The Revels: The must-read spellbinding historical debut of 2023

Product Information

Nicholas Pearce has never wanted to follow in his father's footsteps, instead he has always loved words and aspires to be a playwright. But after his brother dies, his father forces him into the role of heir, even though he is an illegitimate son. Given little choice, Nicholas is apprenticed to Judge Percival, a retired witch-hunter. However, apple skins have a lot of tannin. Tannins are bitter and astringent, not sweet and fizzy. I've never been fizzed by an apple. A delicious, witchy delight. An atmsopheric and powerful debut that keeps you guessing at to how it will unravel'

Well, turned out that wasn't the smartest choice. It took me two months to finally drag my feet to the ending.But my taie [grandparent] had been brilliant. He’d been able to see what others couldn’t. In magic, and in life. It was what made him so dangerous to the Consul."

I have always been in two parts. As though half of me is standing behind the curtains watching to see how my other half plays before the crowd. I am still in two parts, but it is as though Althamia has caught sight of us both and rather than recoil, she steps closer.” Long ago, humans betrayed dragons, stealing their magic and banishing them to a dying world. Centuries later, their descendants worship dragons as gods. But the gods remember, and they do not forgive. This spellbinding debut novel is perfect for fans of Stacey Halls, Laura Purcell and Bridget Collins. Arcady is a thief. Their family fell out of favor and their grandparent was held responsible for creating a plague. Their plan is to steal enough money so they can go to magic school and work their way up the social ladder under a false identity. They want to look for evidence their grandparent was innocent. Nicholas Pearce, our main protagonist, is called home following the death of his brother, Francis. Wrapped in guilt for encouraging his brother to join the Royalist army, Nicholas enters an uneasy bargain with his father which sees him abandoning his potential career as a playwright and entering an apprenticeship with Judge William Percival, a former renowned witch-hunter. Unfortunately for Nicholas this is the last person he ever wanted to be charged to, for he harbours a dangerous secret, Nicholson can hear the dead sing. Fearing that this will see him hanged for witchcraft, he conceals what the dead reveal in their songs and keeps their burdens to himself. Yet with the rising demand for witch-hunters, William Percival is pressured into returning to his old occupation and Nicholas is tied to him. How long can Nicholas hide his true self? How many innocent lives can he watch be destroyed before he speaks up?I'm conflicted about the ending. On the one hand, it rendered the majority of the preceding events meaningless. On the other, there were two twists that did make me curious about what happens next. A beguiling tale, rich in atmosphere and beautifully told. Fans of The Binding will love this stand out debut' Arcady doesn't like merchants or the government, and pointedly doesn't use the honorific pronoun They for them. They do use it for university people, who they respect. Their parents venerated education, so that's part of the reason, but it's a little naive. The university is very expensive (they have scholarships Arcady can't apply for lest their identity is exposed) and has a library inaccessible to the public. I struggle to see how this elitism is better than that of the merchant class who, by all accounts, are just merchants. The spell connects to Everen, the last male dragon foretold to save his kind, dragging him through the Veil. Disguised as a human, Everen soon learns that to regain his true power and form and fulfil his destiny, he only needs to convince one little thief to trust him enough to bond completely--body, mind, and soul--and then kill them.

It’s a bit ironic, but my book also explores why people choose to write about witches. King James published Daemonologie in 1597. He later—and in a time before advances!—awarded Thomas Potts the keepership of Skalme Park for his account of the Pendle Witch Trials. They aren't a very competent thief, and they frequently overreact, scream, and generally cause a scene.

Other things you will find here that may be exactly what you love in a fantasy. Strong characters of any/all genders. A reluctant romance. Assassins. Thieves. Magical artifacts that are sought after. A disease that can doom you to being an outcast. Ethical dilemmas. Strong friendships.

The Revels is set during 1645, a time where the fear of witchcraft and the sport of witch-hunting was at its peak after King James I became increasingly paranoid about witches partnering up with the Devil to assassinate him. This led to everyone accusing women of being witches for any reason, which 99% of the time led to the death of the accused. I've been on the hunt for a good angsty romance for a while now, so when ARCs for this book started circulating, I made an impulse request. Grief is one my story’s main themes. My main character Nicholas can hear the dead sing and I use his ability to explore his grief at the loss of his mother and brother. The story’s plot is buoyed by the grief of the people he encounters.Arcady lives in an abandoned shop called Loc and Key, a pun that only works in English. Their magic is done using something creatively called the Old Tongue, with phrases like, "Ar-réal vanok vaugain." It looks pretty far removed from English. How are they related? Dragonfall feels like a passion project in so many ways. It’s clearly a love letter to the dragon stories of the last 30 years (Priory, Realm of the Elderlings, Seraphina) but doesn’t feel derivative or underwritten. Set in 1645, I felt this book transported me there immediately. Such was the feel of the book, I found myself sitting beside a lute player in a castle, whilst a motley crew of witchunters prepared to go out and hunt down women. The calm before the storm…. He's teamed up with a renowned hunter who wants to prove he's the finest out there. Nicholas, on the other hand, has his own secrets to protect, and as the novel progresses, we learn more about his compassion and the source of it. Beautiful enigmatic historical fiction with gothic atmospheric writing, a treat for those who love this genre. Overall, a beautiful story and a great debut by the author.