“ℌ𝔦𝔰 𝔠𝔥𝔲𝔯𝔠𝔥 𝔰𝔱𝔞𝔫𝔡𝔰 𝔭𝔯𝔬𝔲𝔡 𝔞𝔟𝔬𝔳𝔢 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔪𝔦𝔯𝔢; 𝔊𝔬𝔡'𝔰 𝔫𝔞𝔪𝔢 𝔦𝔰 𝔴𝔥𝔦𝔰𝔭𝔢𝔯𝔢𝔡, 𝔥𝔲𝔰𝔥𝔢𝔡, 𝔩𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔡. 𝔄𝔫𝔡 𝔫𝔬𝔴, 𝔡𝔢𝔞𝔱𝔥 𝔰𝔱𝔞𝔩𝔨𝔰 𝔐𝔦𝔯𝔢𝔠𝔬𝔬𝔪𝔟𝔢 𝔬𝔫 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔪𝔬𝔬𝔯. 𝔗𝔥𝔢𝔯𝔢 𝔞𝔯𝔢 𝔠𝔬𝔯𝔭𝔰𝔢𝔰 𝔦𝔫 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔥𝔢𝔞𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔯. 𝔗𝔥𝔢𝔯𝔢 𝔦𝔰 𝔟𝔩𝔬𝔬𝔡 𝔦𝔫 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔤𝔬𝔯𝔰𝔢.”

Published: 12/09/24

Genre: Fantasy, folklore, horror

Page count: 400

Format read: 🎧

Other books read by this author: Debut

Dark, atmospheric, & haunting small town clash between folklore & religion, the old gods & the new. I listened to the audiobook & enjoyed the narration but I think my rating would have been a little higher had I read the physical book as the story was a little hard to follow in places, though the plot overall was fascinating. I adored the descriptions of the little folk & of the landscapes; the village of Mirecoombe & the surrounding moorland brought to life in startling detail by Horton’s lyrical prose. I loved the characters, particularly our keeper Pel & his protégée Nancy, with landlady Madge deserving a special mention, as well as Pel & Nancy’s canine sidekick Patroclus. I think the story worked well as a standalone but am pleased to learn that it’s a series & will definitely be back for more! A beautiful debut.