Written by Jennifer Claessen
An Adventure Book Review by Erin the Literary Cat©, International Book Reviewer.
Hello, and welcome to my latest book review. This week we are featuring a magical Adventure in Middle-Grade Fiction. A topical one at that, as it begins in December, and features two very special witches' covens, the Merlyns and the Morgans.
This is the third of the trilogy, and even though we never got to read the first two stories, I feel we can quite ably guide you through this grand finale, which really does sew up all the loose ends, all rather neatly. That pun I shall let you discover for yourselves.
Without further ado, and with my trusty housekeeper, Mrs H, toiling over a bubbling saucepan of homemade soup (she assures me there is nothing even remotely like eye of newt or leg of toad), let's get on with the show!
AUTHOR: Jennifer Claessen
Cover Illustrations by: Heidi Olivia Cannon
Published by: UCLAN Publishing
Publication date Paperback: 7 November 2024
Paperback 13 digit ISBN: 978 1916 747 166
UK Cover price for Paperback: £8.99
Amazon KINDLE price: £8.99
Pages: 330 (plus bonus short story)
Age range: 9 to 12
Any dogs or cats? Witchy birds, and a rather spry donkey have important parts to play.
SPOILER ALERT
YES, as to plot direction and characters from all three books in the series.
Thank you to...
We are exceedingly grateful to Graeme Williams Marketing and UCLan Publishers for offering us a chance to Read & Review this story.
As ever, our views are our own, and we only share reviews of books we have bought, received as gifts, or received in exchange for an impartial review.
First and foremost, the books we review are those we select to read, like, and feel our global readers deserve to know about and that we hope they, their family, friends and students will enjoy.
A plot summary of books one and two:
In book one, called The October Witches, we get introduced to our lead protagonist, Clementine/Clemency/Clem and her relations that form the Merlyn witches. We are introduced to the other coven called the Morgans. Both, as I am sure you will know from Arthurian legend, don't really get on.
It is the month of October, and 12-year-old Clem's magic descends from the stars for the very first time. Witches in the covens get their magic only for one month a year. Year-round magic would be too much for their bodies. But Clem can't really use hers. She discovers that her mother and two aunts have cooked up a plan to make their magic last beyond their allotted month by storing it in a pumpkin. But this goes awry when the Morgans take the pumpkin and the three elder witches.
The young Merlyn 'hags' as they are called, Clem and Mirabelle, join up with hags Kerra and Senara from the Morgan side and restore an ancient 12-panel tapestry. This shows the ancient history of both families, from a time when the witches discovered that the magic was too strong and needed to be rationed from the stars.
In the grand finale, the Merlyn coven elders are saved in a big battle at the Morgan castle. And, with the destruction of the pumpkin, all the witches' magic is returned to the stars, just in time to celebrate Halloween.
In book two, The November Witches, Clem decides the best way to atone to her elders for all the chaos of October and the loss of their magic is to repair the tapestry by stitching the parts back together. This goes against the advice of Kerra. Despite there being no magic in their home, knights start arriving at their door. So, to evade them, the young hags return to the Morgans castle. There are problems for the Morgans, with wild magic on the loose, fires springing up everywhere, not to mention a forest starts to cover everything.
It dawns on them, on Clem, that the November chaos and twisted magic come directly from the now-restitched tapestry!
In a twist, young Kerra Morgan, fed up of being ever ignored, proclaims herself Queen of the Knights so she can seize the tapestry.
In the finale of the tale, Clem leads the witches to victory over the knights and forces the dark and twisted back into the tapestry. But in the chaos, whilst Clem finds her voice, she losses Kerra, who is literally drawn into the fabric of the weave.
So, on to book three.
It is finally December, which means Clem turns 13 and gets her first proper month of magic. There is joy in their house as cakes are made and gifts are given. But there is also ill health amongst the family of witches. Especially Aunt Connie, who has a terrible, worrying cough. Then with a bang, Clem is filled to overflowing with magical stars, the carriers of the magic. Things start to explode, and not just the occasional lightbulb.
She has way more than she should have. In fact, she has more than any witch could ever bear and runs the risk of exploding as her body tries to contain the ever-increasing burden and volume.
Someone, it seems, has chosen her to be the One True Witch! And that someone the hags, especially Clem, will come to know as the Stitch Witch', the embodiment of thousands of years worth of magic being stuck in the tapestry, stewing away. And what the Stitch Witch wants is to release all the energy into a witch they can easily control, and then create Avalon, a witch's home. This comes with a huge price tag, for the earth, witches and all of life as we know it.
It becomes a race to not only try to rescue Clem before she dies but to get rid of the malignant power before its new world of Avalon supplants all the Merlyns and Morgans know and hold dear. And let's not forget Kerra, who is still held captive within the tapestry threads.
So, what did we think?
Wow. End of review.
OK, so we need to fill that in a bit. Whether you like witch stories or not, this, like the twelve months of the year and the twelve panels of the tapestry, is so very much more.
The relationship between the young hags of both covens and between their elders is captivating, at times fun, and rings so true of many diverse multi-generational families.
A coming-of-age adventure, finding oneself and family, this book most certainly is, and it does it well. The facts, sadness and joy of gaining and then losing family is very well portrayed, heartfelt and brings true strength to the story that hangs about Clem's shoulders like the tapestry. It would be hard for us not to conclude the tapestry in this story is an analogy for life. Yes, that may seem obvious, as tapestries are often snapshots of a moment in time. But this one is more so. It depicts in layers the past, present and what may come if one is consumed by things; the risk of repeating destructive patterns.
As the conclusion to a trilogy, it is wholly satisfying. It brings delightful humour, and unexpected additions to the cast who all play a critical role, though both we and they may not realise it at first sight.
So . . . .
Crunch time.
A skilled, at times deeply heartfelt, but always compelling and fun adventure that is as worthy of telling and retelling as befits a modern re-imaging of the Arthurian legend and witchcraft shenanigans.
Would I watch this as a movie? Absolutely. Should you buy this? Again, absolutely, a perfect set to get the young or older 'hags' in your life.
Want to buy a copy?
To get a copy, steering clear of evil tapestries, please magic yourselves by whatever means to your local independent bookshop. Or order on-line. There are plenty out outlets out there, and each store is just waiting to brew you up whatever kind of mystery, fun and adventure you desire.
Jennifer Claessen's web page can be found HERE or type this: https://www.jenniferclaessen.com/
UCLan Publishing's web page can be found HERE or type this: https://uclanpublishing.com/
Heidi Olivia Cannon's web page is being updated https://heidioliviaillustration.com/ But she can also be found on the site formerly known as Twitter under: @HeidiOliviaArt
I hope you enjoyed that adventure and review.
I shall leave you with a Selfie of ME!
We are joining the Sunday Selfies, hosted by the wonderful Kitties Blue and their mum, Janet Blue, from the Cat on My Head blog in America. Click this sentence to visit Janet Blue's site.
🙂 🙂
Till laters!
ERin
