Waking the Witch: a darkly spellbinding tale of female empowerment

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Shelby Mahurin delivers an incredible young adult fantasy tale filled with witches, magic, and romance in her debut novel Serpent & Dove. Heading to a remote Welsh lighthouse, things take a darker and scarier turn. One that is extremely immersive and intense. Juliette Cai of the Scarlet Gang has returned from her banishment for falling in love with Roma, the son of her family’s rival gang, the White Flowers. But when they suspect a mysterious plague killing their family is caused by a monster in the river, the gangs must come together to stop it. And so Ivy begins her quest for her birth mother. All the time questioning - why was she abandoned, why did her mother not love or care for Ivy, has she got any other family? Brothers and sisters? Or other family members? The themes running through this are beautiful. Ivy is very closed off from other people, a coping mechanism she has built through living in the care system, she has no friends and feels as if she has no family (she does not feel that her foster family are her family despite them being nice) but throughout the course of the story she begins to realise how important it is to have friends and family, and also how important it is to show emotion and embrace your feelings and we see this through a variety of relationships that she builds.

The winners of the Diverse Book Awards 2023 have been announced, with one winner from each of the four categories announced: Picture book, Children... I loved quite alot of the characters, including our protagonist Ivy who was a well written and endearingly relatable character. She goes through quiet a lot (having to deal with a lecherous and misogynistic boss before anything creepy or strange even happens) but her slow burn friendship with Tom—their witty banter and jokey comments to one another was a real highlight. Watching Ivy navigate her complex emotions surrounding her life in the care system, constantly feeling like she doesn’t belong but ultimately choosing to open up to Tom (and to include him in her emotional journey) was just a joy to witness. I really enjoyed this book, far more than I had expected to. The characters were strong, the dark and creepy atmosphere was really well done, and I loved the integration and unique spin put on the Welsh and Arthurian legend. I love Arthurian legend and I thought the way it was reimagined and explored in this book was really interesting.When a promo arrived in my inbox for Waking the Witch I was drawn in by the mention of Arthurian legend and Welsh mythology. I love a book that centres around any mythology, they are often some of my favourites. This is no exception.

Beta/critiquing partners: a place where you can find a beta match. Here you can go through the list of books on offer by others looking for a beta-partner. If you like the sound of a book in here, you can then approach the author about becoming a beta match. I began the story in the real world and gave Ivy everyday concerns to contend with, so that the reader would feel grounded before I introduced more supernatural elements. Hopefully, the reader is invested enough in the characters that they willingly go along for the ride when the plot takes a turn into fantasy! I gave Ivy a sexist boss to content with at the start, as I wanted to foreshadow the challenges she later faces in the story. I've been fascinated by ghosts and the supernatural for as long as I can remember. While I don't claim to have any abilities myself, I love meeting psychics, witches and shamans, and chatting to them about their experiences. I'm drawn to the strange and uncanny, and all my stories are set in the everyday world where something 'other worldly' occurs. The characters were all well developed and interactions were nuanced and convincing and I loved the relationships between them. The themes of family and belonging throughout really added to this and the changes in Ivy from the impact of the relationships created a convincing character arc and a well developed strong female lead. There was a tangible sense of foreboding throughout and the book was a great combination of YA fantasy and YA horror throughout and I particularly enjoyed the horror created by the unknown in the first half. New York Times bestselling author Chloe Gong delivers a monster-filled revamp on a Shakespearean classic: Romeo and Juliet. Only this time, it’s in fair Shanghai where we lay our scene.Louise la Blanc is a witch who has given up magic, fleeing her coven to live in the shadows of Cesarine. Reid Diggory is a witch hunter who was never supposed to meet Louise. But after chaos brings them together, they find they need one another to survive, so they make an arrangement: they get married. But the war between the Church and witches rages on, and when Lou and Reid develop real feelings for one another, their once-simple arrangement gets complicated. The world building/setting was done so well and definitely made you feel engrossed in that environment. The characters are written with depth and personality; and descriptions of their appearance and traits/habits. They are realistic believable people - characters with life, not flat cardboard cutouts. LOVED this book!! I enjoy a witchy read, when I first saw about this book - firstly the cover really grabbed my attention as it’s stunning with beautiful colours and then the synopsis really intrigued me. Didn’t disappoint - absolutely incredible.

Maybe I’m used to Arthurian retellings that more often explore the Knights and King Arthur, so I was pleasantly surprised that this explored the women’s side of the story. I really enjoyed their story, and their reason to explore a shared pain - it felt sadly realistic. After so long without a family, I liked the opportunity Ivy was handed to have one. It wasn’t the one that she (or I) expected, but it worked. I liked that it wasn’t perfect, and that, for so long, she felt like she was trying to squeeze herself into a mould that didn’t quite fit. It felt better that she had to embrace her own identity to make everything work.This delightful YA fantasy book is perfect for your next read. Buy a copy here. Dance of Thieves (Dance of Thieves #1) by Mary E. Pearson Setting also plays a big part. I like to choose settings that are slightly apart from the 'real' world, where you have the sense that something unexplained could happen. I spend a lot of time trying to create a strong sense of place and atmosphere, so that the reader feels they're in the story with the characters. This hopefully makes the story feel more believable. To be honest, I didn't know much about Arthurian legend before I started work on the book. When coming up with story ideas, I nearly always begin with setting. I was looking up remote areas in the UK and came across Bardsey Island off the west coast of Wales. There were so many fascinating facts and folklore about the place, I knew there had to be a story I could set there. When I discovered it was said to be Avalon and Merlin's last resting place, I began to look more closely at Arthurian legends. I loved the sisterhood especially and the character development as Ivy worked through her past trauma to learn more about herself. Dive into this thrilling mystery with your copy, which you can buy here. These Violent Delights (These Violent Delights #1) by Chloe Gong