Seeing a brilliant life size picture of a cockatoo on the cover of Hello Cocky I knew that I was in for a treat.
Who rules the skies from back garden to bush, Launching from trees with a screech and a whoosh? Bossy and smart, loves to put on a show, Who could it be now? Why, Cocky — hello!
With the publicity about cockatoos doing different dances, young and old readers will be interested to see what fabulous facts Hilary Bell and Antonia Pesenti have to offer about this intriguing species of bird. The reader is taken into the snug little nest inside a gum tree, ready to have a stickybeak at the cockatoo, who is ready to have a stickybeak back! With rhyming text, the reader learns that they are inquisitive, there are different kinds and all are clever and love having fun. Readers will be amazed at the idea of them divebombing traffic and opening bins to find food and rip up paper and will have fun imitating their squealing and squawking and reading that Fred the sulphur crested cockatoo in the Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary has lived to be 100 years old. There is some new vocabulary for young children to learn as well with words like stickybeak, intrigued, waddle and preen bringing vivid mental pictures
The illustrations are gorgeous, pictures of the cockatoos set against bright blues, reds, greens and yellows. I particularly loved the final pages showing a flock of cockies against a sunset and a pair flying to their nest in a hollow tree. Each of the cockatoos has a personality of their own, often having what looks like a cheeky grin or a curious glint in the eye.
Hello Cocky: A stickybeak at the cockatoo is a highly recommended nonfiction rhyming story, joining othe rtales about this well-known bird. Readers might like to look at Who's the gang on our street? by Suzanne Gervay, Cockatoo wars by Helen Milroy and Cato's can canby Juliet Sampson.
Themes Cockatoos, Story in rhyme.
Pat Pledger
Tenderly, I am devoured by Lyndall Clipstone
Penguin, 2025. ISBN: 9781761345975. (Age:16+)
This Gothic romantasy is centred on 18 year old Lark, betrothed to a chthonic god, in order to save her family from penury. The god Therion has the power to restore the depleted salt mines on which Lark’s family are dependent to pay a debt, but his price is for Lark to spend six months each year as his wife. It is a price she is prepared to pay, but when the ceremony is disrupted, she finds herself repeatedly ensnared in swirling seas between this world and another.
The story alternates between two time frames, the present and the past, and it is only gradually revealed how it is that she has been expelled from a prestigious school, all her future aspirations in shreds. Clipstone’s writing is at its best as she describes the heartbreaking betrayal of early friendships, firstly with her childhood playmate Alistair, and then later the callous treatment by her closest school friend Damson. Feelings of hurt and loss makes it easier for Lark to consider self-sacrifice to the god.
Clipstone’s writing is emotive, and the reader is swept along in the early chapters piecing together the events of the past. Readers of fantasy will revel in this world of gods, potions, sea caves and altars, with threads of romance entwining Lark with both male and female loves. However, the pace falters as the novel progresses and the action becomes confused, with new characters introduced to extend the plot in unexpected ways. For this reader, some of the power of the initial writing is lost. Perhaps others will find their interest sustained by the twisting strands of romance, friendship so readily leaping to passionate relationships.
Although quite separate from Clipstone’s popular World at the Lake’s Edge duology, this latest book shares many themes, particularly the sustaining love between siblings, the vulnerable heroine, damaged hero, fighting against evil, and of course the haunted settings, so fans of the genre will probably find much to enjoy in this book also.
Themes Fantasy, Romance, Gods, Sacrifice, Dark magic, Polyamory.
Set in England, A Time to Wait is a World War Two story about Basil, a young boy alone in the world and an abandoned border collie puppy that he found. Basil raises Wimbledon under difficult and cruel circumstances and their bond is unbreakable.
Sadly, Basil has been taken in by a nasty cousin after his parents go missing in Europe. She treats him cruelly and when children are encouraged to evacuate London, she immediately sets about to do this and have Wimbledon put down at the same time. Fortunately, a kind and wise vet saves Wimbledon and is instrumental in setting him on his arduous journey to find Basil.
Meanwhile heartbroken Basil is placed on a train and begins a long journey to the town of Rye. On the journey he befriends Maisie and their connection is another layer central to this story. Basil finds himself billeted with a kind older gentleman who served in World War One and who helps Basil search for Wimbledon over many weeks. Basil and Maisie form a close bond and both will not give up the dream of finding Wimbledon alive.
Throughout this story, there are adventures for both Basil and Wimbledon that see them move further away from finding each other but also help to share glimpses of what life was like in 1940’s England. The language used is descriptive and the steady pace and changing subplots of the narrative will keep readers engaged. The ending is particularly satisfying and resolves many of the storylines.
Themes World War Two, Dogs, Family, Evacuees, Adventure, Danger, Friendship.
Kathryn Beilby
Weaving Country by Chris Joy & Aunty Kim Wandin. Illus. by Ashleigh Pugh
When Walert (Possum) sees her Gugung (grandmother) gathering djirra (reeds) by the river, the susurrus through the rushes invites her to follow her home, little knowing that she is going to learn one of those precious lessons that generations share between each other as they pass the knowledge of their culture to each other.
In Walert's case, she not only learns about the physical construction of a woven binak (basket), but also how the sun, land, water and wind all play their part in the growing and the preparation of the djirra so they are ready to weave, strengthening her understanding of her connection to Country that is so integral of First Nations culture and life. And when a boroin (blue wren) builds its tiny nest in the drying djirra, and lays three little eggs, Walert also learns patience. This is not the time to disturb the circle of life that has endured for so long.
This is a story set on Wurundjeri Country in the Yarra Valley, Victoria and based on the work of author Aunty Kim Wandin who is a master weaver and Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung Elder, whose traditional basket making has been handed down to her by direct lineage, so Walert's lessons have authenticity and authority. The teachers' notes which accompany it specifically focus on encouraging "students to slow down, listen deeply, and build respectful relationships with place, themselves, and each other, honouring the wisdom of intergenerational learning and the living stories carried by land and water" offering opportunities to engage with the land, its harvest, its inhabitants and each other that they might not otherwise consider.
But as well as connecting both Walert and the students to their natural environment, the story itself has a strong focus on the passing of knowledge, skills and understandings between Gugung and Walert making it an ideal springboard for helping young readers develop their understanding of the outcomes embedded in the early years of the Australian HASS curriculum. What stories and skills have their grandparents shared with them, such as favourite books, or music, or crafts or how to mend a bike or....??? Is there something that their family always does at a particular commemoration or celebration because that's the way it has always been done? For older students, what stories, traditions and skills will they pass on to their own children?
From 2027 in New South Wales, the Human Society and its Environment K−6 Syllabus (2024) requires students in Stage 1 (years 1 and 2) to understand that “People use stories, images, objects and sites to understand the ancient past” with a specific focus on the ancient cultures of China, Egypt, Greece and Rome, and those in Stage 2 (Years 3 and 4) to focus on the ancient cultures of Mesoamerica which include the Maya, Aztecs and Incas so although their grandparents are not that old, this could be a bridge that helps them understand that much of what they know and do today is built on what those who have gone before have known and done beginning within their own family and their own experience.
While there seems to be an upsurge in the writing and publishing of books that explore First Nations' connections to Country, helping non-Indigenous children understand and appreciate the Welcome to Country and Acknowledgement of Country that are part of their daily lives, this one, through its story and indeed, its literal and metaphorical focus on weaving, is a stand out.
Lay Maloney's first book Weaving Us Together is a story of identity, belonging and strength told from the perspective of Jean O'Ryan, a non-binary Aboriginal adolescent in a coastal Queensland town (2011–2013). Jean experiences adolescence, reconnects with culture and discovers oneself alongside Seraphina Landry and her tight-knit friends, 'The Crew.' Jean and her friends experience difficulties and mend the traumas of the past and weave a tapestry of hope, grief, joy and love.
Maloney is a genderfluid Gumbaynggirr and Gunggandji author who infuses her writing with the authenticity of personal experience in tackling issues of gender identity, family, healing, and ethnic origins. The writing is acutely perceptive and describing of adolescent experience while making the story securely located in the rich landscape and communities that inform Jean's experience. The book has been praised by reviewers for its emotional strength and cultural resonance. Grace Lucas-Pennington identifies it as "poetic, hilarious and heartbreaking in turn," and celebrates the importance it represents for young readers seeking depiction and identification. Weaving Us Together is an emotive and compelling read for fans of present-day Australian writing, especially tales of exploration of Aboriginal life and queer culture. It provides a true account of discovering where one belongs in the world while raising a glass to endurance, camaraderie, and self-acceptance.
Jaibir S. (student)
Themes Identity, belonging, personal growth, adolescence, aboriginal and LGBTQ+ identity.
They bloom at night by Trang Thanh Tran
Bloomsbury, 2025. ISBN: 9781526674838. (Age:YA)
They bloom at night conveys the feeling of trauma informed writing. The writing is raw and simultaneously revealing and concealing. There is a disturbing sense of something being very wrong beneath the surface. The surface doesn't look too good either. The story could be read on a literal level or on a metaphoric, symbolic level. This reader sees They bloom at night as a text that points to somewhere else - a dark place. There are hints about the cause of the personal hurt and ultimately there is disclosure and a kind of healing. Mirroring the human pain, the environment is equally hurting with the submerging town scenario serving as a metaphor for the human impact on the environment. The townspeople of Mercy are being displaced just as the central Vietnamese family were displaced from their home country.
The lead character Noon is of Vietnamese origin and still coping with the problem of diaspora. Noon has trouble living in her own skin it seems and the internal struggle and references to wanting to shed like a snake and become something new and fresh mirrors the algal bloom spead and has its roots in a trauma. Noon states, "Here's the truth: my life went apocalyptic ...when I lost my virginity...I am all the wrong shapes, skin flaking away to shell under prying fingers." Noon and her mother are coping with the loss of the family father and brother and living a precarious existence in the waterways of a broken down town called Mercy somewhere on the Mississippi floodplain close to the Gulf of Mexico. In all respects this is a town that has submerged as the result of unspecified environmental changes. Water level has risen; houses have been flooded. As Noon further states, "The bloom has claimed much of our town of Mercy, red algae spilling over the Mississippi and adjacent flood like entrails." This sentence reflects the tone and descriptiveness of the novel. The bloom, with its tendrils spreading throughout the water and reaching into bodies and under skin looks something like entrails. The land, the waters, humans and marine creatures have become infested with algal growth in a horrific, visceral way. As the red algal bloom infests everything, wildlife is mutated, the riverways and ocean become choked and there seems to be a further unknown menace from underwater. Townspeople go missing and are found in a zombie-like state - half dissolved in the algal infested water and dangerous.
Through the first person narration of Noon the reader gradually learns of her past and her courageous plan to secure a safer future away from Mercy with her mother. Along the way she makes true friends for the first time and literally and symbolically rids herself of her old skin to take on a new one. The process is painful and abhorrent. She has to escape predators, understand the problem and survive. The monsters are both within and outside.
American writer Trang Thanh Tran, author of New York Times bestselling horror story She is a haunting has delivered in They bloom at night, a psychological, environmental, dystopian, speculative horror story.
Themes Algal bloom, eco-dystopia, the monster within and outside, predators, trauma, friendship, Vietnamese diaspora, identity.
Wendy Jeffrey
Impossible creatures: The poisoned king by Katherine Rundell
The poisoned king, the second in the highly awarded Impossible creatures (winner of the Waterstones Book of the Year, British Book Awards Children's Book of the Year, Foyles Children's Book of the Year and the Books Are My Bag Readers Award) is another stunning fantasy by Rundell. Christopher Forrester is woken up by Jacques, a tiny dragon from the Archipelago, who demands that he come with him to rescue the dragons who are dying. Christopher has been dreaming of returning to that mythical place and when he meets Anya, a princess on a mission to save her father who has been wrongly accused of murdering the King, the pair embark on a quest for justice that involves flying on the back of a sphinx, meeting dragons and finding an anecdote to poison.
Rundell’s prose is a joy to read. The story flows beautifully with the mythical land and its creatures coming alive for the reader. There are fantastic drawings of the strange beasts that inhabit the land at the back of the book and it was wonderful to be able to turn to them to visualise the gagana, a bird beloved by Anya, the chimera who accosts Chistopher and Annya, the dragons who need their help and the ratatoskas who tell of murder.
Anya is obsessed with revenge for the wrong done to her father and wants to rush to his rescue, while Christopher has been called to help the dragons. They must cooperate and help each other with the differing quests, making allies along the way and facing great danger and threats to their lives.
I had not read the first in the series, but Rundell gives enough information for the reader to be able to read The poisoned king as a stand-alone book, although it would be better to start with Impossible creatures. This series, full of strange creatures, engaging characters, danger and adventure is outstanding.
The street is a great place to live, neighbours know each other, the narrator does crosswords with Mr Morris, helps Mrs Lou water her garden and makes funny faces with baby Samir.
Everyone in the street is aware of their environment, so the bins are always in use and there is no litter to be found. The bins are put out on Tuesday evening, but each Wednesday morning rubbish is found strewn around the streets, the bins askew and lids left open wide. But who is the scoundrel who does this? The people decide to stop the monster who tips over their bins. Mr Morris puts bricks on top of his bin, hoping to stop the bin monster, but it doesn’t work. Mrs Lou puts a big stick through the cover hoping to deter the monster, but it too does not work.
The narrator hears them in the night, squabbling, noisy and scattering rubbish, and draws an image of what it may look like. No matter what they do, the rubbish is all over the street when they wake up. The narrator decides to act. She listens through the night, making some armour for herself to defend the bins. But pursuing her quest when the noise occurs, she finds cockatoos pulling the rubbish out of the bins. The bin monsters have been exposed. Now what to do?
Lots of questions will occur to the readers as they read this story. Initially, they will ask questions about what the street population can do to stop the bin monster. They will laugh at the methods tried and the failures that ensue. Then the big question will be about how they can deter the bin monsters when they find out just who they are.
The funny illustrations will engage readers as they ponder the problems posed in this story. I love the images of the rubbish strewn street, rubbish even finding itself in the trees. The endpapers give a lovely double page image of before and after, with cheeky cockatoos peering out of the tree.
Themes Humour, Cockatoos, Rubbish, Recycling, Problem solving.
Fran Knight
The pearl of Tagai Town by Lenora Thaker
Text Publishing, 2025. ISBN: 9781923058392. (Age:14+) Highly recommended.
Tagai Town is a Torres Strait Islander shanty town much like the old Malay Town area of Cairns. It’s where Pearl grows up with her family, on the outskirts of the fictional white township of Figwood, with her granny, her aunties, and cousins like Curly Anne and Sam Boy. But her heart is secretly captured by Teddy Brooks, the kole or white boy, son of the Figwood bank manager, despite stern warnings from her mother, Ama Rose, to have nothing to do with kole boys. While it seems that Teddy returns her affections, the path of true love never runs smooth, especially love between people from different sides of the track.
This is the era of the 1930s and 40s in small town Queensland. While there have been many Australian historical fiction novels set in war-time this is probably the first time we are presented with the story of a Torres Strait Islander girl, drawn from Thaker’s recollections of the oral stories of her family, of how life was for them in those days. It is a story of great warmth and humour, told with the inclusion of many first language words, from Kala Lagaw Ya, Meriam Mir and Yumplatok, three Islander languages. Although there is a glossary at the end, their meaning is apparent from context, and adds to the authenticity and down-to-earth feeling of Pearl’s family interactions. This is what shines through the novel, the caring and interconnectedness of family. Pearl seeks always to honour her parents’ expectations and diffuse conflict, and she expects the same of Teddy.
Thaker’s novel provides a new perspective on this era in Australia’s history. The Japanese strand in Pearl’s extended family is interned during the war years, Islander women struggle to find work to support their families, and then there is the impact of American black soldiers seeking the sense of family and community, the love of music and dance, that is found with the Islander people.
Pearl navigates all of this, staying true to her family values, yet also finding ways to assert her independence, her own sense of self. It is a thoroughly absorbing story, and a welcome insight into a view of history that has been neglected until now. It’s to be hope that Lenora Thaker, a proud Meriam and Wagedagam woman awarded the Writing NSW Boundless Mentorship in 2021, will be encouraged to go on to write more in this genre.
Themes Torres Strait Islander, Romance, Community, War, Racism, Historical fiction.
His face is the sun is the first book of a trilogy by Michelle Jabès Corpora. Within Corpora’s novel, she focuses on a fantasy world known as ‘Khetara,’ which was heavily inspired by Egyptian history and mythology. The story is structured as a multi-perspective narrative, alternating between four distinct viewpoints. It focuses on the lives of four characters: a princess, a priestess, a rebel, and a thief. The pharaoh is slowly dying and the kingdom is falling, which leads to corruption between the people below. What ties these four characters together is the potential to save the kingdom from destruction. Who will rule the kingdom Khetara?
Corpora's writing style is beautifully crafted, utilising poetic language filled with vivid imagery. Corpora’s rich descriptive language is presented when she explores the characters experiences in hardships, struggles, self-identity and romance. Moreover, Corpora’s usage of pacing is evident in her ability to shift between different perspectives, allowing her to navigate various situations effectively. As the story unfolds, Corpora emphasizes the significance of weaving together crucial life events between the four characters, which act as steppingstones toward self-discovery.
Additionally, Corpora explores the complexities of selfishness from a royal political standpoint and its impact on the social dynamics of society. She highlights the nature of royalty, illustrating how power and privilege can lead to moral dilemmas and ethical conflicts. By exploring this through four perspectives, Corpora reveals how motivations and decisions can result in consequences in self-serving actions, ultimately impacting royals but also the lives of ordinary citizens. Her focus motivates the characters to rebel and realise the implications of leadership and the responsibility in determining societal dynamics.
The setting of Khetara feels ethereal, displaying Corpora's ability to create a magical world while drawing authentic inspirations from historical mythology. The kingdom is vividly depicted, rooted in a specific time of hardships that enhances the story's emotional weight. Additionally, Corpora highlights the stark contrast between the wealth of the kingdom and the struggles of the rural areas, revealing the impact of the corrupt monarchy. Through rich imagery and evocative language, she conveys a powerful message about inequality through setting.
Truc M. (Student)
Themes Fantasy, Mythology, Historical Fiction, Romance, Power Dynamics, Self-Discovery and Identity.
Revenge of Odessa by Frederick Forsyth with Tony Kent
This is an impressive and heart-stirring story that investigates the possibility of the resurrection of the Odessa - the Nazi group known from the past, that appears to be ready to rise again. How far has their poison travelled around the world? Georg Miller is a German investigative journalist who runs into an old dementia patient in the hospital while collecting stories from victims of a terrorist attack. A sliver of a story from the old man cracks open a historical and present-day Nazi horror story that has Georg in the firing line. In the USA, a political staffer gets a hint of some uncomfortable political toxic possibilities in her role within the office of a rising Senator. She is horrified to think that fetid corruption is about to rise to the surface and is afraid for her life. With assassins and corrupt influences hiding within reliable places there appears to be nowhere to turn. Can either Georg or Vanessa survive to reveal the threats to modern society?
This is a book that makes you wonder - can Nazi ideologues hijack terrorists of other ideologies for their own purposes? Could they infiltrate every level of society in order to position themselves ready to ‘take over’ the world? How can those who discover their lies and the horrors they plan for global political systems, escape the murderous intents of their supporters? I was really captivated by the mastery of the storytelling in an arena of spies, politics, assassins and innocence. Frederick Forsyth’s career as an investigative journalist has given us modern thrillers that are powerful reminders of evil’s influence, and his recent death means this is his last. This is a story for adults who can juggle the intensity of the murderous individuals who are involved, and the political ramifications of the Nazi power play - it is a real page-turner with action aplenty. The ending seemed to come too quickly and almost felt incomplete, until the ‘kick in the guts’ last page.
Themes Nazism, extremists, journalism, terrorism, American politics, assassins, espionage, thriller.
Carolyn Hull
Best worst farmer ever by Pat Cummins & Michael Wagner & Louis Shea
Dad, farmer Pat, along with his son, Albie and dog, Normie set out to repair some of the things happening on their farm. From the start, Albie notices the cows have been able to bypass the fence repairs to get to the other side and eat the pasture. The previous repairs: sticky tape, ice block sticks and bark did not work, so Farmer Pat has an idea which involves collecting lots of yellow things. They then build a fence with all the yellow things, and being Pat Cummins, it contains lots of cricket paraphernalia. They test by moving the cows towards the fence, relying on the idea that cows do not like yellow. And it works! Next Albie notices that the sheep are acting oddly. Pat sees that their water trough is leaking and they set off to the shed to bring back something to stop the leak. Pat blows up the paddle pool and they line the water trough with it, stopping the leaks. An old boat takes their interest, Farmer Pat was always going to set that up as a treehouse. So they set about doing just that. But in the tree house, Farmer Pat spies another problem.
Birds are eating all the apples in the apple orchard. Farmer Pat knows just what to do, and the pair run between the lines of trees with sheets trailing behind them. The scared birds fly away. They sit down with Farmer Becky for lunch and she bemoans that she has lost her yellow gardening gloves. Farmer Pat and Albie look a little embarrassed. But all is well on the farm, things have been repaired, the sheep are playing cricket, there are lots of Australian animals dotted through the illustrations, and references to cricket, of course.
A rollicking story about the closeness between father and son, as they work together to fix some of the problems on their farm. It is a wonderful read aloud which will elicit lots of laughter as readers see the problems and the zany ideas to repair things. Bright illustrations cover each page, ensuring kids attention as they listen to the story. Readers will notice all the Australian animals, the breadth of things done on the farm, the strength of the father-son relationship, and laugh along with the antics of the two. Kids will not be able to stop themselves roaring around the room, emulating Pat and Normie as they frighten away the birds in the apple orchard. And they will be able to make their own yellow fence, gathering all the yellow things they can find.
A lovely warm story about a father and son working together to solve problems on the farm, infused with lots of humour, impelling kids to join in.
Themes Father and son, Farming, Problem solving, Cricket, Humour.
Fran Knight
The colours of home by Sally Soweol Han
Thames & Hudson, 2025. ISBN: 9781760764654.
Moving to a new neighbourhood is, in itself, a testing experience for many children, but moving to a new country is something else again. So when Bomi moves from Australia to Korea, there are bound to be some dramatic changes. Yet she finds comfort in seeing familiar colours in new places, and they bring her a sense of calm and comfort as she see the grey of the bark of the ancient gum tree at the end of her old street in the grey bark of the silver birch in her new park, and purple hydrangeas dance in the sun here, just as the jacarandas did at home. But no matter which country she is in, the same silver moon watches over her while she sleeps and the same yellow sun greets her as she wakes...
Once again, as she did in Tiny Wonders, Korean-Australian creator Sally Soweol Han encourages the reader to observe and appreciate the colours around them to connect them to their surroundings. Whenever we are in a new situation, we look for the familiar so we can connect to what we already know, do, understand, appreciate and value so we can put the unfamiliar into context and so linking colours of the landscape offers a simple way to ground ourselves. This is visual storytelling at its best and offers so many opportunities for the reader to see their own world through new eyes.
Given the number of children in our schools for whom Australia is a new country, this is a valuable addition to the collection to share with them as they adapt and adjust to so much that is confusing, confronting and challenging.
Hickey grabs the reader’s attention with a dramatic opening of a body hanging from the blade of a giant wind turbine, in this engrossing rural noir set in the small Victorian town of Carrabeen. Detective Sergeants Belinda Burney and Will Lovell are called to the scene and discover that it is prominent local man, Geordie Pritchard, who owned the wind farm where 300 wind turbines spun constantly. The town is divided with differing opinions about the wind farm, some believe that it will help reach environmental targets, while others believe that the land should be left for grazing. One woman believes that the turbines cause cancer. When Lucinda Pritchard insists that it was murder not suicide, with death threats to back up her opinion, the police begin an investigation. Did someone in the district want Geordie dead? How did his body get onto the blade?
This is a well-crafted mystery with a topical setting of wind farms, homelessness and class and wealth divide. Hickey pulls the reader into the mystery as detectives from Ballarat are brought in, needing the knowledge that Belinda has of the local community. She is also investigating minor thefts at the local high school and caring for her irascible father, who still holds sway in the town. Belinda and Will’s caring relationship for each other is a highlight of the story as the pair’s trust in each other helps the investigation along. Other characters are engaging and the reader gets to know them, their backgrounds and personalities.
Red herrings are strewn throughout the book, keeping the reader engrossed until the stunning conclusion. Readers who have enjoyed the work of Garry Disher, Jane Harper and Chris Hammer will want to sample this and other books by Margaret Hickey.
Themes Murder, Detectives, Country life - Australia, Wind farms.
Pat Pledger
The Knight and the Moth by Rachel Gillig
Little, Brown Book Group, 2025. ISBN: 9780356522975. (Age:Young Adult, adult)
When seventeen-year-old boy-king Benedict Castor rides to Aisling Cathedral high on its Tor, he and his knights are watched by six shrouded women, the cathedral’s diviners. Eager for a bit of excitement they watch as the knights pass by, begging the girls for kisses. The king has come for a divination and one of them will have to taste his blood then drown in the sacred spring to dream the omens of the king’s future before being revived. Known only by their numbers, it is Six who draws the short straw but before making her way to the cathedral she encounters one of the knights, Roderick Myndacious, unfriendly and disrespectful, yet, as she observes later, “sickeningly handsome”. Along the approach to the cathedral five limestone statues hold five items representing the magical omens of the five settlements in the Stonewater Kingdom. There is a coin, an inkwell, an oar, a chime and a loomstone. Other than the abbess the only other inhabitants of the cathedral are the gargoyles, batlike sprites, carved from stone which care for the cathedral. The king’s divination showed only bad omens but unperturbed, he and his knights stay at the cathedral hostel and the other girls are happy to lay with the knights while six, in spite of smoking some of Roderick’s intoxicating idleweed, discovers they have stolen some of the spring water. In exchange for keeping their secret the knights take the diviners to the village for a bit of fun. Nearing the end of their ten-year service to the cathedral, the girls are keen to see more of life but things are more complex than they seem. The girls start to go missing and the true quest of the king and his knights is revealed, somehow tied up with the diviners disappearance and to find out what has happened, Six must go with them.
A classic gothic fantasy romance, this has it all with a simmering sexual tension maintained to the point where they are ripping one another’s armor off! There is a great, strong female characters in Maud the knight, and the gargoyle that calls everyone Bartholemew has some fun malapropisms to lighten the story. With sprites, omens and a quest for magical objects it seems a bit formulaic, and the map at the front with the five villages making up a whole kingdom looks more like a board game, but it is an entertaining read. The cover art brilliantly captures the feel of the book, what you see is what you get, don’t expect too much more.
