Strange what chooses to flourish here. Which plants. Which stories -
Flyaway is a book of the gloaming, a little bit gothic and a little bit fairytale, yet firmly set in a dwindling bush town in Queensland where the sun burns bright.
Demure Bettina Scott lives with her mother in a well-kept house in Runagate, a facade that she and her mother have created since Bettina's father and brothers disappeared 3 years ago. Some graffiti on the house and a hand-delivered letter knock some chinks in Tina's prim defenses and she sets off to find out what really happened.
Flyaway whispers Bettina's story in a tangle of folklore and yarns, family stories and town gossip, memory, and fairytale. Very creepy!
This month was a mix of comfort reading old favourites and new titles. I thoroughly enjoyed A Conjuring of Ravens: A Practical Guide to Sorcery Bk 1 by Azalea Ellis. I loved sitting in with the MC's sorcery lessons - the world building behind the detail is a lot of fun.
Poison Study by Maria M. Snyder had some great descriptions of food and taste, I appreciated the slow start but the second book doesn't match the first.
I continue to enjoy my seasonal reading of The Autumn Castle by Kim Wilkins. Every year I try and work out what appeals to me so much that I can continue to reread it. This year's thoughts were about duality and choices. There is the real world and faery, pain and health, enchantment and the mundane. I particularly like the fairytale motifs used too.
I adore Lirael by Garth Nix (the second in the Abhorsen series). Lirael is so relateable as she grows through her worries and anxiety. The Library of the Clayr sounds like the most amazing (and dangerous) place, but I would love to visit. Garth Nix manages to make objects of power very real.
I have been big fan of Louise Cooper since my teens and I picked up The Sleep in Stone at a big second hand book market. I found the 'fae creature falls in love with human prince' trope a bit dated but her writing is always evocative and dreamy. Cooper's Indigo series is still a favourite though.
Currently Reading
The House of Styx by Derek Künsen (e)
The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow 📖
The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune (e)
Recent Reads 📚
Witch by Finbar Hawkins 📖
Flyaway by Kathleen Jennings 📖 🌟
Lirael by Garth Nix 📖 (rr) 🌟
Sabriel by Garth Nix 📖 (rr)
Abhorsen by Garth Nix 📖 (rr)
Magic Study by Maria V Snyder (e)
Poison Study by Maria V Snyder (e) 🌟
Envoy by Shanna Jay 📖 (rr)
The Sleep in Stone by Louise Cooper 📖
The Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling 📖 (rr)
The Autumn Castle by Kim Wilkins 📖 (rr) 🌟
A Conjuring of Ravens: A Practical Guide to Sorcery Bk 1 by Azalea Ellis (e) 🌟
TBR List
The Winter of the Witch by Katherine Arden 📖
The Colour of Angels by Terri Windling
Sorcerer to the Crown by Zen Cho
Beloved by Toni Morrison
Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir