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Summary: A poem, a riddle, a dream
Review: Ms. McKillip has woven magic into this book. A tale of falling sunlight, drowning roses, shadowy green eyes, sweet perfumed water, cold winter days, half-seen images: of fey and the ordinary, of a hidden secret, a hidden sorrow in the Lynn legends. This is the story of Rois, the untamed, witch-like daughter of a farmer, and how, by loving the fey Corbet Lynn and ferreting out his secrets, following him through dreams and reality, she finally becomes human. A poignant tale, I cried at times, swept away by the emotional power of Ms. McKillip's poetic prose. I have never read anything so beautiful. So sad. I love this book very much. Not only was it amazing trying to follow Rois and Corbet through realms beyond, but trying to distinguish what was dream and what was reality. The imagery used, the symbolism, was so otherworldly in its significance, in its beauty, that I was awed as well as moved much of the time. I wish Patricia McKillip's other books were as this one. By making it a first-person-narrative you never lose focus of the character while becoming adrift in the world. Again, this really was very beautiful (there is no other word; it's like a melody that stirs the soul) and I was spell-bound.
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Summary: Dream like or boring?
Review: Rois has always been fond of wondering around in the woods. Her sister, Laurel, and their father
constantly worry that she'll never find a husband and settle down. Their fears seem unfounded when Rois becomes obsessed with a man, Corbet, she sees in the woods one day. Rois is determined to find out more about Corbet and she soon discovers that his family is under a curse. She wants to break the curse so they can be together but her dreams are shattered when Laurel and Corbet take a liking to each other.I enjoyed the premise of this book but the plot took forever to go anywhere. I like the dreamlike parts of the book to a certain extent but they just took up too much of the book for me to enjoy them totally. I probably would have liked this more as a short story. As for the characters, I loved Rois, hated Laurel, and was indifferent to Corbet. Even though this book didn't impress me too much I may try something else by this writer. The writing is quite good. If you like dreamlike mysteries you'll probably enjoy this book. I just prefer something a little more solid.
Rating: 
Summary: Potential without substance
Review: Sigh. This book had so much potential. McKillip had a wonderful, engaging main character in Rois. In fact her characterisation in general was wonderful. And the basis for a plot was undeniably there. But it just didn't develop. It was vague and gossamer like, and at the end I was so sorry, because I could have loved it if it was a little more substantial, but it was so airy it fell flat.
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Summary: Doors & Windows...
Review: I followed the words through this book so swiftly, unable to stop reading, stop following. What beautiful prose. McKillip's rhythm and sense of self were incredible. Somewhere between worlds - like the Snow Queen, or The Lion, The Witch, & the Wardrobe, the Chronicles of Corum - the power of moving between worlds, gates opening to some of us, not others, being trapped on a plane that is not your home. This story was like the truth of life & fairytales - the cruelty and the beauty all in one. It was the first book of McKillip's I'd read. Looking forward to more...
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Summary: A Beautiful Vision of a Tale
Review: How can two sisters be so different? Laurel is beautiful, proper, thoughtful, and utterly sensible. She calmly cares for her widowed father and plans her wedding to her childhood sweetheart. Rois is a wild freespirit who roams the woods by day and sometimes by night searching for something even she could not name. But they soon discover that they have one thing in common...his name is Corbet Lynn... Corbet returns to his father's childhood home and begins restoration work amid a storm of rumors and gossip. Corbet's grandfather was murdered in that house and most believe that Corbet's father was the guilty party. But all know, whether his son murdered him or not, that the old man used his last breath to place a dreadful curse on his son...and his son's descendents. Almost as soon as Rois sets eyes upon the young man, she is determined to unravel the mysteries of his past. But her fascination with his unusual history is soon replaced by feelings that are much stronger. She never expected that she would give her heart so easily...or that her feelings would not be returned when she did. It would seem that Corbet has taken a fancy to Laurel...who returns his feelings whole heartedly, fiancee or no. But Rois can not back out of the picture as easily as she got into it. As the curse begins to bear fruit, Rois finds herself tangled in its web. She realizes that it is up to her to save the man she loves...even if she saves him so that he can freely love another...her own sister. What Rois didn't count on was the truths she would learn about her own past...and her surprising destiny... Reading this book was like looking at a beautiful painting. The word pictures are marvelous and the emotions are almost too real. Readers are swept away in a tide of romance, jealousy, hatred, and mystery. Fantasy readers will love it!
Rating: 
Summary: A dreamy tale
Review: I just recently finished this book for the second time. The first, I didn't really grasp it. This time around, however, I did. It's a dreamy tale about the wild, wood-loving Rois, the cursed Corbet Lynn, and Rois's sensible sister, Laurel. Ms. McKillip weaves a tale of unspoken love and a disasterous curse the villagers think will come true. When Corbet Lynn returns to his family home to rebuild, he brings with him mystery. Rois is the only one who can see him for who he truly is. I think what bothered me most about the book was that the author did not tie up the loose end about Rois's mother. I really wanted to know who/what she was/is. However, I loved the end when Corbet asks Rois to look at the rose vines intertwined with ivy.
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Summary: Dream book
Review: The thing I love about McKillip is that she can draw the reader into a dream-like fairy world, and this book is no different. It is hard to decide what is real and what is not, to that point that it feels very much like a dream. Most writers cannot pull this off, to create a true dream atmosphere, but McKillip does this in this book. The story is tragic, yet with a happy ending, and the whole book is done well, the people in the book are interesting and well done, and as a whole this is one of the best non-adventure fantasy books, best read by mature readers. (Not neccisaryly older).
Rating:
Summary: fantastic
Review: What can I add to what all these other reviews have already said? If you've read them, you have a pretty good idea of the plot, so all I can say, is that the discriptions in this book are fantastic! McKillip is a master of picturesque prose. Probably one of the best of her books that I've read! But beware, all those who haven't read anything by this author yet, this is not a book to read if you want something light. You have to pay attention to the words themselves, or you'll miss half the book, and get hopelessly confused
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Summary: McKillip's Take on the Modern Fairy Tale is a Winner
Review: Rois is a child of the wood, she loves to be free to roam the woods to find the herbs, plants and flowers for healing and pleasure. In her travels in the woods, she happens upon a doorway of sorts and out of that doorway walks Corbet Lynn, the cursed grandson, back to rebuild Lynn Hall. Rois becomes obsessed with the curses remembered by the elder townsfolk, curses supposedly called down upon Corbet's father as he stood over the father he has just murdered. Rois is a great heroine in a genre that oftentimes writes women as helpless or as accessories to the main male character. McKillip often writes characters who are able to see things that most other people can't see, despite however obvious those things are. This book is achingly sad at times and like a well written fairy tale, the ending is not what you expect it to be. McKillip has a way of taking what would be really sappy and trite if it were done in another book or by another author and owning it in such a way that the emotion resonates with the reader.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely beautiful!
Review: A gorgeous, rich, complex story framed in McKillip's trademark lyrical prose. Rois was an amazing character and makes a wonderful and magical narrator. You see the world from her not-completely-human perspective and it really comes to life. The ending is a bit confusing, though--does Corbet forget everything from the other world? Is he now fully human? Did he ever love Rois at all (or Laurel, for that matter) or was he just using them to become human and to escape the other world? Still, it is a beautiful, magical tale that I was sad to see end.
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