Juliet Marillier

It took a bit to get into this book, which was extremely well-written with beautiful imagery. But once I got into it, I really got into it and finished over half the book in one night. Marillier takes on the tale of the Twelve Dancing Princesses, setting it in Transylvania, throwing in a little Frog Prince, and some vampires for good measure. Oddly enough, it all worked extremely well. My only issue was that some of the characters were just too -- Cezar was too arrogant, domineering, and a PITA; Tati was too flighty; and Jena was too capable. It took a while for me to get over wanting to reach into the story and start slapping people, but I'm glad I did.

And the vampires... subtle, and very well worked into the world as the Night People, who exist side-by-side but yet separate from the world of fairy rings, dancing, and enchanted glades.… (more)

This was my first foray into fantasy. I'd never cared for it in the past, and I don't even remember why I allowed my friend to foist this title on me that summer. It was so engrossing that I couldn't even put it down, even to sleep. I pretty much stayed awake until it was done... and then I started to read it again. I suppose it helps that it's a retelling of one of my favorite fairytales, but the way it was told was so new to me at the time, and Juliet Marillier is such a masterful storyteller. It's a title that rests in the back of my head as everything that is Good and Perfect in the fantasy genre. I read the next two books and they weren't quite as good (really didn't care for the second book in fact, the characters I really liked mostly died and the rest were pretty annoying), but when friends as me for fantasy recommendations, Daughter of the Forest is always near the top of my list.… (more)

What a wonderful high fantasy tale full of adventure, music, love, loss, courage, tests of strength, and fights for justice. This book marks the end of this series, which made an excellent ending and yet I am sad to be done with this world. This is only my first series of Marillier’s though so I do look forward to reading more from her.

I adore Liobhan, Dau, Brocc, and a whole cast of side characters that must work both together and apart throughout the series, carving their own paths towards what is right and where they are needed. Liobhan is such a strong female lead. I also love all the inclusion of music throughout and traveling between this world and that of the fae. The writing truly draws you in and is both evocatively descriptive and full of action at the same time. There is a feel throughout of such epic, high fantasy storylines as you would encounter in a D&D campaign or a world like The Lord of the Rings. There are also great themes of love, overcoming, acceptance, perseverance, and more.

Honestly, if you love fantasy, I see no reason why you wouldn’t love this series. The character building, world building, pacing, tone, plot, and storyline are all exceptionally developed. There are some dark places the characters must journey through, but my overall feel for this series is that it’s just fun and immersive. I love how the storyline of the crow folk developed as well, I was not at all expecting the story to take the turns it did.… (more)

A Dance with Fate is the 2nd book of Juliet Marillier’s Warrior Bards series which I have been loving so far! It’s such a good high fantasy series that is reminiscent to me of the Lord of the Rings series because of its combination of traveling warriors and the importance of music throughout.

I love the writing and am looking forward to reading more from Marillier. I have also been enjoying the narration of the audiobook.

This series has a good combination of fantasy, mystery, romance, and action. In this book we travel between our realm and that of the fair folk. Both places are having issues with the stange crow folk that cross easily between the realms, but Liobhan and Dau find their focus on a more immediate evil in this book when Dau must return to his childhood home he once ran away from to escape the torment of his brothers. He has become blind in a training bout and now both him and Liobhan must contend with Dau’s past while trying to reconcile with any new future he may have in store.… (more)