Review copy was received from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
A Dance with Fate by Juliet Marillier Series: Warrior Bards #2
Published by Ace on September 1, 2020
Genres: Fantasy
Pages: 512
Format: eARC
Source: NetGalley
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The young warrior and bard Liobhan has lost her brother to the Otherworld. Even more determined to gain a place as an elite fighter, she returns to Swan Island to continue her training. But Liobhan is devastated when her comrade Dau is injured and loses his sight in their final display bout. Blamed by Dau's family for the accident, she agrees to go to Dau's home as a bond servant for the span of one year.
There, she soon learns that Oakhill is a place of dark secrets. The vicious Crow Folk still threaten both worlds. And Dau, battling the demon of despair, is not an easy man to help.
When Liobhan and Dau start to expose the rot at the center of Oakhill, they place themselves in deadly danger. For their enemy wields great power and will stop at nothing to get his way. It will take all the skills of a Swan Island warrior and a touch of the uncanny to give them a hope of survival. .
Juliet Marillier is an author I always enjoy. A Dance with Fate continues with the primary perspectives being Dau, Liobahn and Brocc. As with the first book, I struggled a bit to get going. It felt like the first 20% of the book took me 3 days to read and then I finished the rest in a day or so. It might have helped me to reread The Harp of Kings, since it was a year ago I started this Warrier Bards trilogy. I would not read these alone or out of order.
All three of our main characters faced rather dire circumstances in this tale. They were strong and compassionate and worked hard themselves but some others were not helpful or kind. The fae are always difficult. In The Harp of Kings, Brocc learned more of his heritage and found love and a new life. Now he has to adjust to that marriage and life. It’s not just his wife and community, but the outside threats to learn.
Dau undergoes a trauma and ends up having to go back to his family and the past horrors there. Liobahn will not let him face it alone, but it is a grave challenge. It was not a good place for Dau when he was young and it has not really improved. Dau manages to grow a lot personally, learning much more compassion and a different kind of control. Liobahn also adapts to working hard and being unobtrusive.
Music did not play as large a role. There were more politics, and class distinctions. By the end, everyone is headed home. The strange Crow creatures are still an issue in both worlds and that seems to be the next mystery. I hope for a better start to the final book with the world and characters well in mind. I’m intrigued to know more about the Crow folk and the relationships of our three. I still hope we may get a scene with Grim & Blackthorn. I’m so glad to be back in this world.
About Juliet Marillier
Juliet Marillier was born July 27, 1948 in Dunedin, New Zealand and grew up surrounded by Celtic music and stories. Her own Celtic-Gaelic roots inspired her to write her first series, the Sevenwaters Trilogy. Juliet was educated at the University of Otago, where she majored in music and languages, graduating BA and a B Mus (Hons). Her lifelong interest in history, folklore and mythology has had a major influence on her writing.
Juliet is the author of twenty historical fantasy novels for adults and young adults, as well as a book of short fiction. Juliet’s novels and short stories have won many awards.
Juliet lives in a 110 year old cottage in a riverside suburb of Perth, Western Australia. When not writing, she is active in animal rescue and has her own small pack of needy dogs. She also has four adult children and seven grandchildren. Juliet is a member of the druid order OBOD (the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids.)
I read all types of books but my favorites are urban fantasy and romantic suspense.I like some romance and some action / adventure / mystery in everything.I like sex in my books but please, only between TWO people.Intimate conversation is equally important to the sex in a book.It lets me see the characters.The other thing I enjoy is humor.
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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- COYER-20
I never got around to reading to first book, but this sounds like a good binge series, maybe?
Yes it certainly would have helped to go straight into this one from the first. It’s a trilogy. The other thing that would help me is sometimes I do a lot better with fantasy on audio. But I don’t think that’s your thing.
It’s a really great set of stories so far and this is a favorite author. You could read this without having read Blackthorn & Grim which is this same world. I loved that series so much!
I haven’t read the first book in this series, but I do like Juliet Marillier’s books. And I think the cover is really nice.
Well then you could read the first two together which is even better!
I need to try the books by this author. I keep hearing good things about them
They are complex fantasy akin to Mark Lawrence, Robin Hobb with some dark moments
I really enjoyed this book. Her writing is so good but like you I to struggled to get going and the first 20-30% went slowly but then the rest just flew by.
Exactly. It was excellent once I settled into the story and I was finished so quickly then.
Its such a struggle when the first parts of the book are hard to get into…but glad it eventually got better for you. This duo series sounds like an interesting one. 🙂
Great review.
Thank you! I don’t think it would have been quite as hard if I read the books more closely together. Her works are complex though with well drawn characters and intricate plots. I really enjoy them once I get started.