#Review - Den of Wolves by Juliet Marillier #Fantasy #Historical @AceRocBooks

Series: Blackthorn & Grim # 3
Format: Hardcover, 448 pages
Release Date: November 1, 2016
Publisher: ROC
Source: Publisher
Genre: Fantasy


Healer Blackthorn knows all too well the rules of her bond to the fey: seek no vengeance, help any who ask, do only good. But after the recent ordeal she and her companion, Grim, have suffered, she knows she cannot let go of her quest to bring to justice the man who ruined her life.

Despite her personal struggles, Blackthorn agrees to help Lady Flidais take care of a troubled young girl, Cara, while Grim is sent to Cara’s home at Wolf Glen to aid her wealthy father with a strange task—rebuilding a broken-down house deep in the woods. It doesn’t take Grim long to realize that everything in Wolf Glen is not as it seems—the place is full of perilous secrets and deadly lies…

Back at Winterfalls, the evil touch of Blackthorn’s sworn enemy reopens old wounds and fuels her long-simmering passion for justice. With danger on two fronts, Blackthorn and Grim are faced with a heartbreaking choice—to stand once again side by side or to fight their battles alone.

Den of Wolves is the third installment in author Juliet Marillier's Blackthorn and Grim series. It is a series that is set in medieval Ireland. Healer/Wise woman Blackthorn and her trusty companion Grim have made a life at Winterfalls since arriving 2 years ago. They've become a focal points for those who need help with ailments, or those who need Grim's help in various jobs. Blackthorn has an apprentice healer (Emer) that she's trying to guide, and even though she's slipped once, or twice, she's worked hard not to violate her agreement with Fae Lord Conmael who helped her, and Grim escape a brutal prison where they would have died. 

A seven year contract binds Blackthorn's actions in gaining revenge on the man, Lord Mathuin, who destroyed her life, and took everything that mattered from her. Blackthorn promised Conmael that she will use her skills for good only. That she won't try to run away and find Mathuin. That she will not refuse to help anyone who needs her help. She and Grim have dealt with the unusual in Dreamer's Pool, and Tower of Thorns Grim did something remarkably unselfish to save Blackthorn from losing herself.

In Den of Wolves, we meet new characters in Bardan, and 15-year old Cara who truly steals the show. Blackthorn and Grim finds themselves going in different directions in this book. But, no worries. By the time you reach the final stretch, you will love how much these two genuinely care for each other. Grim is hired for a job in Wolf Glen to build a special heartwood house that is said to bring the owner good luck. Here, Grim meets the Wild Man known as Bardan and some deep, dark secrets. Bardan looks wild, talks strangely, and his hands are so badly broken that he is of no real use except to teach Grim how to build the home.

Meanwhile, Blackthorn continues her tutelage of Emer, while also coming across Cara who is a bit of an odd duck, in a fun way. Cara is sent to spend time with Blackthorn, and things get pretty interesting. Cara has a calling of sorts. She has a connection with the woods. She has a connection to birds. She becomes something of an interesting challenge for Blackthorn to try to get through while also attempting to understand what makes her so special. Cara has no use of learning comportment, or social graces when she is more herself in the woods, than around stuffy royalty. 

Den of Wolves is told in alternating narratives by Bardan, Cara, Blackthorn, and Grim. I love Blackthorn and Grim. I love that they will do anything to save the other from being harmed. I love that Blackthorn is rather blunt, but loyal to all those that she's come to meet like Prince Oran, Lady Flidais, Emer, and others she's helped along the way. I love that Grim, while a big man, has a heart of gold, and cares so much for Blackthorn, that sometimes it hurts to read about his feelings. 

Grim is a character who we've learned so much about over the past 2 books, and he continues to grow while helping out Bardan who was lost for 15 years. The only complaint I had was how the last chapters played out. I do wish that we would have had more time for it to play out, especially since Blackthorn and Grim have spent so much time on the issue. Loved the addition of the Swan Island Warriors. Definitely some characters who you don't want to mess with.  I am unsure whether or not this is the final installment in the series. I have heard that it was a planned trilogy, but I am hopeful that maybe there will be more in the near future

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#Review - Tower of Thorns by Juliet Marillier (Historical Fiction)

Series: Blackthorn & Grimm # 2
Format: Hardcover, 448 pages
Release Date: November 3, 2015
Publisher: ROC
Source: Library
Genre: Fantasy, Historical Fiction

Award-winning author Juliet Marillier’s “lavishly detailed”* Blackthorn & Grim series continues as a mysterious creature holds an enchanted and imperiled ancient Ireland in thrall.

Disillusioned healer Blackthorn and her companion, Grim, have settled in Dalriada to wait out the seven years of Blackthorn’s bond to her fey mentor, hoping to avoid any dire challenges. But trouble has a way of seeking out Blackthorn and Grim.

Lady Geiléis, a noblewoman from the northern border, has asked for the prince of Dalriada’s help in expelling a howling creature from an old tower on her land—one surrounded by an impenetrable hedge of thorns. Casting a blight over the entire district, and impossible to drive out by ordinary means, it threatens both the safety and the sanity of all who live nearby. With no ready solutions to offer, the prince consults Blackthorn and Grim.

As Blackthorn and Grim begin to put the pieces of this puzzle together, it’s apparent that a powerful adversary is working behind the scenes. Their quest is about to become a life and death struggle—a conflict in which even the closest of friends can find themselves on opposite sides.

Tower of Thorns is the second installment in Juliet Marillier's Blackthorn and Grim series. This is series is set to the backdrop of Celtic Mythology, and medieval Ireland. Marillier once again weaves her story through several different narratives which gives readers more depth to the story. It also puts yourself in the other characters mindset. For those who may be interested in this series, this book picks up months after the ending of Dreamer's Pool. 

In this installment, Blackthorn & Grim once again face a difficult & deadly challenge when Lady Geileis, a noblewoman from the north, requests Prince Oram's assistance in expelling a creature that has taken up residence in an old tower called the Tower of Thorns. Said creature has put a blight on the entire district, and the only person that is capable of solving this mystery, may be Blackthorn and Grim. 

What's most curious about Lady Geileis arrival, is that comes on the heels of someone from Blackthorn's not so happy past. You know I have always stated that there is no such thing as coincidences. With Flannan's arrival, Blackthorn finds herself struggling with either staying with Lady Flidais, who is now pregnant, or traveling north and breaking her covenant with the Fey Conmael by crossing over the border and going after her nemesis Mathuin. 

Blackthorn & Grim are two of the most broken characters that you will find. They both spent time as prisoner's of Mathuin of Laos who nearly broke the both of them before they escaped with the help of Conmael and his bargain with Blackthorn. While we had glimpses into Blackthorn's brutal past in the previous book, Grim's gets the attention this time out.

I absolutely love Grim. He's faithful & loyal. He's her guardian. He's her friend. He's really good with his hands even though some people may not take him serious because of his stature. But, after reading this book, I think that readers will open up even more to Grim. Grim reminds readers that the person on the outside, doesn't matter as long as that person is genuine and decent and caring.

"That's what is is to be a hero,' Riordan says. "It's fighting on even when you're hopelessly outnumbered. It's seeing your friends dying all around you, witnessing the most chocking cruelty you could imagine, and still finding the courage to to go on. It's going the very best you can."

Lady Geileis holds a whole lot of secrets, and they come together when she tells the story of a couple who found each other, and then were ripped apart by a jealous and overbearing Fey female. With the Lady being secretive with the facts that can help or hurt Blackthorn, I found myself biting my nails through the most trying scene in the entire novel. 

Wrapping up this review, although I like Blackthorn, I really wish she would put her issues behind her before they come back and hurt someone she loves. Her desire for revenge has taken a whole lot of story line. So much so, that when someone comes along and claims they have a way to make it possible for her to get revenge on her nemesis, she makes wrong choices. This isn't the first time she's done so, but hopefully she'll learn quickly after this. 

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#Friday Review - Dreamer's Pool by Juliet Marillier (Celtic Mythology, Magic, Historical-Ireland)

Series: Blackthorn & Grim # 1
Format: Hardcover, 434 pages
Release Date: November 4, 2014
Publisher: Roc
Source: Library
Genre: Fantasy, Mythology

Award-winning author Juliet Marillier "weaves magic, mythology, and folklore into every sentence on the page" (The Book Smugglers). Now she begins an all-new and enchanting series that will transport readers to a magical vision of ancient Ireland...

In exchange for help escaping her long and wrongful imprisonment, embittered magical healer Blackthorn has vowed to set aside her bid for vengeance against the man who destroyed all that she once held dear. Followed by a former prison mate, a silent hulk of a man named Grim, she travels north to Dalriada. There she'll live on the fringe of a mysterious forest, duty bound for seven years to assist anyone who asks for her help.

Oran, crown prince of Dalriada, has waited anxiously for the arrival of his future bride, Lady Flidais. He knows her only from a portrait and sweetly poetic correspondence that have convinced him Flidais is his destined true love. But Oran discovers letters can lie. For although his intended exactly resembles her portrait, her brutality upon arrival proves she is nothing like the sensitive woman of the letters.

With the strategic marriage imminent, Oran sees no way out of his dilemma. Word has spread that Blackthorn possesses a remarkable gift for solving knotty problems, so the prince asks her for help. To save Oran from his treacherous nuptials, Blackthorn and Grim will need all their resources: courage, ingenuity, leaps of deduction, and more than a little magic.

Dreamer's Pool is the first installment in the Blackthorn and Grim series by new to me author Juliet Marillier. This is a series that is steeped in Celtic mythology, magic and set to the backdrop of medieval Ireland. Marillier weaves her story via the narratives of Blackthorn (not her real name), Grim (a rather large man who she met in prison and becomes her constant companion and protector), and Prince Oran of Dalraida who is eager to meet his new betrothed. 

Marillier puts the question to readers, what would you do if you were locked up for a year, faced numerous instances of brutality by guards, and then faced your own execution after speaking out against acts of abuse against women by the Chieftain of your country? What if that same Chieftain was responsible for murdering your family? Would you give up your right to vengeance? Or, would you agree to 7 years of service in which you can only use your skills for good, and you may not refuse anyone who asks for your help, and lastly, you must put away your urge to seek vengeance for the length of this contract? 

This is the situation that Blackthorn is now facing. She is required to take a new name, and travel a long way to the kingdom of Dalraida where she will become the healer/wise woman that they have been without for ages. While living in Winterfalls, she has to pick up the pieces of her shattered life, and ensure that she sticks to the agreement she made with a fae named Conmael. By her side is the prickly giant named Grim who traveled from Dalraida with her, and will become her bodyguard and one she can truly trust and rely on.

I dare say that Blackthorn took a while for me to warm up to her. I feared that it would take a long while before the author would reveal the truth behind Blackthorn's background and devastating losses that made her desire vengeance. She is quick to anger, she loathes being in the situation she finds herself in, she really doesn't understand what Grim sees in her, and the whole 7 years of putting away her vengeance is just itching at her scalp for her to run away even at the risk of adding additional years to her agreement. 

Meanwhile, Prince Oran of Dalraida is eagerly anticipating the arrival of his new bride Lady Flidais. Oran has fallen in love with her portrait, her letters, and the fact that they have nearly everything in common. But, when a strange accident happens, and Oran meets a totally different Flidais from the one he expected, Oran finds himself in a difficult situation. How can he turn her away knowing that her home is under constant attack from a neighboring country? Who can he reach out to in order to find out what is wrong with Flidais before they are married and successors to the King and Queen of Dalraida?

Grim is probably the most underrated character in the book. Called bonehead by his prison mates and guards, Grim has had more than his fair share of chances to make his own way in the world. The lady, as he calls her, is facing a 7 years agreement and Grim will follow to ensure that she survives. Grim is adorable. There I said it. I loved how the villagers took to him, and gave him odd jobs to do. I loved how he stood by Blackthorn no matter what the situation they found themselves dealing with. 

I have to say that I enjoyed this world immensely, and will be continuing on with the series. I love the setting, the characters, the magical environment, the realistic treatment of certain characters that isn't brushed over by the author, and the fact that these characters, for the most part, remain interesting right to the bitter end. I am happy that there wasn't any romantic situations for Blackthorn at this point. I dare say it is way too soon to even be considering that angle.

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