The Twelve by Liz Hyder & Illustrated by Tom de Freson - #bookreview

 

Someone is sneaking around my bedroom.

My eyes snap open and I'm alert in the dark. Hot under my duvet. No one's allowed in my room without permission, not even Mum.

***

The Blurb

It’s supposed to be a treat for Kit, a winter holiday by the coast with her sister Libby and their mum. But when Libby vanishes into thin air, and no one else remembers her, Kit is faced with a new reality – one in which her sister never existed.

Then she meets Story, a local boy who remembers Libby perfectly. Together they embark on a journey beyond their wildest imagination into a world steeped in ancient folklore. Can Kit and Story uncover the secret of the Twelve and rescue Libby before Time runs out?

My Review

This was such a beautiful book to read. It is aimed at a young adult readership but as a reader whose youth was many moons ago, I thought this was a great book to read.

The main character, Kit, was well realised and easy to identify with. She is brave, courageous and determined to help her younger sister Libby. The book is written from Kit's perspective and so we see how the plot plays out through her eyes. 

Kit's new friend, Story is an equalling engaging character and is highly likable. I really enjoyed seeing their friendship develop. They are both very introverted characters and they worked extremely well as a pair.

Although this is marketed as a fantasy novel it is so much more besides. The story is actually rooted in the real world but with fantastical elements, some time slip and a little romance thrown in. I found all of the characters, both the young and old, to be highly believable.

There is a strong theme of nature running through it, and the effect that climate change is having on the natural world. However, it never feels as though the author is preaching. The story just highlights how as humans we are causing havoc to the world around us.  I absolutely did not anticipate the conclusion of the book, but I was very happy with the outcome.

I loved the story mixed in with folklore and myth.  The author's writing was lovely and she describes the world in which her characters live beautifully. I almost felt I was there with Kit at times. This is a super book, and I highly recommend it.

Book Details:  

ISBN:  978 1782693987

Publisher:  Pushkin Children's Books

Formats:  e-book and hardback

No. of Pages:  256 (hardback)

Purchase Links

Bookshop.org

Waterstones

Amazon UK

About the Author

Liz Hyder has been making up stories ever since she can remember. She has a BA in drama from the University of Bristol and, in early 2018, won the Bridge Award/MoniackMhor’s Emerging Writer Award. Her first novel, Bearmouth, won the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize for Older Readers, the Branford Boase Award, and was TheTimes’s Children’s Book of The Year.

Liz can also be found at:

Linked In

Twitter /X

Instagram

lizhyder.com

About the Illustrator

Tom De Freston is an artist based in Oxford with his wife, Kiran Millwood Hargrave. His practice is dedicated to the construction of multimedia worlds, combining paintings, film and performance into immersive visceral narratives.

Tom can also be found at

tomdefreston.co.uk

Instagram

(media courtesy of the publisher)

(author/illustrator photos courtesy of their websites liz.hyder.co.uk / tomdefreston.co.uk)

(all opinions are my own)

(bookshop.com affiliated)

All Hallows Book Tag - #AHBT @QuirnusReads

 

Today I am taking part in the All Hallows Book Tag which was created by @QuirnusReads on X/Twitter. Do you like my old school response to the This or That questionaire?

There are also six questions to answer for this tag and you can find my answers below.

I am also tagging in some of the other lovely bloggers who are taking part.

My Answers to This or That

You will probably notice that I have sat squarly on the fence regarding my preference to whether I am a daylight or nightime reader. I'm both and I could not possibly choose. I read at almost every available moment. I always have a book on me. Are you the same?

All Hallows Book Tag Questions

What are your favourite spooky season genres?

I like books which have a witch involved in the story. The Ravenswood Witch by Jenni Keer is a perfect example.

It was a spooky eerie read that is perfect for this tag. It is set in 1885 and is wonderfully atmospheric. My review of this book can be found by clicking here.

Amazon UK (unaffiliated)

Which titles do you recommend for Halloween reading?

This one is for the little ones and my grandson loved it. Spooky Little Halloween: A Finger Wiggle Book by Sally Symes and Nick Sharratt. 

A lovely interactive picture book. You can find my review by clicking here.

Amazon UK (unaffiliated)

 What are your most anticipated reads this month? 

I am really looking forward to reading The Twelve by Liz Hyder.

This looks like being a spooky read and I'm saving it for nearer Halloween.

Amazon UK (unaffiliated)

Have you had a paranormal experience or spooky coincidence?

I sometimes find I have a funny feeling about something and it comes to pass. Or I will be thinking of someone who I haven't heard from in ages and suddenly they get in touch. A little strange but I haven't experienced any ghostly apparitions. My best friend used to see a woman standing at the top of the stairs in her home and she used to scare me half to death about it when we were young.

What are your spooky season film and TV favourites?

I'm currently working my way through watching Charmed. There are loads of episodes and I'm still only about half way there so lots still to watch. 

They are based on a series of books written by Constance M. Burge. There are literally dozens of books in the series.

How do you celebrate Halloween?

We tend to keep it fairly low key but I do dot some witchy type items around the house. This year I have bought a singing black cat. Apparently, it comes with batteries but I like to think there is something a little magical about him.

I'm Tagging Some Other Bloggers Into This

For Books Sake

Sabrina Accalai

Sifa Elizabeth Reads

The Strawberry Post

Jo Linsdell

Twirling Book Princess

(all opinions on this post are my own)

(Amazon links unaffiliated)

The Ravenswood Witch by Jenni Keer - #bookreview #blogtour

 

1885

Her heart was pounding and her breaths were raspy in her throat. She was beyond exhausted and had to rest for a moment, steadying herself by placing her hand on a rough gatepost and bending forward to stop herself being sick...

***

‘There are a lot of shadows at Ravenswood, so you will need to be strong…’

The year is 1885 and a young woman is on the run, knowing if she’s caught, she’ll be hanged for murder.

 Moments from a safe haven, she collides with a gruff stranger, falling and breaking her ankle.

To her surprise, the man – Marcus Greybourne – convinces the local constable that she is his reclusive wife of ten years, Luna. He carries her back to the neglected and crumbling Ravenswood Hall, promising if she agrees to maintain this charade, he will keep her safe until her injuries have healed.

But the house is haunted by shadows and secrets. What’s more, the real Luna Greybourne is missing, without trace. Scratches and marks made by her around the house suggest witchcraft; and indeed Luna is known locally as the Ravenswood Witch; her reputation in tatters, like the wallpapers of the padlocked rooms she’d destroyed.

As strange happenings in the house continue, outside the screech of a raven echoes across oppressive woods that seem alive with dark magic. And the woman who is now pretending to be Luna can’t help but fear she’s escaped the noose for a far more terrible fate…

***

I was so pleased when I was offered an advanced readers copy of this book as part of the blog tour, as I was already a fan of Jenni Keer's books. I have previously read At the Stroke of Midnight and No. 23 Burlington Square, both of which I enjoyed very much. You can read my reviews of those books by clicking on their respective titles.

I do not often read spooky books and I definitely steer clear of the horror genre. I am far too much of a coward for that! However, whilst this was spooky and quite eerie at times I really enjoyed that element of the story. 

Sticking with the witchy theme, I recently read Weyward by Emilia Hart, as well as The House of the Witch by Clare Marchant. Both excellent books with similarities. The plot of The Ravenswood Witch was a little different to either of those which made this all the more compelling to read.

The plot has much to offer; a runaway fugitive, witchcraft, ghostly apparitions and a romance to boot. There was also a twist partway through the book that I was not expecting. It was an excellent curve ball to throw into the plot. I shall say no more about that as I would hate to spoil your own discovery of this when you read the book. And I do use the word when as you will really be missing out on an excellent book if this one passes you by.

The book is set in 1885, and Ms. Keer does an excellent job in portraying the period, along with the setting of a derelict and run down house in which the main character finds herself. The house oozes with mystery and secrets and she finds herself wondering if in escaping the hangman's noose, she has stumbled into a more dark and dangerous situation.

This is an outstanding novel, and I will even go as far as saying it is amongst the best books I have read this year. I highly encourage you to treat yourself to a copy of this to snuggle down with in the run up to Halloween.

ISBN: 978 1785139796

Publisher:  Boldwood Books

Formats: e-book, audio, hardback and paperback (currently available on Kindle Unlimited)

No. of Pages:  352 (paperback)

About the Author:

Jenni Keer is the well-reviewed author of historical romances, often with a mystery at their heart. Most recently published by Headline and shortlisted for the 2023 RNA Historical Romantic Novel of the Year.

(ARC and all media courtesy of Rachel's Random Resources)

(all opinions are my own)

Magpie Lane by Lucy Atkins - #BookReview

"They are waiting for an answer. What do they want me to say? Perhaps they think I am a stalker, targeting the president of an Oxford College on his early morning jog. I have an urge to laugh which is inappropriate. There is nothing funny about this, nothing whatsoever. Felicity is missing. The whole country is looking for her."

When the eight year old daughter of an Oxford College Master vanishes in the middle of the night, police turn to the Scottish nanny, Dee, for answers.

As Dee looks back over her time in the Master's Lodging - an eerie and ancient house - a picture of a high achieving but dysfunctional family emerges: Nick, the fiercely intelligent and powerful father; his beautiful Danish wife Mariah, pregnant with their child; and the lost little girl, Felicity, almost mute, seeing ghosts, grieving her dead mother.

But is Dee telling the whole story? Is her growing friendship with the eccentric house historian, Linklater, any cause for concern? And most of all, why was Felicity silent?

Roaming through Oxford's secret passages and hidden graveyards, Magpie Lane, explores the true meaning of family - and what it is to be denied one.

This fabulous book ended up being a quick read for me as I could not put it down and sprinted through it to get to the books conclusion. Mostly told retrospectively during a police interview, the narrative goes back and forth with the recollections of the main character, Dee, coupled with the immediacy of the interview.

The characters were excellently portrayed.  Nick and Mariah were difficult to like and this opinion did not change throughout the book. Equally, both Felicity and Dee were engaging characters and I suspect most readers will love Felicity for her innocence and vulnerability. The main character, Dee, had a combination of strength and weakness and as the book progressed I did come to wonder how reliable she was as a narrator.

The house itself felt as though it was a character as the Masters Lodging is a focal point of the novel and much of the story is linked to the house. The author did a brilliant job of making the house come alive as she did with Oxford itself. Highly atmospheric I felt completely immersed in the setting of this novel.

It is a sensitive, eerie and excellently written novel and I can hardly wait to read another book by Ms. Atkins. Have you read any of her other books? I would love to hear about them. 

Keep safe and well through these difficult days my friends. Thank goodness we have our books to keep us company while we are isolated and socially distanced. 

ISBN: 978 1786485571

Publisher: Quercus

About the Author:

Lucy Atkins is an award winning author, feature journalist and Sunday Times book critic. She has written for newspapers including The #Guardian, The Times, The Sunday Times and The Telegraph as well as many UK magazines. She teaches on the Masters in Creative Writing at Oxford University and lives in Oxford.

Some of her other books are, The Missing Ones, The Night Visitor and The Other Child.