Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier
Series: Sevenwaters #1
Published by Tor Books
Published on: May 5, 2000
Genres: Fantasy
Pages: 560
Format: eBook
Source: Purchased
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Lovely Sorcha is the seventh child and only daughter of Lord Colum of Sevenwaters. Bereft of a mother, she is comforted by her six brothers who love and protect her. Sorcha is the light in their lives, they are determined that she know only contentment.
But Sorcha's joy is shattered when her father is bewitched by his new wife, an evil enchantress who binds her brothers with a terrible spell, a spell which only Sorcha can lift-by staying silent. If she speaks before she completes the quest set to her by the Fair Folk and their queen, the Lady of the Forest, she will lose her brothers forever.
When Sorcha is kidnapped by the enemies of Sevenwaters and taken to a foreign land, she is torn between the desire to save her beloved brothers, and a love that comes only once. Sorcha despairs at ever being able to complete her task, but the magic of the Fair Folk knows no boundaries, and love is the strongest magic of them all...
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Everything I could tell you about Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier can be summed up in a single paragraph from the story itself:
If I were telling this tale, and it were not my own, I would give it a neat, satisfying ending . . . In such stories, there are no loose ends. There are no unraveled edges and crooked threads. Daughters do not give their hearts to the enemy. The wicked do not simply disappear, taking with them the satisfaction of vengeance. Young men do not find themselves divided between two worlds. Fathers know their children.
But this was my own story.
Daughter of the Forest may have a happy ending, but is not a happy tale. It is full of terrible ironies, of monsters and men, of betrayals and heartbreak and endurance.
And it is absolutely beautiful.
Sorcha is the first daughter who should have been the seventh son. Her mother did not survive her birth, and her parents had loved each other so deeply that her father never fully recovered from the loss.
Instead he threw himself into the protection of his lands, and plotting to win back the three islands of great spiritual significance, stolen by the Britons.
On the rare occasions he was at home:
He didn’t smile at me. Or at Finbar. Finbar said that was because we reminded Father of our mother, who had died. We were the two who inherited her curling, wild hair. I had her green eyes, and Finbar her gift for stillness. Besides, by being born I had killed her.
(It burrrrrrrrns us, preciousssssssssssssss.)
But Sorcha had her six elder brothers who carried her along with them on their adventures, and so she was happy.
For a time.
But as her brothers grew, they began to leave, campaigning with their father, and when the eldest became engaged, Sorcha knew that no matter how hard she fought against it, her world was forever changing.
And when the brother she has always been closest to enlists her help in freeing a prisoner, she begins her journey down a path with trials so numerous that the Fair Folk themselves have warned her of what she will face before the end.
I laughed. I cried. I raged. I pleaded. I loved, and my heart was broken. All b/c of this book.
If it wasn’t for an ugly rape scene, Daughter of the Forest would have been my second 5.0 star read in over a year, so if you absolutely cannot handle that sort of thing, you have been duly warned. If you’re unsure, I strongly suggest you check out Kat Kennedy‘s review on Goodreads. BUT. If you think you can handle it . . . I know this isn’t the first time I’ve sung Juliet Marillier’s praises, but this time I entreat you: if you love fantasy at all, if you love fairy tales or retellings at all, read this book.
It is magic.
Highly recommended.
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My name is Jessica and I live in Chattanooga, Tennessee. I’m trying my hand at writing, but mostly I read. My favorite genres are Fantasy, Paranormal Romance, Science Fiction, Urban Fantasy, and the YA versions of those genres, but if there is a book of a different color getting lots of buzz, I’ll read it too, just to be informed. If I’m not reading or writing, I’m probably on Goodreads or Pinterest or baking blueberry pies because I love them.
I’ve seen these books around forever, but have never taken the plunge. I didn’t realize there was a rape scene, so I appreciate the trigger warning. There are certain things I prefer not to read, but it sounds like it’s worth pushing past that part of the book. Great review.
E.J. Stevens recently posted…February is for Paranormal Romance: Q+A with Leigh Goff + Giveaway
Lot of new Marillier fans around these days, myself include. Dreamer’s Pool was my intro and now I want to go back and read the entire backlist.
Nathan ( recently posted…Tough Travels – Chess Masters
You so are not helping my TBR pile Jessica!
Great review!! Have a wonderful weekend!!
kindlemom1 recently posted…Review: Dead Heat by Patricia Briggs
Hadn’t heard of this one but it sounds interesting.
Mary Kirkland recently posted…I MUSTACHE YOU SOME QUESTIONS
You had me at —> “It is full of terrible ironies, of monsters and men, of betrayals and heartbreak and endurance.” And you know how much I live for terrible ironies and heartbreak. *snickers* I only read the first two line of your review because I added this to my TBR on gr and I did the whole…one-click action! I’m soooooooooooooo ready for this book!!!
Cristina recently posted…Golden Son (Red Rising Trilogy, #2) by Pierce Brown
I LOVED this book! Oh gosh, my fingers itch when I think of what she wrote about Sorcha making those shirts for her brothers and the nettles that pricked. *Sigh, so awesome*
Glad you loved it Jessica 🙂
Kim { Book Swoon } recently posted…Young Adult Book Review: The Sin Eater’s Daughter by Melinda Salisbury
This one made me cry, sniff
blodeuedd recently posted…#FitReaders: Weekly Check-In Feb 27 2015 and DNF time
Well, guessed who just one clicked this one for my Kindle? DAMMIT JESSICA!! I’m in a bloody book buying ban!!
But yeah, this one simply sounds like Pili bait, it was actually rather cheap and dammit, YOU MADE ME WANT TO READ IT NOOOOOW!!
Pili recently posted…Friday Reads: Mrs Frisby and The Rats of NIMH!!
I’m sold! I want! I want! I want! Awesome review as always.
BookaholicCat recently posted…Movie Trailer: Tomorrowland
Ahhh, I adored this one! Thing is, it had been on my TBR for years and years, and I finally picked it up when I finished reading Dreamer’s Pool and discovered the amazingness of Marillier. I was kicking myself for not reading it sooner!
Mogsy recently posted…Mogsy’s Bookshelf Roundup: Book Haul, Backlist, What I’ve Read
YES JESSICA! I loved this so much, I couldn’t read anything else for almost a week afterwards. When I finished, I just laid on my couch and…floated, you know? Sorcha is one of the best characters I’ve read about recently, and her brothers were really well developed too. I really like Conor and I thought Finbar was beautifully developed (a little less likeable though). And of course you know how I feel about Hugh/Red…swoon. This book has cemented Marillier’s position in my auto-buy queue for sure.
Danya recently posted…Review: Murder of Crows by Anne Bishop
I knew when I saw the author’s name this was a story you loved, Jessica. It seems to have packed quite an emotional punch. Yet it’s beautiful? I admit I’m very curious about Sorcha’s story. I’ve not read Marillier before but I know she’s a favorite of yours. Seeing as we enjoy so many of the same authors, I’ll pick up one of Marillier’s soon.
Bookworm Brandee recently posted…Blog Tour Review & Giveaway~ For Authentication Purposes ~ Amber L. Johnson
Damn it! Rape scene makes this a read I don’t dare touch. But damn it, I was SO going to read it otherwise! It sounds so magnificently good!
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