Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier

35 reviews

rhi_'s review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense 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

3.75

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bookaquarius's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional inspiring sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

I made it through Daughter of the Forest and I really enjoyed it! We follow the protagonist from childhood into adulthood as she goes on a long, arduous journey to save her 6 brothers from a terrible curse. The beginning starts off rather slowly as we learn about Sorcha and her brothers’ lives at Sevenwaters, the land owned and stewarded by her family. There’s a prolonged war with neighboring Britons, and a legacy of violence between the two people. As dark and emotional as it was (and it really really was), it also definitely had a lot of spring/summery cottage vibes because of the magical forest filled with mystery and various forest folk. The protagonist also has a talent for gardening so it was a beautiful landscape to imagine. 

As for the story, Ms. Marillier does not pull punches. The protagonist gets dragged through it! Like, she did not catch a single break up until the end and even in that moment she was still struggling. I found myself really invested in her story as I was reading but at times I needed long breaks because it became harder to pick up when I knew our girl would be getting knocked down unbelievably harder each day 😭. It read like a dark epic fairytale and was ultimately a rewarding read. The romance even read a bit like a fairy/folk tale in the sense that it’s the reward for the journey, not necessarily what you see the whole way through. I liked how it was handled and that it was a relationship that allowed Sorcha to stay true to herself.

As for one of the content warnings, I disagree with statements I’ve seen that the assault was not graphic or in any way not fully on page. Everyone is different, and for me it was a highly detailed and graphic scene. It’s the first half of Ch 6. 
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sar_tej's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious 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? No

5.0

Exquisite. Ethereal. Folklore retelling at its best. If I could give this book 6 stars, I would. 
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kbookish's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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teri_b's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Steeped deeply in Irish myth and folklore, the book is also a retelling of the six swans fairy tale.

As always Juliet Marillier dazzles with her representation of the uncanny, the subconscious, the unconscious and weaves it into a harsh but in the end rewarding tale of a family being torn apart where the sister and her six brothers have got to find if they have it in and amongst themselves to mend what has been broken by others.
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hannahollihan's review against another edition

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  1. Rape of a child, the fae know it’s going to happen and don’t do anything and think she needs to suffer in order to grow and break the curse, then she is GRATEFUL she gets pregnant from the rape. Our MC has no agency, she is a tool for breaking the curse and hasn’t been able to make her own decisions or choices almost the entire book. Only the first act of rebellion at the beginning. I was enjoying this and even after the rape happened but the more I think about it the more frustrated and angry I get. ALSO the dog dies. Wtf????

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hurricanyounot's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I'd sell BOTH my kidneys if it meant I got to read this for the first time again.
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erinreadsbooks's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional sad 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? No

4.0

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daniparvu's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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crispycritter's review against another edition

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slow-paced

4.25

Daughter of the Forest is a retelling of the Six Swans fairy tale - six brothers are turned into swans by their evil stepmother. Their sister Sorcha flees and must sew six shirts for them out of a barbarous weed in complete silence in order to break the spell. Her journey to complete her task spans years of heartbreak and suffering, and takes her far from her homeland into the land of her enemies, the Britons.

I first read this book in either 2001 or 2002, as a pre-teen/young teen. I picked it up at my local library, where I used to spend everyday after school. I went on to read the rest of the Sevenwaters Trilogy and loved these books so very much. I credit them with getting me into the fantasy genre. I spent a long time away from fiction, not feeling like I had the time to read fiction because who has time to read for fun as a grown up? I'm happy to say I finally found the time to re-read this after a long time away. These are my thoughts re-reading this book after TWENTY (yikes) years:

Juliet Marillier is still a brilliant writer and gifted storyteller. Beautiful, moving prose. Characters you will love with your whole heart and characters you with hate with every fiber for your being. 

But I have found that I was not nearly as comfortable with some of the plot points as I was when I first read this book, as a kid. I don't know if this is because some of these things went over my head, if I just forgot the impact they made on me at the time, or if my sensitivity has changed after so much time and life has happened. In any event, here are some major content warnings you should be aware of, that I will put behind a spoiler tag:
This book features graphic sexual assault of a child, animal abuse, and animal death.


These books will always be so special to me. However, they are in the same vein as A Song of Ice and Fire, where very bad things happen to good people with little respite. And that's no longer my idea of a good time. Read with care.
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