I was planning to read the next book in the Chocolate sequence, since I’m totally in the mood for its soft French Autumn vibes, but I couldn’t resist this book’s glimmering foil cover with the promise of crows inside. We get distracted by shiny things and have to have them - on brand for a book about crows, no? This novella is one of Harris’ early explorations of the folktale genre and is rooted in the lore of the English countryside that blends hints of the mediaeval and regency periods into a world that is truly its own. Taking readers on a journey alongside an unnamed Traveller girl as she learns some hard lessons about life and takes her place in the world, the story opens with an enchanting exploration of her magical abilities. Her power comes from her freedom and unity with the natural world, in contrast to the Folk (people of the town) who pine for possessions, stability, and control, but the girl’s critical observations of the differences between these communities does not stop her from falling in love with the local lordling and leaving everything she knows behind. At first her love revels in her wildness, but when he begins to put constraints on her behaviour and dress, her nature changes to take on the petty paranoias and jealousies of the Folk. After being inevitably cast out from favour (this is no happily ever after ℅ Disney), she must harness the wisdom of nature to take revenge on her scorned lover and regain the freedoms that she had lost with their relationship. The story is very recognizable in terms of fairytale structure, but where Harris makes the tale sing is in the small details; the lore of the hawthorn tree, the darkness of traveller spells, and the overarching themes about women losing their wild way in the world for the controlling “love” of a man wrapped up in her melodic narrative style make this story a bardic telling that rings with a folksy truth. This early tale may not reach the ecstasy of Honeycomb’s journey through the realm of the bees to the underworld and back, but we can see her passion for the genre beginning in a very promising way. ( )

Written as an old-style faerie story, this book tells a tale of love and revenge.

More to follow. ( )

This book reads like a long fairy tale and follows a similar logic. This is about a nameless girl that can turn into animals and lives alone until the day she meets a prince and falls instantly in love. We follow this girl for one year as she deals with feeling trapped, losing her abilities and finding out the guy is worthless.

This is a story about young love, loss and revenge and it’s very connected with nature. The characters are not that likeable or complex, but the message is what’s important. The writing style is really beautiful and so are the illustrations by Bonnie Helen Hawkins.

This book has a very magical atmosphere and it’s quick to read. I enjoyed it quite a bit and I did not expect that ending. ( )

‘’I have no name. The travelling folk have neither name, nor master. When I die, no stone will be laid. No flowers will be scattered. When I die, I will become a thousand creatures: beetles, worms. And so I shall travel on, for ever, till the End of the Worlds. This is the fate of the travelling folk. We would not have it otherwise.’’

When Love comes, it comes uninvited, unnoticed, silently. It asks no one’s permission, it falls like a thunder, it strikes like an earthquake. And if we are fortunate, we might have a chance to survive and tell the tale. When a girl of the Travelling Folk of the mountains, the forests and the moors falls in love with a human, she walks straight into the trap we call ‘’Love’’. It will soon become certain that her heart will break for humans are treacherous and vile. And then, the long path of Revenge must be followed.

‘’Today I am a nightingale at your bedroom window. My song is sweeter than honey, and yet you do not hear me. Instead, you sit in your chamber and read from a book bound in red leather, and sometimes you sigh and look outside, but you cannot see me, nor do you know how eagerly I watch you from my stony perch.’’

Instead of tiring you (as I am, surely), you will allow me to share two paragraphs that brought me to tears...

‘’Ι shall bing my love with the cry of a snowy owl in the darkness. I shall bind him with nightshade, and the collarbone of a moon hare. I shall bind him in a sheet made from stars and thistledown, and sleep with him for a thousand years, until the seas are nothing but sand, and the mountains are nothing but ocean.’’

‘’But I shall never be as you are. When I have my freedom back, I shall travel into the air. I shall become a thousand seeds of dandelion and firewood, of ragwort and of thistle, alder and yew. And I shall take root wherever I fall, in your gardens and on your graves. And if you cut me, I shall grow and multiply a thousand fold.’’

A beautiful tale of love, determination and revenge. The tireless effort of a unique girl to find herself and understand the world of Old and the world of the humans, linked forever in their beauty and turbulence. A tale for the Hunter’s Moon and the beginning of darkness, for the Wolf Moon and its cold, for the Crow Moon, magical and unpredictable, for the Milk Moon of serenity, peace and growth. A fable for All Hallows’ Eve and the spirits that still walk, for St Lucy’s gift of Light and Hope, for Christmastide, for St Brigid’s offerings and St Mark’s night of omens.

A tale for the ones who loved and the ones who were betrayed. For those who dare.

‘’Cast not a clout until May be out, for on that day, I shall dance on your grave, and soar like a lark above you. On that day, you shall know my name, which is known only to the dead. And on that day, I shall be free, and the sky will ring with my laughter.’’

My reviews can also be found on https://theopinionatedreaderblog.wordpress.com/ ( )

This pretty bowl of bitter fruit salad doesn't quite jell. Why should the traveler girl call out dates using saint's days? Did Harris want to avoid using the more familiar Irish terms now current? What happens with Fiona doesn't work either, not really. ( )