Daughter of the Forest (Sevenwaters #1) by Juliet Marillier

 

Summary (from the publisher): Daughter of the Forest is a testimony to an incredible author's talent, a first novel and the beginning of a trilogy like no other: a mixture of history and fantasy, myth and magic, legend and love.

Lord Colum of Sevenwaters is blessed with six sons: Liam, a natural leader; Diarmid, with his passion for adventure; twins Cormack and Conor, each with a different calling; rebellious Finbar, grown old before his time by his gift of the Sight; and the young, compassionate Padriac.

But it is Sorcha, the seventh child and only daughter, who alone is destined to defend her family and protect her land from the Britons and the clan known as Northwoods. For her father has been bewitched, and her brothers bound by a spell that only Sorcha can lift.

To reclaim the lives of her brothers, Sorcha leaves the only safe place she has ever known, and embarks on a journey filled with pain, loss, and terror.

When she is kidnapped by enemy forces and taken to a foreign land, it seems that there will be no way for her to break the spell that condemns all that she loves. But magic knows no boundaries, and Sorcha will have to choose between the life she has always known and a love that comes only once.

Juliet Marillier is a rare talent, a writer who can imbue her characters and her story with such warmth, such heart, that no reader can come away from her work untouched.

Review: "If I were telling this tale, and it were not my own, I would give it a neat and satisfying ending. The children would come home, and their father would greet them with open arms, rejoicing. The wicked stepmother would be punished for the evil she had done and driven forth from their home. The father and his sons would put all to rights, and everyone would live happily ever after" (605). 

This is an absolutely beautiful historical fantasy based on the German fairy tale The Six Swans recorded by the Brothers Grimm, where six sons of a king are transformed into swans by their stepmother. Their sister has the power to break the spell by sewing six star-flower shirts and by remaining absolutely silent until the task is done. 

This is a tale of endurance and faithfulness, and the power of love to help us walk through the deepest sufferings and sorrows. It is also an absolutely beautiful love story that follows the sister Sorcha as she struggles to complete her task and also find her path to move forward. 

This is a slow build. For the first few chapters, I questioned the many glowing reviews I had read. But given a chance, this story slowly but surely grows into a quiet crescendo. I stayed up far too late, night after night, desperate to see what else Sorcha might endure to save her brothers and if she would ever find love or happiness herself. I also appreciated that, while this is the first in a series (and one I am very eager to continue), this book is beautiful as a standalone. In other words, it feels like a complete story with a satisfying ending and not a teaser cliffhanger finale. 

This does have many trigger warnings including animal cruelty and sexual assault, but it is not overly graphic, and the violent acts are not gratuitous but integral plot points. 

It is June. I have already read over 100 books this year. This is at the very top as one of my absolute favorites. I regret borrowing this from the library because I would like to own a copy to reread or press firmly into my friends' hands and urging them to read it. Just a beautiful, moving, heartrending, inspiring book. 

Stars: 5