Foxmask- Juliet Marillier

This is a companion book to Wolfskin, however this novel can stand alone just fine. It is the story of young Creidhe, a talented weaver who follows her best friend and love interest Thorvald on a quest to find his father who was banished from the Light Isles in disgrace. Thorvald and his friend Sam set out in Sam's fishing boat and Creidhe stows away in the hold--she is convinced that Thorvald needs her even if he refuses her help. Sounds like a healthy relationship, I know. Anyway so per maritime tradition, they get caught in a storm and wind up on another island, where the people are living in terror of the Unspoken (a mysterious people, desperate to find their missing seer called the Foxmask). Thorvald and Sam are put to work to "earn" the supplies they will need to repair the ship. Creidhe, on the other hand, is taken away to stay with the other women in isolation. However, evil is brewing as "The Hunt" approaches and the men are determined to find the missing Foxmask before another sacrifice is made.

Overall Merit: I didn't love this book as I found the premise confusing. It took me a while to actually wrap my head around the whole Foxmask concept and  I found some of Creidhe's inaction to be slightly out of character. The romance was also a bit disconcerting and while I enjoy Marillier's writing as a general rule, this was not one of her stronger books. Score- 6

Characters- I don't know if the author intended for the male protagonist (Thorvald) to be so utterly irritating. I did not like him at all and I think she tried to make him somewhat sympathetic, but I could not make myself like him. Creidhe was muddled, sometimes her voice was clear and other times she sounded like a different person entirely. By the end she also started to irritate me. The main antagonist, the chief of the Long Knife People, got to be annoying as well, he was too cliched suave villain stereotype. Definitely not Marillier's best characters. Score-5

Blush Factor- This was definitely PG-13 (I'm going off the fact that they let Breaking Dawn slide through those cracks), there was a sex scene between Creidhe and an unexpected character. However, in terms of the quality of the romance, I found the sequencing frustrating. True, people are often dense in terms of feelings, but Creidhe was literally beating Thorvald over the head with a valentine. It annoyed me. There was an unexpected plot twist, which helped make up for it a little bit, but even then, this new relationship was creepy and based purely on physical attraction. Score-6

Structure- The structure was linear, switching perspectives between Thorvald and Creidhe. It was easy to follow, but as always I find myself more enamored with one perspective over the other. While I didn't love either narrators, Creidhe was definitely more interesting. The writing was succinct and crisp as expected from Marillier. Score-8

Plot- It was definitely original, there was no lack of creativity in the world or the story, but at some places it seemed very forced and there were some things that didn't quite do it for me in terms of "suspending my disbelief". One such example is the protocol followed for the Foxmask, I didn't quite buy the whole leg breaking, eye gouging bit. Either way, points for creativity. Score-8

In summation, I'd only suggest reading this book if you read Wolfskin first and feel compelled to follow the world a little bit more. Otherwise, probably not worth your time. You'd be much better off with any of Marillier's other books.