review will be on my blog next week~

Overall, I did really like it and it's my third favorite book of the series. I was a little disappointed by the confrontation with Mac Dara and Cathal, because I thought it would be different, but overall I did like it. The love interest was...interesting. I realized right away when it was revealed that Bear and Badger were the two brothers that had gone missing. I really enjoyed this book, though. I hope she keeps writing Sevenwaters books. It would be nice to see something about Cathal's twins.

Lovely. As always. I'm always extremely pleased with Marillier (and I hope she remains prolific!!)

Flame of Sevenwaters is the sixth book in Juliet Marillier's Sevenwaters series. The plot concerns Maeve, the daughter who was terribly burned in a fire in Child of the Prophecy, the third book in the series. Maeve has been living with her aunt at Harrowfield since the accident, but some disturbing events back at Sevenwaters require her to return to her old home for the first time in ten years. It is a difficult homecoming for Maeve. Her face still bears scars from the fire and her hands were rendered useless. While trying to find her place back in her family, she is soon drawn into a dangerous quest in the Otherworld. Mac Dara has reemerged and Maeve will become an integral part of the chain of events that can bring about his end. Underneath the magic and enchantments woven throughout the book, the story is about love, acceptance and bravery. Flame of Sevenwaters is one woman's quest to save her family and do what's right, despite living with a crippling disability.

My feelings about this novel were mixed. I admired Marillier's choice to use a disabled heroine. Characters with disabilities are underrepresented in literature. Maeve isn't as interesting as Sorcha or Liadan was, but she is unique and likable. She doesn't have the use of her hands, and requires help with the simplest of tasks, but she doesn't waste time feeling sorry for herself. She makes the best of her situation. Her special talent is an affinity for animals. As an animal lover myself, I could relate to the respect and love she had for wild creatures.

One disappointment I had while reading concerned the pacing. The story was slow to get started and the conclusion felt a bit rushed. However, the pacing was greatly improved from Seer of Sevenwaters, so there's that bit of silver lining. The real plot doesn't start until about halfway through the novel. As others have commented, the romance in the novel is extremely brief and, at least in my mind, quite predictable. When I think back and compare the romance in this book to the romance from the first two novels, it just doesn't compare. Due to certain plot points, we don't get a chance to know the main male character at all. When you put all these little issues together - the slow start, the rushed conclusion, the nonexistent romance and the lack of knowledge about the male lead - it all seems a little off.

That being said, the story was interesting enough to hold my attention. The plot had some truly creative aspects and I found I was reading the story to find out the ending, not to merely finish it. The Mac Dara storyline, left hanging since Heir to Sevenwaters, is brought to a satisfactory conclusion here. Even better, Marillier accomplished this while sparing us from having to read too much of Cathal, the weakest character of the series in my opinion.

I believe that fans of the Sevenwaters Series will find this novel to be an "okay" addition. It's better than Seer for sure, and probably tied with Heir in quality. For me, the best parts of this book came at the very beginning when I got to read about Liadan and Bran again. It was like seeing old friends. This is indicative of the problems I've felt as the series has extended beyond the original trilogy. Try as she might, Marillier has never recaptured the magic she created in the first few books. Sadly, this book is more like an imitation of a Sevenwaters book than the genuine article.

A great installment to the Sevenwaters series!

It was a bit eerie reading this book, as by chance I happened to see the musical Violet during the same time period, and many emotions and feelings are shared by the leading characters.

Overall, very good!