The Seventh Bride by T. Kingfisher
The Blurb On The Back:
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.
15-year-old Rhea lives with her parents and aunt in a mill leased from the local viscount. Rhea knows that she isn’t particularly beautiful, smart or brave, which makes it all the more surprising when the mysterious Lord Crevan tells her parents that he wants to marry her. Everyone knows that something isn’t right, but Rhea can’t turn down a lord, nor can she refuse when Crevan demands that she stay with him in his enchanted manor house before the wedding.
The house is only accessible by a sinister white road that won’t allow Rhea to return home. Worse, on arrival Rhea discovers that Crevan is a sorcerer who’s married six times before and five of his wives are still alive and imprisoned with her in the house. Whatever Crevan wants from Rhea, he can only take by marrying her. But he’s willing to give her a chance. He’ll set her three magical tasks to complete and he’ll only marry her if she fails.
With the help of the other wives and a friendly hedgehog, Rhea must complete three tasks, each more bizarre and dangerous than the last and each of which will test her resourcefulness, compassion and courage.
T Kingfisher (a pseudonym for Ursula Vernon) has written a clever fantasy coming-of-age tale with strong female characters and a whimsical sense of humour that offsets the dark imagery. Rhea is an intriguing main character - resourceful and self aware, she’s resilient without being unbelievable and I liked the different relationships she has with Maria (who lost her magic to Crevan), Sylvie (who lost her sight) and the cruel Ingeth (who lost her voice). The fantasy elements work well - I particularly enjoyed the sadness and cruelty underlying Rhea’s scenes with the golem wife while the scenes with the Clock Wife are weird, wonderful and frightening and involve some great concepts with time and space. The book is marketed as being for grown ups but to be honest, the coming of age and self-discovery themes here are perfectly suitable for a YA audience and while the imagery is dark, there’s a great Diana Wynne Jones vibe to the whole thing. All in all this is an enjoyable book with potential for a sequel (I would definitely read anything involving Rhea and her hedgehog) and I will definitely be checking out Vernon’s other work.
The Verdict:
T Kingfisher (a pseudonym for Ursula Vernon) has written a clever fantasy coming-of-age tale with strong female characters and a whimsical sense of humour that offsets the dark imagery. Rhea is an intriguing main character - resourceful and self aware, she’s resilient without being unbelievable and I liked the different relationships she has with Maria (who lost her magic to Crevan), Sylvie (who lost her sight) and the cruel Ingeth (who lost her voice). The fantasy elements work well - I particularly enjoyed the sadness and cruelty underlying Rhea’s scenes with the golem wife while the scenes with the Clock Wife are weird, wonderful and frightening and involve some great concepts with time and space. The book is marketed as being for grown ups but to be honest, the coming of age and self-discovery themes here are perfectly suitable for a YA audience and while the imagery is dark, there’s a great Diana Wynne Jones vibe to the whole thing. All in all this is an enjoyable book with potential for a sequel (I would definitely read anything involving Rhea and her hedgehog) and I will definitely be checking out Vernon’s other work.
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.
15-year-old Rhea lives with her parents and aunt in a mill leased from the local viscount. Rhea knows that she isn’t particularly beautiful, smart or brave, which makes it all the more surprising when the mysterious Lord Crevan tells her parents that he wants to marry her. Everyone knows that something isn’t right, but Rhea can’t turn down a lord, nor can she refuse when Crevan demands that she stay with him in his enchanted manor house before the wedding.
The house is only accessible by a sinister white road that won’t allow Rhea to return home. Worse, on arrival Rhea discovers that Crevan is a sorcerer who’s married six times before and five of his wives are still alive and imprisoned with her in the house. Whatever Crevan wants from Rhea, he can only take by marrying her. But he’s willing to give her a chance. He’ll set her three magical tasks to complete and he’ll only marry her if she fails.
With the help of the other wives and a friendly hedgehog, Rhea must complete three tasks, each more bizarre and dangerous than the last and each of which will test her resourcefulness, compassion and courage.
T Kingfisher (a pseudonym for Ursula Vernon) has written a clever fantasy coming-of-age tale with strong female characters and a whimsical sense of humour that offsets the dark imagery. Rhea is an intriguing main character - resourceful and self aware, she’s resilient without being unbelievable and I liked the different relationships she has with Maria (who lost her magic to Crevan), Sylvie (who lost her sight) and the cruel Ingeth (who lost her voice). The fantasy elements work well - I particularly enjoyed the sadness and cruelty underlying Rhea’s scenes with the golem wife while the scenes with the Clock Wife are weird, wonderful and frightening and involve some great concepts with time and space. The book is marketed as being for grown ups but to be honest, the coming of age and self-discovery themes here are perfectly suitable for a YA audience and while the imagery is dark, there’s a great Diana Wynne Jones vibe to the whole thing. All in all this is an enjoyable book with potential for a sequel (I would definitely read anything involving Rhea and her hedgehog) and I will definitely be checking out Vernon’s other work.
The Verdict:
T Kingfisher (a pseudonym for Ursula Vernon) has written a clever fantasy coming-of-age tale with strong female characters and a whimsical sense of humour that offsets the dark imagery. Rhea is an intriguing main character - resourceful and self aware, she’s resilient without being unbelievable and I liked the different relationships she has with Maria (who lost her magic to Crevan), Sylvie (who lost her sight) and the cruel Ingeth (who lost her voice). The fantasy elements work well - I particularly enjoyed the sadness and cruelty underlying Rhea’s scenes with the golem wife while the scenes with the Clock Wife are weird, wonderful and frightening and involve some great concepts with time and space. The book is marketed as being for grown ups but to be honest, the coming of age and self-discovery themes here are perfectly suitable for a YA audience and while the imagery is dark, there’s a great Diana Wynne Jones vibe to the whole thing. All in all this is an enjoyable book with potential for a sequel (I would definitely read anything involving Rhea and her hedgehog) and I will definitely be checking out Vernon’s other work.