Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier Book Review: #DOTFreadalong

Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier

Goodreads Summary: “Lovely Sorcha is the seventh child and only daughter of Lord Colum of Sevenwaters. Bereft of a mother, she is comforted by her six brothers who love and protect her. Sorcha is the light in their lives, they are determined that she know only contentment. But Sorcha’s joy is shattered when her father is bewitched by his new wife, an evil enchantress who binds her brothers with a terrible spell, a spell which only Sorcha can lift-by staying silent. If she speaks before she completes the quest set to her by the Fair Folk and their queen, the Lady of the Forest, she will lose her brothers forever. When Sorcha is kidnapped by the enemies of Sevenwaters and taken to a foreign land, she is torn between the desire to save her beloved brothers, and a love that comes only once. Sorcha despairs at ever being able to complete her task, but the magic of the Fair Folk knows no boundaries, and love is the strongest magic of them all…”

My Review:

Note to my reviewers: I wrote a beautiful review of this novel, and then accidently refreshed the page and lost it all. So, brokenheartedly, this review may be shorter and not as heartfelt as what you would expect from me.

I don’t think there is any other way to begin this review than to just come out and say it; Sorcha is amazing. I’ve never met a heroine that even comes close to her bravery, determination, and class. She is, by far, one of the strongest female characters I have ever had the pleasure of reading about and I thank Juliet Marillier for breaking my heart multiple times, just so that I could meet and fall in love with her wonderful, wonderful heroine.

Marillier’s plot doesn’t twist and fall like a rollercoaster; Rather, it rises and falls steadily as the waves of the ocean, pulling and pushing you towards the outcome. She takes you through Sorcha’s life so that you can play, laugh, scream, cry, love, and, most importantly, grow with her. I became attached to Sorcha very quickly not only because of this steady rise and fall, but because of Marillier’s need for Sorcha to be a realistic and lovable character as well.

Sorcha encounters darkness numerous times throughout this novel, but she never lets it burn out her light. She holds her head high through the rough times and takes the pain of her burdens with an air of class, dignity, and a sense of purpose. With that being said, there is a scene in Daughter of the Forest that I would like to acknowledge, for it touched very close to my heart. I do not wish to spoil the story and, if I’m being quite honest, I do not necessarily wish to talk about this scene, but I feel that it needs to be said because if you are anything like me, you will spend an hour after reading this scene sobbing into your pillow just trying to mask the cries and put your heart back together again. I will not tell you what scene it is, but you will know once you read it, for it is not only a game changer in the novel, but it is also a very realistic and heart wrenching problem in today’s society.

I’d like to thank Miss Marillier for bringing this scene to life and addressing it with an air of dignity and purpose. It was generally torturous and horrific to read, but you put it into your novel so that we, as readers, would know a very important fact about Sorcha’s heart. Having Sorcha go through this issue alone and come out of changed was inevitable. However, Marillier made Sorcha come out of this situation with realistic emotions and reactions that are characteristic of a human being who has been through this ordeal. Because of this, Sorcha is able to become a very real and very hurt character that you can connect to on a deeper level.

What I would like to acknowledge about Marillier and her plot is that not only does Sorcha get through this ordeal, but she handles it with strength and, once again, dignity. She does not let the darkness that overcame her that day burn out the light that is still inside her. She grows next to the darkness, but does not let it become her. Many people in our world, the real world, succumb to the darkness too easily after having an ordeal such as that happen to them. With that being said, Miss Marillier heroically created a character that finally is able to be broken by the darkness, but learn to grow passed it and become a stronger woman because of it. Thank you, Juliet.

I had never heard of this novel before the #DOTFreadalong. I will openly admit that it has changed my life to read this novel and has moved me in a way that I did not think possible. I am not an easy crier and to have sobbed through this book has proven exactly how much it has earned all 5 of its stars.

5 stars for Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier

If you have not read this novel yet, I urge you to get off your computer, go hunt down a copy of this novel, and read it as if your life depended on it. It will move your soul.

Now, just for fun, I felt as if this post was slightly more serious than I would have wished it to be, so I am including some GIFs of my feels and fangirling through this plot to make you smile. =) Enjoy!

Haha, I hope that was enough GIFs for you guys! =P Gosh people, keep your feels in check!

Have a wonderful weekend and a very happy Valentine’s Day!

❤ Kelly