Caitrin is a scribe, a woman on the run in 12th-century Ireland. She ends up at Whispering Tor, a mysterious house owned by Anluan, a deformed chieftain living under a curse. He is surrounded by odd but gentle (for the most part) characters. Yet there are definite horror elements in the mirrors all over the house and the dangerous spirits living in the surrounding woods.
Anluan needs Caitrin to transcribe letters and books in his library that might lead to lifting the curse. She needs a hiding place since she escaped her home after her father's death, and some distant kin took over her home and life. Over the summer, Caitrin and Anluan each help the other overcome their doubts and develop the strength to face their difficulties. There is also a threat from the Normans who are in the process of conquering Ireland.
Ms. Marillier is a lovely writer who knows her Irish history and setting well. She expresses the story's horror and beauty in lovely prose. In a sense, this is a Beauty and the Beast retelling, but there are differences that make this a book well worth reading. ( )

I felt this dragged a bit - with some editing it would have more momentum and excitement ( )

It’s been almost 5 months since I last posted about a Beauty and the Beast retelling! But I think the timing for this one worked out quite well since it has a very ghostly, haunted theme to it.

On the run from her abusive relatives, Caitrin finds shelter at Whistling Tor, where whispering spirits lurk in the surrounding forest to lure wanderers off the path, and no one from the nearby village dares set foot — especially after dark. But Caitrin has no where else to go, and since the chieftain has need of her scribing skills, it’s the perfect place to lay low for the summer.

As the season passes, Caitrin grows closer to the peculiar residents of the manor and the isolated, disfigured Lord Anluan. Her work in the library of copying, translating, and organizing the records of past chieftains reveals some secrets about the Tor and she becomes determined to find a way to undo the curse that has tormented Anluan and his ancestors for generations.

This book was incredible! It’s so well-written, well-told, well-paced. I loved how the magic and lore intersected with Irish history; the love story was beautiful; the issues of grief, trauma, and abuse were handled maturely and tactfully. And it had some dramatic twists and reveals along the way! Definitely one of my top favourite BatB retellings! ( )

DNF at 58% because I couldn't do it anymore.
There was nothing wrong with this book. It just wasn't for me.
There was a lot of focus on the romance and I didn't care about the characters and how special some of them thought they were. I liked some of the ideas but those weren't particularly original and it wasn't enough to keep me reading.

This is a good retelling of Beauty and the Beast, the way how Juliet Marillier integrated all the elements of the story and gave them a new spin if really smart. ( )