Award-winning author Juliet Marillier "weaves magic, mythology, and folklore into every sentence on the page" (The Book Smugglers). Now she begins an all-new and enchanting series that will transport readers to a magical vision of ancient Ireland...
In exchange for help escaping her long and wrongful imprisonment, embittered magical healer Blackthorn has vowed to set aside her bid for vengeance against the man who destroyed all that she once held dear. Followed by a former prison mate, a silent hulk of a man named Grim, she travels north to Dalriada. There she'll live on the fringe of a mysterious forest, duty bound for seven years to assist anyone who asks for her help.
Oran, crown prince of Dalriada, has waited anxiously for the arrival of his future bride, Lady Flidais. He knows her only from a portrait and sweetly poetic correspondence that have convinced him Flidais is his destined true love. But Oran discovers letters can lie. For although his intended exactly resembles her portrait, her brutality upon arrival proves she is nothing like the sensitive woman of the letters.
With the strategic marriage imminent, Oran sees no way out of his dilemma. Word has spread that Blackthorn possesses a remarkable gift for solving knotty problems, so the prince asks her for help. To save Oran from his treacherous nuptials, Blackthorn and Grim will need all their resources: courage, ingenuity, leaps of deduction, and more than a little magic.
From Goodreads:
Award-winning author Juliet Marillier's "lavishly detailed"* Blackthorn & Grim series continues as a mysterious creature holds an enchanted and imperiled ancient Ireland in thrall.
Disillusioned healer Blackthorn and her companion, Grim, have settled in Dalriada to wait out the seven years of Blackthorn's bond to her fey mentor, hoping to avoid any dire challenges. But trouble has a way of seeking out Blackthorn and Grim.
Lady Geiléis, a noblewoman from the northern border, has asked for the prince of Dalriada's help in expelling a howling creature from an old tower on her land—one surrounded by an impenetrable hedge of thorns. Casting a blight over the entire district, and impossible to drive out by ordinary means, it threatens both the safety and the sanity of all who live nearby. With no ready solutions to offer, the prince consults Blackthorn and Grim.
As Blackthorn and Grim begin to put the pieces of this puzzle together, it's apparent that a powerful adversary is working behind the scenes. Their quest is about to become a life and death struggle—a conflict in which even the closest of friends can find themselves on opposite sides.
From Goodreads:
The "powerful and emotionally-charged" fantasy series from the author of the Sevenwaters novels continues, as Blackthorn and Grim face haunting secrets and old adversaries...
Feather bright and feather fine, None shall harm this child of mine...
Healer Blackthorn knows all too well the rules of her bond to the fey: seek no vengeance, help any who ask, do only good. But after the recent ordeal she and her companion, Grim, have suffered, she knows she cannot let go of her quest to bring justice to the man who ruined her life.
Despite her personal struggles, Blackthorn agrees to help the princess of Dalriada in taking care of a troubled young girl who has recently been brought to court, while Grim is sent to the girl's home at Wolf Glen to aid her wealthy father with a strange task—repairing a broken-down house deep in the woods. It doesn't take Grim long to realize that everything in Wolf Glen is not as it seems—the place is full of perilous secrets and deadly lies...
Back at Winterfalls, the evil touch of Blackthorn's sworn enemy reopens old wounds and fuels her long-simmering passion for justice. With danger on two fronts, Blackthorn and Grim are faced with a heartbreaking choice—to stand once again by each other's side or to fight their battles alone...
My Review:
These books were just so fantastic to read! I loved the mix of mystery, daily life in a historical, magical Ireland, with bits and pieces of paranormal! They came together so well, and they were just so well written! I loved reading them!
Blackthorn and Grim start out in a pretty nasty place-a unkempt prison of a nasty chieftan. And things get better, but at a cost. And honestly, that was good, because otherwise, it wouldn't have mattered, Blackthorn would've gone for her vengeance, and probably would've died. The seven years gives her time to grieve, to make connections, and make plans. And to heal from the wounds that were the reason for her vengeance. So go, Conmael!
We got bits and pieces of Blackthorn's past, the bare bones, covered in emotional blood, which was pretty awful. Not all of it, but we got almost nothing of Grim's at first. We got one big part of his story in Tower of Thorns, about the monks, St. Erc, and an old name of his, Brother Conall! Though there's still some unknowns!
Finding out why Conmael made the deal with Blackthorn, that was a really fantastic discovery! We were given hints from the beginning, but in Den of Wolves, it's fully fleshed out, and that was just so awesome! Den of Wolves was a pretty big book in terms of events that happened, from this, the trial, and the developments in relationships!
I really enjoyed how these books were told! We got Blackthorn and Grim's POV, and then we got the POV of an important character to the mystery! The first, Prince Oram. The second, Lady Geiléis. The third, Bardan and Cara. If there are more books in this series (and I hope there are) I can't wait to see this pattern repeat, and wonder who might narrate!
Loved reading these books, they were just so fantastic!
Author: Juliet Marillier
Series: Blackthorn and Grim #1, 2, 3
Read: October 23rd, 24th, 25th, 2016
Source: Ebook.bike, NetGalley
Reason Why: Love her books, and and they're Historical Fiction 2016 Books and Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2016 Books!
Publisher: Roc
Published: October 4th 2014, November 3rd 2015
Expected Publication: November 1st 2016
Dreamer's Pool:
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| 5/5 Hearts |
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| 5/5 Books |
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| 5/5 Stars |
Tower of Thorns:
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| 5/5 Hearts |
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| 5/5 Books |
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| 5/5 Stars |
Den of Wolves:
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| 5/5 Hearts |
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| 5/5 Books |
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| 5/5 Stars |
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