Review: Den of Wolves by Juliet Marillier (@jessicadhaluska, @acerocbooks)

Den of Wolves by Juliet Marillier
Series: Blackthorn & Grim #3
Published by Roc
Published on: November 1 2016
Genres: Fantasy
Pages: 445
Format: eARC
Source: NetGalley

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The “powerful and emotionally-charged”* fantasy series from the author of the Sevenwaters novels continues, as Blackthorn and Grim face haunting secrets and old adversaries...
 
Feather bright and feather fine, None shall harm this child of mine...
 
Healer Blackthorn knows all too well the rules of her bond to the fey: seek no vengeance, help any who ask, do only good. But after the recent ordeal she and her companion, Grim, have suffered, she knows she cannot let go of her quest to bring justice to the man who ruined her life.
 
Despite her personal struggles, Blackthorn agrees to help the princess of Dalriada in taking care of a troubled young girl who has recently been brought to court, while Grim is sent to the girl’s home at Wolf Glen to aid her wealthy father with a strange task—repairing a broken-down house deep in the woods. It doesn’t take Grim long to realize that everything in Wolf Glen is not as it seems—the place is full of perilous secrets and deadly lies...
 
Back at Winterfalls, the evil touch of Blackthorn’s sworn enemy reopens old wounds and fuels her long-simmering passion for justice. With danger on two fronts, Blackthorn and Grim are faced with a heartbreaking choice—to stand once again by each other’s side or to fight their battles alone...

DEN OF WOLVES picks up where TOWER OF THORNS left off. Blackthorn and Grim have returned to their cottage, Blackthorn curmudgeonly about her recent revelations and Grim silently and steadfastly enduring.

Once again, their attempt at a quiet life is interrupted, this time by a young girl who has been thrust upon our Prince to chaperone for an indefinite period of time. The girl is a wild thing, despite being the only daughter of a widowed lord, and she escapes into the forest near B&G’s cottage whenever she can.

Stuff happens and Blackthorn takes Cara under her wing, and thus begins the slow unraveling of this installment’s fairytale-like mystery.

This is going to be a short review, b/c:

1. I’m sad the series is over. VERY sad.

2. Fairytale-like mysteries are best unraveled by the reader.

3. It was so damn lovely that I’m having a hard time putting all of my FEELS into words.

I actually read DEN OF WOLVES weeks ago, but it’s taken me this long to cobble together even this semblance of a review. Suffice it to say that this was my favorite individual plot.

The outline of the mystery isn’t difficult to guess, but the particulars are exceptional, and while it didn’t pack the same emotional punch as TOWER OF THORNS, there’s something to be said for the perfect ending that creeps up on you—I spent the last hundred or so pages constantly checking my progress, convinced there wasn’t enough time to satisfactorily resolve ALL THE THINGS.

*shakes head at self* (B/c Juliet Marillier is a GODDESS.)

Sometimes a series ends and while there are no fireworks, no parade, no idiot celebrities fist-pumping on couches . . . it is perfect. Quietly perfect, but perfect nonetheless. Highly recommended.

Blackthorn & Grim:

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