Child of the Prophecy - Juliette Marillier

Child of the Prophecy (Sevenwaters #3) – Juliette Marillier (2001)

(3.5 / 5)

In some ways I wish I hadn’t read this book. Ever since I read Daughter of the Forest many years ago, I have been in love with this series. I was so in love with the first book, that I refused to read the second one for years afterwards, afraid that it was not going to be as good and ruin the first book for me. Thankfully the second one was just as beautiful – so I didn’t wait quite as long to read the third one. So I must admit that I was disappointed with this one. Although I loved revisiting the old characters from the previous novels, it was just missing something.

Now because I read the first book long before I started writing reviews, I feel that I should say something about it – Maybe it will help to explain why even though this was a very good book, I just didn’t enjoy it as much as the others. I will have to re read Daughter of the Forest and write a review for it, but in the meantime I will attempt to convey how absolutely wonderful it was and why this series touched me so. I would class Daughter of the Forest as the best book I have ever read. I’m sure if I read it for the first time now it would not have the same effect on me because I have read SO many wonderful books since then. But at the time, I was in a very emotional time in my life. It cast a magical spell on me, and had a profound effect on my emotions and my heart. I remember CRYING MY EYES OUT at the end. I could NOT stop thinking about it. And to this day I often re read my favourite parts if I’m feeling down or need a happy cry!

Daughter of the Forest introduces us to the couple whose future offspring feature in subsequent novels. In this one, the grandchildren of the original couple feature heavily. Fainne is the offspring of the Sevenwaters clan, and also granddaughter of an evil sorceress Oognah, who put the spell on the family in the first book, which started this entire saga. Fainne is manipulated by her grandmother to bring the whole family down. However, she is still a daughter of Sevenwaters, will she be able to destroy what runs through her blood?

I just adore Marilliers writing. If you haven’t experienced it, I highly suggest you give this series a go. It is absolutely captivating. Somehow she keeps this series fresh and exciting, and you absolutely fall in love with all the characters.

She also did something wonderful and clever when she made the books about the offspring from the last. You are already emotionally invested in the characters and then their appearances in subsequent novels is awesome because you can really see what the characters did and how they grew after the last book.

However this one was just missing something. I found Fainne to be overly annoying and I found the entire book dragged on and on. The first two were not shorter, but they were more magical, and I didn’t mind the pace at all. But Fainne was just not engaging enough to waste the extra hours.

The audio version was done really well, I can’t fault the beautiful voice of the narrator and the haunting accents and atmosphere that she created!

Would I recommend Child of the Prophecy?

Oh this is a tough one. On its own probably not, however as the third of an amazing series it does tie up loose ends and it has some very touching moments. It was unfortunate that for me, the main character lacked the likeability and the wisdom of the characters of the first two.

Will it stop me from reading the next one? Hell no! But I may give it another few years!

I purchased Child of the Prophecy at my own expense at audible.com