Many weeks ago I promised a recommendation of Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier, the book that kept me up until 4 am and besmirched my boundaries. Refer to this post for more info about the dangers of besmirched boundaries.

Daughter of the Forest, the first of the Sevenwaters Trilogy, was published way back in 2001. Son of Shadows and Child of the Prophecy followed in 2002 and 2003. All three novels are set in Ireland, are steeped in Celtic legend and mythology, and center around characters from the kingdom of Sevenwaters. I’d heard very good things about this trilogy, but I was almost put off by the cover art. It looked a little too epic fantasy to me, like it might be overrun with dragons and elves. I’m so glad I tried it anyway. No dragons in sight.

Sorcha, the protagonist of Daughter of the Forest, has six older brothers. Her mother is dead, and her father is absent in his grief and incessant warring. Marillier bases the plot on the fable of the Six Swans, but she paints a world so rich and vivid that the fairy tale underpinnings effortlessly fade to the background. The settings are so real they suck you into the page and convince you that you, too, have never felt a hot shower before. The level of detail reminds me of Diana Gabaldon’s 18th-century Scotland in the Outlander series (one of my favorites.)

I fell in love with Sorcha and each of her six loyal brothers, not to mention their swoon-worthy British enemies, Simon and Red. They are all very distinct in temperament and taste—not an easy task to accomplish as an author, let me assure you. The protagonist of Son of Shadows, Liadan, was an even stronger female lead than Sorcha in many ways, and the male protagonist Bran was, well, sublime. The writing in both novels is gorgeous. Sentences beg to be read and re-read, like holding gelato in your mouth until your taste buds freeze in order to savor every last bit.

I read Daughter of the Forest and then Son of Shadows in the same week, and loved each of the many hours that I spent with Sorcha and Liadan. Go, read them, and besmirch your own boundaries. You won’t regret it.