Reviews

Flame of Sevenwaters by Juliet Marillier

amishriot's review against another edition

5.0

God bless Juliet Marillier, her Sevenwaters books are always a fantastic read.
The end feels like it's setting up for a book about Ciaran, which I wouldn't complain about at all. :)

lurdes_oliveira's review against another edition

4.0

This isn't on the same level as the original Sevenwaters trilogy, but it's still pretty good. These last three books are definitely more of a YA Fantasy, not as complex, but still entertaining. The language also felt a little more modern that the rest of the books.
I still really love the way that Juliet tells a story. I loved how resilient, strong and determined Maeve was and how she always fought for what she thought was right. The romance, however, felt a bit rushed and nonsensical, but I liked that she got her happily ever after. 
Juliet Marillier does a very good job of tidily tying up other story lines from the series.
Overall, this was great, but the ending was a little odd and abrupt.

ccarboni06's review

3.0

I wasn’t crazy about this last one. I liked Maeve but the dog thing was too much although I guess it does sort of bring the story full circle. I’m ranting bc I just finished it. Whatever it’s a3.5. I liked the sisters and their stories for the most part but I would’ve like to hear more of Liadan and Bran’s perspectives and their sons. The first three books were the best in the series. Ok bye

marlyons's review against another edition

2.0

really not the best book in the sevenwaters series. it didn't have the same feeling the previous ones had. even though the story was not the best it did bring a sense of closure for some of the characters. you could almost not read this book and be satisfied with were the previous book left off.

magratajostiernos's review

4.0

Creo que es mi preferido de la segunda trilogía de Sieteaguas, Marillier le ha dado un muy buen final a la saga.
Lo que más me ha gustado es que Maeve es una protagonista muy diferente, es una novela más pausada que las demás y por suerte el romance no es ni de lejos tan importante como en los libros anteriores.
Las últimas 150 páginas no podía parar de leer y hay unos buenos giros que te dejan en plan WTF, como siempre.
Voy a echar mucho de menos esta saga fantástica llena de leyendas y cuentos de hadas tenebrosos... Creo que la primera trilogía es muy superior a la segunda, pero aún así la he disfrutado de principio a fin.

alxjasper's review

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes

4.0

waclements7's review against another edition

5.0

This is the latest installment of the books beginning with Daughter of the Forest, the one that first addicted me to Juliet Marillier. A couple of generations have passed since then, and Sorcha, the main character of that tale, is the grandmother of the heroine of this one, Maeve. Maeve was in a fire ten years earlier which disfigured her face to a degree and rendered her hands useless, so she is dependent for help with nearly everything from her wonderfully portrayed maid (who is more of a friend). She has, however, an incredible gift with animals, which is possibly some consolation from losing her dog Bounder in the fire that injured her. Returning home for the first time in ten years (she had been living with her Aunt and Uncle—her Aunt, her father’s sister, is a Healer of some renown and they had hoped she might be able to help with Maeve’s hands). Coming home is as awkward as she was afraid it was going to be, with the exception of a few people. Maeve starts out as a character who seems to have settled for her lot in life—she’ll never marry, never have children, and lead a solitary life dependent on others. She doesn’t seem particularly self-pitying, and if she does, it’s more out of anger than anything else, why can’t she have those things. She overhears some of the men at her father’s talking about her and how her hands make their skin crawl, and it shatters any hope she had been building up. Her 7 year old brother Finbar, a boy who will most likely grow to be a very strong seer, is fascinated with her. Maeve worries he is too serious for a boy his age—he has a tutor/ bodyguard, Luachan, a druid her Uncle Cíaran (the interim head druid) chose. A terrible event has taken place—a large group of men from the neighboring Lord’s lands has disappeared, including his two sons, while they were traveling through her Uncle’s lands. Everyone at Sevenwaters believes it is Mac Dara, who kidnapped Finbar when he was a baby to try to get his own son to come home, but they try to keep the fact that Sevenwaters has this mystical/magical place within it for fear others wouldn’t understand. This time, Maeve is drawn into the forest, with no one to depend on but herself and two wild dogs she has tamed and named Bear and Badger. She realizes she does pretty well on her own, and gradually starts to piece together that everything isn’t right in the forest. The story is interesting, and the characters well-drawn. For anyone familiar with the Sevenwaters series, it’s like coming home again. I’m a sucker for happy endings. Maybe I shouldn’t say that, because others might not be. Terrible, terrible ending. Death, destruction, the end of civilization as they knew it as Sauron drags them into a new age…oh, wait, wrong book. It works as a stand alone book, but really these are best if you start from the beginning and read them in order, because they build on each other. This is a review gone horribly wrong. It’s a good book, definitely worth checking out.

withthebanned's review

5.0

There is no way that I could read and not fall in love with any book set in Sevenwaters. That being said, this was definitely the weakest in series. I like Maeve, but I didn't connect with her as I did with the heroines from the other novels in the series. The romance fell short for me as well. I saw it coming from the beginning and though it was rather sweet, it just wasn't the same slow burn romance that I have come to know and love from Marillier.

This was a beautiful and wonderful end to the Sevenwaters series. All loose ends from the series were tied up beautifully, and things came full circle. I found myself tearing up upon finishing because this series meant so much to me growing up and I couldn't believe that it was over. Despite this being my least favorite of the series, Flame of Sevenwaters was a strong and gorgeous conclusion to a beloved series.

xofelf's review against another edition

5.0

I have to say, I think I liked Maeve better than all of the other Sevenwaters women before her. I'm not quite sure what it is. But she is rather fantastic. And this book was sooo lovely. I'm sad that it seems like the series is finally at it's close. I've loved it dearly ever since I randomly found Daughter of the Forest as a freshman in high school.

sarahthuotte's review against another edition

5.0

*light spoilers*

So many emotions!! Maeve is strength and bravery and kindness. She is the hands that can not hold, but everything she is, her outspoken ways and determination, makes her a shining light. And Finbar, sweet, aged beyond his years, he is so wise and brave already at just seven♡. The weaving of a story is not always short and after picking up Daughter of the forest many years ago, to finishing this wide sweeping tale, the tapestry is complete. Not complete as an ending, but a stepping stone into a new future. That last chapter hit so hard in the most beautifully sad and bitter-sweet way.