Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful retelling
Review: I found this book because the storyline reminded me of a similar fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen titled "The Wild Swans." I picked it up out of curiousity, wanting to see how close it was to his tale. It's quite similar, but this telling has much more depth to it.
The characters are most excellent, especially Sorcha, the youngest child in the family, with 6 older brothers. After a new stepmother turns the brothers into swans, Sorcha must seek refuge away from her home Sevenwaters, where her father is ruler. She is given a task to save her brothers, but it not allowed to speak as she completes it. I found this part of the book very well written, even though it had no dialogue. It's easy to get drawn into Sorcha's thoughts and feelings as she completes this difficult task.
She is taken by an enemy of her people, the Irish, only to find that enemy, a Briton, becomes a friend. Other Britons, however, are not so friendly and Sorcha becomes caught up in a dangerous tangle that threatens not only her life, but the lives of her brothers.
Even though I already knew how it would end, I still found the tale enchanting and exciting. I loved watching the relationship unfold between Sorcha and Hugh, the Briton who took her from her home. It's easy to identify with the characters, though they live in a fairytale world. Even though this is a great adaptation of a classic fairytale, the events in this book seem as if they could be real.
Very well written and I'd highly recommend this book or either of its sequels to anyone.
Rating:
Summary: Couldn't put it down!
Review: I was pleasantly surprised with this book. It was better than I thought it would be. The story is kind of like an old fairy tale or fable but with characters you actually get to know and care about. If you like fairy tales, you'll like this book. You get to identify with the main character, Sorcha, as she makes sacrifices to save her loving brothers. The story is good and didn't drag on. The overeall plot is simple and could be surmised from reading the back cover but I never got bored or felt that it was predictable. Actually, I wasn't able to put it down until I finished it.
So save some time up before you read. :)
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Summary: Celtic Threads Make Fanciful New Heritage
Review: This book was amazing... i absolutely loved reading it. The author is wonderful at making you care about the characters... the main plot deals with a young girl's strength and love for her family, and follows her across "ireland" and "britain" in her struggles through sorcerous treachery and the workings of older, greater powers of a tragically beautiful, magical land. However, Marillier works an enchanting thread of love into the story which does not detract from the heroine's original purpose. I liked that the main character worked through her issues without relying on the man... the two plots seemed to compliment each other without bleeding over each other's importance, a true feat in the genre. A marvellous book I would reccomend to any new or experienced fantasy reader.
Rating:
Summary: Probably one of the best books I've ever read
Review: I really wish all books were as good as this one. It expertly blends just the right amounts of fantasy, folklore, mystery, and romance. I read this book after checking it out from my school library, and I was hooked. You seriously cannot put it down. It is a very moving and sometimes sad book. But the underlying moral is that love conquers all, and that you can do anything if you care and try enough. I HIGHLY recommend this book to everyone.
Rating:
Summary: Romantic Fantasy
Review: So far I have read the first and second books of the trilogy, and I haven't been disappointed. For the plot, the Amazon.com review is the best explanation to work with. The style of writing is not mushy, but it is patient, detailed, and feminine. I am a believer that a cover of a book does tell you a lot about a book, and the cover of this book is a fair representation. This book isn't to be read for the action; it has a light touch of Celtic fairy magic and is based on true human qualities and character developments.
Excellently written. I would highly recommend.
Rating: 
Summary: Weepy and ineffectual
Review: Fair writing, but the main character is weepy and ineffectual, wholly reliant upon Big Strong Men to rescue her. A pathetic character in an otherwise mediocre book. Note that this is basically a book in the romance genre rather than fantasy.
Rating:
Summary: Rich
Review: This book kept me on the edge of my seat. What a touching and full writing style. You won't regret picking up this book.
Rating:
Summary: A Beautiful Vision of a Novel
Review: I love retellings of classic fairytales and, although that's the reason I bought this book in the first place, I soon realized that it is so much more than that. This book is an intense read...that's the only way to describe it.Sorcha is the seventh child of a powerful Irish Lord. Her mother died giving birth to her and her father, Lord Colum, grew cold and distant and busied himself with war against his country's fierce enemies. Sorcha was raised by her six brothers and they grew up inseparable and free in the mystical forest that protects their estate. But as the siblings reach adulthood, they begin to take different paths in life. Sorcha hates the change and longs for them all to be as they were before. But still more change is at hand. Lord Colum has brought home a bride... The Lady Oonaugh is a beautiful and mysterious woman who seems to have Lord Colum at her beck and call. And, after the wedding, strange things begin to happen...sinister things. Sorcha and her brothers begin to have their doubts and fears of what the estate has become since their stepmother's arrival. They decide to take matters in their own hands and summon the Queen of the Fairies to help them. But their stepmother learns of their plans and uses her dark sorcery to keep them from contacting the Lady of the Forest and also places an evil enchantment on the siblings that changes them into wild beasts...with the exception of one. Sorcha manages to escape from her stepmother, but with nowhere to go and no one to help she is in despair. But the Lady of the Forest heard their cry for help and appears to Sorcha, giving her a cruel task that, if strictly kept to, would release her brothers. But time is limited. Sorcha soon realizes how horrible her task is, but she sticks with it out of love for her brothers. And then everything is turned upside down again when Sorcha falls into the hands of the Britions, her people's sworn enemies. Can Sorcha save her brothers as a captive in a foreign land? This is one good book. I recommend it to everyone who likes epic fantasy and unique fairytale retellings. And if that doesn't pull you in, try it for the love story, which was sentimental, sweet, painful, dangerous, forbidden, and oh so wonderful...
Rating:
Summary: AMAZING!
Review: Juliet Marillier is wonderful! I love the way she can put romance in the book but it doesn't dominate the story. Early pagan Ireland is a very interestng time period, esp the way she writes it. I was very mad when I finished this book, not because it was a bad ending but because I was done with the book! I wanted to continuse reading aout Sorcha, her brothers and Hugh. What Sorcha has to go through is horrible but she has the strength to go through with it. Some may say that Sorcha is too perfect but I think she is very realistic. We can see how she feels about Hugh and her fear of if she fails. All of her brothers have different personalities but I love them all though I think I love Finbar the best.
Juliet Marillier is a great new author and this is a MUST READ for EVERYBODY!
Rating:
Summary: A wonderful book!
Review: Colum of Sevenwaters was often away from his seven children as he fought a campaign against Britain to reclaim three islands sacred to Ireland. Sorcha and her six older brothers enjoyed playing in the forest while their father was gone. Sorcha's seven brothers raised her and they all loved and took care of each other. Everything changes one day when their father marries Lady Oonagh. Oonagh is a sorceress who changes Sorcha' s brothers into swans. Sorcha has to complete a hard and dangerous task to save her brothers and Sevenwaters. Her task takes her on a long journey, out of her home in Sevenwaters and into the heart of the British enemy.
This book is beautifully written. Juliet Marillier did a wonderful job of giving all of her characters their own individual personality. I felt I could reach out and touch everything in this book. The book left me with mixed feelings. I was happy for Sorcha in the end, but I felt I had become part of her and it made me sad to finish the book and leave her behind. Anyone who loves being drawn into a good fantasy book will love this book.
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