Seer of Sevenwaters by Juliet Marillier

Seer of Sevenwaters
Seer of Sevenwaters is the new instalment of the the once-trilogy-and-now-series of Sevenwaters. Even if I feel that nothing really compares to the first books on the series (which were the start of my love for Juliet Marillier's books), this book managed to surprise me in how much I loved it!

And now for a disclaimer: I love the books of Juliet Marillier, and in my eyes she can never do wrong. I read her books knowing that I'll love them. This one was no different.

Seer of Sevenwaters is the story of Sibeal, and what is basically her last summer holidays. Sent to the Isle of Inis Eala, where her cousin has his school of warriors, she can hardly wait before going back to the Forest, and begin her training in Druidic matters. But when a shipwreck occurs near the shores of Inis Eala, and the few survivors come ashore, she'll have to put her knowledge and abilities to the test, as well as her certainty in regard to her future.

Seer of Sevenwaters is told from two points of view, Sibeal's and Felix's. Felix is one of the survivors of the shipwreck and the book follows his recovery at the hands of Sibeal, and the amazing trio of healers: Muirrin, Evan and Gull. This was one of the things I loved the most about Seer of Sevenwaters. Multiple points of view is not a new thing, but it usually is done for characters not occupying the same space/time. Here we had two sides of the same story, and this is a bit harder to accomplish without repeating oneself. Juliet has done it beautifully! I never had the feeling that I was reading the same thing over and over again.

Returning to Felix, one of the new characters in this book, I have to say that I really liked him. I've always liked the name Felix, so I was instantly drawn to him (and instantly means right from the prologue! - the first word that is his name indicating it's his POV). But as I read along I couldn't help but love him more. He is not your usual hero, although brave, he is not a warrior. And it is refreshing to read a romance from the perspective of the male part. Of course that in this case, Felix is waaay more romantic than knowledge and duty oriented Sibeal.

Another thing that I loved, and that I believe is a treat to everyone who liked the original series (especially Son of Shadows, like me), was the inclusion of a lot of characters that were important then, and see how they have aged, how their life has changed. And it was so good to hear a story so well known to me (from Son of Shadows), but told from another point of view. It took me back to the feeling I had when I first read that book.


To me, it's a book of dualities. Two points of view, and also two parts on the story. The first one is recovery and getting to know oneself again. It's mostly character driven, but not without some action. The second part is about adventure and setting wrongs right. It's full of action and excitement. And all this dualities are so well woven one into each other, they complement each other, and you wouldn't want to have one without the other!

I loved this book, and even if I'm biased, I have to say that if you like historical fantasy, I really recommend Seer of Sevenwaters (or any other Sevenwaters book).

(5/5)


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