I received this book from Titan Press in exchange for an honest review.

Mae and Rossa are staying with their Great-Aunt Rita and her teenage ward Bevan for a whole summer, and neither of them know what to expect - until they get there and realise that Rita and Bevan are witches and a talking cat lives in the house as well as an evil entity called Sweet James who takes the form of a terrifying owl.

This is a really interesting tale with subtle magic that flashes powerful at times, and an underlying unrest caused by Sweet James and his gluttonous need for negative emotion to feed off of. This book is packed with unlikeable characters like Bevan, Sweet James and even at times Mae and Rossa depending on their mood.

The book takes a lot of inspiration from real life Irish history to do with the Magdalene Laundries and the Catholic Church's treatment of girls that were pregnant and unmarried or just girls who were felt to be wayward. I loved how Sarah Maria Griffin tied this real history into the emergence of Dear Bobby and Sweet James due to the grief and pain the actions of the laundry caused on Rita and Audrey. There was a real power in the words when Griffin talked about the laundries - particularly the fear Rita, Audrey and Deborah all felt when they knew what was happening and the limited choices they had available, as well as when Griffin described the laundry as not just a building but as a threat. Wow.

The style of magic and writing in this book isn't one I think would suit everyone - it can be a bit whimsical at times and it can be hard to figure out what exactly is happening but I think if you go in ready to be brought along on a magical, scary ride - you'll enjoy it!