Dreamer's Pool by Juliet Marillier

  Did you ever pick up a book only to realize that you've read it before but so long ago that it's just outside of what you remember?  Happened to me with this book.  I started reading it and it felt so familiar that I scoured my shelves thinking that I had bought it before.  I couldn't find it and then I wondered if I was going crazy but I knew way too much about the book, including the resolution of the central mystery.  I can only conclude that I bought it, didn't like it, gave it away, and then rebought it.  The good news is that I liked it much better the second time, even if I did end up skipping all the parts not featuring the two main characters.

Blackthorn was facing an ignominious death in prison at the hands of a corrupt nobleman when a fey mysteriously arrives and offers her freedom if she will forgo vengeance for seven years and also agree to help anyone who asks her for it during that time.  She is unhappy with the idea but agrees, escaping prison with Grim, a huge nearly silent man.  The two travel north to help Prince Oran, a young man betrothed to the beautiful Lady Flidais.  Except the Flidais who arrives is not the same woman Oran fell in love with through letters.  Oran asks Blackthorn to uncover the reason why his fiancée has exhibited such a drastic shift in personality.

All the parts featuring Oran's point of view were annoying and I found myself skimming over them for pertinent plot information.  However, the parts featuring Blackthorn and to a lesser extent Grim were very engaging.  As a character, Blackthorn is interesting and flawed because of trauma and injustice she's received at the hands of others.  I almost didn't care about her backstory because her present was so entertaining as she attempts to navigate a world she no longer feels a connection with at all.  I plan on picking up the second book in the series and I hope it focuses more on Blackthorn and less on secondary characters.