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I want to call this book a combination of Kushiel's Dart and Assassin's Apprentice. But in reality, Daughter of the Forest is a category all its own. A gorgeous mix of historical fiction and fantasy, an insightful hero’s journey with a dash of romance. It’s been some time since I’ve had the pleasure of reading a book so deserving of five stars.

Sorcha, daughter of the forest, tells her own tale in this book about an ancient Celtic/British feud and the magical undertones that influence it. She is born the seventh child of a powerful Irish warlord, raised by six brothers as a healer. They grow up surrounded by the spirits and fae of the forest, who entangle Sorcha’s fate with two brothers, part of the enemy side.
There is something truly alive about Sorcha’s character and her voice as she recounts the horrible suffering and passionate love she experiences. It gives the impression that Juliet Marillier knows her heroine as completely and clearly as an enlightened guru knows himself. The author doesn’t just tell a story through Sorcha; Sorcha is the story.

I personally have a lot of love and admiration for old Celtic culture. The music, the tales, the mythology, the history �� all of it is fascinating. (My friends like to tease me for listening to fiddle music in public places, but that’s the life of a Celtic superfan, I suppose.)

So the Sevenwaters series is directly up my alley. Marillier immerses her readers in the old Irish countryside and the culture of its residents. The setting is absolutely vital to this book, descriptions and imagery not just enhancing the story, but dictating the plot and creating a breathtaking writing style.

“We draw our strengtyh from the great oaks of the forest. As they take their nourishment from the soil, and from the rains that feed the soil, so we find our courage in the pattern of living things around us. They stand through storm and tempest, they grow and renew themselves. Like a grove of young oaks, we remain strong.��

Reading this book, you will feel like you are standing in a clearing with Sorcha and her brothers, waiting for a recently healed owl to take flight into the starry sky, and sensing the sentient presence of the ancient forest. You will experience every setting like in a 3D surround-sound movie. The imagery is that good.

As for the love interest(s?), I couldn’t help but fall in love. Even though romance is not the biggest plotline in the book, the feelings that develop are so deep that it feels earth-shattering every time Sorcha meets her love interest. Their every interaction seems to shift the world off its axis.
Strangely enough, despite the passion behind Sorcha’s love story, it took me a long time to even be sure who her love interest would be. Or whether there would even be one! That uncertainty was part of the intrigue of the romance, and what made it so emotional when their love finally became a reality.

This one's going on my instant favorites shelf. Nothing could keep it off!