Daughter of the Forest (Sevenwaters #1)

Reader reviewed by Khy

Sorcha is the seventh child and only daughter of Lord Colum of Sevenwaters. Bereft of a mother, she is comforted only by her six brothers who love and protect her. Sorcha is the light of their lives, they are determined that she only know contentment.
But Sorcha's joy is shattered when her father is bewitched by his new wife, an evil enchantress who binds her brothers with a terrible spell, a spell only Sorcha can lift - by staying silent and weaving six shirts out of starwort; a plant that inflicts pain when you touch it. If she speaks before she completes the quest set to her by the Fair Folk and their queen, Lady of the Forest, she will lose her brothers forever.
When Sorcha is kidnapped by the enemies of Sevenwaters and taken to a foreign land, she is torn between the desire to save her beloved brothers, and a love that comes only once. Sorcha despairs at ever being able to complete her task, but the magic of the Fair Folk knows no boundaries, and love is the strongest magic of them all...

I absolutely loved this book. Two of my favorite things:

1. The setting was amazing. I loved how the setting created some problems for everyone. Ireland and Britain (the places the book takes place in) disliked each other immensely during the time the book was set, so it really created some problems for Sorcha and Red, the amazing wonderful hero guy.

2. The characters were more amazing than the setting (as it should be.) Every character was different; one character was scholarly smart, one was incredibly brave, one loves animals and cares for them often, more than one were crazed lovers of fighting, and one is a loner emoish kind of guy. They were all so different and were all so awesome that you really couldn't helped but love and be slightly annoyed (at times) by them.

This book was wonderful. I highly recommend that you read it and its sequels, SON OF THE SHADOWS and CHILD OF THE PROPHECY.

reposted from freneticreader.blogspot.com

Reader reviewed by Mary

Sorcha is the lone one left behind by her stepmother's curse. Her brothers have been turned into swans and only she can save them. She must make them sweaters woven from a thorny plant and she must not utter a single word. If she does then her brothers will be cursed forever. Meanwhile her stepmother is on the lookout for her... The author weaves a mesmerizing trap around the reader. I felt what Sorcha felt. At one point in the point I felt as if i wasn't allowed to speak just like Sorcha. Anyone who loves fantasy will surely love this book.

Reader reviewed by MJ

I first read this book about a year ago. It had caught my attention each time I passed the shelf on the library, so I borrowed. I am also really glad that I did because I just couldn't put it down. It is about Sorcha, the youngest daughter of Lord Colum and sister to 6 older brothers. Her father falls in love with a the Lady Oonagh who is an evil sorceress. The Lady turns Sorcha's brothers into swans so that she can take over Sevenwaters. So it is then up to Sorcha to save her brothers from their mask of being a swan, and to save the future of Sevenwaters. To do this she must venture into the lands of the enemy, and to keep silence until she finishes her tortuous task to save her brothers.
I highly enjoyed this book because it employed the right amount of fantasy, magic, suspense and romance to impress any reader. I then shoul reccommend it to anyone who has a great appreciation for good storytelling, or to any lover of a fantasy.

Reader reviewed by Mairi

Sorcha's mother, the wife of Lord Colum of Sevenwaters, died giving birth to her, but it was a long time before Sorcha's father remarried to Oonagh, a wicked woman who holds her new husband and Sorcha's brother Diarmid under her spell. She transforms the six children of Lord Colum into swans, leaving Sorcha to flee into the backwoods of Ireland with only the promise of the Lady of the Forest to watch over her.

I picked this book off the shelves of the library expecting I would be good, but I could not put it down. I barely noticed the pages flying by.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoyed Juliene Osborne-McKnight's I Am Of Irelaunde.

Reader reviewed by Lororie

Although the first chapter or two is a bit description heavy, the action picks up quickly, taking the reader on a wonderfully exciting adventure filled with love, pain, friendship and betrayal. Not for the uneducated, as there are mature scenes. Overall, however, "Daughter of the Forest" leaves the reader feeling content and well filled, as well as more mature for the journey they took along with Sorcha.