~ books read in 2023 ~

#21: The Drowned Woods by Emily Lloyd-Jones

The farmer had four ordinary children, which was why the magic of the fifth came as a surprise.

Rating: 5/5

🤍 cozy cozy cozy 🤍

Just finished The Spear Cuts Through Water and man.

Title: The Drowned Woods | Author: Emily Lloyd-Jones | Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton (2022)

books I’ve read in 2022 📖 no. 088

The Drowned Woods by Emily Lloyd-Jones

“Do not apologize. That’s the one thing I wish I could have taught you. Never apologize for what you have to do.”

2022 reads // twitter thread        

The Drowned Woods

a girl who's the last living water diviner gets involved in a heist  with her old mentor, in an attempt to find a well of magic

welsh myth retelling

companion/prequel to the bone houses

It was that day the girl learned that water could save a life—or take it.

It was a lesson she wouldn’t forget.

— the drowned woods (2022)

One more month of Summer! Check out some of these cool August books! 🌞

As always, check under the cut for more on each~

It Sounds Like This by Anna Meriano is one of my favorite books of the year, and one I'd recommend to any a-spec person and/or any marching band nerd! This is a marching band centered coming of age with a lot of identity growth and a little romance too.

Blood Like Fate by Liselle Sambury is the long awaited sequel to the scifi-fantasy, Black-fronted "kill your lover" Blood Like Magic. If you've been looking forward to seeing what Voya does next and how her hard choices play our after the fact, you'll really enjoy this closer to the story!

These Fleeting Shadows by Kate Alice Marshall is another I've already read, and I can vouch for the spooky haunted house meets untrustworthy family swarmy enough to rival the Thrombeys from Knives Out. If you like your horror feminist and a bit gothic, you may really love the atmosphere of this one. This is also sapphic, with a witchy side romance.

The Drowned Woods by Emily Lloyd-Jones is a rag tag crew story, a heist story, and a fantasy about revolution. This story is also in the same universe as Lloyd-Jones' folklore zombie story, The Bones Houses. This also has a main character who seems to be bi.

The Honeys by Ryan La Sala is another horror, this one pastoral, trippy, and through a lens of marginalization. This book has a genderfluid protagonist, who wants nothing but to understand his twin sister's shocking death, but finds himself lured into something as dangerous as it is impossible. This book also has some INTENSE body horror by the end, so take that as a pro or a con!

The Spear Cuts Through Water by Simon Jimenez is the only book on this list I haven't read! This is a Godpunk fantasy about two warriors setting out to free a captive god, and depose their tyrant rulers. This book looks so COOL and the cover alone makes me so excited.

'Everything I've done,' she said, and her voice was even quieter than before. She wasn't sure he could hear her; part of her didn't care. 'Everything--it was to survive. And I won't apologize for that.'

Emily Lloyd-Jones, The Drowned Woods

Title: The Drowned Woods

Author: Emily Lloyd-Jones

Series or standalone: standalone

Publication year: 2022

Genres: fiction, fantasy, retelling, mythology, romance

Blurb: Once upon a time, the kingdoms of Wales were rife with magic and conflict, and 18-year-old Mererid “Mer” is well-acquainted with both. She is the last living water diviner, and has spent years running from the prince who bound her into his service. Under the prince’s orders, she located the wells of his enemies, and he poisoned them without her knowledge, causing hundreds of deaths. After discovering what he had done, Mer went to great lengths to disappear from his reach...then her old handler returns with a proposition: use her powers to bring down the very prince that abused them both. The best way to do that is to destroy the magical well that keeps the prince’s lands safe. With a motley crew of allies - including a fae-cursed young man, the lady of thieves, and a corgi that may or may not be a spy - Mer may finally be able to steal precious freedom and peace for herself. After all, a person with a knife is one thing...but a person with a cause can topple kingdoms.

~ books read in 2023 ~

#32: The Bone Houses by Emily Lloyd-Jones

The gravedigger's children were troublemakers.

Rating: 5/5

Aesthetically pleasing October reads 🧡🍂 Happy Halloween bookish friends!

Review: The Drowned Wood by Emily Lloyd-Jones

I hate writing critical reviews, and I know a lot of people are excited about this book, but it fell short of the mark in a number of ways for me. I would really love to see more Welsh fiction written by Welsh ffrindiau

Review: The Drowned Wood by Emily Lloyd-Jones Before I get into the main body of this review of The Drowned Woods by Emily Lloyd-Jones, a little disclaimer: I was sent a pre-release copy of the book by Hodder and Stoughton in exchange for an honest review. But I don’t think I really need that disclaimer, because this review will be very obviously honest. I don’t often write anything close to a…

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Short Take: The Drowned Woods

You could say I have a fascination with Wales. It began when I picked up Sharon Kay Penman’s Welsh Princes Trilogy as a teenager and devoured them. Historical fiction set in 13th century Wales filled with romance, royal machinations and more than one prince called Llewelyn. Totally hooked. Then I finally read Susan Cooper’s outstanding The Dark is Rising series. The last two are set in Wales, complete with a short primer on Welsh pronunciation, and I ate them up. It was in the final book of this series, Silver on the Tree, that I first heard of the Drowned Hundred, a mythical kingdom swallowed by the sea. When I caught sight of The Drowned Woods by Emily Lloyd-Jones, a YA historical fantasy, I couldn’t help but wonder if there was a connection. Indeed, it is set in Wales and involves a heist, so I was definitely in.

Merirad (Mer) is just trying to keep her head down and escape the notice of Prince Garanhir, the man who bought her off her family when it was discovered she was a water diviner, a human touched by the fae and able to manipulate water. He raised her to be used as his weapon but when Mer couldn’t live with the damage she’d inflicted any longer, she ran. Trouble comes looking for her in the form of her old mentor, the Prince’s spymaster. Renfrew offers her the opportunity to get free of the Prince forever with one last job. Together Mer and Renfrew assemble a crew, including a young man touched by Death, the heir to the Thieves Guild and a corgi called Trefor who may or may not be a spy of the “other folk”. Their aim? A magical well on a remote island guarded by an otherworldly boar said to protect the Prince’s kingdom by holding back the sea. Plus all the treasures the well contains. Ruin Garanhir and finance their new lives all in one fell swoop.

Of course nothing is straightforward when magic and spies are involved, and the nonstop action kept me riveted. I listened to The Drowned Woods on audio, a bonus because for once I heard all the Welsh names and places as they are supposed to be pronounced instead of making my best attempt based on that long ago lesson Bran gives Will in The Grey King. Lovers of historical fantasy and fans of Six of Crows will find this a good fit. Lloyd-Jones balances tension with humor, because nothing beats a corgi that sneezes when magic is in play. And for those who have series fatigue, this is a stand-alone. Though if you want more of Lloyd-Jones’ historical fantasy Wales, you can also pick up her previous YA, The Bone Houses. A perfect escape for the end of summer!

— Lori

Characters reacting to the corgi in Emily Lloyd-Jones’ The Drowned Woods: The dog is a boot thief! A spy for the otherfolk! He must not be trusted!

Fane: This dog is my only friend.

The Drowned Woods - Emily Lloyd-Jones

Once upon a time, the kingdoms of Wales were rife with magic and conflict, and eighteen-year-old Mererid “Mer” is well-acquainted with both. She is the last living water diviner and has spent years running from the prince who bound her into his service. Under the prince’s orders, she located the wells of his enemies, and he poisoned them without her knowledge, causing hundreds of deaths. After discovering what he had done, Mer went to great lengths to disappear from his reach. Then Mer’s old handler returns with a proposition: use her powers to bring down the very prince that abused them both. The best way to do that is to destroy the magical well that keeps the prince’s lands safe. With a motley crew of allies, including a fae-cursed young man, the lady of thieves, and a corgi that may or may not be a spy, Mer may finally be able to steal precious freedom and peace for herself. After all, a person with a knife is one thing… but a person with a cause can topple kingdoms.

tw: death, violence