HUGE second half of 2018 TBR!

I'm hoping to finish Emily Skrutskie's The Edge of the Abyss tonight which will mean I'll have read 17 books so far this year. That's definitely less than I was hoping by July - although three of those books have been 5 star reads that I've been raving about since finishing them - but this year I've been writing a lot more than I've been reading, which has been wonderful.

That being said, 2018 has also become the year that I've rediscovered my love for High/Epic Fantasy, not that it ever completely went away, and also the year that I've rediscovered my love for YA Fantasy in particular and I'd like to be reading more. The main reason I haven't been is because I haven't been making time for it, which is my own fault, so something I'd like to try and do the rest of this year is make more time for reading. I don't want to be super strict with myself because I don't want reading to turn into homework, but I am giving myself a TBR (an incredibly unrealistic one) for the rest of this year full of books that I'd like to try and have under my belt.

Will I get to all of these? Probably not, but I'd like to try and get to some of them and I'm creating this list today so I can keep track of my progress. The first 20 of these books are books I've been sent for review, mostly via NetGalley, and I want to get on top of my NetGalley reads - especially as I've had a lot of these for a while now! The others are a mix of 2018 releases that I'd like to read this year and some other books that I simply should have read by now and I'm annoyed that I still haven't.

So, grab yourself a drink and a snack, and on with my list!

West by Carys Davies: A few years ago I organised a book launch that Carys Davies read at and her writing was beautiful. I've been meaning to read her short stories since then but still haven't, story of my life, but West is her first novel - more of a novella, really, at around 160 pages - set in 19th century America. As it's so short I'm hoping to read and review this one soon!

Ghost Wall by Sarah Moss: Another very short one, Sarah Moss is another author I've been meaning to read for a while now and Ghost Wall sounds amazing. I believe it follows a young girl taking part in an archaeological experiment with her mother and her abusive father who has an obsession with the brutal lifestyle lived by Britain's Iron Age people.

See What I Have Done by Sarah Schmidt: I know Shannon @ It Starts at Midnight wasn't the biggest fan of this one and I've been curious to see what I think of it ever since, especially as it's a fictional account of the murders of Lizzie Borden's father and stepmother - murders Lizzie was suspected of committing herself.

The Good People by Hannah Kent: I adored Kent's debut, Burial Rites, so it's about time I read this one, too. I just haven't been in the mood for it yet!

The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker: My only experience with Pat Barker is her WWI era novel Regeneration which I had to read during sixth form, but her latest novel, about the women of Troy after the Trojan War, sounds brilliant. It follows Briseis who is awarded to Achilles as a prize of war, and after I read and adored The Song of Achilles last year it'll be interesting to read a book set during the same conflict from the women's point of view.

The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock by Imogen Hermes Gowar: This book has been everywhere this year and I've actually already read a bit of it, but it didn't grip me like I hoped it would. I do want to finish it, though, because the writing is beautiful and I think there's the potential for it to be a real fun romp of a novel.

The Cursed Wife by Pamela Hartshorne: This novel is described as a psychological thriller set in Elizabethan London. That's all I need to know.

The King's Witch by Tracy Borman: There have been a lot of historians turning to historical fiction lately, in fact there are two more on this list, and Tracy Borman is a Tudor and Stuart historian whose documentaries I've always enjoyed so I'm intrigued by her first foray into fiction.

Lady Mary by Lucy Worsley: Unlike Borman, Worsley, another historian who makes fantastic documentaries, has turned to writing fiction for younger readers to spark their interest in history, and I believe Lady Mary is her third novel. I'm really interested in reading a novel from the point of view of the young Mary I during the dramatic break-up of her parents' marriage.

Riddle of the Runes by Janina Ramirez: Once again, Ramirez is another historian whose recently turned to writing fiction with the first in a children's series about a young viking detective. This one sounds really fun and I'm looking forward to reading some more Middle Grade!

Sea Witch by Sarah Henning: Put witches in a story and I'm 1000% more likely to pick it up. I'm not usually a big fan of villain origin stories, mainly because they always seem to be tragic love stories and I find a broken heart as an excuse for villainy pretty boring, but what I love about the sound of this one is that Henning has combined The Little Mermaid with Denmark's long history of witch hunts and I'm looking forward to reading it.

Spoonbenders by Daryl Gregory: This one sounds absolutely bizarre and I'm ashamed to say I've had it for a year and still haven't read it, mainly because when I started reading it I fell pretty ill - I ended up in hospital overnight - and now I can't stop thinking of how lousy I felt the first time I started reading it. I'd still like to read it, though!

The Beautiful Ones by Silvia Moreno-Garcia: If you've been following my blog for a while you'll know I'm a huge fan of Moreno-Garcia's work so I'm annoyed I still haven't got to this one yet, but I'm hoping to read it soon!

The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden: I'm determined to read this one this winter, it's been on my TBR too long!

The Vanishing Throne by Elizabeth May: ... I don't even want to admit how long this one's been on my TBR, but hopefully I'll finally read and review it this year.

Gone by Min Kym: I haven't read much non-fiction lately but this memoir sounds fascinating so I'm hoping to get to it this year. Perhaps I'll read it for Non-Fiction November!

Under the Pendulum Sun by Jeannette Ng: This historical fantasy follows a woman who must travel to the land of the Fae to find her brother, a missionary, who's gone missing there. It sounds amazing so it's about time I got to it!

The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang: I've been eager for some Asian and African-inspired high fantasy this year and I keep seeing this novel everywhere. It's giving me Mulan vibes, so I'm hoping to love it.

The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane by Lisa See: As much as I love historical fiction I've been on such a fantasy kick this year that it's a genre I haven't been gravitating towards as much, so novels like this one keep getting left behind. It sounds really interesting, though, so I'd like to get to it at some point.

Pachinko by Min Jin Lee: I'm really interested in the history between Japan and South Korea, something this novel covers, but I've also seen so many mixed reviews of this one that it's made me a little hesitant to pick it up. I'm hoping to get to it sooner rather than later, though!

Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi: This novel has been EVERYWHERE this year and I still haven't read it even though I haven't seen a single bad review yet. This is one I'm hoping to read very, very soon.

The Grace of Kings by Ken Liu: More Asian-inspired fantasy! This is another novel I've already started and have enjoyed so far. I'm on a bit of a YA kick at the moment, but I'm planning to return to it soon.

Dread Nation by Justina Ireland: The American Civil War and zombies? Yes please. This one sounds really fun and I've seen some great reviews. As it has zombies in it I think I might save this one for Halloween unless the mood takes me.

The Brilliant Death by Amy Rose Capetta: This is one of the few books on this list that isn't out yet, but it's Italian-inspired fantasy with an LGBT+ romance. I'm all for LGBT+ fantasy and I love Italy so I can't wait to read a setting inspired by it.

Red Sister by Mark Lawrence: Assassins and nuns. Yes. I couldn't get on with this the first time I tried to read it but as I'm now completely back in a fantasy frame of mind I want to give it another try and I'm hoping to love it.

The Queens of Innis Lear by Tessa Gratton: This is a fantasy retelling of King Lear in which three sisters vie for their father's throne. It sounds excellent.

Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik: I'm planning to buddy read this one with Natalie @ A Sea Change, which should be interesting considering she adored Uprooted and I thought it was okay. As this is a retelling of my favourite fairy tale, Rumpelstiltskin, however, I'm hoping I'll love it.

Circe by Madeline Miller: I fell in love with The Song of Achilles last year so I can't wait to read Miller's second novel.

The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty: This novel features a heroine who is a con artist in 18th century Cairo and includes a genie. That's all I need to know to want to read it.

Flame in the Mist by Renee Ahdieh: Since reading Six of Crows and The Abyss Surrounds Us this year I've developed a love for duologies, so I'd like to start this one set in Feudal Japan and featuring a girl who poses as a boy - one of my favourite tropes.

On the Front Line with the Women Who Fight Back by Stacey Dooley: The only other piece of non-fiction on this list, this is Dooley's first book. I love her documentaries so I'm hoping I'll really enjoy this, too.

Leah on the Offbeat by Becky Albertalli: I haven't really been in the mood for Contemporary this year but I'm planning to read this one soon because I always enjoy Albertalli's novels.

The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy by Mackenzi Lee: I really enjoyed The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue last year so I can't wait to get my hands on this one!

My Mum Tracy Beaker by Jacqueline Wilson: I haven't read any Wilson in years but she was my favourite author for the longest time during my childhood and I can't resist her new book in which a character I grew up with, Tracy Beaker, has become a mother herself.

Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend: This is another book I haven't seen a single bad review for so I'm hoping to get to it soon.

The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch: I recently read the first page of this and could feel myself getting sucked in, but I wanted to finish The Edge of the Abyss before I let myself get pulled into another series. I've heard great things about this one and I believe this has a setting inspired by Venice, and I will take all the Italian-inspired fantasy I can get.

IT by Stephen King: I'm slowly making my way through this one and I'd like to finish it this year, especially as I loved the new film adaptation last year.

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood: I still haven't read this one and I need to rectify that asap.

Record of a Spaceborn Few by Becky Chambers: I love Chambers' sci-fi so I can't wait for the latest addition to her series.

Toil & Trouble: 15 Tales of Women & Witchcraft ed. by Jessica Spotswood and Tess Sharpe: An entire anthology of stories about witches? Yes please, give it to me now.

The Grisha Trilogy by Leigh Bardugo: And lastly, as I'm sure you all know by now I adored Bardugo's Six of Crows duology earlier this year and with the news that one of the main characters from that duology is going to make an appearance in her new book being released in January, I think it's about time I read the trilogy that introduced the Grishaverse. I've actually already started Shadow and Bone and I can already tell I'm not going to love it anywhere near as much as I loved Six of Crows, but I still want to read it and appreciate it for what it is so I completely understand this fantasy world by the time her new book comes out.

If you read all of this, I salute you! 

Also if you haven't seen it already I'm currently hosting a giveaway for one of my favourite reads of 2018, so head on over here to enter!

Have you read any of these? Do you want to read any of these? And are there any books you really want to cross off your TBR by the end of the year?

Top Ten Tuesday | Bookish Turn-Offs

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature created at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week you compile a list of ten books which coincide with that week's theme. You can find everything you need to know about joining in here!

This week's theme is all about the things that make us NOT want to read a book. I did struggle with this theme a bit at first, but the more I thought about it the more I remembered just how many bookish tropes get on my nerves. So, without further ado, here are my top ten eight!

A city girl starts a new life in the country... This has been done to death in contemporary - looking at you, Jenny Colgan - and while some stories can be charming, the more I see it the more it bugs me. I'm a country girl myself, I've always lived in the countryside and I love the countryside, and there's something a tad patronising about the way the country is often portrayed as this quaint, idyllic, backward place with no wifi. The countryside is just as varied as the big cities, and it'd be nice to see this reflected more in fiction.

It's hard being a white, middle-aged, middle class, able-bodied, cisgendered man, I think I'll have an affair... NOPE. Sorry fellas, but I don't care about your problems that aren't really problems. By all means give me a protagonist who fits all the afore-mentioned criteria but who is also a unique and real voice, but don't give me a man chasing a manic pixie dream girl.

Dude, where's the blurb..? I hate it when I want to know what a book is about, but all I get is a blurb so vague it might as well not be there or nothing at all. Some people like no blurb, and that's fine, but personally I want to have an idea of what a book's about before I give it my time.

Waaay too much blurb... On the other end of the scale, I'm immediately put off by a blurb that starts to feel like I'm reading an essay. I want to know what the book's about, I don't want to know the plot twist or the protagonist's love interest's grandmother's budgie's maiden name.

The Dead Girl Test... I've mentioned this before. The Dead Girl Test is a test I give every crime/thriller novel I pick up which involves the murder of women. If, at any point, the detective sees the corpse of a murdered woman and describes her as beautiful, I'm outta here. Why? Firstly, I hate the way that it implies that her death would be any less tragic if she were ugly. Secondly, I think corpses are too grim to be thought of as beautiful, especially if a person's been murdered and their body has just been found.

Three's a Crowd... Love triangles are done badly 99.9% of the time. I have no interest in them, especially after living through the dark years of YA brimming with the damn things.

Strike a Pose... This is purely personal taste, but I'm very, very rarely drawn to books that have the photograph of a person on the front. I like to imagine the characters for myself and I'm a big lover of simple, eye-catching, typographic covers.

Not Like Other Girls... In historical fiction in particular, I'm really bored of reading about heroines who are ahead of their time and are somehow better than the other women they know because they want to do something other than get married and have children. Can we stop the girl hate please?

What turns you off a book?

Native American November | Announcement + TBR!

November is Native American Heritage Month!

I've been fascinated by Native American history since I read Celia Rees's Witch Child when I was around fourteen, and the older I grew the more I realised just how much western, European societies completely screwed over indigenous people around the world.

The worst thing is indigenous people are still being treated poorly; in fact one of America's most popular holidays is celebrated because Native Americans helped starving colonials and the settlers then repayed them by slaughtering them. Ah, good times.

I know very, very little about Native American history but it's something I'm constantly eager to learn more about. I've been meaning to do a reading challenge like this for a while now and there's no time like the present!

If you'd like to join in then please feel free! If you would like to join in, I've created three 'rules' to encourage reading that doesn't encourage oppression, white-washing or victimisation. Naturally books that feature horrible moments in history are likely to be read during a reading challenge like this, but I'd like it to be a primarily positive and eye-opening experience.

1) Read a book written by a Native American author. Someone like Sherman Alexie or Thomas King, for example! Someone who's as white as milk but whose great great grandmother was Native American doesn't count.

2) Read a book with a Native American protagonist. Something like Celia Rees's Sorceress or Sherman Alexie's The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian.

3) Read a book with Native American characters. These are books in which the protagonist may not be Native American, but there are characters in the book who are Native American and who also have agency. The Twilight books would fit into this category, as would Stef Penney's The Tenderness of Wolves.

You don't have to do any of these challenges to take part, I don't want this to come across as some strict reading challenge if it is something you want to do, I can only suggest that, if you do want to take part, you read books that don't exoticise America's indigenous people or treat them as punching bags with no agency. Don't do what Joe Wright did when he cast Rooney Mara as Tiger Lily...

So what'll I be reading? Well there are a few books I own I've yet to get to, and now seems like the perfect time to gobble them up! I don't know if I'll get to all of them, though I hope I do, because I'm going to try and take part in a few other reading challenges this month too, but I'm certainly going to try.

I'd be a hypocrite if my TBR didn't match my own rules, so I've got a book for each. I've been meaning to read more Geraldine Brooks since I read and enjoyed Year of Wonders which, like Caleb's Crossing, is a fictionalised account of a true event. Caleb's Crossing is based on the first Native American student to graduate from Harvard in 1665; while the student himself isn't our protagonist he's still a very important character, and instead our protagonist is Bethia Mayfield, the daughter of a Puritan minister whose childhood friendship with Caleb, a local chieftain's son, ends up with her following him to college as his housekeeper. It's Bethia's father who sends Caleb to college, intending to prove that 'savages' can be 'civilised', and Bethia's forced to watch her friend receive the education her own sex deprives her of.

Joseph Boyden's The Orenda has three protagonists, two of whom are Native Americans. Or I suppose I should say Native Canadians, given that Canada is actually the setting of this novel, but I'm still going to count them as part of this challenge for no other reason than that it wasn't actually North America's indigenous population who decided Canada and the United States were separate countries so... Anyway, I've yet to read any Joseph Boyden but I've heard nothing but good things, particularly about this novel. It's quite chunky but I'm looking forward to diving into it!

I mentioned Thomas King above and unlike the other books on my TBR The Inconvenient Indian is a piece of non-fiction, and another book I've heard nothing but praise for. Thomas King is a Native American writer who, through this book, explores the history of North America's indigenous population, the way indingeous people are still treated now, and even how Native Americans are portrayed in the media. I think it's going to be a heart-breaking read, but an importand and informative one. If I can only get to one of these books this month, I hope it's this one.

I'll be back in a few days with some recommendations for anyone interested in joining me for this reading challenge, and if not I hope you look forward to any reviews or discussions I post throughout November!

Announcing From Screen to Page!

Throughout the year I'm going to be continuing with my Classics & Contemporaries and Stories & Songs features, but 2015 is going to see the introduction of a new feature on my blog: From Screen to Page!

I know I mention it more than I probably need to, but those of you who've been following my blog for a while will know how much I love historical fiction. The thing is that love isn't limited to books; I love a good historical drama, too, whether it's a film or a TV drama.

In my experience people who don't like historical fiction will at least watch a historical drama, and a lot of those people will enjoy what they see. As a lover of historical fiction it's one of my aims to encourage more people to read it, especially people who feel intimidated by it or feel that they need to be a history expert to enjoy it, and that's exactly what From Screen to Page is for!

In each installment I'll pick a historical film or TV show and recommend a piece of historical fiction I think people who like that film/show would enjoy!

I'm really looking forward to adding this feature to my blog, and I hope you enjoy it whether you're a fan of historical fiction or not! 

Look out for the first installment of From Screen to Page next month!

2015 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge!

This year is only my second year as an actual blogger, and yeah I might be going a little overboard with the reading challenges but they all look so fun!

As I'm sure you all know by now historical fiction is one of my favourite genres, so it seemed silly to miss out on the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge 2015, hosted by the lovely Amy Bruno at Passages to the Past.

The challenge runs from January 1st through to December 31st 2015, and there's still more than enough time to join!

There are six possible levels to aim for:

20th Century Reader - 2 Books

Victorian Reader - 5 Books

Renaissance Reader - 10 Books

Medieval Reader - 15 Books

Ancient History Reader - 25 Books

Prehistoric Reader - 50+ Books

I'm going to aim for Medieval, because there are a lot of other genres I want to read this year, too!

You can participate even if you don't have a blog, and each month there will be a linky over on Amy's blog where you can leave a link to your historical fiction reviews - it'll be a great way to find new books and new blogs! So whether you're a lover of historical fiction or you want to give it a try in 2015, why not sign up?

Go on, sign up here!

Review | If I Stay by Gayle Forman

If I Stay

by Gayle Forman

My Rating: 

In the blink of an eye everything changes. Seventeen-year-old Mia has no memory of the accident; she can only recall what happened afterwards, watching her own damaged body being taken from the wreck. Little by little she struggles to put together the pieces- to figure out what she has lost, what she has left, and the very difficult choice she must make.

I've mentioned before on my blog that I don't tend to read an awful lot of contemporary, and I read even less YA contemporary, for no other reason than that some of my favourite genres are historical fiction, magical realism and fantasy, so contemporary tends to pass me by!

Reading If I Stay reminded me that I should try to read contemporary more, because I usually end up enjoying what I read; I read If I Stay in a day last November and enjoyed it a lot more than I initially thought I would!

Mia's narrative was very easy to fall into, so much so that even though this book is relatively short as far as novels go I felt like I knew her very well by the time I turned the last page. I loved the constant seesawing throughout; one moment we were seeing this kind of limbo that Mia finds herself in, and the next we were being told about one of her memories regarding her family, her friends and Adam, her boyfriend.

I'm not always keen on the love interests in contemporary YA, but Adam I liked for the simple reason that Mia and Adam's relationship felt like one of the more realistic relationships I've come across in contemporary YA in a while. They had disagreements and they worked through them like a real couple do, and I appreciated Forman's honesty in that respect.

I loved Mia's parents the most. They made me laugh more than once, and knowing that neither of them survived the crash really tugged at my heartstrings.

All in all I really liked this book. I loved the way that it ended, and the only reason it got 4 stars rather than 5 is because it didn't completely blow me away. But I still recommend checking it out if it's on your TBR!

Reading Wrap-Up | December 2014

December was one of those strange months in which I felt like I read way more than I did. I read five books in total - which is good! - but for whatever reason I feel like I read way more than that; probably because one of the books I read was a collection of short stories.

Anyway, on with this very brief (because I'm very tired) wrap-up!

Christmas at Rosie Hopkins' Sweet Shop

by Jenny Colgan

My Rating: 

Rosie Hopkins is looking forward to Christmas in the little Derbyshire village of Lipton, buried under a thick blanket of snow. Her sweetshop is festooned with striped candy canes, large tempting piles of Turkish Delight, crinkling selection boxes and happy, sticky children. She's going to be spending it with her boyfriend, Stephen, and her family, flying in from Australia. She can't wait.

But when a tragedy strikes at the heart of their little community, all of Rosie's plans for the future seem to be blown apart. Can she build a life in Lipton? And is what's best for the sweetshop also what's best for Rosie?

Reviewed here!

My Family And Other Superheroes

by Jonathan Edwards

My Rating: 

Leaping from the pages, jostling for position alongside the Valleys mams, dads, and bamps, and described with great warmth, the superheroes in question are a motley crew: Evel Knievel, Sophia Loren, Ian Rush, Marty McFly, a bicycling nun, and a recalcitrant hippo. Other poems focus on the crammed terraces and abandoned high streets where a working-class and Welsh nationalist politics is hammered out. This is a postindustrial valleys upbringing re-imagined through the prism of pop culture and surrealism.

A really fun poetry collection!

The Christmas Surprise

by Jenny Colgan

My Rating: 

Rosie Hopkins, newly engaged, is looking forward to an exciting year - especially as the little sweetshop in Lipton she owns and runs continues to thrive. She's also enjoying helping out her best friend, Tina, as she prepares for her big wedding to local lad Jake. But fate is about to strike Rosie and her own fiance, Stephen, a terrible blow, threatening all they hold dear. And it is going to take all their strength, as well as the loving support of their families and their friends, to hold everything together.

Reviewed here!

My True Love Gave to Me

ed. by Stephanie Perkins

My Rating: 

On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me ...This beautiful collection features twelve gorgeously romantic stories set during the festive period, by some of the most talented and exciting YA authors writing today. The stories are filled with the magic of first love and the magic of the holidays.

Reviewed here!

Witch

by Damian Walford Davies

My Rating: 

With the narrative pull of a novel and the vibrancy of a play, this collection offers a thrilling portrait of a Suffolk village in the throes of the witchcraft hunts of the mid-17th century. The poems in this collection are dark spells, compact, and moving, delivered by those most closely involved in the “making” of a witch. The speakers—from priest Thomas Love and the villagers, who slowly succumb to suspicion and counter-accusation, to the witch hunter Francis Hurst and the “witch” herself—authentically conjure a war-torn society in which religious paranoia amplifies local grievances to fever pitch.

A very atmospheric collection, and one that I think I'll be going back to and rereading more than once this year!

What did you read in December?

Review | Christmas at Rosie Hopkins' Sweet Shop by Jenny Colgan | Twelve Days of Christmas!

Christmas at Rosie Hopkins' Sweet Shop

by Jenny Colgan

My Rating: 

Rosie Hopkins is looking forward to Christmas in the little Derbyshire village of Lipton, buried under a thick blanket of snow. Her sweetshop is festooned with striped candy canes, large tempting piles of Turkish Delight, crinkling selection boxes and happy, sticky children. She's going to be spending it with her boyfriend, Stephen, and her family, flying in from Australia. She can't wait.

But when a tragedy strikes at the heart of their little community, all of Rosie's plans for the future seem to be blown apart. Can she build a life in Lipton? And is what's best for the sweetshop also what's best for Rosie?

I really enjoyed Welcome to Rosie Hopkins' Sweet Shop of Dreams, in fact I enjoyed it a lot more than I initially thought I was going to, so while I was certain a Christmassy sequel would be sweet (see what I did there?) I didn't get my hopes up too high. And you know what? I loved this book.

It was a pure delight to read from start to finish. Lilian has fast become probably my favourite elderly lady in fiction; some of the things she comes out with are just fantastic, and she could make me tear up just as easily as she could make me laugh. The storyline involving Lilian in the first book broke my heart, but the storyline involving Lilian in this book shattered it into tiny little pieces. I love her.

While I enjoyed the first book, I felt a lot more connected to Rosie and Stephen in this book. As much as I love stories about the 'will they, won't they?' of romance, it's often even more rewarding to read about people who are already together, where the challenge is to make sure the relationship works rather than to see if a relationship is possible in the first place. Throw in Christmas and I'm a happy reader.

But you don't have to have read the first book to enjoy it - though I recommend you do! - because Colgan summarises it at the beginning for readers out there who simply want to enjoy a nice Christmas story, although I do think you'll feel a lot more connected to the characters if you do read the first book.

Frankly I have nothing bad to say about this book. It was just what I needed, and a brilliant read for the festive season!

Review | Witch Hill by Marcus Sedgwick

Witch Hill

by Marcus Sedgwick

My Rating: 

At first, Jamie isn't too worried about the bad dreams he's been having since coming to his aunt's house. Most people awoken in the middle of the night to find their house burning down would probably have nightmares, too. But instead of fire, he keeps dreaming of a "horrible, scary old woman," relentlessly coming after him for some awful, inexplicable purpose. Even though he's come to Aunt Jane's to recover from the fire's aftermath, he doesn't want to bother her or his cousin Alison with his silly fears. He can see that they are very busy with their village's community service project--cleaning off an age-old carving on the side of hill that overlooks the town. But when the carving turns out to be a peculiar primordial figure instead of the "crown" that the people of Crownshill expected to see, and Jamie uncovers evidence of an ancient witchcraft trial in local history papers, he is swept into a centuries-old mystery to which he unwittingly has the key. Who is the old crone chasing him, and what does she want? Jamie will have to endure an experience worse than fire to find out.

Marcus Sedgwick is one of those authors I'd never heard of before until I came across his Swordhand Omnibus over on Goodreads. After that, I started seeing his books everywhere. His work sounded pretty interesting, so I found myself a second hand copy of Witch Hill on Abebooks for around £2, and when I eventually got around to reading it I read it in about an hour. My edition is only 161 pages long, so it's definitely more of a novella than a novel.

I have mixed feelings about this book. Despite my rating, which is relatively low, I actually have a lot of good things to say about this novella, so I'm going to start with those!

I would definitely class Witch Hill as a middle grade novella, but I'd be a big fat liar if I said it didn't give me the creeps. A lot of this story focuses on the nightmares Jamie has been having since going to stay with his aunt and his cousin, and the descriptions in his nightmares gave me the heebie jeebies. In fact reading those dream sequences was quite nostalgic, it reminded me of the way I felt as a child when I read ghost stories before bed that I probably shouldn't have been reading. I find myself reading middle grade so rarely these days that it was a real joy to read it again!

As I've grown older and learned more regarding the history of witchcraft, I find myself sympathising with the word 'witch' rather than fearing it. This book, in the hour I read it, reminded me why witches can still terrify children; in fact it reminded me of those frightening, self-inflicted afternoons of my childhood when I would watch Roald Dahl's The Witches.

Having said that, one of the elements of this story I appreciated the most was its historical accuracy, and I think that's especially important in a middle grade story; writers of historical fiction should try just as hard to be accurate for their younger readers as they would their adult readers. One of the characters is a historian from whom Jamie learns a lot about the witch trials in the 17th century; she shares information with him such as crushing the myth that accused witches in England were burned at the stake.

Alongside the terrifying woman on the hill, we also have the story of a young girl from the 17th century who was accused of witchcraft by her neighbours, and murdered because of it. Honestly it was nice to see Sedgwick use the old witch for the fright factor, but also use the story to remind his readers, most of whom we can presume are children, that the witch trials which occurred in our past were incredibly unjust and resulted in the horrific deaths of many innocent people.

Now, it's time we moved on to some of the stuff I didn't like that much.

I have to admit I was expecting a different kind of story when I started reading Witch Hill. The blurb on my copy is a little different to the one at the top of this review, and when I first read it I assumed the story was going to be about a modern day boy befriending the ghost of a 17th century girl who was wrongly accused of witchcraft, and the evil, old crone was going to fit into the story somehow. Honestly, I sort of wish it had been that story and I can't help thinking that, my edition at least, was a little misleading. The story is much more focused on Jamie and his fears, which isn't a bad thing, but I did sometimes find him a little boring as a narrator.

In fact the other major problem I had with this novella is that Jamie's narrative voice seemed to be all over the place. I kept having to remind myself that he was 12 years old, because at times he seemed a lot younger and then at other times he said something that made him sound more like a teenager. I would have liked to have gotten more of a sense as to who he was. Despite the story being told from his POV I don't think I could tell anyone anything particularly interesting about him; as far as I can remember he doesn't seem to have any hobbies or interests. He just felt a bit bland.

Though there were definitely elements of the story I appreciated and enjoyed, I thought the story as a whole was underwhelming and pretty obvious. However, I am in my 20s so I'm not exactly this novella's target audience, which is why I have such mixed feelings about it. While I might not recommend this book to one of my friends, I definitely recommend it to younger readers; especially younger readers who like their stories on the spooky side, or readers who have an interest in history but don't want to dive straight into historical fiction.

This story might not have blown me away, but parts of it still creeped me out so I'd like to check out more Sedgwick in future - I'm interested in seeing what some of his YA fiction is like.

J.