I can always sink into a Marillier story. There's so much lore and mystery seeped into every page that it's easy to get whisked away into the land of the Folk and their secrets.

I think some parts dragged on at times parts of the mission were verrry slow; sometimes nothing seemed like it was progressing. I think one of my favorite characters was Dau - his growth is momentous and personal story is so moving.

Overall, another lovely fantasy from one of my favorite authors.

DNF this is probably a "it's me not the book" situation. It has everything I should have enjoyed, but it just didn't click for me. I might try again in the future.

The story is pretty straightforward: warrior spies in training vie for the approval of their superiors and, hoping to secure a permanent place among them, are set upon a mission that will test their abilities, both as individuals and as a cohesive team. Once they reach their destination, the landscape—both political and literal—becomes less straightforward. Intrigue, lore, and a touch of fae magic converge to keep the three perpetually unbalanced and seeking to resolve those parts of the case which call to their individual narratives.

My long ago written review disappeared about as soon as I wrote it.
I love the lush descriptive writing that is a hallmark of Juliet Marillier's novels.
This book follows three warriors in training from an elite force specializing in anything to do with magic. These warriors in the making each have abilities and a goal to join the Swan Island elite forces.
Liobhan, Brocc her brother, and Dau another trainee, are undercover as traveling minstrels seeking the "harp of kings" needed for the new kings' coronation.
Beautiful prose, lushly written, this is another example of Marillier's ability to tell a great tale.
Thank you Ace Publishing, and NetGalley for the ARC.
Opinions expressed are entirely my own.

Marillier's classic writing style filled with vast world-building and lush descriptions always fill like a comfort read for me. This one delivered for me, but it took two separate attempts to fall into the story. Probably just me, but that didn't stop me from purchasing for my library.

The start of a series, the Harp of Kings introduced us to a shadowy organization that performs contract missions. In this book, their mission is to recover a stolen harp for a coronation ceremony, and the story is told from three points of view, warrior-like Liobahn, her brother Brocc, and wildcard Dau. The three are all working to be fully inducted into the organization, depending on how this mission goes.

The book is a bit slow in my opinion through the first half, but picks up quite a bit in the back half. Each character’s storyline had it’s own unique feel to it and spin. The characters at 18 do feel a bit like this could be attractive to the New Adult fantasy readers, though it read closer to adult than YA. The world-building was strong, the characters were good but hard to connect with, and at times the pacing felt off.

I did enjoy the relatively minor but compelling romantic storyline. It didn’t need to be included, but the slow burn build up between Liobahn and Dau was a fun addition. It felt almost enemies to friends (to lovers?) which I am sure will continue to be explored through the rest of the series and felt very natural for book one.

One interesting component of this was the harp that they were searching for. Initially you are probably thinking that a harp shouldn’t require an entire secret ops team, but the harp itself has an interesting mythology to it. It is actually required to be played at the coronation of a new ruler. If it isn’t played or if no sound comes from it’s strings, the new ruler will be rejected. This was an interesting element to build the plot around.

The Harp of Kings is a story about 3 warriors-in-training. Liobhan, her brother Brocc, and Dau sent on a mission to retrieve a missing harp from another kingdom, before its king-in-waiting is crowned. The book switches between the characters' POV and I love that I got a glimpse of their thoughts and feelings throughout the mission.

For the mission, our characters are assigned new identities as they disguise themselves as travelling minstrels. Liobhan struggled with this quite often since her disguise dictated a lot of what she can say/do in a place brimming with misogyny. I would make a terrible spy if I were in her shoes, I can never keep a straight face when I disagree with anything. I love Liobhan's character and how she grew from the beginning to the end of their journey.

I was also invested in Dau's story. In the beginning he seemed arrogant and unlikable, but reading his POV as he slowly shared more about his past gave me a better understanding of how he turned out to be and the ways he is trying to be better. There is a hint of potential romance between Dau and Liobhan and I'm all for slow burn romances.

I love Juliet Marillier and her Daughter of the Forest books. I didn't enjoy the Harp of Kings as much but I think it's mainly because it's a great introduction to a series, whereas each book in the Daughter of the Forest series could stand on their own. This is a promising first book! I'm curious to see where the story goes from here.

Juliet Marillier will always be a favorite author of mine and this one is no exception. I appreciate her world building and character developments.

This was my first book by Marillier and it did not disappoint. A story about 3 warriors training for a spot in an elite group that set off on an important mission to save a kingdom from dissent and chaos.

Let me start by saying that, while the book is the first in a series, it wraps things up enough to give you some good closure until you can get your hands on the next one.

I really loved the characters and the glimpses we got about their past. Brocc was my least favorite to read about but even then his story kept me turning the pages.

While some of the story might be a bit predictable it was entertaining from start to finish and I can't wait to get my hands on book #2!

Lush with magic and adventure, The Harp of Kings is a great read for any existing fans of Juliet Marillier or anyone who loves fantasy, really. If you've read her other series, you'll recognize the world here, as the story is set several years after her Blackthorn and Grim books. The Harp of Kings follows two siblings who set off on their adventure to retrieve a magical artifact, armed with music-based magic and their wits.

I love the way Juliet Marillier writes, and her magic always transports me to her worlds. Beyond that, her narratives always manage to be quite character-driven despite how much adventure there is, and her sibling duo (plus Dau) is fun to follow as they come face to face with their own shortcomings and overcome them.

A must for any fans of that classic, timeless kind of high fantasy.

Review copy provider by the publisher/netgally in exchange for a review.

This was my first Julie Marillier novel and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I love fantasy and when it melds with lore. Bards are such fascinating members of folklore. Liobhan and Brocc are brother and sister and are training to be skilled mercenaries. I love the journey of the characters and their growth. Looking forward to the next books in this series.

I think I simply read this at the wrong time: when light stakes fantasy young adult novels were not my cup of tea. It is not poorly written or conceived; it was just not for me.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley for an honest review.

I tried a couple of times and could not get into this book. The characters just came across really dry and boring, which is to bad because the characters are usually what draws me into Juliet Marillier's books.

Actually, 2.5 stars
Liobhan is a warrior with her brother Brocc. They are joined by their fellow warrior named Dau to find a missing harp, which is a sign of kingship. With this harp, the crown prince can be crowned and easily transition to the throne. However, when they arrive, they realize that all is not as it seems. Liobhan learns that the Crown Prince is cruel and that the fae world may be involved. What is the truth behind the missing harp?

The Warrior Bards is a spin-off from Blackthorn & Grim novels. This series focuses on Blackthorn and Grim’s children. However, I found it to be a complete departure from the original series. The new series was not as engaging as the previous series. While Blackthorn and Grim focused on enchanting fairy tales, The Warrior Bard series focused on gritty politics and was more realistic with a dash of fantasy mixed in.

The characters were very bland. Going into this story, I expected to see many action scenes with Liobhan fighting many battles. However, I barely got any fighting scenes. Instead, Liobhan was mostly a servant in the castle. This was disappointing because this was not what I was promised in the novel. Liobhan also did not seem like a strong character. She was mostly a damsel-in-distress that needed saving. Thus, Liobhan was very different from how Mrs. Marillier portrays her heroines. Her usual heroines are tough, who go through challenges and are forced to make difficult choices. However, Liobhan does not seem to struggle as much and does not have to make any hard choices. Her brother, Brocc, was the typical handsome singer with not much personality. Dau is the usual brooding rich boy who is the usual stereotypical love interest.

Overall, this novel is full of courtly intrigue, music, and politics. Mrs. Marillier has always excelled in writing gorgeous prose and this is no different. The world-building is well-crafted. However, the story is not as magical as her previous works. The story is simple and slow moving. It is not a character-driven story because they do not have hardly any depth to them. Thus, I recommend it for those that are interested in reading about female warriors. However, for those who wish to get lost in Mrs. Marillier’s mystical world, I advise you to stick to her previous novels.

4.5 stars

This is not my first Juliet Marillier novel, but it is the start of a new love of her novels. I had read a couple back in high school/college (I think?) and I enjoyed them. I know I did, or at least I remember good feelings when I think back on what I read…not that I can tell you much about them. I remember that they had that enchanting fairy tale feeling to them and a feeling that the story and characters were good, but I certainly don’t recall any specifics.

With this book, I do remember some specifics, even though I read it over a year ago. It is basically a historical fantasy from a fantasy UK. There is magic and espionage and political maneuvering and plotting going on, plus rivalries and even a little bit of romance. Oh and a little bit of family drama.

Liobhan was a great leading lady, and I found myself very quickly drawn into this story, and wanting to know if she would manage to pull her mission off.

I also greatly enjoyed the writing style. It did have this mystical fantastical historical feel to the phrasing and the style. While I flew through this book and read it at various points throughout the day, it has the feel of a bedtime story to me, one that will have you off in a magical dreamland soon enough.

There were some twists and turns and setbacks, as there are with most books, and I can admit that I did not see the conflict resolution and ending coming, so that was fun. I do really want to read the sequel, hopefully sometime soon, but I’m feeling like I might want to re-read this one first, just so I can definitely have all the characters and details fresh in my mind. Plus, it’s just nice to revisit stories you enjoyed, right?

It’s hard to put into words how much I loved this book! It pulled me in right away. I loved the undercover mission the trainees are sent on, the Celtic mythology woven in, the bonds of friendship that develop, the wonderful close brother/ sister relationship, the descriptions, everything. This will be going in my “worth reading again” folder :)

I have tried to read this book a couple of times since receiving an e-arc, but it just isn't working for me. I've loved other books by this author, but I do find that I am struggling more and more with reading as an escape from life as the pandemic continues and political opinions are spewed. What I'm trying to say is that although this isn't working for me right now, I do hope to read it in the future when things get closer to normal. Thank you for sharing this opportunity.

I am a huge fan of Juliet Marillier, but I am sorry to say that this one fell a bit flat for me. However, I am sure that she will continue the series, and I will continue to read her, because there is truly no one like her out on the market. She is very talented and I love the worlds she creates. I just wish I had liked this one more. But try it out for yourself, because she is very lovely.

Growing up, Juliet Marillier was one of my favorite authors. I can’t even remember how many times I reread her Sevenwaters series. But somehow I never got around to reading any of her other series until now. And The Harp of Kings is a good start to a new series, although it took me a while to sink back into Marillier’s slower storytelling pace. I actually started this one twice because I just couldn’t connect with the story at first.

However, The Harp of Kings does build up some momentum after the reader is introduced to the characters and their mission. Liobhan was a wonderful main character and I enjoyed seeing her grow throughout the course of the novel. The parts that I found most interesting were those when her personality clashed with that of the guise she had adopted to go undercover and investigate the mystery of the missing harp (which happened regularly given how misogynistic the kingdom they were visiting was). While the other POVs were interesting, I never really felt connected to the characters. Luckily, the mystery itself was interesting and it was fun to see how everything came together at the end.

The Harp of Kings is a good book to enjoy on a quiet, rainy afternoon when you have the time to sit down and enjoy the slower pace.

*Disclaimer: I received an advance digital copy of this book for free from the publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Juliet Marillier wrote my absolute favorite book but this is not that book. The Harp of Kings relies on tropes galore and utterly lacked the magic of other Marillier books. I found myself bored by the predictable nature of the book and the lack of character growth. I would recommend many other Marillier books before ever even thinking of this one.