Daughter of the Forest

Rating:
Summary: book thinginess
Review: this book is great as a first time read and can make you pull an all nighter to finish it. however, i've found that more times you read this book, the less brilliant it seems. i have a lot of time on my hands and i've read it 4 times, i think. i lost count.
in conclusion, this is not a book you'll keep on your bookshelf for generations, AKA it'll never be a classic. still it's a good book, even with the historical holes and i recomend it as a light read. don't read it more than twice though or you'll start to feel sick.
this book review makes me sound like a snob, but im not. really.
im just to lazy to go back and rewrite it in a funnier, nicer, more down to earth style.

Rating:
Summary: Truly amazing
Review: It takes an extremely good book in order to coax a full five-star rating from me. However, in this case I feel that full marks are justified. So many times throughout the story I forgot the book in my hands and was able to get completely lost in the world that the author created - the mark of a true storyteller. It also remains, to date, the one book that has made me cry.
Each character is fully developed, each scene is intricately described and the writing is the best I have encountered for a very long time. No emotion is left unexplored as Juliet Marillier takes the reader on a roller coaster of a journey throughout mediaeval Ireland and Britain, through the land of the faeries and the land of the mortal. The conflict between the old pagan traditions and the new Christian religion is delicately handled, as is the conflict between the Irish and the Britons.
Sorcha is a strong heroine, although clearly a young woman of her time. All too often in period books, "strong heroines" are simply 21st century women, unbelievable as females who were brought up in earlier times. Marillier, however, makes sure that Sorcha is clearly a strong character without losing any of the book's authenticity.
Simply stunning - I cannot recommend it highly enough.

Rating:
Summary: Start and STOP with this one!
Review: This is by far, the best of the three in the trilogy! The character presence is so strong, and engaging, that as a reader you hope it would have continued with the next two, alas, it did not! This book drew the reader in much like the wonderful "Mists Of Avalon" (Zimmer Bradley's novel) but just did not keep the stamina going. When you read a book that can make you cry from joy and anger, and sadness, all with an intensity that makes you glad you are reading alone in a secluded little area, especially if that is more than a little unusual for you! It is a winner. WARNING: I then loaned this to a tried and true multiple tissue by nature reader, and it was almost too much for her, and the story "stayed" with both of us , and consequent other readers, for days after. GOOD SIGN.

Rating:
Summary: Skeptic reader finds unexpected treasure!
Review: In general, the fantasy genre rarely enters into my relm of reading materials. It was on a whim that I skimmed the new release shelf of my library and picked up "Daughter of the Forest." The next few days were spent nose deep in the pages of Juliet Marillier's novel. Like countless others I'm sure, I forced myself to stay up as long as possible in order to "just finish this next chapter." It is a wonderful blend of suspense, romance, action, history, as well as ancient Irish traditions. And I was thrilled to find such a stong heroine figure in the main character, Sorcha. I highly recomend this book to anyone looking to sink their teeth into a satisfying read. I can't wait to dive into the next one!

Rating:
Summary: Good book!
Review: I found this book by accident one day in the bookstore (ok, the cover caught my eye grin). This is a wonderful story with lush descriptions of the land and the people contained within. What Sorcha has to do to save the ones she loves, and the trials and hardships she endures to get there, will definately touch your heart. Definately one to read!

Rating:
Summary: AMAZING!...
Review: I would give this book 10 stars if I could! It was a deeply intense and moving story of Sorcha, the seventh child, and only daughter to Lord Colum of Sevenwaters, a home enclosed in a deep forest where the legendary Lady of the Forest and other Feary folk supposedly live. She and her brothers live a wonderful life in the forest. Yet when an evil sorceress marries their father, things change, including her brothers who are turned into swans. Sorcha is now the only one who can save them. The author is such a good storyteller; I would feel Sorcha's pain, and her love. Juliet Marillier is an awesome author, whose other books, despite my high expectations are just as good!

Rating:
Summary: ... don't mind the tears, for they are not sad ...
Review: I discovered this book quite recently, and since I love swans, I thought, sure. I started it, the length of the chapters kind of made it hard to stop. I like to end a chapter before I put it down. I cried and sobbed. Her trials and tribulations are so tough and demanding. I found myself clamping my mouth shut along with Sorcha. Blinking rapidly to just read through my tears, not even thinking of grabbing a tissue, or laying it aside to wipe them. Not even caring how late it got, or if I was too cold from the aircon. Or reading through my lunchbreak without even touching it. I haven't felt like this about a book in quite awhile. Quite a find, and I can't wait to read the next.

Rating:
Summary: How did she do it?
Review: This was honestly a wonderful book. I will own this book until it wears out, then I'll be at the bookstore buying another copy

Rating:
Summary: I'm conflicted ...
Review: I agree with all the other reviewers. This book is great! The whole trilogy is great! I love the rising female fantasy writers because of the emotion they build into their stories. But what I don't understand (and maybe this is bacause I am a male) is why some of the up and coming female fantasy authors seem to be hanging on to sexually explicit scenes (or at least scenes with overly explicit descriptions and conversation) such as what one would find in a pulp fiction lust novel. Elizabeth Haydon is another such author who wrote a wonderful trilogy, a wonderful heart-ripping love story, but cheapened it with such imagery. Isn't it possible to have lots of emotion, reveal the evil side of humanity, and still keep it rated PG?

Rating:
Summary: Best Book I've Read In A Long Time
Review: i loved this book. it makes you cry sometimes and makes you angry like all the things in the book are happing to you. i could not put it down. the part were you think red's not going to save her and you think she's going to die is so mind shocking. when they say she was with another man. then in the part where a fire burns all the shirts she made for her brothers you can't help but feel depressed. and then when her brothers come back to there human form, it's so.... let's just say that you feel sooo glad that she can talk again. and you can just feel her joy in having her brothers back again. i hope you enjoy this book it is never dull. i have also read the next book in the series (Son of the Shadows) really good!!!