Flame of Sevenwaters

<u> <b>Before reading it:</b> </u><br>WANT!<br><img src="https://images.gr-assets.com/hostedimages/1380222758ra/170296.gif" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"> <img src="https://images.gr-assets.com/hostedimages/1380222758ra/210328.gif" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"> <img src="https://images.gr-assets.com/hostedimages/1380359212ra/710352.gif" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"> <img src="https://images.gr-assets.com/hostedimages/1380222758ra/528216.gif" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"> <img src="https://images.gr-assets.com/hostedimages/1380359212ra/710353.gif" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"> <br><br>* * *<br><br><u> <b>After reading it:</b> </u><br><br>My goodness, <i> <b>everything is Sevenwaters and everything hurts.</b> </i><br><br>I mean, the last Sevenwaters book---<br><a href="http://s2.photobucket.com/albums/y16/Eveleen/gifs-1/?action=view&amp;current=tumblr_maibp0CwQc1rphkmh.gif" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener"> <img src="https://images.gr-assets.com/hostedimages/1380222758ra/406553.gif" alt="Photobucket" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"> </a><br>… okay, maybe it’s not the last one—who knows---, but I can’t help but feel like it’s the end of the world somehow. <br><br>Without a surprise, Flame was an emotional journey for me, 20% because of Maeve, 70% because of other characters and references to previous books in the series, and 10% just because... you know... I was in possession of a brand new JM book.<br><br>I knew it would be painful to go back to Sevenwaters and, Gods help me, Harrowfield, but I didn’t expect to almost drown in my tears before page 30, which <i>so</i> happened. Honestly, when at some point Maeve says that to cross the sea she set sail from a sheltered bay half a day's ride from Harrowfield, I lost it. <i> <b>LOST IT.</b> </i><br><br>[dramatization of said moment]<br><i>A sheltered bay?<br><br>A sheltered bay as in SORCHA&amp;RED'S BEACH??<br><br>Oh God</i><br><a href="http://s2.photobucket.com/albums/y16/Eveleen/gifs-1/?action=view&amp;current=tumblr_m2i4ejKPXt1r5yv0t.gif" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener"> <img src="https://images.gr-assets.com/hostedimages/1380359212ra/710354.gif" alt="Photobucket" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"> </a><br><a href="http://s2.photobucket.com/albums/y16/Eveleen/gifs-1/?action=view&amp;current=tumblr_mcnm04twY41r1cbwg.gif" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener"> <img src="https://images.gr-assets.com/hostedimages/1380359212ra/710355.gif" alt="Photobucket" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"> </a><br><a href="http://s2.photobucket.com/albums/y16/Eveleen/gifs-1/?action=view&amp;current=tumblr_mel5cugFxw1r27hc6.gif" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener"> <img src="https://images.gr-assets.com/hostedimages/1380359212ra/710356.gif" alt="Photobucket" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"> </a><br><br>Half and hour later I managed to get back to my reading, just to receive the news a character dear to my heart was dead and about to be buried, which of course lead to another hour of crying and feeling sorry for myself. <br><br>After that I tried to focus on Maeve, a character I waited so long to get to know again---after <a href="https://goodreads.com/book/show/13925.Child_of_the_Prophecy__Sevenwaters___3_" title="Child of the Prophecy (Sevenwaters, #3) by Juliet Marillier" rel="noopener">Child of the Prophecy</a>, where she burned her hands and face, there were hardly any news about her or her recovery, so I had no idea of how damaged she was, and I must say it was a bit of a shock to learn she couldn't use both of her hands. Of course her being a JM heroine meant she was bound to be a fantastic protagonist, and most of all a great woman, despite whatever hardship.<br> <br>I loved that her journey took me back to the forest and the Otherworld (even if it wasn’t that much fun for her); loved that little Finbar got to be her sidekick; loved Bear and Badger; and OMG, the “avenging” duo Cathal-Ciarán! Excuse me while I swoon. About the love interest, I literally screamed when I found out who he was, ahah. xD<br><br>The ending made me tear up yet again, Ciarán will always break my heart when he speaks/thinks of Niamh, and his sacrifice made it all the more painful for some reason. It was also brilliant how Oonagh’s teachings were crucial to protect Sevenwaters, and how it was all meant to be—bad things and all. Just brilliant.<br><br>I’d love to go back one day, either through Finbar’s eyes (a male Sevenwaters protagonist, would’t that be interesting---just saying :D) or, I don’t know, one of Clodagh’s twins? How about one of Fainne’s kids? But if it never happens Flame's ending was fitting. <br><br>What else is there to say? This is my favorite genre, my favorite author, my favorite series. Love it all so much more than words can explain. Recommended for all.<br><br>*PT* <a href="http://cuidadocomodalmata.wordpress.com/2012/12/03/flame-of-sevenwaters/" rel="nofollow noopener">Cuidado com o Dálmata</a><br>

I can't tell you how much I've loved the original Sevenwaters trilogy, all of which are still among my favorite books. For that reason I've read most of Marillier's other works, which range from good to mediocre. Seer of Sevenwaters was disappointing, but I hoped it was an outlier: after all, Seer is a middle book and Marillier wrote it during cancer treatment. And I'd been hoping for years for a book about Maeve. As it turns out, Flame is a lot like Seer.<br /><br />In Flame of Sevenwaters, Maeve--the sister injured in the fire in Child of the Prophecy--returns home after ten years with her aunt and uncle. The first half of the book focuses on Maeve's homecoming, her discomfort in her parents' household and her bonding with a pair of stray dogs. In the second half Maeve journeys into the Otherworld, and we get the conclusion to the Mac Dara plotline begun in Heir to Sevenwaters.<br /><br />In all fairness, this book does wrap up the dangling plot threads left by the previous two and presents a reasonable end to the story. But even by Marillier standards it takes a long time to get going, and while the action eventually picks up, the plot never grabbed me. Which is symptomatic of a larger problem: the characters. Marillier relies heavily on our previous affection for them, but in this book itself they don't come to life. They're all alike--thoughtful, sensitive, open with their feelings--leaving them a bit flat and recycled rather than real and human. With everyone working hard to anticipate and accommodate each other's feelings, there's little conflict in the first half of the book; and in the second, the Fair Folk play a large role, but don't seem as foreign and menacing as they should because they have all the same behaviors and speech patterns as the humans.<br /><br />And the humans are all as democratic and considerate with everyone else as if they all lived in a modern hippie commune, even though they're supposedly lords and servants in the 9th century. Their values and interactions scream 21st century, from egalitarian employer/employee-type relationships between masters and servants, to chieftains personally seeking out dependent female relatives and asking deferentially if they might speak with them, to lords and ladies with modern western views of parenthood and who forget their social positions at the drop of a hat. Certainly the original trilogy is set in a medieval Ireland more mythological than realistic, and I loved it, but here the anachronisms are too jarring for me to overlook.<br /><br />As for Maeve herself, she was mostly disappointing. Again, in fairness, Marillier does a good job handling Maeve's disability: it affects her but doesn't define her, and she works around it without self-pity. Simply having a disabled heroine is great. But there isn't much that does define Maeve--a lot of recycled traits from previous heroines, plus a very modern view of pet ownership. (I might have been more impressed by her courage if she hadn't talked about it constantly; the characters never miss an opportunity to call each other brave.) And the romance: I was eager to see what Marillier would do with a disabled heroine, but the love story comes out of nowhere and is immediately resolved, with none of that slow-burning tension that normally makes her romances so good.<br /><br />I could go on: about the way we barely see some characters who play important roles here (Cathal for instance), the frequent, self-conscious talk about having "happy endings," Maeve's crucial choice that makes sense only because the alternative would have unfortunate implications for readers (but her decision is bizarre in her actual situation), and so forth. <input type="checkbox" class="spoiler__control" aria-label="The following text has been marked spoiler. Toggle checkbox to reveal or hide." onchange="this.labels[0].setAttribute('aria-hidden', !this.checked);" id="26fa27a3-af04-4dbe-b53d-6e287579a362" /><label aria-hidden="true" class="spoiler" for="26fa27a3-af04-4dbe-b53d-6e287579a362">By which I mean Maeve's rejecting out of hand the Fair Folk's offer to fix her hands, claiming that would "be too easy." I fully understand why Marillier has her reject it--because in the real world, you can't "fix" a disability with a wave of the wand, and it would be insulting to real people who face similar challenges to imply that Maeve can only have a happy ending if she has a perfect body. But still, who in Maeve's position wouldn't leap at the chance if it was actually offered? Nobody, that's who.</label> But here's the crux of the problem. The original books had enough danger and suffering to make the happy parts genuinely meaningful, and were never fluffy. In those books, main characters could be victims of vicious attacks, children were neglected, the heroines were often isolated and in dire situations. Flame lacks that darkness and emotional intensity, leaving it predictable and saccharine.<br /><br />It saddens me to say this, but I think I'm done with Marillier. Her new books just don't have that old magic. This book has clearly pleased some readers, and if you loved Seer you'll probably love Flame, but for me it was just too much.

OMFG, ANOTHER SEVENWATERS BOOK?!?!<br><br>Ms. Marillier, I only have one thing to say to you:<br><br><img src="https://images.gr-assets.com/hostedimages/1380373489ra/727105.gif" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy">

No, it's not the same caliber as the original <i>Sevenwaters</i> trilogy, but that's a pretty high standard to live up to. The later three books are more along the lines of YA Fantasy, not as complex or deeply emotional, but still superior to others in their class. I ate all three of them up, and I still hope she'll come back to this world again at some point because it will be like coming home again.

<b>“If I were telling a story of Sevenwaters - and it would be a grand epic told over the nights of a long winter - I would surely end with a triumph. Happy ending, all well, puzzles solved, enemies defeated, the future stretching ahead bright and true. With new challenges and new adventures, certainly, because that’s the way things always are. But overall it would be a very satisfying story, one to give the listener heart.”</b><br /><br />Flame of Sevenwaters finalises the Sevenwaters series. As far as the endings go, it is not the worst. However, since starting with the third instalment, the novels started to look like clones of each other, the things that distinguish this ‘grand finale’ (yes, this is sarcasm) are minor details like the name of the main protagonist. <br /><br />This is <b>a story about a girl with crippled hands and a skittish horse and her journey to find love and happiness</b>. The journey is both literal (brace yourselves for travelogue in the mundane and the fey realm) and metaphorical in the sense that it involves character development and overcoming daunting challenges. <br /><br />It is a tale meant to convince you that <b>if you are brave and good and wise you can face anything</b>. It is a tale about <b>a geas</b>, a curse bestowed upon a person. It is also a tale of <b>magical creatures and strange happenings. And dogs.</b> Every dog lover will adore this tale, this I promise. <br /><br />Maeve is not as bad as other Sevenwaters heroines but she is far from somebody I could bond with. She is a disfigured cripple and this is what defines her. However, for me she is a bit oversensitive and prickly and self-conscious for somebody who has been nurtured by a living family. While this is somewhat understandable, I couldn’t accept her incessant focus on what she is not and cannot be and have rather than counting the blessings around her (which were many). You can call it whatever you want, I call it ungrateful. Additionally, there are some problems with split personality, and so throughout the book you will meet the Maeve proper and then the Wild Maeve, Graceful Maeve, Sensible Maeve, and Maeve Claw-Hands. That is a whole crowd of girls to put up with. <br /><br /><b>Plot-wise the book is entirely Captain Obvious</b>, but I guess we do not read this kind of novels to be surprised, but rather to be comforted. And Flame of Sevenwaters is a comfort read in the most cheesy and blatant way. <br /><br /><b>If you got as far as here, either you know what to expect, and just want to have more of the same, or you have heard about Ms Marillier and want to check her books. In the first case, you do not need my recommendation (or review, for that matter). In the second, I’d suggest you to read the Daughter of the Forest and only then deciding whether you want to continue.</b> <br /><br /><br />Other Sevenwaters books: <br /><br />1. <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1484917615?book_show_action=false&amp;from_review_page=1" rel="nofollow noopener">Daughter of the Forest</a><br />2. <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1600030158?book_show_action=false&amp;from_review_page=1" rel="nofollow noopener">Son of the Shadows</a> <br />3. <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1491522467?book_show_action=false&amp;from_review_page=1" rel="nofollow noopener">Child of the Prophecy</a> <br />4. <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1600030169?book_show_action=false&amp;from_review_page=1" rel="nofollow noopener">Heir to Sevenwaters</a><br />5. <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1600030180" rel="nofollow noopener">Seer of Sevewaters</a>

Creo que es mi preferido de la segunda trilogía de Sieteaguas, Marillier le ha dado un muy buen final a la saga.<br />Lo que más me ha gustado es que Maeve es una protagonista muy diferente, es una novela más pausada que las demás y por suerte el romance no es ni de lejos tan importante como en los libros anteriores. <br />Las últimas 150 páginas no podía parar de leer y hay unos buenos giros que te dejan en plan WTF, como siempre.<br />Voy a echar mucho de menos esta saga fantástica llena de leyendas y cuentos de hadas tenebrosos... Creo que la primera trilogía es muy superior a la segunda, pero aún así la he disfrutado de principio a fin.

An amazing finish to one of my favourite fantasy series. I don't even know what I was expecting, but this book really made me sorry to be done with the Sevenwaters family.<br /><br />Marillier continues to be one of my favourite authors. This book, like so many of her others, hit such an emotional place for me. Maeve was a strong heroine, and the portrayal of living with a disability was done so well. Maeve's attitude towards her family, her circumstances, and her injuries rang so true and made her a deeply sympathetic and multifaceted character.

PROBABLE SPOILERS AHEAD.<br /><br />I would just like to preface this review by briefly saying how much I love Daughter of the Forest and Son of the Shadows, and how much I respect both Ms. Marillier and the writing she gave us in both of those books, which remain, easily, two of my favorites of all time.<br /><br />I approached Flame of Sevenwaters uneasily. The last two or three (I remain unconvinced about Child of the Prophecy) books I have read from Ms. Marillier have left me unsatisfied. I truly believe that something has shifted in her writing style or in the way she approaches her stories that has dramatically affected my enjoyment. All of the characters have begun to blend together; there is no crisp edge of interest anymore. I believe this was present in Seer of Sevenwaters and the other installment of this trilogy, which I can't even REMEMBER the name of, and this too, the last. <br /><br />I don't want to write a long piece about how much I disliked this book. I will be as blunt but brisk as I can. Maeve is no Sorcha. In DotF, we see Sorcha grow and evolve through her suffering to a place where she becomes someone to be respected and idolized. We do not get that chance with Maeve, whose suffering is over and done with by the time the book starts. Perhaps what Marillier was attempting with her was some kind of post-traumatic recovery over the death of Bounder + the fire, but - I found myself unable to believe, even as a dog-lover myself, that Maeve would not have set that wound aside and grown already. Of course I wanted to! Even Maeve assures us that she's fine and recovered! All that happens in this book - and really, truly, not much does - happens to other people. Maeve is an active participant in these happenings, but she does not really strike me as the important heroine that Sorcha was, or the strong, determined Liadan. Instead, she looks for her lost brother and pets and then gets tricked into being angry enough to do what certain people want her to. At the end of the book, people are falling all over themselves to tell her how brave she's been and how strong. It was all I could do not to roll my eyes and say, "Are you kidding me? Ciaran is the hero of this story. Obviously."<br /><br />In fact, I had a difficult time not rolling my eyes a LOT: Everyone deferred to Maeve, everyone wanted her opinion, she was always the center of attention. I understand she is the main character - she is returning home after ten years, but she is also a cripple. This is medieval Ireland. I sincerely doubt that Sean and Aisling and the entirety of the keep would have been overcome with joy to have her return home. I expected it to be more subdued - more bittersweet.<br /><br />Continuing in the vein of flawed character development, Maeve is APPARENTLY and SELF-PROFESSEDLY shy and uninterested in being in the company of large groups of people, and yet whenever she was at dinner or at her father's council, she consistently made sure everyone knew what she had to think about everything. <br /><br />I truly think that Marillier really didn't have a fully-formed idea of who this character was when she began, and that reflected poorly on the way the entire novel was built. The story started far, far too early, worked its way to the action far, far too slowly, and ended far, far too quickly. The pacing was off, the love story was rushed and unbelievable, and Marillier's usually lovely, memorable prose was consistently bordering on purple. I worry that this marks a turn in her writing; hopefully this trilogy was simply pressure from agents and publishing houses for more writing based in the Sevenwaters universe and Marillier panicked because she was uncertain and uninspired. Regardless, I will be cautious the next time I approach a novel with her name on the cover, and that makes me quite sad.

This book would be fine if it wasn't for the weird romance that happened.

2022 has been off to a slightly shaky start but sinking into a <i>Sevenwaters</i> book was just what I needed; even though this was a bittersweet undertaking knowing it was the last in the series.<br /><br />This world has such a special place in my heart, as I've gone on about endlessly, and it was so nice to have a reread, with some special friends, and also have the opportunity to finally reread the companion trilogy. They don't quite hold a candle to the originals but each are special in their own way. And with FLAME OF SEVENWATERS, Maeve's story, we had a culmination of everything these last books had been leading up to whilst also having something of an homage to the original book that started it all. <br /><br />"<i>If I were telling a story of Sevenwaters -- and it would be a grand epic told over all the nights of a long winter -- I would surely end it with a triumph. A happy ending.</i>"<br /><br />And it is. A happy ending; as much as one can have in a Marillier story, at least. Maybe not in the obvious way for everyone, and certainly it isn't an end for all, but there is an ending of a kind and happiness to be found for many -- some immediately and some to come. And that's what has always been a marvel about this world. It is so real, full of complex and complicated characters, differing motivations even within the same family, different priorities, but always a strong love, a strength of character. <br /><br />We don't get a full reunion of all the siblings in the way many series-enders get but we did get a few people together again -- even as a few bid farewell -- and it was more special because of that, and less overwhelming, too. There are too many standout characters to have seen them all and there were enough updates along the way that those characters without page time still felt seen.<br /><br />As for Maeve, I love that Marillier gave us a heroine with a disability. We've seen a main character before that had a different physical challenge, though in that case it had less to do with how others treated her and more about how she looked upon herself. In some ways it was also easier to hide. In this case it was very much out in the open and while Maeve wasn't without some self-pity on occasion it was more in light of how others treated her vesus how she often felt about herself. Additionally, it was a disability that needed not just strength to endure but trust in those around her; both in knowing how much she could push herself, or be capable of, but also to trust they not be embarrassed or ashamed of her. Which makes coming back to Sevenwaters, after so long away, and to where she had been hurt, all the more frightening and challenging. But Maeve does it; not for herself but for a charge in need of her strength. A strength that plays a key role in the inevitable confrontation with the Big Bad.<br /><br /><i>I had done my best not to weep. I had tried not to feel sorry for myself. It came to me that it is not trials and travails that bring us down, but unexpected moments of kindness.</i><br /><br />This one didn't get me quite as emotional as many other in this series but there were plenty of feels during many interactions between Maeve and her brother and also with Ciarán. Once again this unlikely character from the main trilogy has had a chokehold on me for every book that has followed book three and I love that this book made a point to highlight his impact; not just on the others but the impact on him, too. <br /><br />As for the romance, well. This one may surprise you a little but if you followed the breadcrumbs.. maybe not. I'll admit things do rush ahead a bit during the big moments, which was a bit of a pacing whiplash after all the dragging on prior to the conflict (I found myself rather impatient during these scenes, maybe because I just wanted all to finally be revealed? don't know), but we get a few calmer quiet scenes to solidify all the big dramatic outpourings. And, again, as we have seen before, I like that things aren't quite all wrapped up and signed, sealed, delivered by the final page. But we know they will be.<br /><br />My issue with the pacing notwithstanding, this might be my favourite of the companion trilogy just for how much it gave me some original series vibes while still being very much it's own creature. It was a nice way to book end this series and it definitely ends things on a higher note than the last two. I'm so pleased my <u>Sevenwaters Squad</u> feels the same way, too, as this whole journey was all new for them and I didn't want them to come out feeling disappointed in any way after all my hype and bother.<br /><br />With the series wrapped, we might not be the <u>Sevenwaters Squad</u> any longer but there's plenty of Marillier still to consume. Maybe we'll be the <u>Marillier Maniacs</u> instead? Who knows. <br /><br />If you still have yet to discover this series, or this author, I cannot recommend her enough. With stories full of heart, wisdom, respecting the earth and hearth, feats of strength of all kinds, love stories that truly conquer all, magic and sacrifice, the bonds of family, heartbreak and healing, and so much more, you can't go wrong.<br /><br />---<br /><br />This review can also be found at <a href="https://atakefromtwocities.home.blog/2022/01/20/flame-of-sevenwaters-by-juliet-marillier/" rel="nofollow noopener">A Take From Two Cities</a>.