Tower of Thorns by Juliet Marillier

Disillusioned healer Blackthorn and her companion Grim have settled quietly in Dalriada to wait out the seven years of Blackthorn's bond to her fey mentor. But trouble has a way of seeking out Blackthorn and Grim. Lady Geileis, a noblewoman from the northern border, has asked for the prince of Dalriada's help in expelling a howling creature from an old tower on her land - one surrounded by an impenetrable hedge of thorns. Casting a blight over the entire district, and impossible to drive out by ordinary means, the mysterious presence threatens both the safety and the sanity of all who live nearby. As Blackthorn and Grim begin to put the pieces of the puzzle together, it becomes clear that a powerful adversary is at work. Their quest is about to become a life and death struggle - where even the closest of friends can find themselves on opposite sides.

Wrote an entire review, and Goodreads crashed....

I wanted to love this book. Dreamer's Pool was one of my favorite books last year. Juliet Marillier creates beautiful worlds. They remind me of old ancient Irish folklore. The fae are tricky and appear when they want something. The main characters, Blackthorn and Grim are worn out and flawed. Their journey began in the dungeons/cells of Mathuin of Laois. With the help of Conmael, they excape. Blackthorn is bound to a 7 year sentence. She must help anyone who asks of it.

Tower of Thorns is the second book in the series. We are given brief glimpses into the life of the characters from the first novel. The focus is on a new character, Lady Geleis. She has a monster in a tower who howls every summer from dawn until dusk. She's reluctant to tell the truth, yet she wants her problem solved. Readers are also introduced to Flannan, a childhood friend of Blackthorn. He wants to bring Blackthorn south to stand up to Mathuin. That could mean breaking her promise with conmael and leaving Grim behind.

Gileis never directly asks Blackthorn for help. Therefor Blackthorn is never obligated to help. She spends most of the novel planning to leave with Flannan and use Geleis' story as cover. Their plan is frustrating to the reader. There is so much back and forth between Blackthorn and Flannan that it becomes too much. It's as if Juliet needed to reach a page quota. She expanded on Blackthorn, Grim, and Gileis' thoughts so much that it was boring. At times I'd put down the book with no desire to pick it up again. At once point I even started to skim some paragraphs. The last 1/3 of the book is the strongest. Readers learn about Grim's past and Blackthorn finally agrees to solve the problem of the Tower of Thorns. Grim was by far the strongest point of the novel.

Overall, this felt like a typical second movie in a film trilogy. It was good. It had the characters I loved, but it didn't live up to the first one.

The Irish historical fantasy buddy cop team of Blackthorn and Grim heads north to solve a bizarre mystery afflicting Bann, a little-known chiefdom plagued by a wailing monster trapped in a tower.

I seriously thought I had this book all figured out. I'll even admit I was getting bored, but then WHAM! The plot twists twist away. Marillier's other books aren't so plot heavy, and these ones don't seem like they are, but that is just her misdirecting the reader. This is a mystery, and a damn good one.

Er is iets aan het schrijven van Juliet Marillier dat me doet denken aan gouden herfstdagen, aan de geur van een bos na regen, als het bladerdak nog druipt en dappere zonnestralen wazig door de gaten schijnen. Het is als een gezellige leesstoel voor een knisperend haardvuur. Ik hou zo van hoe betoverend en meeslepend het is.

Dit specifieke verhaal was absoluut magisch. Opnieuw toont Marillier zich een meester in het gebruik van traditionele folklore en sprookjesachtige elementen om een geheel eigen verhaal te weven.
Ik genoot van elke seconde van dit verhaal en racete tegelijkertijd naar het einde terwijl ik wilde blijven baden in zijn onbekenden. Het was bitterzoet en betoverend.

Ik hield al van Grimm en Blackthorn als personages na boek één, maar dit boek maakte hen tot een van mijn favorieten. Mijn hart gaat echt naar hen uit en ik vond het boeiend om meer over Grimm's verleden te leren.

Nu wil ik tegelijkertijd zowel meteen in het laatste boek van deze serie duiken, als het achterhouden en koesteren om naar uit te kijken.
Absoluut adembenemend!

There are many secrets in this book; Blackthorn keeps secrets from Grim about her plans, Grim keeps secrets from Blackthorn about his former life, the noblewoman Geillis (who wants Blackthorn's help to break a spell) keeps secrets from her about the true nature of the curse. The amount of unknown information was sometimes frustrating, and contributed to a slow plot, especially in the middle chapters. I wished several times that at least Blackthorn and Grim would be honest with each other, but their relationship (so far) is based primarily on their willingness to accept each other at face value.

Blackthorn is a fine heroine (she is similar to many wounded but tough female characters that can be found in today's urban fantasy and other genres) but IMO Grim makes the series. He has experienced horrifying trauma, as Blackthorn has, but despite his large size he is caring, loyal, hardworking, and fiercely protective. It turns out he has hidden depths as well. Who wouldn't want him as a companion? Despite my frustration with the plot's slow reveal, I kept turning the pages to see how Blackthorn and Grim would get out of their latest tricky situation, and was rewarded by a subtle but definite change in their relationship.

Juliet Marillier is one of my few auto-read authors, and while the Blackthorn & Grim series isn't as breathtaking and absorbing as her Sevenwaters books, I'm on board as long as she keeps writing them.