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Summary: A new queen of fantasy!
Review: I checked out this book from my school's library, before buying it. Everyone had heard about it, and it took forever for it actually to be available. It was just so good, everyone wanted it.Daughter of the Forest is one of the better works of fantasy I've read recently. It's beautifully written, a refreshing change to the Robert Jordans and Mercedes Lackeys that dominate today's fantasy field. It takes place in medieval Ireland, and follows an Irish fairy tale -- in a completely original manner. It's a fantasy, but you don't have to be an avid Tolkien-thumping (or even Jordan or Goodkind-thumping) fantasy fan to enjoy it. The magic is minimal, and fairy-tale like and wondrous, belonging mostly to the Fair Folk. This isn't high fantasy -- it's "fairy-tale" fantasy. There's nothing I didn't like about this book. The main character was a courageous heroine who used her strength of will, rather than her magic or her awesome sword-fighting skills, to triumph over evil. When her brothers, whom she loves, are put under a curse, only the heroine -- Sorcha -- can stop it. She has to stay silent for three years, without screaming, speaking, or writing a word. It was, overall, a sad book...but not exactly "depressing." Quite hopeful, and beautiful, at the end. And I'm definitely going to read the sequel. Highly recommended.
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Summary: Tear
Review: This is the best book I've ever read. At the end i actually cried in joy. I could not put it down until the very end and i've reread this book more times than i can count. i've recommended it to all my friends and now they own it just like me. Anyone who likes fantasy read this book and wear bring tissues for when you start to tear up.
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Summary: Wow -- it has it all!
Review: Love, excitement, evil, good, beauty, heroic virtue. Couldn't put it down. Can't wait to start the second book in the series. Thoroughly enjoyable and entertaining. As good as a weekend away!
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Summary: Deeply touching story
Review: I read books about fantasy and about heroines often enough, but very rarely do I come across something like this. The storyline sounded interesting enough, so I bought the book. From the time I opened it to the time I finished it, the book was rarely put away. This author writes beautifully, and knows how to make the reader caught up in the story and the emotion. I will definately read the rest of the trilogy and any other books I see by Juliet Marillier.
Rating: 
Summary: Wow. wow. A histrionic bodice-ripper novel
Review: A weepy, man-worshipping, sorry excuse for a story.
The author is a good writer but for pete's sake, she goes on and on about the gorgeous, gentle, well-endowedness of Lord so-and-so. It's enough to make me sick.
Rating:
Summary: Powerful and Emotional
Review: The lady has a way with the craft of telling tales in a manner which evokes powerful emotions in the reader. Rare indeed has it been for me to be so well taken into a tale. More rare still to feel the emotions linger so deeply and for so long.
A bow to the artist!
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Summary: What a great discovery!
Review: I bought Mariller's book "Daughter of the Forest" reluctantly, when I was snowed in and desperatly needed a book to read in the hotel room. I was reluctant, because I had read a few too many new takes on old fairy tales and wasn't willing to subject myself to any more. WELL! Suprise, suprise! This woman can write! Daughter of the Forest is a book of depth, with a wonderful, mystical, adventurous and emotionally charged plot line. Sorcha, the daughter of a great Irish chief, is sister to 6 brothers, who through the curse of a villainous sorceress, are turned into swans. OK, we all know the fairy tale. But, JM puts flesh on the bones of that tale, so you can forget you're reading a cover of some stale old thing, and completely immerse yourself in something fresh and unusual. JM has a deft touch with magic, managing to present it side by side with everyday life in a completely believable manner. The very trees breathe with magic in this book, and you are swept away. Expect a very strong heroine, a fascinating journey, a not-too-idealized view of feudal life, a compelling love story, a very appealing love interest, and lots of fun. You can also expect at least one more thing....a great sequel in "Son of the Shadows." Enjoy!
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Summary: Wow. Oh wow.
Review: This book is absolutely stunning. It's amazing! I read it in two nights. Wow. Oh wow. Read it or miss out on something truly unique.
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Summary: My favorite book this year
Review: And that's no small achievement. It's hard to believe this is Juliet Marillier's first book, so well is it written, and so powerfully affecting. DAUGHTER OF THE FOREST is a skillful, beautiful, heartbreaking retelling of the Celtic myth of the sons transformed into swans by their evil stepmother...and yet it is so much more. Narrated by Sorcha, the young sister of the six transformed brothers, this is as much a story of deadly ambition, battling peoples, and ruthless politics as it is an enchanted hero-tale in the Celtic tradtion, touched with supernatural wonder. It is equally as much a love song for the sacredness of the earth and a witness to the power and strength of family bonds and love without condition. I cried again and again, I held my breath, and sometimes I smiled. This one isn't just another knock-off of the "Celtic Craze." This story is magic.
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful
Review: Maybe this was just the right book that I read at the right time, but I was captivated by it. The depth of the characters and the eloquence of Marillier's story. I loved that she took a traditional Irish fairy tale and adapted it into a beautiful story about one young woman's trial to save her brothers and discover her love for the man who saved her. This is full of beautifully written descriptions, and as an aspiring writer, I've always been fascinated with the idea of writing a story about a mute character. I highly recommend this wonderful novel and cannot write enough glowing things about it.
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