Reviews

I liked this book - it was very original and had a good twist to the Twelve Dancing Princesses tale. However, my main beef with this book is that Cezar was obviously the Designated Villain - throughout most of the book, he hadn't even done anything particularly villainous at all; he just being a practical man. I think Marillier sensed this, because near the end of the book Cezar turned from well-meaning to being a downright boor. I also wanted to know more about Sorrow. I wasn't truly convinced he was a romantic hero until his quest.

rhysciar's review against another edition

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4.0

I really liked it, it's a great retelling of old fairy tales. Cezar is especially interesting, I hope he will show up in the second or the third installment of this series.
And Gogu, the frog... I loved his comments :D

laufox's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional 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

stolencapybara's review against another edition

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3.0

Thoroughly enjoyable

aceofavonlea's review against another edition

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medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.75

calimero747's review against another edition

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5.0

This was absolutely gorgeous. Although I stopped reading in the middle (lack of free time), I had no problems picking it up again. I adore Juliet Marillier. I don't care how many times I've said it already. And you'll probably hear me say it a lot in the future.
The characters, the writing, the setting, the storyline... I can just say what the ninth Doctor would. It was FANTASTIC!
I couldn't decide between Wildwood Dancing and Heart's Blood if my life depended on it! And that's a HUGE compliment coming from me.

Jena is a capable, strong young woman. I'm so glad that there is finally a female character out there who can really take care of herself. And not only herself, but all the people surrounding her. She probably had too much weight on her shoulders, but the way she handled it earned her a lot of bonus points.
Gogu (I won't spoil who he is though it was so painfully obvious to me from the beginning)... well I fell in love with this weird frog.
The love story of Tati and Sorrow is really beautiful even if I couldn't get how Tatiana could be so helpless and lovesick. I mean, she put Sorrow before her family. Jena would never do that. But maybe that's just the difference between the sisters.
Paula was weird and geeky and a deep and complicated person. She reminded me a lot of myself. I would love to read the second book, which is from her point of view.
Iulia was a bit annoying but the girl has a giant heart.
And you gotta love the little Stela.

Of course I hated Cezar but what I like about him is that he had a reason for his actions. He wasn't born bad. The wrong choices he made shaped him into the villain he was. The whole point of this book is to teach us how much our choices change us. It's all about paths you take to get where you want to get.

A classic fantasy book, I would recommend to anyone. They could be 10, 30 or 90 and there would still be something they could learn from Marillier's books.

carstensena's review against another edition

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3.0

I enjoyed this, but not nearly as much as The Daughter of the Forest. Setting was great, but never cared enough about the characters for it to grip me.
(Read for Student Bookgroup discussion)

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