The author has created a wonderful, complex heroine and a story to match - magical and vulnerable, thrilling and bittersweet. Fern treads a careful line throughout of being prickly and shy; determined and sometimes a bit of a nightmare. She's a really brave protagonist for this genre and I am so intrigued to see where she is going to go over two more books in the series.
The world and story is beautifully thought through and streamlined - it feels rich and believable, but the book is a tight read which doesn’t go off down worldbuilding rabbit holes and remains taut and hooks like a good thriller. There are times where you see the edges of the rest of Annwn and wish you can go off and explore more of the quirks and exceptions of the world, but it is a credit to the book that it sticks to the story and leaves so much more to explore in the future.
The book is also definitely on the mature end of the spectrum for a YA novel - not in that there is anything unsuitable about it, but it has a hard edge and pulls no punches, and has a strong political message - both in the literal sense and on the metaphorical one. Definite recommend!
The world and story is beautifully thought through and streamlined - it feels rich and believable, but the book is a tight read which doesn’t go off down worldbuilding rabbit holes and remains taut and hooks like a good thriller. There are times where you see the edges of the rest of Annwn and wish you can go off and explore more of the quirks and exceptions of the world, but it is a credit to the book that it sticks to the story and leaves so much more to explore in the future.
The book is also definitely on the mature end of the spectrum for a YA novel - not in that there is anything unsuitable about it, but it has a hard edge and pulls no punches, and has a strong political message - both in the literal sense and on the metaphorical one. Definite recommend!