Serena’s Rev-Up Review: “Tower of Thorns”

Book: “Tower of Thorns” by Juliet Marillier

Publishing Info: Roc, November 2015

Where Did I Get this Book: I bought it!

Book Description: Disillusioned healer Blackthorn and her companion, Grim, have settled in Dalriada to wait out the seven years of Blackthorn’s bond to her fey mentor, hoping to avoid any dire challenges. But trouble has a way of seeking out Blackthorn and Grim.

Lady Geiléis, 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, it threatens both the safety and the sanity of all who live nearby. With no ready solutions to offer, the prince consults Blackthorn and Grim.

As Blackthorn and Grim begin to put the pieces of this puzzle together, it’s apparent that a powerful adversary is working behind the scenes. Their quest is about to become a life and death struggle—a conflict in which even the closest of friends can find themselves on opposite sides.

Review: In preparation for the release of the third book in the “Blackthorn and Grim” series this November, I’m charging forward with my reviews of the series so far. In the first novel, “Dreamer’s Pool” I fell in love with our main characters, Blackthorn and Grim, but questioned Marillier’s decision to include a third character perspective in that story. She followed a similar pattern with this novel, but, perhaps due to a stronger mystery, I found myself enjoying this book even more than the last.

Blackthorn and Grim have settled into their quiet life. Blackthorn, curmudgeony and reserved, providing her healing service to the countryside in which she resides, while waiting out her seven-year bargain to not pursue revenge on the man who destroyed her life. And Grim, faithfully devoting himself to helping her, and his neighbors, however he can, silent and steady, but deeply broken. But when asked to accompany Oran and his pregnant wife, Flidais, to a neighboring providence, Blackthorn can’t refuse and finds herself once again caught up in a fantastical mystery.

As I said, I enjoyed this book even more than the last. Having already been introduced to the characters, I enjoyed reading about Blackthorn and Grim’s continual struggles to adapt to a life that they feel disconnected to and a world that often feels distanced from their own experiences. Their stories are tragic, and the beautiful relationship they have formed is so lovely. In particular, we get more background on Grim’s story in this novel, which was important at this stage. In the first story, we know that something happened, clearly, but there were very few clues as to what. I very much enjoyed this backstory and how it fleshed out Grim’s character.

I also enjoyed the increased involvement that Blackthorn undertook in solving the mystery in this story. Being the recluse that she is, in both books she is extremely reluctant to become involved, but I did appreciate the increased action on her part in this story. The added layers to her relationship with and understanding of Grim were all fantastic, and I’m excited to see where Marillier is taking their relationship. Will it stay platonic? Will it become romantic? I feel like it could go either way, and honestly, I would be satisfied with either approach, which, when you think about it, is a pretty remarkable feat for an author to pull off.

And, as I said in the beginning, I did enjoy the third character perspective more in this story than in the last. Lady Geiléis’s chapters are devoted to spinning another tale that neatly ties in to the primary mystery. Perhaps as a more “shades of grey” character, her perspective was simply more interesting than that of Oran who at times came across as a bit of a milksop. The mystery regarding the howling creature and the tower was also much more compelling than Flidais’s story in the first book. By halfway through the book, I reached a point where I couldn’t put it down (which was a bit inconvenient since I was visiting family over Thanksgiving last year when I was reading it and was probably very rude and antisocial due to this book!). The story was decidedly darker than the first, and I was legitimately creeped out by parts of it.

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel, and it is always exciting to find a series that seems to be improving as it goes. I’m so excited (and slightly nervous given the high expectations!) for the third book’s release! I already have my copy pre-ordered.

Rating 9: Fantastic! A more compelling (and creepy!) mystery, and added layers to our main characters and their relationship.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Tower of Thorns” is included on these Goodreads lists: “Fantasy with Old-School Fairy Tale Vibes”and “Books for Fans of Robin McKinley.”

Find “Tower of Thorns” at your library using WorldCat.

Previously Reviewed: “Dreamer’s Pool”