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4.02 AVERAGE
4.02 AVERAGE
Do you know that feeling you get after waking up from a beautiful dream? Like there's a smile of intense happiness welling up inside you but it can't possibly fit on your face, so it just fills you up completely and overflows? That's what reading a great Marillier book is like. It's even better than dreaming because you can always go back and read it all over again.
I love that feeling and I absolutely love this book. I am full to the brim with feelings for this book. I admired Maeve for her blend of fortitude and gentleness, as well as her rather tart humor. She's a typical Marillier heroine in that, but with her this strength goes deeper because of her personal tragedies and insecurities. It means more with her, for some reason. I wanted to take Finbar into my arms and teach him how to laugh and be a silly person every now and then (something I am an expert in). I fell in love with Bear and Badger as dogs and as men, partly because I have dogs of my own and I couldn't help picturing the two of them in their place (though I doubt mine would go as far for me as Bear and Badger did for Maeve and Finbar). I often had to stop myself from crying while reading this at work, and most of the time it was because of their unabashed love and loyalty for Maeve. I was ready to love Luachan, and so felt the blow of his betrayal just as Maeve did, but also I couldn't hate him. I don't know if I would have done any differently, really. My small crush on Sean evolved into a huge crush -- for some reason seeing him dealing with other chieftains and also being so unsure yet protective with Maeve makes him even more admirable. Ciaran has always had my heart ever since he lost his to Niamh, and this time he broke it with his choice and the strength of his love for his family. My most fervent wish is for another Sevenwaters book to take place where we see him again and he is finally happy. He deserves it so much more than anyone else. Oh god there goes that little clutching feeling in my heart.
I was also happy to see mentions of Aisha and Conri, as well as the other members of the Sevenwaters family. Liadan and Bran still remain perfect to me, and I delighted in seeing Clodagh and Cathal and even Becan again.
The previous book, Seer of Sevenwaters, was something of a disappointment -- not that it was in any way a bad book, but as an installment in Marillier's Sevenwaters series, it fell a bit short. Flame of Sevenwaters, however, was absolutely excellent. Back when I was reading Child of the Prophecy and Maeve had just been terribly injured in that fire, I knew she would eventually become a heroine of her own story. And what a story it was.
I love that feeling and I absolutely love this book. I am full to the brim with feelings for this book. I admired Maeve for her blend of fortitude and gentleness, as well as her rather tart humor. She's a typical Marillier heroine in that, but with her this strength goes deeper because of her personal tragedies and insecurities. It means more with her, for some reason. I wanted to take Finbar into my arms and teach him how to laugh and be a silly person every now and then (something I am an expert in). I fell in love with Bear and Badger as dogs and as men, partly because I have dogs of my own and I couldn't help picturing the two of them in their place (though I doubt mine would go as far for me as Bear and Badger did for Maeve and Finbar). I often had to stop myself from crying while reading this at work, and most of the time it was because of their unabashed love and loyalty for Maeve. I was ready to love Luachan, and so felt the blow of his betrayal just as Maeve did, but also I couldn't hate him. I don't know if I would have done any differently, really. My small crush on Sean evolved into a huge crush -- for some reason seeing him dealing with other chieftains and also being so unsure yet protective with Maeve makes him even more admirable. Ciaran has always had my heart ever since he lost his to Niamh, and this time he broke it with his choice and the strength of his love for his family. My most fervent wish is for another Sevenwaters book to take place where we see him again and he is finally happy. He deserves it so much more than anyone else. Oh god there goes that little clutching feeling in my heart.
I was also happy to see mentions of Aisha and Conri, as well as the other members of the Sevenwaters family. Liadan and Bran still remain perfect to me, and I delighted in seeing Clodagh and Cathal and even Becan again.
The previous book, Seer of Sevenwaters, was something of a disappointment -- not that it was in any way a bad book, but as an installment in Marillier's Sevenwaters series, it fell a bit short. Flame of Sevenwaters, however, was absolutely excellent. Back when I was reading Child of the Prophecy and Maeve had just been terribly injured in that fire, I knew she would eventually become a heroine of her own story. And what a story it was.
So good. SO good. No other words. Except that I hope there will continue to be more. Really, if this series went on forever, I'll be beyond happy. Thank you, Ms. Marillier, from the bottom of my heart, for your wonderful, magical, beautiful, sweeping tales of Sevenwaters.
I love all of the Sevenwaters novels. This one was no exception.
Overall, this series was great and I recommend it to anyone who likes fantasy/adventure/romance.
This book on it's own was a little weak in the romance side, but adventure side was good.
The best book of the series was hands-down, the first one, Daughter of the Forest. I was on the edge of my seat for that one. The weakest was Child of the Prophecy.
This book on it's own was a little weak in the romance side, but adventure side was good.
The best book of the series was hands-down, the first one, Daughter of the Forest. I was on the edge of my seat for that one. The weakest was Child of the Prophecy.
I love the first book in this series. Unfortunately, none of the others have quite lived up to it, and it ended up feeling like the same story was repeated in every book.
challenging
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I very much wish I loved this book more, it was bittersweet and luckily didnt fall as flat as the one before but the pacing was too slow and there was just something lacking.
'Flame of Sevenwaters' is Juliet Marillier's sixth book in her Sevenwaters series, it's also currently the last. In it we find Maeve the daughter of Sean and Aisling that was injured by fire and nearly killed in the third book 'Child of the Prophecy'. For ten years Maeve has been living with her Aunt Liadan and Uncle Bran at Harrowfield, in Britton. News has been coming of unrest, mischief and other worries from Sevenwaters and Bran decides to try to help his brother in law Sean out by sending him a remarkable young horse, the horse though is flighty and he asks that Maeve accompany the horse and return to see her family. Despite her fear Maeve decides to return and finds the unrest is worse than she believed and her young brother Finbar is a shadow of a child. With the help of two stray dogs she nurtures back to health, she and Finbar embark on a journey to heal the land and the people.
spoilers
This book had so many up and downs, the beginning I loved, so much nostalgia, hitting a bunch of old characters and places that we haven't seen since the original trilogy. It left me wanting for more, I wanted to see more Bran, Liadan, their sons were completely absent which made me sad, but seeing places that Red and Sorcha had been to was sweet.
I swear this book makes it hard for me to like Aisling despite her doing nothing wrong. I get why some wouldn't want dogs in the house but as a mom who allows big dogs to sleep in beds with kids she and I just don't see eye to eye, plus each book she feels colder and colder. Now Maeve I really enjoyed. She reminds me of Sorcha, bluntly seeing her limitations but not letting them define her. The steadfast way she just digs down and gets done what needs to be done no matter the pain or difficulty. I will say I don't think going to the privy or relieving oneself was mentioned as much in all the other books as it was in this one which I found odd. I get everyday tasks are difficult but again and again its mention, even when she's on her own but not much detail on how she's making out on her own, so why bring it up at all?
I wish Cathal had a bigger part. I don't really think I cared for him much in Heir but I came to enjoy him in Seer, and I felt like he was just included cause he had to be in the end of this one and that he didnt contribute much. I did love his run to Clodagh at the end. Not that I read these books for the romance but it's been a bit forced in these last three. I didnt feel the growing bond between Cathal and Clodagh, don't get me started on Sibeal and Felix, there was nothing there, I don't get why they felt such a bond so quick. I had a hunch that the dogs were the sons and that Bear would be the love interest, I made sure not to read anything about this book and I did wonder about Luachan but his goodness, physical ability and his good looks kept being mentioned I discarded that as a possibility. I can understand the connection between Bear and Maeve and I liked that he immediately felt the same for her but I found it weird that he's immediately asking her to be his wife. I wish there was more time to see them stumble around one another and sort their feelings out, they went from dog and owner to sweethearts in seconds and I felt almost robbed, I also would like to see more of Bear, the little that I did see I liked his character.
I found that after leaving Harrowfield the book got pretty slow and it was hard to get through some of it, it was still interesting and captured my attention but I wasn't itching to get to the next until I reached around the 75% mark. Around there it really picked up and I very much needed to know how it all ended.
'Flame of Sevenwaters' is Juliet Marillier's sixth book in her Sevenwaters series, it's also currently the last. In it we find Maeve the daughter of Sean and Aisling that was injured by fire and nearly killed in the third book 'Child of the Prophecy'. For ten years Maeve has been living with her Aunt Liadan and Uncle Bran at Harrowfield, in Britton. News has been coming of unrest, mischief and other worries from Sevenwaters and Bran decides to try to help his brother in law Sean out by sending him a remarkable young horse, the horse though is flighty and he asks that Maeve accompany the horse and return to see her family. Despite her fear Maeve decides to return and finds the unrest is worse than she believed and her young brother Finbar is a shadow of a child. With the help of two stray dogs she nurtures back to health, she and Finbar embark on a journey to heal the land and the people.
spoilers
This book had so many up and downs, the beginning I loved, so much nostalgia, hitting a bunch of old characters and places that we haven't seen since the original trilogy. It left me wanting for more, I wanted to see more Bran, Liadan, their sons were completely absent which made me sad, but seeing places that Red and Sorcha had been to was sweet.
I swear this book makes it hard for me to like Aisling despite her doing nothing wrong. I get why some wouldn't want dogs in the house but as a mom who allows big dogs to sleep in beds with kids she and I just don't see eye to eye, plus each book she feels colder and colder. Now Maeve I really enjoyed. She reminds me of Sorcha, bluntly seeing her limitations but not letting them define her. The steadfast way she just digs down and gets done what needs to be done no matter the pain or difficulty. I will say I don't think going to the privy or relieving oneself was mentioned as much in all the other books as it was in this one which I found odd. I get everyday tasks are difficult but again and again its mention, even when she's on her own but not much detail on how she's making out on her own, so why bring it up at all?
I wish Cathal had a bigger part. I don't really think I cared for him much in Heir but I came to enjoy him in Seer, and I felt like he was just included cause he had to be in the end of this one and that he didnt contribute much. I did love his run to Clodagh at the end. Not that I read these books for the romance but it's been a bit forced in these last three. I didnt feel the growing bond between Cathal and Clodagh, don't get me started on Sibeal and Felix, there was nothing there, I don't get why they felt such a bond so quick. I had a hunch that the dogs were the sons and that Bear would be the love interest, I made sure not to read anything about this book and I did wonder about Luachan but his goodness, physical ability and his good looks kept being mentioned I discarded that as a possibility. I can understand the connection between Bear and Maeve and I liked that he immediately felt the same for her but I found it weird that he's immediately asking her to be his wife. I wish there was more time to see them stumble around one another and sort their feelings out, they went from dog and owner to sweethearts in seconds and I felt almost robbed, I also would like to see more of Bear, the little that I did see I liked his character.
I found that after leaving Harrowfield the book got pretty slow and it was hard to get through some of it, it was still interesting and captured my attention but I wasn't itching to get to the next until I reached around the 75% mark. Around there it really picked up and I very much needed to know how it all ended.
Year later and I’m finally done with the Sevenwater series. These books are very comforting to me and make me biased. Are they perfect? No. And I doubt I can see a lot of people appreciating them for what they are because of how slow moving they are. But there’s something about them that just works for me.
I will admit I didn’t see the twist in this book and when it was revealed I was shocked, but also I have seen Marillier do this before and should have known.
I’m a bit sad to be done with the series but I can’t wait to pick up one of her other ones next!
4.5-4.75 ⭐️
I will admit I didn’t see the twist in this book and when it was revealed I was shocked, but also I have seen Marillier do this before and should have known.
I’m a bit sad to be done with the series but I can’t wait to pick up one of her other ones next!
4.5-4.75 ⭐️