I can't wait for THE MARSH KING'S DAUGHTER to come out in June! I loved the sampler and was hooked.

As it's only a sampler, it's really hard to say if the book will deliver. The first couple of pages read well and feel topical and authentic. I like the homestead feel to the protagonist's outlook and the writer makes the reader feel the heat, smell the jams etc. I'd be interested to read the whole book.

I was drawn in from the introduction of this book. I could not put it down by the end of page three, I only had a sampler but want to know about what happens to Helena and her family and how does she deal with the hand she has been dealt. Definitely a book I want to read.

I did not realize this was just a sample, although it's clearly marked as such. So I'm no able to give much of a review. The writing flowed well.

I can't wait to read the whole novel. This sample just wasn't enough!!!

Review to follow after I have read the whole book.

Can only say from this sampler and the way the first chapter ended im super excited to read this book .. !!

Thank you for the sample I received.

I adored the short story at the beginning of the book; it sent a chill up my spine and I wonder if it will foreshadow events to come.

What a great start to a book. Helena is a young mother to 2 children, her husband is a photographer and she makes and sells jams and preserves. Her childhood was idyllic until she is rescued age 12 from the man who kept her mother captive and who is her father; the Marsh King.
As the sample ends Helena hears a new report that a prisoner considered armed and dangerous is on the run less than 30 miles from her home. The prisoner is her father and she is the one responsible for his incarceration.

What a cliff hanger, I can't wait to read the rest.

Fantastic sampler just wish it was a whole book cant wait to read the rest of this book i will definatly be buying it. This was a thrilling read that kept me wanting more and when id finished the sample id wished i never started it because i hate reading a book thats so good but i cant finish it fantastic i would have given 5 stars had i been able to finish it

The Marsh King's Daughter

Wow, I'm hooked and this was only a sample so now I'm hanging, wishing the sample was the whole book!

The prologue and first chapter had truly drawn me in. Helena is now an adult with daughters of her own, but was born in 'captivity'; her father had abducted her mother and held her captive. Helena knew nothing of this until she was no longer a captive.

Helena helped to put her father behind bars, but now he has killed two guards and escaped from prison...where will he go next and what will happen? I have to wait for the rest of the book to find out!!

With thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a sample of this book. 4* so far...

Wow! Thanks for letting me read this excerpt. I love the writing and Dionne's control over the tension that builds from the first paragraph. I can hardly wait to read the rest of the book when it's published. It's beautiful and thrilling, all at once.

I think that the best review of this sampler is the fact that I groaned when I came to the end of it! More please!

Oh what a great way to start this story. From the first page I was totally absorbed into the words. I love how descriptive the author is. I'm really curious about Helenas story.

I don't normally read samplers but I was very curious about this story after reading the blurb. Now I'm chomping at the bit to read more

I was kindly allowed to read a sampler of this story and am looking forward to reading it all.

They say don’t judge a book by its cover – but it can often take you on that first step to be interested in the book.
I don’t like to read the comments even on a cover and certainly never want to know what it is about until I have started it in earnest.
I don’t as a rule go in for reading the first sentence, paragraph or chapter before choosing a book.
However, I am propelled towards many books and my, to read, list grows quicker than I can read them.
The Marsh King’s Daughter was a book I wanted to read and have waited patiently to be granted the opportunity to read it via NetGalley
This is unlikely to happen due to the take out response, so I was left with the prospect of a sampler.
So as much as it goes against my preferred approach to reading, here is my review, 1 chapter into The Marsh King’s Daughter.
The first thing I learned is it is also the title of a Hans Christian Andersen story. Therefore liking the title it was interesting to find out how Karen Dionne might create a modern story with this title.
Apart from “Calling the shots” a 5 page short, short story I haven’t read this author another fine reason to read this book; or the first chapter.
Helena has an unusual past. She alludes to this, but it is reflected in her independence, her determination to bring up her girls her own way and her closeness to her husband, a reliance on his support and counsel. Her past not yet fully explained appears not to be something she has shared even with him. So much is inferred here that chapter one sets up the rest of the novel beautifully and does just what any first chapter should in my opinion. Makes you wants to read on.
I loved the group activity of snuggling on the beach to watch meteors shoot across the night sky and the expectation that they may return to observe the Northern Lights. We know that this is now changed, as Helena listens to the news that an escaped convict is on loose and probably heading towards her. He poses a real threat, he has the capacity to reveal her past, he has a score to settle with her and he was her father. Someone, she shares a troubled past with but someone who has no place in her constructed future.

Thanks so much Netgalley and publishers for this sample of 'The Marsh King's Daughter'.
It is a bittersweet taste at coming to the end of it,you want to know all about the narrator's backstory at the same time as wanting to know she and her children are safe in the present.
Taking its inspiration from the classic eponymous fairytale,'The Marsh King's Daughter' is going to be an early contender for thriller of the year.

Even though this was just the first chapter and the introduction, I'm HOOKED! I cannot wait for the book to release. Just enough mystery to start with to spark your interest and want to get to know Helena even more.

The intro begins with Helena introducing us to her mother. How her mother's name is one everyone will know because, like Elizabeth Smart and Jaycee Dugard, she was taken from her family at a young age (and kept for more than a decade later). But the story isn't about her mother, it's about her. We follow Helena on a normal morning for her and her daughter, when her day comes to a screeching halt. The radio is announcing that a dangerous criminal has escaped prison, has more than likely killed some guards in the process, and that he's headed for the marshlands. Helena quickly realizes, this escapee, is the man she put in prison for life - the man that kidnapped her mother and kept them hostage in the marsh - her father.

Talk about an opening chapter! I'm so anxious to get my hands on a copy!
Thanks to the publisher for an advanced sample copy in exchange for an honest review.

A first chapter sampler, that left me wanting more....

I just read the sampler of The Marsh king's daughter, from what I read it is definitely a story I could connect with. The little I read hooked me and now I can't wait to experience the rest of the journey this sampler promised to take me on', how cruel to end when it did, oh the anticipation till I get my hands on this novel is immense, I will waiting with baited breath.

This is an amazing sampler - definitely gets you hooked from the very first sentence. It seems to be beautifully and evocatively written and I was left in horrible suspense at the end of the sample. This is the sort of story you find yourself thinking about long after you have finished it. I feel like I need to know what happens, although I also feel nervous thinking about what could lie ahead.

This sampler has made me so excited to read the entire book!!

What happens when your father, the man who kidnapped and raped your mother then kept you locked up until you were 12, escapes from prison and you know he'll come after you and your family?

I don't know the answer to that until I manage to get my hands on the rest of this book! I'm on the edge of my seat waiting!!