Child of the Prophecy

4 stars

Juliet Marillier is an amazing author. She's one of the best fantasy authors in the whole world. This book had all the good things Marillier's other books had. The same beautiful, poetic prose. The wonderful setting. The slow, complex romance. The high involvement of religion and family. And the unbelievably real characters.

Fainne is quite different from Liadan and Sorcha. She's not as selfless or brave or good. Rather she's awkward, shy and some of her actions are simply evil. Though I guess we can't blame her because she was under Lady Oonagh's influence but, it's still frustrating when your protagonist is going around lighting fires and hurting little kids. After Fainne finally sees the light the speed of the book picks up. The amazing thing about Juliet Marillier's books is that whenever you think you've reached the climax you find out there's still a whole adventure left. I'm still not exactly sure what the climax of the book was.

The male lead, Darragh is another awesome character. He may not be a vampire or sexy werewolf but he's loyal and loving and faithful and that just counts a lot more. His love for Fainne is so admirable. She tells him to leave over and over again, she's rude and mean to him but still he doesn't give up on her and keeps coming back. I just found the romance so sweet and touching.

The book was five star worthy but I just didn't like the ending. (spoiler ahead)  Living all alone on an island that has vanished from the face of the earth is just not my idea of a happy ever after. Plus I could see the plot twist from light years miles ahead.