Heart's Blood by Juliet Marillier

‘You could come on with me.’ The man’s tone had changed. ‘I’ve got a roof, supper, a comfortable bed. For a pretty little thing like you, there’s other ways of paying.’

Title: Heart's Blood
Author: Juliet Marillier
ISBN: 9780230017917
Publisher: Pan MacMillan/2009
Pages: 56o

When Caitrin arrives at Whistling Tor, she is seeking a safe haven for herself. From her demons. Both in her mind and physically too. A deeply mysterious place, most people avoid the deep, haunted forest. There is this cursed castle and a chieftain who is considered a weakling. Anluan is a cripple and doesn't seem to have much stamina. He doesn't know how to redeem his people from that curse. A curse that no one understands. The presence of spirits known as host. They are everywhere and only Anluan is capable of controlling them. But for how long? Who are those unknown spirits? Were they people once?

Caitrin is a scribe and she is hired by Anluan to unravel the family secrets. As he can't write because he can't use his right hand much. Caitrin, while doing her work, discovers secrets which affect her too. She can understand Anluan's torment and knows that there has to be a way to find a solution. Although no one can say how.

In the midst of it, she is ordered out of Whistling Tor by Anluan and she leaves it to face her own demons. And succeeds too. However, she knows she has to go back to Anluan and his people. She has fallen in love with them. All of a sudden, she has a vision of who/what is responsible for the curse. Only she can break the curse with the help of Anluan.

It is a beautiful gothic love story, with the suspense intact until the end. It is also a story of the Beauty and the Beast. Those who like fantasy, romance, mystery, suspense, all told in a skillful way, will like this book very much. I enjoyed it immensely. One of my best reads of 2009.