A review by lecrockett
A Dance with Fate by Juliet Marillier
3.0
Thank you, Edelweiss, for providing this ARC from PRH for review!
I thoroughly enjoyed the first book of the warrior bard series last year (The Harp of Kings)—the undercover work, spy mission, character development, druids—and reading this next installment proved Marillier still has those writing chops for great character development and visceral storytelling.
However, the content in the novel was a bit vicious and harrowing for my taste right now (trauma, abuse, neglect, gaslighting), and the leader reminded me so much of the current scumbag in office that I struggled to not get extremely riled up when the characters just took his lashings without comment. It’s dark yet beautifully written—just hit a little too close to home. I’m glad to see the representation in here—mental health, blindness, domestic violence survivors—and of course I’m thrilled to see where Dau and Liobhan end up in the final book.
I’m aware this review isn’t much of a review—I can’t say too much without spoiling the narrative—but I read it, I enjoyed it as a second in the series, but it (through no fault of its own) was a bit too close to home for me at this point in time. Years down the road I’ll reread this with new eyes and absorb the other aspects of the narrative, I’m sure.
I thoroughly enjoyed the first book of the warrior bard series last year (The Harp of Kings)—the undercover work, spy mission, character development, druids—and reading this next installment proved Marillier still has those writing chops for great character development and visceral storytelling.
However, the content in the novel was a bit vicious and harrowing for my taste right now (trauma, abuse, neglect, gaslighting), and the leader reminded me so much of the current scumbag in office that I struggled to not get extremely riled up when the characters just took his lashings without comment. It’s dark yet beautifully written—just hit a little too close to home. I’m glad to see the representation in here—mental health, blindness, domestic violence survivors—and of course I’m thrilled to see where Dau and Liobhan end up in the final book.
I’m aware this review isn’t much of a review—I can’t say too much without spoiling the narrative—but I read it, I enjoyed it as a second in the series, but it (through no fault of its own) was a bit too close to home for me at this point in time. Years down the road I’ll reread this with new eyes and absorb the other aspects of the narrative, I’m sure.