Well my guess for what would happen in the next book didn't come about. I'm sure that it will be in the last book, at least I hope so. It's a little slow, but I liked it. I have read other books with Selkies in them and I guessed from the first that Svala was a selkie. **stop here for spoilers** Clodaugh and Cathal go to Inis Isle where they can be protected from Cathal's father. They have twins, a boy and a girl. We know that Cathal's father wants the boy to be the next ruler of the underworld and that Cathal will have to battle his father. The sea 'Others' give Cathal a charm that protects his children from harm. But the book is about Sibeal, who is 16 and about to take her vows as a Druid. She is sent to the island for the summer and of course she finds true love. She rescues and nurses to health an educated, courageous, handsome man and falls in love. She is torn between love and serving the Gods. After the man, Felix remembers his past, we discover that they must go on a rescue mission to retrieve the men who were left on a desolate island. The other wrong that must be corrected is to take Svala back and let her become the sea creature that she is. She was taken against her will and she is the queen of the sea people. She guards and guides their way there, so no harm befalls them. She is very excited to return to her mate. When they get to the island she can't find her skin. The go on an expedition to find the men who are lost, and they are using the skin to keep warm; it saved them from the cold nights. They carry it back, with the help of the sea-monster mate. It's an epic tale of bravery and courage. Sibeal steps into the paw of the creature to talk to him. They ride on it's back. Great plot and fun. The sea world 'Others' give Cathal charms to protect them on the return journey. When they get back Sibeal mets her mentor Ciaran and she must decide what to do. She cries most of the time. She can't commune with the Gods because she is a woman and she thinks about Felix all the time. Ciaran comes up with a good plan. There is a community where married couples live and farm who love the Gods, and still use their wisdom to help others. They can still be married and honor the Gods. It is a happy ever after ending. Smile.. Spoiler free review summary: Worst book in the series so far. It felt incredibly forced throughout. While reading it I couldn't help but feel like I wanted it to be over so I could run over to GR and rant about it. By the end of the book I felt bored and embarrassed reading it.---Spoilers from here on out---The plot is mildly interesting at best. Most of the book takes place on Inis Eala and consists of just days on the island. I won't call those parts boring but they certainly weren't extremely interesting either. The general plot is actually okay; it's just the execution of it that was rather disappointing. The days on Inis Eala just dragged on and on. If Marillier had used this time to really develop a meaningful way that Sibeal and Felix fall in love it wouldn't have been so bad. But she doesn't. Their love just spontaneously grew out of no where. It feels like Marillier expected us to seriously believe that having the experience of saving Felix's life was SO meaningful that she felt a strong attachment to him. So strong that she falls in love. I honestly do not believe that an experience like that would be a catalyst of love so strong. Their love just feels so trivial and borderline stupid during the whole book because the reason for their love was so contrived. How do you fall in love with someone while sitting by their sick bed and telling them stories? Yes, she spent a lot of time by his side at the bed but I really don't see where the love came from. The "bed side love" experience heralds back to the first book where Sorcha nurses Simon back to health and Simon falls in love with her. I feel like that instance worked and this one didn't. Sorcha didn't feel a strange, unexplained affection for Simon. Her case was a little bit different in that Simon WAS an enemy of the nation but I feel like that fact is balanced out by the fact that Felix had no memories when Sibeal fell in love with him. She has no idea what kind of a person he is. Even before he's talking AT ALL she's feeling this unexplained attraction and attachment to him. I don't think Sorcha ever really loved Simon but at least before she felt any kind of affection for him she had spent a lot of time with him; with Sibeal the love started the instance he was dragged in. It felt fake. It feels almost funny that I would complain about them not having a meaningful relationship when more than half the book is spent developing it. My gripe isn't the time spent but HOW it's spent. It just felt ridiculously cheesy. Sibeal comparing her love for Felix to Liadan and Bran, and Clodagh and Cathal before the man is even out of the sick bed felt incredibly stupid. By the end of the books I felt almost embarrassed reading because of all the cheesy similes used: "Our love is like the delicate and lovely drop of dew"; "What is between us is as deep as the earth, as wide as the sky, as boundless as the great oceans. To deny it is to deny the turning of the seasons, the ebb and flow of the tide, the journeys of sun and moon"; or the Old Ones referring to them as "Lamp of hope and questing spirit; left hand and right; moon and sun; shadow and light; still pool and waterfall; conscience and courage". It wouldn't be so bad if these similes were used sparingly but it's TOO much. Even Sibeal keeps using similes for her love. The whole book felt cheesy and embarrassing to read.I'll give it a 2 instead of a 1 because I liked Svala. Just cause.
Do You like book A Vidente De Sevenwaters (2011)?
This was very good, but.... it doesn't stand up to the others. Sibeal is someone I wanted to like. And I kinda did. But I figured out the plot pretty early and was irritated that Sibeal did not. Someone who is so inundated upon the legends and stories should have figured it out BEFORE I did. Once it finally dawns on her, I rolled my eyes that it took her until the end to figure it out. I did not like that she was made out to be very wise, patient, smart... But she was neither wise nor smart in that one specific regard. The author has done such a good job in the past with making the main characters not figure things out right off, but they at least were close and made good guesses. They didn't end up looking far more stupid than they should have been, unlike poor Sibeal. But it's still an enjoyable read and I do still recommend it :)
—Booknook365
I thought this book started out slow and a bit boring. It wasn't until I was just past half way that it started picking up a little. The last few chapters of the book were the best/most exciting. I really enjoyed the book near the end. It had a few surprise twists. I kept expecting something to happen with the Cathal and MacDara characters but I'm guessing that was all just prep for the next book. I just love the sevenwaters series though and really it was a good book considering it was the sixth book in the series.
—lenabell10
Not quite as good as Heir to Sevenwaters, but still a great story.
—Camnard
