Reviewed by Candace Cunard for TeensReadToo.com
In medieval Ireland, eighteen-year-old Caitrin is an anomaly. Before he died, her scribe father not only taught her how to read and write, but allowed her to actively participate in his trade and supported her in the face of those who scorned the idea of a female intellectual. However, with his death, Caitrin is left at the mercy of her cruel and abusive aunt and cousin, whose treatment forces her to flee from her home with nothing but her scribing tools and the clothes on her back.
She manages to find employment with Anluan, the mysterious and solitary clan chieftan of Whistling Tor. She stays with him and his household, reading, translating, recopying, and categorizing the contents of his library, for which he promises to pay her both in silver and in the elusive plant heart's blood, used to produce a rare and priceless ink. However, things at Whistling Tor are not quite what they seem, and Caitrin's work brings her into contact with a fantastic history of the place that its ruler would prefer be kept silent.
I have read Marillier's work before, but unlike others who compare HEART'S BLOOD unfavorably to her SEVENWATERS books, I found myself much more caught up in Caitrin's story. Part of that has to do with her character; like most of Marillier's heroines, she's intelligent, plucky, and though she's dealing with her own personal demons, she has an infectiously dazzling strength of spirit.
And although the story is told from Caitrin's first-person point of view, Marillier manages to portray with equal depths the complexity of Anluan's hidden past. Although the plot does perhaps lag in the middle in the sense that there is little outward action taking place, I felt like every single scene was significant for character development even if it didn't immediately advance the plot.
By the end of the first chapter, I felt like this book had been written specifically for me. As a huge fan of the story of BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, I saw HEART'S BLOOD as both an obvious and clever retelling that played fast and loose with some of the plot points of the original tale in order to convey the right feeling and allow the characters to gain more complexity of motivation. It's certainly nothing like the Disney version (well, except that there is a magic mirror), but I liked it better for that.
Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a compelling historical fantasy with strong characterization and beautiful writing.
In medieval Ireland, eighteen-year-old Caitrin is an anomaly. Before he died, her scribe father not only taught her how to read and write, but allowed her to actively participate in his trade and supported her in the face of those who scorned the idea of a female intellectual. However, with his death, Caitrin is left at the mercy of her cruel and abusive aunt and cousin, whose treatment forces her to flee from her home with nothing but her scribing tools and the clothes on her back.
She manages to find employment with Anluan, the mysterious and solitary clan chieftan of Whistling Tor. She stays with him and his household, reading, translating, recopying, and categorizing the contents of his library, for which he promises to pay her both in silver and in the elusive plant heart's blood, used to produce a rare and priceless ink. However, things at Whistling Tor are not quite what they seem, and Caitrin's work brings her into contact with a fantastic history of the place that its ruler would prefer be kept silent.
I have read Marillier's work before, but unlike others who compare HEART'S BLOOD unfavorably to her SEVENWATERS books, I found myself much more caught up in Caitrin's story. Part of that has to do with her character; like most of Marillier's heroines, she's intelligent, plucky, and though she's dealing with her own personal demons, she has an infectiously dazzling strength of spirit.
And although the story is told from Caitrin's first-person point of view, Marillier manages to portray with equal depths the complexity of Anluan's hidden past. Although the plot does perhaps lag in the middle in the sense that there is little outward action taking place, I felt like every single scene was significant for character development even if it didn't immediately advance the plot.
By the end of the first chapter, I felt like this book had been written specifically for me. As a huge fan of the story of BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, I saw HEART'S BLOOD as both an obvious and clever retelling that played fast and loose with some of the plot points of the original tale in order to convey the right feeling and allow the characters to gain more complexity of motivation. It's certainly nothing like the Disney version (well, except that there is a magic mirror), but I liked it better for that.
Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a compelling historical fantasy with strong characterization and beautiful writing.
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