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mavivih's review
challenging
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
brittney_tyler's review against another edition
5.0
During a recent trip to my local library, I got a huge stack of books that I am now working my way through along with the books on my own TBR. One of the books that I got when at the library was Heart’s Blood by Juliet Marillier. I got it because I had heard a lot about Marillier from some of the people that I watch on BookTube, and I was flabbergasted once I started reading it. I love books with classic fantasy/ fairy-tale vibes, and this novel definitely fits into this category so I absolutely loved it and ended up giving it a full 5 stars. It is the story of Caitrin whose father has recently died, and overcome by grief and fleeing from other issues that I don’t want to discuss because of spoilers, she winds up in the territory of Whistling Tor. While there, she hears that the chieftain who lives at the top of the hill is looking for a scribe to try getting his extensive library in order, and since she was trained in that field by her father, she decides to take the job and goes into the employment of the chieftain, Anluan.
As I progressed through this book, I realized that it had threads of Beauty and the Beast as well as Frankenstein. For instance, when Caitrin reaches the top of the hill, she goes into a private garden while looking for Anluan and finds a plant called heart’s blood which is heavily reminiscent of Belle and the rose in Beauty and the Beast. Anluan catches her doing this and is angry that she is in his private garden looking at his extremely rare heart’s blood, which is also an allusion to Beauty and the Beast. Finally, Caitrin is shocked when she turns and sees Anluan for the 1st time because of his over-whelming anger at her and the fact that he is a deformed man suffering from a form of palsy that causes him to be extremely weak on his right side. If you haven’t realized yet, Caitrin is supposed to Beauty and Anluan is supposed to be the Beast. The similarities don’t stop there either, but for the space of time, I will move on to how this story has threads of Frankenstein. One of Anluan’s ancestors, Nechtan, is revealed over the course of the book to have had a lab in the basement of the castle where he experimented on people for the purpose of creating an army of the undead. This aspect of the book was, obviously, alluding to the aforementioned Frankenstein. Also, as I have mentioned in multiple reviews on my Goodreads account, books with these kinds of elements tend to be favorites of mine and this book was no exception.
One of the most interesting things about this novel is the themes and motifs that it contains. Both Caitrin and Anluan have had traumas in their past, and I will be focusing on them due to the fact that they are the main characters of this story, although, it must be noted that most of the other characters have had similar experiences. Anyway, as previously mentioned, Anluan has been struck by a palsy that makes his right side weak and makes him feel like he can’t be a good chieftain or leader and he doesn’t think he can ever been a good husband or father either. Also, his parents both died tragically when he was very young and this event has left permanent scars on his psyche. Caitrin, on the other hand, has lost her father in a very unexpected and traumatic way and loses herself in grief so much that she falls victim to some very awful people. The way that these events affect both Anluan and Caitrin and how they recover from them and grow from them is one of the central themes of the book, and one of the things that made me enjoy this book the most. There is also a recurring motif in this book in mirrors and it relates to the aforementioned theme. Within the castle, there are mirrors everywhere that are bewitched with magic that allows someone who looks into them to see images from their past, future, or their fantasies, depending on the situation, what you were trying to discover at the time of viewing, and who was using the mirrors at that particular time. In retrospect, they are basically the magic mirror from the Snow White story so it is, again, an aspect that drew me to this story because of my love of fairy tale motifs in books. These mirrors are used as gateways for the characters to talk about their pasts and the traumas they have experienced, and they also come into play during the love story of our main characters. In a side note, that is not a spoiler because this book is, basically, a Beauty and a Beast retelling, and we all know that Beauty and the Beast fall in love by the end of the story. Anyway, I just love the way mirrors play into the story and how they help bring the themes to the forefront of this book, and I just wanted to highlight it as it was one of the things I love about this book.
The final thing that I want to discuss in this review is the pacing because that is a major problem I have with books. A lot of the time a book gets bogged down in the middle of the narrative, but Marillier does not allow this story to go that way. When you start the book, you realize that it is supposed to be a Beauty and the Beast retelling, but then Marillier brings in this family curse and the host and makes discovering how to break it part of the narrative. After that, when you are just starting to re-orient yourself, she brings in the Normans and their potential conquest of Erin (Ireland) into the story. She manages to weave these story-lines together so that the reader is constantly engaged and so the story never gets bogged down and I love that so much. It made this story interesting from start to finish and is one of the major things that lead to me giving it 5 stars.
All in all, I absolutely love this book, and I have already added all her other books to my Want to Read list on Goodreads. I have also got another one of her books waiting for me in my stack of library books and I have also ordered another one with my birthday money (My birthday is this month in cause you wanted to know).
As I progressed through this book, I realized that it had threads of Beauty and the Beast as well as Frankenstein. For instance, when Caitrin reaches the top of the hill, she goes into a private garden while looking for Anluan and finds a plant called heart’s blood which is heavily reminiscent of Belle and the rose in Beauty and the Beast. Anluan catches her doing this and is angry that she is in his private garden looking at his extremely rare heart’s blood, which is also an allusion to Beauty and the Beast. Finally, Caitrin is shocked when she turns and sees Anluan for the 1st time because of his over-whelming anger at her and the fact that he is a deformed man suffering from a form of palsy that causes him to be extremely weak on his right side. If you haven’t realized yet, Caitrin is supposed to Beauty and Anluan is supposed to be the Beast. The similarities don’t stop there either, but for the space of time, I will move on to how this story has threads of Frankenstein. One of Anluan’s ancestors, Nechtan, is revealed over the course of the book to have had a lab in the basement of the castle where he experimented on people for the purpose of creating an army of the undead. This aspect of the book was, obviously, alluding to the aforementioned Frankenstein. Also, as I have mentioned in multiple reviews on my Goodreads account, books with these kinds of elements tend to be favorites of mine and this book was no exception.
One of the most interesting things about this novel is the themes and motifs that it contains. Both Caitrin and Anluan have had traumas in their past, and I will be focusing on them due to the fact that they are the main characters of this story, although, it must be noted that most of the other characters have had similar experiences. Anyway, as previously mentioned, Anluan has been struck by a palsy that makes his right side weak and makes him feel like he can’t be a good chieftain or leader and he doesn’t think he can ever been a good husband or father either. Also, his parents both died tragically when he was very young and this event has left permanent scars on his psyche. Caitrin, on the other hand, has lost her father in a very unexpected and traumatic way and loses herself in grief so much that she falls victim to some very awful people. The way that these events affect both Anluan and Caitrin and how they recover from them and grow from them is one of the central themes of the book, and one of the things that made me enjoy this book the most. There is also a recurring motif in this book in mirrors and it relates to the aforementioned theme. Within the castle, there are mirrors everywhere that are bewitched with magic that allows someone who looks into them to see images from their past, future, or their fantasies, depending on the situation, what you were trying to discover at the time of viewing, and who was using the mirrors at that particular time. In retrospect, they are basically the magic mirror from the Snow White story so it is, again, an aspect that drew me to this story because of my love of fairy tale motifs in books. These mirrors are used as gateways for the characters to talk about their pasts and the traumas they have experienced, and they also come into play during the love story of our main characters. In a side note, that is not a spoiler because this book is, basically, a Beauty and a Beast retelling, and we all know that Beauty and the Beast fall in love by the end of the story. Anyway, I just love the way mirrors play into the story and how they help bring the themes to the forefront of this book, and I just wanted to highlight it as it was one of the things I love about this book.
The final thing that I want to discuss in this review is the pacing because that is a major problem I have with books. A lot of the time a book gets bogged down in the middle of the narrative, but Marillier does not allow this story to go that way. When you start the book, you realize that it is supposed to be a Beauty and the Beast retelling, but then Marillier brings in this family curse and the host and makes discovering how to break it part of the narrative. After that, when you are just starting to re-orient yourself, she brings in the Normans and their potential conquest of Erin (Ireland) into the story. She manages to weave these story-lines together so that the reader is constantly engaged and so the story never gets bogged down and I love that so much. It made this story interesting from start to finish and is one of the major things that lead to me giving it 5 stars.
All in all, I absolutely love this book, and I have already added all her other books to my Want to Read list on Goodreads. I have also got another one of her books waiting for me in my stack of library books and I have also ordered another one with my birthday money (My birthday is this month in cause you wanted to know).
elfduchess's review
1.0
Am I the only one that reviews a book before I've actually finished it? I mean, I don't put the finishing touches on a review, but I have the bulk of it wrote out often and if not, I have notes and ideas that I want to touch upon. Often, that's how I can tell if I'm writing a review to begin with.
I will say, I had a very scathing review written, then I reached the last ninety to hundred pages and things…started improving. Not enough to make me actually like this book, but enough that I now understood some of the choices made earlier on. Also not enough to make up for the absolute rubbish I had to read to get there.
This book wasn't entertaining enough to distract me from the flaws ala 'ooh, shiny'. It felt like it was too long because things just started getting dragged out and the people had to be a very special brand of stupid to not put things together.
While I was reading this story, something felt off to me. It took me forever to figure it out, but I think I did. The people sound modern. The attitude isn't modern at all. Then there's the problem of too much real world encroaching on my fairy tale. I do, honestly, prefer settings that are more fantastical, but beyond that, this is not a happy book. There is what would nowadays be considered domestic abuse. Yeah, I know that this sort of thing happened a lot in the past, (still does, I know) with women being little more than a mans possession for most of history. I know that, but that doesn't mean I want to read about it.
Reading about women not being important makes me both sick and angry, which is a very volatile combination for me. In this book, Caitrin is an abused woman that finally escaped her abuser. That's good. I know it can't have been easy, but… I don't want to read it. I'm sorry. I wish I had know this before buying it because I would have given it a pass immediately.
Caitrin interacts with few women in the first three hundred pages. Of these, one of them hates her. She hates her because…well, because they are competing for the attentions of the same man. She hates her so much that she thinks it a good idea that Caitrin goes back to the man that abused her both physically and emotionally! The Caitrin is called both a 'slut' and is told she has a 'whore's body' - thanks to her voluptuous curves. Both of these were told her by other women. (I think they were both flashbacks, but still…) When I first read slut, I was going, is that right? Did I really just read that?
*groans and massages temples*
Why? Why do I get stuck reading books like this?
When I first met Caitrin, I thought 'finally, a girl that makes decisions for herself'. But then I got more information. Every choice she makes is directly related to a man or men in her life. What she can do for them. She reacts to their actions. It's tiring.
I find it a bit disturbing too, the way Anluan was depicted as 'the Beast'. This is a Beauty and the Beast retelling. That's why I have problems with it. Anluan is crippled. He's a bit temperamental. … That's it. That's the sum total of what makes him 'the Beast'. Okay, so, the villagers call him a 'monster' and a 'freak'. *nods head* That's probably about what would have happened. They don't know him and only have vague stories about what he's like. No problems. (And, he's really not a very good chieftain.)
But: This is a story about Beauty and the Beast. So, this young man, that has a genuine physical malady is a beast. … *sighs* I don't even think I have words. The only thing good about this is that, once the 'curse' is broken, he won't turn into a handsome prince. He'll still be himself. I do like that. I like that very, very much.
Other, random, Notes:
It always a bad situation when you're reading a romance and your favorite character isn't either of the two mains… (Rioghan and Eichri are both awesome!)
There are so many plot points that stem from miscommunication or poor communication. While not everything in the plot could have been solved with just one good, long conversation, too many of the plot point could have been solved by doing just that. I've never been a fan of the conflict in a book being brought on by misunderstanding on an inability to talk things through.
Round about the same time the book improved a bit, Caitrin was long gone from the Tor. She returned, and things went right back down hill again.
It seems stupid (and sad) that the answer to the 'curse' would be so mundane. (Not to mention the way things played out there. Hated it.)
If I were to list every problem I had with this book, it would be too long and no one would read it. (Considering my unpopular opinion, I'm not sure anyone's going to read it anyway.)
(I've never gave trigger warnings before. I think I should with this book. There is the abovementioned abuse talked about after the fact and memories of it. There's also allusions to animal abuse and talk of suicide.)
Honestly, I keep going back and forth between a one and two start rating. But, considering the fact that I hated the first three hundred pages (and only read this because I had to because I was participating in Fairy Tale Fortnight at the time) and the fact I was very, very displeased with the ending... Two stars is too generous. Rated one star for Rioghan and Eichri. And because it's over.
(Originally posted on my blog: http://pagesofstarlight.blogspot.com/)
I will say, I had a very scathing review written, then I reached the last ninety to hundred pages and things…started improving. Not enough to make me actually like this book, but enough that I now understood some of the choices made earlier on. Also not enough to make up for the absolute rubbish I had to read to get there.
This book wasn't entertaining enough to distract me from the flaws ala 'ooh, shiny'. It felt like it was too long because things just started getting dragged out and the people had to be a very special brand of stupid to not put things together.
While I was reading this story, something felt off to me. It took me forever to figure it out, but I think I did. The people sound modern. The attitude isn't modern at all. Then there's the problem of too much real world encroaching on my fairy tale. I do, honestly, prefer settings that are more fantastical, but beyond that, this is not a happy book. There is what would nowadays be considered domestic abuse. Yeah, I know that this sort of thing happened a lot in the past, (still does, I know) with women being little more than a mans possession for most of history. I know that, but that doesn't mean I want to read about it.
Reading about women not being important makes me both sick and angry, which is a very volatile combination for me. In this book, Caitrin is an abused woman that finally escaped her abuser. That's good. I know it can't have been easy, but… I don't want to read it. I'm sorry. I wish I had know this before buying it because I would have given it a pass immediately.
Caitrin interacts with few women in the first three hundred pages. Of these, one of them hates her. She hates her because…well, because they are competing for the attentions of the same man. She hates her so much that she thinks it a good idea that Caitrin goes back to the man that abused her both physically and emotionally! The Caitrin is called both a 'slut' and is told she has a 'whore's body' - thanks to her voluptuous curves. Both of these were told her by other women. (I think they were both flashbacks, but still…) When I first read slut, I was going, is that right? Did I really just read that?
*groans and massages temples*
Why? Why do I get stuck reading books like this?
When I first met Caitrin, I thought 'finally, a girl that makes decisions for herself'. But then I got more information. Every choice she makes is directly related to a man or men in her life. What she can do for them. She reacts to their actions. It's tiring.
I find it a bit disturbing too, the way Anluan was depicted as 'the Beast'. This is a Beauty and the Beast retelling. That's why I have problems with it. Anluan is crippled. He's a bit temperamental. … That's it. That's the sum total of what makes him 'the Beast'. Okay, so, the villagers call him a 'monster' and a 'freak'. *nods head* That's probably about what would have happened. They don't know him and only have vague stories about what he's like. No problems. (And, he's really not a very good chieftain.)
But: This is a story about Beauty and the Beast. So, this young man, that has a genuine physical malady is a beast. … *sighs* I don't even think I have words. The only thing good about this is that, once the 'curse' is broken, he won't turn into a handsome prince. He'll still be himself. I do like that. I like that very, very much.
Other, random, Notes:
It always a bad situation when you're reading a romance and your favorite character isn't either of the two mains… (Rioghan and Eichri are both awesome!)
There are so many plot points that stem from miscommunication or poor communication. While not everything in the plot could have been solved with just one good, long conversation, too many of the plot point could have been solved by doing just that. I've never been a fan of the conflict in a book being brought on by misunderstanding on an inability to talk things through.
Round about the same time the book improved a bit, Caitrin was long gone from the Tor. She returned, and things went right back down hill again.
It seems stupid (and sad) that the answer to the 'curse' would be so mundane. (Not to mention the way things played out there. Hated it.)
If I were to list every problem I had with this book, it would be too long and no one would read it. (Considering my unpopular opinion, I'm not sure anyone's going to read it anyway.)
(I've never gave trigger warnings before. I think I should with this book. There is the abovementioned abuse talked about after the fact and memories of it. There's also allusions to animal abuse and talk of suicide.)
Honestly, I keep going back and forth between a one and two start rating. But, considering the fact that I hated the first three hundred pages (and only read this because I had to because I was participating in Fairy Tale Fortnight at the time) and the fact I was very, very displeased with the ending... Two stars is too generous. Rated one star for Rioghan and Eichri. And because it's over.
(Originally posted on my blog: http://pagesofstarlight.blogspot.com/)
naluisreading's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Após terminar A Dança da Floresta, soube imediatamente que precisaria explorar outras obras de Juliet Marillier. A autora tem uma escrita direta, revelando uma precisão narrativa que não perde tempo ao conduzir o leitor pela trama. Sua criatividade transparece a experiência de quem já folheou incontáveis livros, somada à perspicácia de entrelaçar de forma habilidosa esses elementos. Não é à toa que ela merece todos os prêmios literários que já conquistou.
A história se desenvolve como uma recriação de A Bela e a Fera, centrada em uma jovem que busca refúgio em uma casa isolada nas montanhas, habitada por personagens incomuns e governada por um líder recluso. No entanto, as semelhanças com o conto clássico acabam por aí. Marillier utiliza a estrutura familiar da história como uma base para tecer uma trama completamente nova e cativante, inspirada por mitologias escocesas, superstições cristãs e mitos europeus. O resultado é um universo próprio, onde o conhecido e o inesperado se misturam de maneira fascinante.
Entretanto, há alguns pontos que enfraquecem a narrativa. O principal é o plot twist, que se mostra previsível demais – a resposta estava sempre à vista, o que fez com que a revelação parecesse menos uma reviravolta surpreendente e mais um detalhe óbvio que passou despercebido pelos personagens. Além disso, a quantidade excessiva de perguntas entre os personagens torna os diálogos cansativos. Em muitos momentos, as conversas soam como interrogatórios, o que quebra a fluidez natural da interação. Se eu tomasse um shot para cada pergunta feita ao longo da trama, certamente não terminaria o livro de pé!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Grief, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Sexual content, and War
Minor: Child death, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment
coppercrane2's review against another edition
adventurous
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
tsegayeblen2's review
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
emmak2012's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
anjae's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I almost stopped reading at 50% because I was soooo bored, but almost immediately after that point it really picked up in plot.
I thought the pacing and editing was a little weird. Emotional or exciting moments had no foreshadowing or buildup, and therefore lost a little bit of their weight. I also thought the dialogue was really strange and stilted.
But the plot (once it got started) was really good, and though the twist was predictable (and a little annoying, like c’mon, a jealous woman is the evil villain? booooo ), it was still exciting. There were good emotional moments near the end.
I thought the pacing and editing was a little weird. Emotional or exciting moments had no foreshadowing or buildup, and therefore lost a little bit of their weight. I also thought the dialogue was really strange and stilted.
But the plot (once it got started) was really good, and though the twist was predictable (
fraeyalise's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Juliet Marillier writes emotions so well that I can read about terrible things happening and not be completely swept away by grief or anger.
This book was a classic Marillier story, and a standalone at that. I really loved it. I love the setting and the characters. I do think the love story between Anluan and Caitrin was a little forced, but I can kind of see where their relationship blossomed and the turning point happened. I wish we had seen more conversation between the two.
I figured out where the story was going about halfway through, but it wasn't super frustrating. I felt vindicated when everything was revealed. I'm really glad all the loose ends were basically tied up.
This book would be good to read if you want a story about hope with some romance and mystery thrown in.
Spoilers for ending:
The dog does die, but his death is respectful and it's treated with care. Also, I didn't really like that a jealous woman was the bad guy (the ONLY other main character that's a woman), but the way she's fleshed out and the reasons behind it make sense, it's not just women at each other fighting over a man.
EDIT: I had no idea this was a Beauty and the Beast retelling when I read it. If you didn't know, it still holds up really well.
This book was a classic Marillier story, and a standalone at that. I really loved it. I love the setting and the characters. I do think the love story between Anluan and Caitrin was a little forced, but I can kind of see where their relationship blossomed and the turning point happened. I wish we had seen more conversation between the two.
I figured out where the story was going about halfway through, but it wasn't super frustrating. I felt vindicated when everything was revealed. I'm really glad all the loose ends were basically tied up.
This book would be good to read if you want a story about hope with some romance and mystery thrown in.
Spoilers for ending:
EDIT: I had no idea this was a Beauty and the Beast retelling when I read it. If you didn't know, it still holds up really well.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and War
Minor: Animal death, Child abuse, and Pregnancy
One of the characters is a little ghost girl about 5 years old, hence the child death tag. The main character is also trapped in an abusive relationship after her father's death, but