Helpful Score: 4
Woods-wise and free-spirited, Rois Melior is the opposite of her sensible sister, Laurel. But both Rois, who narrates, and Laurel fall under the spell of the stranger who enters their world. Decades ago, according to village gossip, Tearle Lynn murdered his father and mysteriously disappeared. Now Tearle's son, Corbet, has come home to rebuild crumbling Lynn Hall. Despite her attraction to Corbet, Rois is warned by her otherworldly senses that he is not what he seems. As Laurel falls hard for Corbet, Rois searches for the truth about the Lynns, but the answers she finds lead only to more questions. When Corbet disappears, Laurel begins to sicken and fade. To save her sister as well as Corbet, Rois will have to come to terms with the secret of her own changeling identity. The pace here is deliberate and sure, with no false steps; the writing is richly textured and evocative. McKillip (The Book of Atrix Wolf, and winner in 1975 of a World Fantasy Award for her novel The Forgotten Beasts of Eld) weaves a dense web of desire and longing, human love and inhuman need.
Helpful Score: 3
The language alone is enough to recommend this book. Difficult to describe, a very unique story. It is moody, etherial, mystical.
Helpful Score: 3
This is a retelling of the ballad "Tam Lin." Honestly, I can't say I was really drawn into the story - though I did really feel for the protagonist - but the writing is so poetic and beautiful, I couldn't help but enjoy reading it, and I now hope to read more of the author's work.
Helpful Score: 2
For whatever reason, I just couldn't get into this book. I've liked other books by this author, so I have no clue why this one didn't draw me in like previous ones have. Oh well, time to give up and move onto something else. Hopefully whoever gets it next enjoys it more!
Helpful Score: 1
Achingly beautiful language. MCKillip's turn of phrase is simply artful.
