Synopsis:

Child of the Prophecy is the thrilling conclusion to Juliet Marillier’s award-winning Sevenwaters Trilogy.

Magic is fading… and the ways of Man are driving the Old Ones to the West, beyond the ken of humankind. The ancient groves are being destroyed, and if nothing is done, Ireland will lose its essential mystic core.

The prophecies of long ago have foretold a way to prevent this horror, and it is the Sevenwaters clan that the Spirits of Eire look to for salvation. They are a family bound into the lifeblood of the land, and their promise to preserve the magic has been the cause of great joy to them… as well as great sorrow.

It is up to Fainne, daughter of Niamh, the lost sister of Sevenwaters, to solve the riddles of power. She is the shy child of a reclusive sorcerer, and her way is hard, for her father is the son of the wicked sorceress Oonagh, who has emerged from the shadows and seeks to destroy all that Sevenwaters has striven for. Oonagh will use her granddaughter Fainne most cruelly to accomplish her ends, and stops at nothing to see her will done.

Juliet Marillier is fast becoming one of those authors whose books I auto-buy. I don’t even need to know what they are about, if I see her name, I will buy her books. I’ve already added her other novels to my Goodreads TBR and when I can I will pick up the actual books to sit on my lovely shelf for who knows how long.

Child of the Prophecy is written from Fainne’s point of view. She is the daughter of Niamh and Ciaran and was raised far away from Seventwaters by her father alone after her mother died. She was taught from a very young age, how to use the sorcerer’s craft of magic. She is skilled and disciplined, despite being only 15 years old.

It is interesting to read this novel after the first two because of Fainne’s point of view. She grew up far away from Sevenwaters so when she does go there her perspective of that place and the family that resides there is very different. She was taught that the family of Sevenwaters was responsible for tearing her parents apart, treating her mother terribly and likely her death. She there to do her grandmother’s bidding, to destroy the family of Sevenwaters.

Fainne initially goes into this fairly willingly, though her grandmother is manipulating her by threatening the people she cares about if she doesn’t do as she’s told. She doesn’t expect to be truly welcome at Sevenwaters or to actually care about the people there. But of course, the longer she spends there, the more she comes to care the family she never knew.

Much of this story is about Fainne’s internal conflict. She wants to protect the people she cares about from her grandmother’s wrath, but doing so means bringing about the destruction of those very same people.

Fainne is smart and resourceful. I really enjoyed reading from her perspective. I would love to read more about her but judging by the ending of this novel, she isn’t likely to appear in the series again.

My rating for Child of the Prophecy is 4 out of 5 stars. I definitely recommend it to fans of this series, to fans of Celtic fantasy and fantasy in general.

Thanks for reading.

Synopsis: After years of comparative peace, darkness has fallen upon Ulster. Trouble is brewing and even those in the heart of the forest are not safe. Niamh, elder daughter of Sorcha, is required to make a strategic marriage, while her sister Liadan, who has the gift of Sight and her mother’s talent for healing, finds herself drawn into the shadowy world of the Painted Man and his warrior band. There Liadan begins a journey that is to transform her life.

Son of the Shadows, book 2 of the Sevenwaters series is told from the point of view of Liadan, the youngest daughter of Sorcha and Hugh of Harrowfield. Liadan has inherited her mother’s talent for healing, as well as her uncle Finbar’s unique gifts.

It has been around 18 years since Sorcha’s ordeal. Her and her family have been living happily until the oldest daughter, Niamh enters into a forbidden relationship and ends up being married off to a strategic ally. While on the road to see Niamh off to her new home, Liadan is abducted by bandits who need a healer to help one of their men who is gravely injured. This brings her in contact with the notorious leader of outlaws, the Painted Man, and changes the course of her life.

Liadan is mature for all of her 16 years. She is skilled at healing and shows quite the stubborn streak. She rarely does what people tell her she should do. She forges ahead, determined to make her own path. I liked this about her, although sometimes her blind faith in certain people got a bit on my nerves.

I didn’t really feel the natural progression of her relationship with Bran. He was down right cruel to her not only when they first meet but even after their relationship gets established. I honestly don’t know why she puts up with it.

Did I like this book? Yes, I did, though not as much as I enjoyed Daughter of the Forest. There’s nothing wrong with Liadan as a character, I just didn’t feel as invested in her story as I did with Sorcha. There isn’t the same sense of tension as in the first book.

That’s not to say that Liadan doesn’t face any dangers. Her life is in peril more than once and she goes through a great deal to protect the people she loves.

My rating for Son of the Shadows is 3 out of 5 stars and I would definitely recommend reading it if you’ve read Daughter of the Forest and want to continue the series.

Thanks for reading!