Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier

Daughter of the Forest is the first book in a trilogy. It tells the story of Sorcha, who is the daughter of a clan chieftain. The general storyline will be familiar to many people, because Sorcha is the sister to six brothers who have been turned into swans by a wicked stepmother sorceress. Sorcha must keep silence while making each brother a shirt from nettles. This folktale is widely told, with slight variations. You can read more about the folktales here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Six_Swans

Besides being a retelling of that folktale, Daughter of the Forest is also a love story and a story of Druids and Christians and barbarians. It is a story about bravery of many kinds, and about kinship, loyalty, and perceptions.

I found it hard to get interested in Daughter of the Forest, at first, but within a few chapters, I was thoroughly drawn in. I immediately took up book two in the series, on finishing Daughter of the Forest. Son of the Shadows was a worthy successor.

http://www.julietmarillier.com/