Publication Date: 6 October 2022

The Blurb

A dark, gothic adventure set on the island of Anglesey in North Wales and featuring a very fantastical beast…

Wren lives in an ancient castle in the mountains near the sea. The wind whistles through it and the walls sing to her. Wren is busy inventing things, and her father is busy disapproving.

But the castle contains a mystery and as Wren is drawn further into it, she realises the answer lies in the very foundations of her home, foundations that are being shaken to their core…

The Review

An adventurous spirit is combined with a mysterious home to create a hugely atmospheric, dark tale of grief and hope steeped in Welsh myth.

Wren is such a determined character. Inquisitive and headstrong, she is not growing into the young lady her father expects her to. Her passion for the outdoors and same fire for flight as her mother leads her to need an escape route from her father’s plans for her future at the hands of the nefarious Airey’s and their finishing school for girls.

As she speeds up her flight plans, she learns more of the mysteries surrounding her ancestral family home, and those whose lives are inextricably linked to the strange building. Lucy Hope brings the building and its surrounding landscape to life in stark, bitter cold detail to the point I wished I had one of Aunty Efa’s blankets draped around me as I read.

The everyday sexism of the era is highlighted through Wren’s interactions with her younger brother, who steadfastly follows in their father’s footsteps, mimicking his disapproval of her ‘wild ways’, and the presumption of a French man that the young engineer who wrote to him must be male.

Fast paced and with plenty of twists, this is guaranteed to delight fans of historical fiction who like a dark, gothic edge to their stories.

Great for fans of:

• Gaslight by Eloise Williams
• Sky Chasers by Emma Carroll
• Mystery Of The Night Watchers by A.M. Howell

Huge thanks to Nosy Crow for sending me an early proof copy.