Many thanks to @deadinkbooks for gifting me a copy of Water Shall Refuse Them - I thoroughly enjoyed it and highly recommend it if you’re looking for a sultry, oppressive read with a serious dark streak!
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Nif and her family are still recovering from a tragic accident, deciding to spend a month in rural Wales to clear their heads. But the intense heatwave and strange influence of their new neighbours means their retreat is anything but restful, and Nif finds herself becoming more involved in the occult as a way of forgetting what happened.
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Witchcraft, small village drama, and a coming of age story all collide in this book, creating an atmosphere that is tangible. I loved Hardy’s writing, she has an eye for all things rotten and cruel (possibly worrying, but we love a bit of dark fiction), and there were passages that really made me feel uncomfortable. A few parts were maybe a bit heavy handed, but overall I enjoyed the effect!
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Nif was a fascinating narrator, as she’s not at all likeable and it was quite unnerving to watch events unfold through her lens. Hardy does a great job with the other characters too, although I do agree with Jess’s @lunchpoems criticism that it was a bit tone deaf to refer to certain characters constantly by their weight - even though I get that Nif is not a good person and a teenager.
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Definitely a good end-of-summer read exploring some very dark places!