths, but keep meeting. Eilan is torn between her love for Gaius and her duties as a priestess.
A fascinating blend of fantasy and historical fiction that delves into the conquest of Celtic Britain by the Romans.
Eilan has always planned to become a priestess in the Forest House. She unexpectedly falls in love with Gaius Marcellius, a Roman soldier. Though they want to marry, neither family will approve the match. Heartbroken, they resume their former paths, but keep meeting. Eilan is torn between her love for Gaius and her duties as a priestess.
fairybreath's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Minor: Child death, Miscarriage, and Rape
auntiemaleficent's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
rosenectur's review
3.0
I really enjoyed the first half of this book, but then it just gets bogged down. She almost tries too hard with all the intrigue and infighting among the druids and priestesses. There were so many moments where you just wanted to take all the characters and tell them how childish and stupid they were being. And all that stupidity leads up to a tragic ending that really could have been avoided at so many different points in the book. Good but disappointing compared to “Mists of Avalon.”
engpunk77's review
4.0
Prequel to the Mists of Avalon! Wonderful! If you loved Mists, you'll love this. Magic, pagan vs. christian characters, forbidden love and all of that good stuff.
gerypro's review
4.0
After reading all 7 books of the series in a chronological order, this book stood out as the best in the series for me. I liked it more than "The Mists..." mostly because the plot is not as stretched and the unnecessary repeated monologues are missing. This, however, didn't make the characters flat, just the opposite - we still have the opportunity to get insights into their thoughts and feelings and to care for them and their decisions. I was impressed by the fullness of their personalities after being disappointed by the first 2 books of the series in chronological order and hoping this one to be at least like "Ravens of...", which I had liked the most at this point.
The atmosphere is very often mystical, I actually liked the romance in the book as it was - one of the main topics, but not the main topic as there are religion, politics, philosophy as well. I was surprised to find out that I actually remembered a lot from it after reading it for a first time 8 years ago. Back then I also enjoyed and liked this one the most out of the 3 Avalon books I read.
The atmosphere is very often mystical, I actually liked the romance in the book as it was - one of the main topics, but not the main topic as there are religion, politics, philosophy as well. I was surprised to find out that I actually remembered a lot from it after reading it for a first time 8 years ago. Back then I also enjoyed and liked this one the most out of the 3 Avalon books I read.
schreibratte's review against another edition
4.0
Ich will gar nicht viel sagen. Zwischen den einzelnen Avalon-Bänden brauch ich erst einmal eine Pause, aber wenn es mich dann wieder reizt, mag ich ihre Bücher einfach. Eilans Geschichte bringt nicht nur einen historischen Touch aus dem England zu Zeit der Römer, sondern alles, was man auch aus den anderen Bänden kennt.
Statt ständige Aufregung in sehr kurzer Zeit bildet Eilans ganzes Leben hier den Rahmen, was ich angenehm entspannend fand. Außerdem sind die weiblichen Charaktere gut ausgearbeitet und eindeutig die Starken - Gaius wird irgendwann wirklich seltsam. Zum Glück liegt der Fokus nicht wirklich auf der Liebesgeschichte.
"Die Wälder von Albion" orientiert sich übrigens an der Oper "Norma" von Bellini. Für Opernkenner wird es daher noch einmal einen Ticken tragischer, wenn man schon weiß, was kommen wird, und dennoch mit Eilan und Gaius mitfiebert.
Statt ständige Aufregung in sehr kurzer Zeit bildet Eilans ganzes Leben hier den Rahmen, was ich angenehm entspannend fand. Außerdem sind die weiblichen Charaktere gut ausgearbeitet und eindeutig die Starken - Gaius wird irgendwann wirklich seltsam. Zum Glück liegt der Fokus nicht wirklich auf der Liebesgeschichte.
"Die Wälder von Albion" orientiert sich übrigens an der Oper "Norma" von Bellini. Für Opernkenner wird es daher noch einmal einen Ticken tragischer, wenn man schon weiß, was kommen wird, und dennoch mit Eilan und Gaius mitfiebert.
doomkittiekhan's review
3.0
Ok. I'm not going to unpack all of my mixed feelings about MZB. I loved MoA and it did more to bring me into the fantasy genre as a reader than any other. However, I am dubious about continuing the Avalon series. The narrative was disjointed, the characters were pretty unlikable, and overall I would not recommend this title. At the very least don't read it expecting MoA.
cathy1969's review
3.0
This is one of those books that I had a hard time rating. I didn't really care for the book, but the writing is really good as compared to a lot of others. There were parts in the first half of the book that were really good such as Elina's High Priestess training, but then a lot of the book just seemed to drag for me. It may be because I'm comparing it to The Mists of Avalon which I absolutely loved, but this one just didn't do it for me.