Tower of Thorns
Juliet Marillier
Blackthorn and Grim live together in peace and quiet, waiting out the 7 years of Blackthorn’s contract with the Fey folk. While things seem to be travelling as smoothly as they can, there are always bumps. When Blackthorn is faced with a new challenge, the two will need to keep the lines of communication open – but fail in interesting ways.
I saw this book being opened by its author on Facebook, and thought it was too late to request a review copy! Never fear though, I sent an email to my trusty representative, who sent me a proof copy within 2 days. It may not have looked fabulous, but the story was a strong one.
I had forgotten about how the perspectives change between the characters – and how effortless Marillier makes it seem. The character voices are so distinct that you can’t possibly get confused. This holds true both when the character is the point-of-view, or when they are just appearing in the text. Additionally there is a storytelling section running through this novel that was just as distinct.
The world is as lush and vivid as in other works. I could literally see the tower rising from the tower, and see the storytelling playing out (it’ll make more sense once you read it). Drool. I could see the monastery being built, and also the one in Grim’s memories.
There are some twists in this that I truly didn’t expect. I mean, I read the blurb, noted that things might not be as they seem, and then got on with reading it! In fact, I found myself half-way through and just wondering what was going on. Why aren’t they communicating? How can they been so selfish?
There’s nothing like a little creeping hint of malice to string through a novel when the main points are developing. Just like in the first novel of this series, Blackthorn’s past is constantly chasing her. And in this one, Grim’s catches up to him.
Something that I really appreciate about this novel is the unflinching reality of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and how that might manifest in a fantasy world. I’m not certain I have ever read another novel that deals with it in the same way. It’s certainly compassionate, but also realistic.
5 stars from me (did you really expect anything else??). Get out there and buy it. I’m hoping that an audio copy will eventually come my way, and I can share this novel with my non-paperback reading partner.
Thanks to the lovely folks at Pan Macmillan for sending me this copy for review.
