Flame of Sevenwaters by Juliet Marillier Series: Sevenwaters #6
Published by Roc on November 6th 2012
Pages: 448
Goodreads
Maeve, daughter of Lord Sean of Sevenwaters, was badly burned as a child and carries the legacy of that fire in her crippled hands. After ten years, she’s returning home, having grown into a courageous, forthright woman with a special gift for gentling difficult animals. But while her body’s scars have healed, her spirit remains fragile, fearing the shadows of her past.
Sevenwaters is in turmoil. The fey prince Mac Dara has become desperate to see his only son, married to Maeve’s sister, return to the Otherworld. To force Lord Sean’s hand, Mac Dara has caused a party of innocent travelers on the Sevenwaters border to vanish—only to allow their murdered bodies to be found, one by one.
When Maeve finds the body of one of the missing men in a remote part of the woods, she and her brother Finbar embark on a journey that may bring about the end of Mac Dara’s reign, or lead to a hideous death. If she is successful, Maeve may open the door to a future she has not dared to believe possible…
Whenever a new Juliet Marillier book is released I pretty much drop everything else I am doing and devour it in a single sitting and this is more or less what I did with Flame of Sevenwaters.
This book is about Maeve, one of the daughters of Lord Sean of Sevenwaters, who was last seen in Child of the Prophecy. I really loved Maeve’s voice. She was prickly and definitely not afraid to speak her mind.
The story begins with Maeve returning home to Sevenwaters after a long absence. After suffering grievous injuries in Child of the Prophecy, Maeve went to live with her aunt Liadan in Harrowfield. Ten years have passed and Maeve now finds herself, somewhat reluctantly, returning home to Sevenwaters.
She returns home to find Sevenwaters in turmoil. Mac Dara, the leader of the Fair Folk, is causing all sorts of strife for her family. A visiting chieftain’s two sons and travelling companions have been snatched out of thin air and war could be on the horizon. Maeve has many scars, both physical and emotional, but she must confront her demons if she is to survive this ordeal and put an end to Mac Dara’s reign once and for all.
I really enjoyed reading about Maeve’s journey. I also liked spending more time with some of the familiar characters from previous books in the series, notably the young Finbar and also Ciaran, who has long been my favourite character. Romance takes a bit of a backseat in this novel, although it is certainly present (though the love interest may not exactly be who you would think!).
I get the impression this may be the last Sevenwaters book and although this would make me sad, I think Flame of Sevenwaters would be a fitting conclusion to the series.
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