Published by: 47North, November 24th 2015
Genre: YA/Adult, Fantasy
Pages: 226
Format: Ebook
Young Rhea is a miller’s daughter of low birth, so she is understandably surprised when a mysterious nobleman, Lord Crevan, shows up on her doorstep and proposes marriage. Since commoners don’t turn down lords—no matter how sinister they may seem—Rhea is forced to agree to the engagement.
Lord Crevan demands that Rhea visit his remote manor before their wedding. Upon arrival, she discovers that not only was her betrothed married six times before, but his previous wives are all imprisoned in his enchanted castle. Determined not to share their same fate, Rhea asserts her desire for freedom. In answer, Lord Crevan gives Rhea a series of magical tasks to complete, with the threat “Come back before dawn, or else I’ll marry you.”
With time running out and each task more dangerous and bizarre than the last, Rhea must use her resourcefulness, compassion, and bravery to rally the other wives and defeat the sorcerer before he binds her to him forever.
I don't know if you got it from the last hundred or so times I mentioned it, but Bluebeard is my favourite fairy tale. Ever. So you can imagine my joy when I got halfway through reading this and went 'wait ... is this a Bluebeard retelling?' AND IT WAS! Is. Whatever, tenses are hard. The Seventh Bride isn't a 100% retelling but it has enough strains of it and it feels like Bluebeard and it was awesome. From the first page it had heart and humour and something I'd never felt before in a book that I can't exactly place. It was different, and it was fun, and it was sad all at once.
Rhea, a miller's daughter, is promised to marry Lord Crevan, super mysterious, supremely evil guy - but she doesn't know that until she's invited to his manor house, turns up, and finds a bunch of his other wives in the house too. And the wives aren't exactly right, either, and there's something very off about the house and the whole thing. Not to mention the fact Crevan has more than one wife and yet he's engaged to Rhea. What follows is a series of tasks Rhea has to pass; if she fails, Crevan threatens to marry her. There's so much packed into this book that it had me turning pages and flying through it. It felt less like reading the book than living the story.
This is a true fairy tale, and it has everything you'd expect: a plucky heroine, a diabolical villain, awesome supporting characters, a wife stuffed into a clock, a floor that collapses every day at midnight, and a hedgehog. It sounds weird but the hedgehog is my favourite character.
I haven't done much in this review except ramble and sum up the book but basically: it was brilliant and heartfelt and magical and I loved it.
Rhea, a miller's daughter, is promised to marry Lord Crevan, super mysterious, supremely evil guy - but she doesn't know that until she's invited to his manor house, turns up, and finds a bunch of his other wives in the house too. And the wives aren't exactly right, either, and there's something very off about the house and the whole thing. Not to mention the fact Crevan has more than one wife and yet he's engaged to Rhea. What follows is a series of tasks Rhea has to pass; if she fails, Crevan threatens to marry her. There's so much packed into this book that it had me turning pages and flying through it. It felt less like reading the book than living the story.
This is a true fairy tale, and it has everything you'd expect: a plucky heroine, a diabolical villain, awesome supporting characters, a wife stuffed into a clock, a floor that collapses every day at midnight, and a hedgehog. It sounds weird but the hedgehog is my favourite character.
I haven't done much in this review except ramble and sum up the book but basically: it was brilliant and heartfelt and magical and I loved it.
Characters ★★★★★
Setting/world ★★★★☆
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