Every Juliet Marillier book is a place I never want to leave and always long to revisit. I have been a fan of hers since discovering the Sevenwaters series, but the more recent Blackthorn & Grim series really captured my heart. An odd couple crime-solving fantasy series of fairytale retellings – it’s like Marillier took all my favourite things and spun them together into something totally captivating and perfectly tailored to enchant me!
Juliet Marillier (Photo by Sean Middleton).
The new Warrior Bards series is a spin-off from Blackthorn & Grim and I absolutely gobbled up the first book, The Harp of Kings, with relish. A Dance With Fate is the second book in this series and it was so good I think this might just end up becoming my favourite Marillier series of all!
After the events of the last book, Brocc is off in the Otherworld while Liobhan and Dau are at Swan Island continuing their training. When Dau is blinded in a terrible accident, he must return to his abusive family. Liobhan returns with him as a bond slave, as Dau’s family hold her responsible for the accident. A big part of this book is about Dau confronting his past and dealing with trauma. It has several truly heartbreaking moments and I had to blink away tears more than once.
I have to confess, the chapters with Liobhan and Dau were my favourite. I so enjoyed their character arcs in the first book and was looking forward to seeing what would happen to them next. The path they take in A Dance With Fate isn’t what I would have predicted when I finished The Harp of Kings, which made this book all the more wonderful as it took me on an unexpected emotional journey. I was delighted with the way the characters developed in this story – how slowly their relationship is growing and changing over the course of the series. I’ve always loved Juliet Marillier’s way of layering rich and resonant emotional undertones in her books. It’s pure magic!
Meanwhile Brocc’s story in A Dance With Fate takes place in the Otherworld and seems to be building towards a larger overall story arc that we will see play out in future books. I’m not sure if this series is intended as a trilogy or a longer series, but I hope it’s a longer series as I love spending time with these characters.
Juliet Marillier’s books are so full of wisdom and beauty, and her characters are so wonderfully complex and lovable. There is a dreamy magical quality to her writing – the plot unfolds slowly and carefully, which always feels like exactly the right pace because I’m never in a rush to leave!
This is a series I know I will return to multiple times. I can’t wait to find out what happens next!
—A Dance With Fate by Juliet Marillier (Pan Macmillan Australia) is out now.
A Dance With Fate
Warrior Bards: Book 2
An accident. A forfeit of freedom. A descent into danger.
Liobhan, the young warrior and bard, has lost her brother to the Otherworld. Even more determined to gain a place as an elite fighter, she returns to Swan Island to continue her training. But Liobhan is devastated when her comrade Dau is injured and loses his sight in their final display bout. Blamed by Dau's family for the accident, she agrees to go to his home, Oakhill, as a bond servant for one year. But Oakhill is a place of dark secrets. The menacing and enigmatic Crow...
About the Contributor
Sarah McDuling
Sarah McDuling is Booktopia's Category Manager for Children's and Young Adult Books. She has been in the bookselling game for almost a decade and a dedicated booklover since birth (potentially longer). At her happiest when reading a book, Sarah also enjoys talking/writing/tweeting about books. In her spare time, she often likes to buy a lot of books and take photographs of books. You can follow her on Twitter and Instragram @sarahmcduling
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