Daughter of the Forest (The Sevenwaters Trilogy, Book 1)
At the heart of this surprisingly accomplished first novel, first book  of the Sevenwaters trilogy, is a retelling of an ancient Celtic legend.  Marillier's story, however, is much more than a slightly disguised fairy tale.  Young Sorcha is the seventh child and only daughter of Irish Lord Colum of  Sevenwaters, a domain well protected from invading Saxons and Britons by dense  forest where, legend says, fey Deirdre, the Lady of the Forest, walks the  woodland paths at night. Colum is first and foremost a warrior, bent on  maintaining his lands against all outsiders. Not all of his sons are so bound to  the old ways, and that family friction leads to outright disobedience when  Sorcha and her brother Finbar help a Briton captive escape from Colum's dungeon.  Soon after, Colum brings home a new wife who ensorcels everyone she can't  otherwise manipulate. By her spell Sorcha's brothers are cursed to become swans.  Only Sorcha, hiding deep in the forest, can break the spell by painfully weaving  shirts of starwort nettle--but then Sorcha is captured by Britons and taken away  across the sea. Determined to break the curse despite her captivity, Sorcha  continues to work, little expecting that ultimately she will have to chose  between saving her brothers and protecting the Briton lord who has defended her  throughout her trials. Marillier's writing is deft and heartfelt, bypassing the  usual bombast of fantasy fireworks for a rich, magical story of loyalty and  love.--Charlene Brusso