The Blade of Fortriu

Juliet Marillier

Ana, a princess of the Light Isles, is being sent to make a strategic marriage for her King Bridei. Little does she know that her party will be changed, and that the self she presents will need to be ripped apart before life can proceed.

Ana’s character development is particularly convincing, as is Faolin’s. Drunstan is a bit more of an unknown element, but I think it suits him. Faolan is enigmatic, and it’s nice to see that shell finally crack a bit, even if it’s painful for it to do so.

The action in this novel is almost too powerful to read. I was gripped from start to finish. I couldn’t bear for Ana to end up with the horrible Alvin oaf. Something I did have difficulty reconciling with what I knew of him was that he actually was waiting for the wedding night to take her. It seemed to me like they were in a little isolated pocket and that they could have gotten away with anything they pleased.

Once again, I let this book go by without reviewing it promptly, and I’ve forgotten a lot of the good things I wanted to say about it. It’s entirely worth your time to read it though.