Novella Review – The Seventh Bride by T. Kingfisher (4/5 stars)
Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Historical Fantasy
Length: 237 pages
Publisher: 47North
Release Date: November 24, 2015
ASIN: B00XPNFDQK
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: Borrowed ebook through Kindle Unlimited
Rating: 4/5 stars
“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.”
Series Info/Source: This is a stand alone book. I borrowed this through Kindle Unlimited.
Thoughts: I really ended up enjoying this short novella. The premise is simple; Rhea is 15 year old girl who catches the eye of a mysterious nobleman, Lord Crevan. When she shows up at his doorstep to marry him, she finds out he already has a lot of wives and that something much darker is going on here. She must complete his quests in order to prevent actual marriage to him and she must unravel the larger story here if she is going to stop him in his dark plans once and for all.
This whole story has a grim fairy tale feel to it that I really enjoyed. I love Kingfisher’s writing style and continued to enjoy it here as well. Rhea is an excellent character and the other wives she meets are just as wonderful in their way. I really enjoyed watching Rhea unweave the mysteries of Lord Crevan’s manor and then watching her work with the women there to stop his dark doings.
This was a quick and well done story that I really had a fun time reading!
My Summary (4/5): Overall I really enjoyed this a lot. There is a lot of intriguing story in this short novella and I loved all the mystery, fairy tale elements, and the characters. I would recommend this if you are looking for a well done dark fairy tale about dark sorcery and mysterious quests.
