Marillier's Heart's Blood

From the moment I started reading Juliet Marillier's Daughter of the Forest, I was hooked. Now I anticipate publication of her works with bated breath. Unfortunately, I cannot afford to buy all her books, so am left waiting for the library to get a copy in- which can be a pain. But, this weekend, finally! A copy had been processed!

I find Marillier's recent novels not up to the standards of the first two Sevenwaters books. They're still wonderful books, but I can put them down if I try. Heart's Blood was an enjoyable read, even if I did guess the entire plot of the book early on. Marillier creates haunting and beautiful worlds and is skilled in describing the ethereal or supernatural. Her characters are endearing, though I found Caitrin and Anluan less lovable than her other characters. While I wanted their lives to contain happiness, I don't pine to see their life together now that the book is closed (I do not desire a sequel here). That said, the book is certainly worthy of a read if you're a Marillier fan and need a bit of escapism, but those who have never read Marillier would be better off picking up Daughter of the Forest.

A super-quick snippet of the premise: The protagonist, Caitrin, is a scribe who has run away from her abusive relatives after the death of her father. She ends up in a strange chieftain's house where things are not as them seem. The woods contain voices and strange creatures, the chieftain, Anluan, cannot go beyond the woods, and mirrors show strange images. As Caitrin organizes the library and translates Latin, she realizes there are one-hundred years of love and loss still at work in the house. Contains magic and the supernatural (these strange forces aren't from faerie, okay?)

We're in luck! According to Marillier's website, " "The new and official title for my next novel is SEER OF SEVENWATERS. This is the book formerly known as SONG OF THE ISLAND. The seer in the title is Sibeal." The good bit is the 'more Sevenwaters.'