WWW Wednesday

I’m just about to start A Tangle of Spells which is definitely one of my most anticipated reads for 2021. I definitely feel the need to escape into another adventure with the Widdershin sisters!

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I’ve actually read an adult book! And what fantastic book it was! The Once and Future Witches completely and utterly captured me from start to finish. It is such a powerful story that for me really honed in on the strength, endurance, love and friendship of a group of women who stood up to the inequalities and discrimination levied against them. I loved the use of traditional rhymes and fairy tales as spells and the ‘realness’ of the witchcraft; the fairy tale elements were brilliantly woven into the story. All three sisters, Juniper, Agnes and Bella were all fantastic characters, torn apart by cruelty and seeming betrayal and brought back together through the call of witchcraft and sisterhood. My heart broke for them, sang for them and worried endlessly for them even though they were such resilient characters. Even though I know this is a fantasy story, it was so real for me and made me feel so much emotion: anger, pride, worry, fear, hope. An unforgettable story that still has me thinking about it.

I also read an e-book of The Girl and the Ghost on Borrowbox. This is an incredible story which I absolutely loved. It is based on the Malaysian folktale of the pelesit. This is a story of love, jealously and enduring friendship and is both chilling and heart-warming. Suraya becomes the master of her witch grandmother’s pelesit after her death. She names him Pink and they become firm friends especially as Suraya does not have friends of her own and is cruelly bullied by others. This is something that Pink can’t bear and so he seeks revenge showing his dark spirit. Suraya is a kind-hearted girl who doesn’t want anyone hurt so commands him to stop. When a new girl, Jing, joins the school, Suraya makes a friend which makes Pink jealous and drives a rift between the two. However, when Pink is in danger, jealousies and pain are forgotten and their deep friendship and love for each other leads them, with Jing, on a journey to find the truth and save Pink. This is a powerful, heartfelt and dark read with a twist that brought tears. I didn’t know anything about Malay folklore so the origins of the pelesit came as a shock. Definitely one for the top end of middle-grade.

I’ve just finished Dragon Detective: That’s a Wrap which was a really fun mystery as Holly and Dirk head to LA to stop the existence of dragonkind being revealed to an unsuspecting world. This will be published in 7th January, so I will post a review before then.

I have so many books to read that it’s really hard to choose! I think I’ll go for Another Twist in the Tale next.

Have you read any of these? What have you read this week?