Tuesday 19 January 2010

FANTASY REVIEW: Heart's Blood - Juliet Marillier

BOOK BLURB:

This is a stunning gothic love story based on the legends of Beauty and the Beast. Whistling Tor is a place of secrets, a mysterious, wooded hill housing the crumbling fortress of a chieftain whose name is spoken throughout the district in tones of revulsion and bitterness. A curse lies over Anluan's family and his people; those woods hold a perilous force whose every whisper threatens doom. For young scribe Caitrin it is a safe haven. This place where nobody else is prepared to go seems exactly what she needs, for Caitrin is fleeing her own demons. As Caitrin comes to know Anluan and his home in more depth she realizes that it is only through her love and determination that the curse can be broken and Anluan and his people set free.


REVIEW:

If you love your fairytales and have enjoyed recent blendings of the modern fantasy genre into an established story arc (in much the same way that Jesse Bullington did with The Sad Tale of the Brothers Grossbart) then you won’t do much better than Juliet’s latest offering. You get cracking storytelling beautifully blended with careful character construction which leads to a compelling and highly pleasing offering from Juliet.

Whilst some of this offering is a tad predictable its the authors talent to add a touch of the whimsy to her work that will have you demanding more. A great novel from an author who really knows her craft.

1 comment:

Sophia (FV) said...

Sounds interesting. Nice to read a book that is well written. :)