Starred Review ALA Booklist

Starred Review There is a widespread European fairy tale about a girl who saves her bewitched brothers by weaving shirts that, when the brothers swoop by on swans' wings, she throws over their heads, thereby restoring them to human form. From that familiar material, Marillier weaves an absorbing and tender novel. Sevenwaters, a forest stronghold in ancient Ireland, is at war with the neighboring Britons, a war that often takes its lord away. Hence, motherless Sorcha and her six brothers grow up virtually fatherless, too, yet full of joy in their woodland home. One day their tranquil life is disrupted by the arrival of a stepmother who enchants the boys so that they become swans rever, unless Sorcha can perform the impossible task of spinning yarn from blistering starwort, weaving it into cloth, and sewing each boy a shirt. All this she must accomplish while remaining undetected by the wicked sorceress. Led by fairy voices to a boat, she drifts into the hands of a Briton who, undeterred by her magically imposed silence, takes her under his protection. The course of true love has rarely run less smoothly, but Sorcha's daring and perseverence pay off in the end for herself, her brothers, and her Briton love. Sterling characterizations, perfect pacing, appropriately marvelous fairy subplots, and vivid descriptive passages make for a flawless launching of a fantasy trilogy whose next volume this book's readers will eagerly await.

Kirkus Reviews

This, the first of a projected fantasy trilogy from newcomer Marillier, reworks and embroiders the fairy tale of the brothers who are transformed into swans by their evil stepmother; they can be returned to human form only by the agonizing labors of their young sister. In Ireland, patriarch Colum and his six sons and daughter Sorcha are beset by Britons in pursuit of an old blood feud. The brothers are variously gifted: Conor has druidic leanings, Cormack is the scholar, young Finbar has the Sight, etc. Then Colum's men capture a young Briton, Simon, from a raiding party, and torture him for the secrets he supposedly keeps; Conor and Finbar help him escape; and, later, Sorcha tends his injuries. Soon, however, the Lady Oonagh—clearly a witch—beguiles Colum and plots to drive the brothers and Sorcha away. They attempt to restrain Oonagh with magic, but Oonagh's too strong and transforms the brothers into swans. The Lady of the Forest tells Sorcha how she can free them—by hand-weaving each swan a shirt of barbs, and by keeping utter silence until the task is complete. In fleeing Oonagh's wrath, however, she falls in with a party of Britons looking for Simon. In distant England, meanwhile, Sorcha's mission seems more impossible than ever—and there'll be many complications before matters are resolved in traditional style.

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

This imaginative retelling of the Celtic Swans myth begins a promising new British romantic fantasy series. Six brothers have been turned into swans by their wicked stepmother. Only their sister, Sorcha, can save these sons of an Irish chieftain by weaving magical shirts that will turn them back into human beings. As she begins her task in the forest, she is raped and forced to flee. British nobleman Hugh of Harrowfield rescues her from the attacker while on a search for his missing brother, Simon, whose life Sorcha has saved earlier. Unfortunately, Sorcha can't reveal to Hugh her role in helping Simon, for she has had to take an oath of silence until she completes the shirts. When she marries Hugh, she assumes a new identity as """"Jenny"""" so that she can return to England. Once there, however, she is thrust into a deadly power struggle among Hugh and his allies; his mother, Anne; and Hugh's wicked uncle, Richard of Northwoods--and she narrowly escapes being burned at the stake for witchcraft and treason. Though the novel features a stereotypically happy ending and leans more toward romance than fantasy, Marillier is a fine folklorist and a gifted narrator who has created a wholly appealing and powerful character in this daughter of the forest. (May)