Wednesday, June 3, 2020

Heart's Blood by Juliet Marillier


Girl holding book and looking in mirror

Title: Heart's Blood
Author: Juliet Marillier
Pages: 402
Finished: June 3, 2020

First Sentence: At the place where two tracks met, the carter brought his horse to a sudden halt.

Summary: After her father's death, Caitrin flees from an abusive homelife. She finds herself a position as a scribe at Whilstling Tor. A place full of mystery, Caitrin is set to transcribe the writings of the Lord Anulan's ancestors. Amidst her work, she finds out information about the strange ghosts who seem to haunt the Tor, the curse that surrounds the place, and how it all came into being even as Norman invaders threaten to take control of the area.

Thoughts: A vague retelling of Beauty and the Beast. This was a great book to start reading again. It was fairly quick to read with a subject matter I find fairly interesting. I've liked Marillier's other retellings that I've read. 

In general, I enjoyed this, though I found the writing somewhat weaker from some of her other novels I've read. I discovered the adversary early on in the book. I don't know if it was supposed to be obvious as it was. Some of the characters felt a little too much like they were filling a specific part. And I'll admit, the climax was... anticlimactic. But for an easy read that kept me interested, I definitely recommend it.