Return to Sevenwaters

Flame of Sevenwaters (Sevenwaters #6)
Juliet Marillier
November 2012
ROC


The publication of a new book by Juliet Marillier is always a drop everything and read occasion for me. One set in the Sevenwaters world is even more so. Like many other readers, the first three books remain my favorites in the series, particularly Son of the Shadows. That was a "don't know how many tissues" read. Liadan and Bran remain my favorite Sevenwaters characters.

Set in Druidic Ireland, the Sevenwaters family has the guardianship of mysterious Sevenwaters forest where one can step into the Fey Otherworld if one is not careful. Christianity is growing thoughout the British Isles, but at Sevenwaters they keep to the old religion. Things are very unsettled in Sevenwaters as there have been many disappearances and grotesque murders on Sevenwaters land. These are no doubt the doing of Mac Dara, the evil Fey Lord of the Oak. Mac Dara is desperate to force his half-blood son, Cathal, married to one of the Sevenwaters daughters, to return to the Otherworld and become it's new ruler. The disappearances are a way to accomplish this by stirring up discord among the local chieftains.

Maeve, one of the Sevenwaters daughters, has been living with her Aunt Liadan in Britain for 10 years. Maeve was burned badly in a fire as a child and somewhat scarred. The most serious consequences are scarring of her hands that render her mostly unable to accomplish every day tasks. She does however have a great talent, the ability to bond with and train animals using her voice alone. When her father, Lord Sean, asks that a particularly promising and temperamental yearling be sent from Britain as a peace offering to the Chieftain of Tirconnell, Maeve is the logical choice to accompany the amimal.

Maeve is not happy to return to Sevenwaters. She has settled into a new life in Britain and fears that her disability will make her a liability at home. She has many issues about her hands and face but she can't avoid the homecoming this time. Coming home is indeed difficult, but Maeve reluctantly finds that she and her younger brother Finbar are perhaps the only people who can stop Mac Dara.

Flame of Sevenwaters is a very solid entry into the Sevenwaters series. Intensely suspenseful and unexpectedly romantic, I very much enjoyed it. Juliet Marillier is a wonderful folklorist and a riveting storyteller. I am looking forward to more books from the Sevenwaters world and it seems to me that there are new stories foreshadowed in Flame.

RATING- 4.5 Stars