Having been a fan of Juliet Marillier for many years, and absolutely loving the Sevenwaters books, I wasn't as excited about this one as I have been in the past. The ending was a little pat and predictable; there wasn't that sense of danger and desperation throughout the book that makes a triumphant ending all the more of a relief; this read more like a romance, minus the sex, than anything. The characters this book centered around were bland. Even their situations weren't that interesting. None of it was a surprise- not Knut, not Svala, not anything or anyone. It was disappointing. And really? I felt like she used so. many. words. to get the most basic points across. "I love her" became half a page of overly sappy declaratives, like "we are as timeless as the moon is to the sea and the sun with the birds flying and unicorns with glitter and the ocean! our love is as boundless as the restless sea and as verdant as the big green forest and all of its creatures and stuff!" or something like that. It was almost TOO pretty.

PLEASE don't let the Sevenwaters stories end with this one, on this note. Please let it go back to being awesome. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE.