Daughter of the Forest (Sevenwaters #1) by Juliet Marillier narrated by, Terry Donnelly

Daughter of the Forest (Sevenwaters #1) by Juliet Marillier narrated by, Terry Donnelly

This was a re-read of one of my all-time favorite fantasy books and I have to tell you I loved it just as much the second time through as I did the first and listening to the audio version only enhanced my love of it.

I still loved the characters of Sorcha & Red, this whole story is so beautifully written, Juliet Marillier is such a fabulous writer!

I thoroughly enjoyed this fairytale re-telling (The Wild Swans by, Hans Christian Andersen), this is not a story for the faint of heart, just a warning there is a rape scene, and this love story which to me is so secondary to Sorcha’s quest is chaste and doesn’t overpower the book at all. Sorcha’s quest will break your heart and it amazed me still even on re-reading/listening what a great strong woman she was.

I enjoyed the “magical” elements the fair Folk and the druids it all seems so normal and everyday that you totally believe these people truly lived in this time.

This was my first time listening to Terry Donnelly as a narrator at first I wasn’t sure about her because I was expecting more of an Irish accent from the characters at Sevenwaters but she really grew on me and I was enrapt with the book by the end and was very happy with her narration, I thought she put just the right amount of venom in the Uncle Richard’s voice. I see she narrates another one later in the series and I look forward to it and would definitely listen to this narrator again.

As I said I love Juliet Marillier’s writing she knows how to weave a tale so well that you believe every word. If you are a fan of the quest type fantasy give this series a try.

Still 5 Stars

Lie Still by, Julia Heaberlin

Lie Still by Julia Heaberlin

Synopsis from Goodreads:

When Emily Page and her husband move from Manhattan to the wealthy enclave of Clairmont, Texas, she hopes she can finally escape her haunted past—and outrun the nameless stalker who has been taunting her for years. Pregnant with her first child, Emily just wants to start over. But as she is drawn into a nest of secretive Texas women—and into the unnerving company of their queen, Caroline Warwick—Emily finds that acceptance is a very dangerous game.

It isn’t long before Caroline mysteriously disappears and Emily is facing a rash of anonymous threats. Are they linked to the missing Caroline? Or to Emily’s terrifying encounter in college, years earlier? As the dark truth about Caroline emerges, Emily realizes that some secrets are impossible to hide—and that whoever came for Caroline is now coming for her.

My Review:

The premise of this book sounded really good, however the follow through was not as good as I had hoped.

I did enjoy the first part of this story it was a good build up to an intriguing mystery however the end was so rushed that it kind of ruined it.  This group of women was a caricature of Texas/southern women, and their little group with a bowl of secrets was laughable especially when it was Emily’s first time getting together with these women, if the queen bee of this little group was blackmailing these other women, why would you include the new Chief of Police’s wife?

There were so many secrets and storylines going on here and I could kind of see what the author was trying for but it didn’t work for me. The big reveal at the end had me so confused and made me think I had missed a page because it was so rushed and very unsatisfactorily for my taste it was very anti-climatic for a book with so many story lines and secrets.

Overall I was disappointed in this…some have liked it more than I did so I guess give it a try, I didn’t hate it, it just won’t be one that I’ll tell people is a must read.

2 ½ Stars

I received this from Librarything Early Reviewer program for a fair and honest review 

Touched by Fire by Irene N. Watts

Touched by Fire by Irene N. Watts

This was a fascinating read, I asked for this from netgalley because I am fascinated with the Triangle Fire tragedy but this book is about so much than just that, it is a fabulous immigrant story.

We meet teenaged Miriam and her family when they are living in Kiev, they have already lived through the pogroms (which is a violent massacre or persecution of an ethnic or religious group, particularly one aimed at Jews) and there is hints at more to come, but her parents have a dream, to go to the golden land to America where no one burns you for being a Jew. They start their journey by getting out of Kiev and moving to Germany to make enough money for Papa to go to America first and for him to make enough money for the rest of the family to come over. It is 2 years before enough money is saved and the tickets arrive for Miriam, her mother Sara, her brother Yuri, and baby sister Devora to make the great sea voyage. However Miriam’s brother is a little brat who doesn’t want to leave, sorry Yuri really made me mad in this story and Devora has been sickly and the doctor advises that she not go on this trip. Ok that is all I am going to tell about that part *No Spoilers*.

The book goes on with Miriam’s story her sea voyage , what that was like and the conditions for these passengers was pretty grim, but I liked how the author let us see through Miriam’s eyes that first look at New York harbor  the Statue of Liberty and arriving at Ellis Island. I thought her descriptions of this and the Lower East Side made you feel like you were there and was well written. So there is so much more to this book than the Triangle Fire which I’m sure you have guessed is where Miriam gets a job and after still having nightmares from the Pogrom’s of her childhood this was a pretty tough time. One caveat here, the description of the fire is very graphic so teens or adults with a weak stomach may have a hard time with that.

I really enjoyed this book and pretty much read it in one sitting, this was my first book by Irene Watts though I have been meaning to try her books, I will now  be reading more of her books. I really enjoyed her writing and the descriptions of time and place were well done.

I would recommend this to teens and adults alike and will be buying the paperbook for our library!

4 Stars

As I said I received this book from netgalley for a fair and honest review.