Beautiful story, pretty solid narration

Dreamer’s Pool by Juliet Marillier is a beautiful fairytale full of broken characters and a disturbing mystery. If you are tired of worrying about romance ruining perfectly good friendships, but also kind of like the sweet naïveté of the adorable secondary characters sometimes, Dreamer’s Pool is probably your book. Dreamer’s Pool is also your book if you love writing that just keeps pulling you back in and character development that wrenches your heart but makes your proud at the same time. Basically, Dreamer’s Pool is rockin’ and the narration of the audiobook is pretty darn good as well!
Note: I received an audiobook copy of Dreamer’s Pool from the publisher. Audiobooks change my experience with the story.

Dreamer's Pool by Juliet Marillier
Narrated by Natalie Gold, Nick Sullivan, Scott Aiello
(Blackthorn and Grim #1)
Published by Roc on Nov. 4th, 2014
Genres: Adult, Fantasy
Length: 448 pages
How I got my copy: Publisher

In exchange for help escaping her long and wrongful imprisonment, embittered magical healer Blackthorn has vowed to set aside her bid for vengeance against the man who destroyed all that she once held dear. Followed by a former prison mate, a silent hulk of a man named Grim, she travels north to Dalriada. There she'll live on the fringe of a mysterious forest, duty bound for seven years to assist anyone who asks for her help.

Oran, crown prince of Dalriada, has waited anxiously for the arrival of his future bride, Lady Flidais. He knows her only from a portrait and sweetly poetic correspondence that have convinced him Flidais is his destined true love. But Oran discovers letters can lie. For although his intended exactly resembles her portrait, her brutality upon arrival proves she is nothing like the sensitive woman of the letters.

With the strategic marriage imminent, Oran sees no way out of his dilemma. Word has spread that Blackthorn possesses a remarkable gift for solving knotty problems, so the prince asks her for help. To save Oran from his treacherous nuptials, Blackthorn and Grim will need all their resources: courage, ingenuity, leaps of deduction, and more than a little magic.

Strengths:
Blackthorn and Grim are both very troubled and broken main characters (so of course I adored them to no end), but they are balanced well with our third main character, Oran, who is such a hopeless romantic that I probably wouldn’t have been able to tolerate him without Blackthorn’s amusing assessments. Oran is not just a naive prince though, he is knowledgeable about the law and cares for his people, which makes it all the more amusing when he is confronted by surly Blackthorn and silent Grim ;-).
You’d think that three points-of-view would be too much, but it worked quite well, with each character having a very distinct voice. The audiobook has three narrators, too, so that helped a lot. Each of the narrators portrays their character very well and I kind of want to find Grim’s narrator and just give him a hug!
I can’t tell you the last time I came across an adult story with a man and a woman being JUST FRIENDS! Blackthorn and Grim are very clearly just friends from the start and it was so refreshing to see their friendship and trust develop without any worry about relationship angst.
The writing and mystery of Dreamer’s Pool is so addicting. I found myself doing extra chores around the apartment, listening while walking and driving and any other excuse I could find. I even kept listening while icing my forehead from eyestrain! I just had to know what happened next!!!
You find out very quickly that Blackthorn and Grim are in prison and it has been a very tough prison sentence. Thinking back on where they both were at the start of Dreamer’s Pool now that I know how much they grow and recover from their trauma, I can’t help but be impressed by the character development that Marillier smoothly pulls off.
There are some seriously hairy issues in Dreamer’s Pool and I applaud Marillier for not shying away from them and giving Blackthorn a voice to shout what so many of us wish we could. I don’t want to give anything away, but there were definitely times when my eyes got quite big because I just didn’t expect Marillier to pull it off but she does!
Dreamer’s Pool is the start of a series but stands alone quite well. You’ll be relieved to know that there will be more Blackthorn and Grim adventures though as soon as you’re at the end of Dreamer’s Pool. I certainly can’t wait to hear what they’ll be up to next!

Weaknesses:
Oran’s narration is the one exception to the otherwise excellent narration choices. He has some quirks such as a very strange and rather annoying voice for Oran’s manservant and close friend. I was kind of relieved when that character faded to the background because he was so annoying to listen to at first.
Major trigger warning for sexual violence in Dreamer’s Pool. Those tough issues I mention above? Yeah, they involve some pretty horrible things done to innocents. Nothing is graphically depicted, but I got sad just thinking about it myself so I want to make sure others are warned in case you’re more sensitive to those subjects.

Summary:
Dreamer’s Pool is an excellent choice for fantasy fans and promises to be just the beginning for a great series. I was guessing right up until the end and am thrilled to have been able to listen to the audio version so I could fit in lots of extra reading time ;-). I am now quite convinced that I need to go read everything else Marillier has written because there is just something downright addictive about her storytelling!

132 people found this helpful

Enjoyed it, but lags a bit.

I debated between giving this 3 or 4 stars for the story. On the one hand, I quite enjoyed the adult fairytale, but on the other, there were times I was exacerbated by the author repeating things over and over and the "mystery" was rather transparent. This could have been edited down a lot more. I found myself sometimes thinking: "Yeah, we get it—now get on with the story!" There was a lot of build up to a revelation that was pretty obvious. There was a small twist to mystery that I hadn't guessed, but overall, no surprises.

In spite of the complaints above, the characters and world are pretty well-developed and I found it a relief after wading through a number of really bad fantasy and paranormal romances I've listened to recently to just read a nice, decently written fairy tale.

I wish this story's plot was a little more complex, but it was a pleasant and refreshing book and I will be checking out more by this author. This is a good book to listen to while you are doing something else.

The narration is excellent. All three do a good job and it was nice having different narrators reading the 3 main characters' perspectives.t

54 people found this helpful

A true fairytale, dark and yet full of light

Dreamer's Pool was an amazing book! A true fairytale full of darkness, despair and a fair amount of hope. As this is my first time reading Juliet Marilier I already know it won't be my last. Her writing has the perfect tone and flow to it, able to elicit from me a perfect balance of emotions that kept me wrapped up in the story and aching to get back to it at every chance. There are a handful of mysteries in this story and ache to be solved and each one leads in seamlessly to the next giving the reading experience that perfect pacing that I think must be so hard for authors to deliver. Indeed Marillier created amazing characters that I as the reader connected with immediately and felt were perfectly flawed in their humanity. The world building was given an excellent amount of attention and delivered in such a way that I never felt like it was too much or too little. It all call across in a natural way through the observations and daily lives of the 3 main characters. And speaking of characters....

A jaded woman with a dark and mysterious past.

Blackthorn - She starts out this story as the prisoner of a nasty High Chieftain named Mathuin. It's obvious to us that she has been wronged greatly in some way and accused of crimes that it doesn't sound like she committed, but it will be some long time the book before we find out all of the reasons she hates Mathuin. Imprisoned for the past year she has been beaten, abused and practically broken. And on the eve of her trial she is told that rather then honoring the law of every prisoner receiving a trial, the Chieftain is going to have her quietly murdered. But that night a fae, Conmael, comes along and offers her a bargain. Her life and freedom in exchange for 7 years of service in a town far away from there, where she must serve as a healer and wise woman to all those who ask for help as long as that help requested isn't something that would be harmful to themselves or others. She must cast aside her desire for revenge for these 7 years. So of course faced with certain death you'd take the bargain, and so she does. But it seems to be a bitter pill for her to swallow because she is still burning inside for revenge, filled with rage over all of the injustices visited upon her in the past she is surly and mistrustful and does not like the company of people let alone the thought of helping almost who ask.

The big hulking man is actually quiet and full of painful nightmares

Grim - A big strapping ogre of a man with a dark past of his own. He is a fellow prisoner in the same jail as Blackthorn. And the day Blackthorn's fae savior Conmael sets things in motion to free her, it is Grim who actually aids her in escaping. When he escapes as well he makes it his personal mission to be Blackthorns protector. She grudgingly allows him to accompany her to the town of Winterfalls where they set themselves up in a cottage bordering the mysterious Dreamer's Pool and Woods. He doesn't talk much and he is one of the main POVs but he doesn't get as much on air time as Blackthorn and the additional POV of Prince Oran but I definitely became attached to him and ache to know more. He suffers nightmares and because of that doesn't sleep much and when he does has a tendency to talk in his sleep. Even when he isn't sleeping at night he'll gibber jabber to himself. Something from the past haunts him and I am so intrigued to find out what it is!

The quintessential fairy tale prince

Prince Oran - He's everything you'd want in a fairytale prince. He reads, writes poetry, believes in romance, the stories and cares about his people and being fair to everyone. Sounds like the perfect man right? His parents believe him to be a complete dreamer with his head stuck in the clouds and insist he needs to settle down and get married and start doing his duties in preparation for when he will someday be king. He finally gives in because he just so happens to fall in love with the portrait of a young girl his mother has brought to his attention as a good candidate for marriage. He soon starts a heartfelt chain of correspondence with this young Lady Flidais that leads to their betrothal. But when Lady Flidais arrives she is not everything that he had come to believe from her letters. Indeed she is nothing like the Flidais of her letters and Oran is left with a despairing heart, crushed dreams and wonders who he can turn to in order to sort out the dilemma he is in.

I cannot recommend Dreamer's Pool highly enough. As with books that I adore if I start out listening to them on audio and fall in love with them I feel compelled to not only listen to the audio version but read the print version as well. (The spelling of many of the names was not what I expected from hearing the narrated version) I would highly recommend either format. The narration was done by 3 different narrators and was one of the best I've listened to this year (or ever even). The print always suits me as well when I want to really soak something in and feel like I need to revisit details at my own pace. This is definitely among my top pick of fantasy books for 2014!

59 people found this helpful

decent book let down by poor narration

I'm a big fan of "Daughter of the Forest" one of Juliet Marillier's other books, so I thought I'd give this series a try. I don't know if the story was as poor (especially in comparison to Daughter of the Forest) as it seemed, or if iffy narration just made it seem that way. It wasn't that it was a bad book by any stretch (hence the four stars), but neither the story nor the narration were that good (hence the lower scores on those). I don't think I need to go into plot details, they're up there in the summary if you need them.

First the easy: narration. Could they not have found Irish narrators for a story set in Ireland? Ok that aside, the narrator for Oran was really aggravating. Prince Oran is already pretty naive as a character and the narration really emphasizes this, and I really hated the character even more because of that. Not having any sympathy for a character that's a third of the book kind of makes things drag.

Now the tricky: plot. As adult fairy tales go, this one was enjoyable if rather predictable. I'm not sure if the characters should have figured it out far sooner in the book or if the incessant repetition of the author just made it seem like they should have. That's the book's main flaw, it repeats everything a bunch of times. Frankly, I think the whole thing might have been more enjoyable if 90% of Oran's chapters were cut out. In fact, I'm pretty sure 100% of Oran's chapters could have been avoided. Moral of the story, make sure you're busy doing something else while you listen, because there are definitely slow parts you can sort of only half pay attention to.

A slightly more nit-picking criticism from a history buff, I found the entire concept of justice and systems of justice in the book rather anachronistic. Phrases like "due process" just don't ring true when you are talking about medieval systems. Maybe I let it bother me too much, but there seemed to me to be quite a divide between the theoretical system of justice which apparently exists in this society and the situation that Blackthorne and Grimm are in at the beginning of the book.

Lastly, I found myself not entirely happy with the ending. For a book that goes on and on about justice and find fairy tale endings for other crises in the book I was rather unsatisfied with how things ended, but to discuss it further would be spoilers, so make your own verdict at the end!

21 people found this helpful

In the middle

Nice story but very slow moving. I never really got into it, but I didn’t hate it.

8 people found this helpful

Not for me

I've stood all I could stand and kept persevering, but another predictable plot twist has arrived and I've had enough.
I understand Marillier has a number of great books, but on the basis of this one, I won't be testing her out for some time.
Very disappointing.

7 people found this helpful

great writing; great narration

liked the writing style. liked the narration. Didn't like the unrelenting focus on male abuse of women. Was a theme that overshadowed the whole novel.

6 people found this helpful

Wanted to like this, annoying characters ruined it

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

I think the print copy, when you can skim the many annoying/repetitive passages where the heroine is just being a b*tch or where the prince is acting like an angst ridden teenager would be a better format. Listening on audio was excruciating.

Would you ever listen to anything by Juliet Marillier again?

Not sure

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of the narrators?

I prefer one narrator - but the format of having different narrators worked okay given chapters were told in only one in character's voice (so having a distinct narrator for each voice wasn't as grating as some multi character narrations can be.)

Any additional comments?

I read/listen to a lot of fantasy so this book popped up quite often in my various feeds I decided to give it a try based on the reviews. I really like the initial premise but the personality of the main female character was grating. I think if the author had shown more earlier of why she acted this way (and why Grim acted the way he did) I'd have put up with the story - there's a lot you can forgive a character for when you know the reasons behind why they act the way that they do. I got not quite half way through and then skipped to the end, I just couldn't stand the character any more (so I have no idea if the back story was ever shared!). And don't get me started on Price Oren's lovelorn angst.

6 people found this helpful

Great read

Dreamer's Pool is an engrossing story! It takes a while to get to the main mystery because a lot of time is spent establishing the world and the main characters. But it didn't feel like an info dump and there are plenty of interesting subplots that support the main one.

The bulk of the story is actually about how Blackthorn and Grim break out of prison, their journey north, and how they begin rebuild their lives. They both have experienced traumas -many not shared with the audience- in their pasts that clearly affects how they think and view the world. It all builds up to them helping the prince in the last third of the book. The Prince's narrative is interwoven with theirs even though it takes a while for them to truly connect.

There are three POVs (B, G, and the prince) and they change every chapter. They each have a corresponding narrator. I think they all did a good job, especially Grim's narrator. It was like being inside the characters' heads and hearing their own internal narration.

I would recommend this book if you like mysteries and fantasy where magic is understated. There is no romance between Blackthorn and Grim if that's a deal breaker/maker.

6 people found this helpful

Good solid listen

Where does Dreamer's Pool rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This book was worth the time spent listening. The story was engaging, even if somewhat predictable. Did not make me want to sit in the car to hear what happened next, shame.

What did you like best about this story?

Predictable but likeable characters

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

They all did an okay job.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No

18 people found this helpful