Everen and Arcady are bonded. It's not clear how or why that happened, or what it means practically or culturally. The above-mentioned reference to Stacey Halls, Laura Purcell and Bridget Collins is bang on. I have read each of those authors and they are queens within this genre. The comparison is a worthy one. Highly recommended. The Library's buildings remain fully open but some services are limited, including access to collection items. We're I would have drowned had my mother not crowned me in her songs. Her melody kept the dead muffled until I was strong enough to silence them in turn. She threaded her history in my blood and waited all these years for me to unravel it. A part of her will wait still.’

Everen is a dragon. Dragons live in a dying world. Hundreds of years ago they lived in a green, growing world in partnership with humans. But the humans betrayed the dragons and exiled them to this dying world. That, at least, is the story as dragons tell it. Humans have a different story. Arcady, a human, and Everen, a dragon, have become bonded through a magical accident where Arcady pulled Everen from his world and trapped him in his human form, power diminished. They have to work together to complete the bond, complicated by their romantic tension and opposing goals. It’s 1645 and the English Civil War is in full fury. The horrors of the Pendle witch trials are within living memory yet there is a creeping resurgence of witch accusations and a taste for blood as civil unrest sets neighbours off against one another. Told from the perspective of a reluctant witch hunter, The Revels offers a unique insight into the struggles that sympathisers faced in the midst of this new wave of witch hysteria. The romance, therefore, was a hard sell for me, since I wasn't invested enough to care about what happened. I didn't get the chemistry between them, nor did I feel emotionally affected by the angst. Though in a way, the pining of a lowly thief for a beautiful-looking prince reminded me a bit of The Song of Achilles, which I also didn't like, so maybe there's some level of personal preference there.This is a novel which certainly flourishes in enriching the narrative with historical authenticity, tense drama, and a dark atmosphere whereby Thomas effortlessly holds her audience captive until the final curtain falls. The Revels enlightened me in many ways, this is a debut not to be missed. Aspiring playwright Nicholas Pierce has a macabre power: he can hear the dead singing. In 17th century England, the age of witch-hunters, this is a very dangerous gift indeed. This book, like many other fantasy books, fell victim to this. The first few chapters were ONLY written for info-dumping. Not only that but they were also way too confusing. I felt like an idiot, and I am an idiot most of the time, but believe me when I say even Einstein would roll in his grave trying to understand what was happening. I get that it is needed to set the world and the scene but it could’ve been written better. I’m glad they were short though.

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. Her shoulders slump and she studies the fire. 'Before, I was something to be protected. Now I am something to be shunted away. Yet I am what I always was: an object to be manoeuvred.” The writing throughout the book was decent. Detailed, not overly flowery but descriptive, with some cool choices of words. I particularly liked the first few chapters in Everen's (the dragon's) POV, where he uses very distinctively "dragon" concepts to describe things, such as "a few wing-lengths away" for distance, "it" to refer to humans, "mammary glands" to refer to breasts, etc. I haven't read too many books with dragons, so I'm not sure how original such language is, but I did find it quite interesting and characteristic.In this ambitious, carefully researched, debut novel, Stacey Thomas gives us an alternative perspective on this period of history. The protagonists of books about witch-trials are usually women, as modern writers try to reclaim their stories from historical slander.

What about "seeing what others couldn't" (whatever that means) made him dangerous? We never find out. In a country torn apart by civil war, with escalating tensions between Catholics and Protestants, Royalists and Roundheads, and rumours of witchcraft, Nicholas hides a secret: the dead sing. He hears their secrets, but will he find the courage to speak up to save innocent lives, even if it means putting himself in great danger? A darkly fascinating, spellbinding novel that captivated me with its fresh perspective and haunting twists.' - Jennifer Saint, author of Ariadne and Elektra Long-banished dragons, revered as gods, return to the mortal realm in the first in this magical new epic fantasy trilogy from a bestselling author I am fascinated by the history of witch trials and if we truly grasp the line of history, we can see there were underlying misogny towards women deemed abnormal or acting out of behaviours. Women who were thought as witched are hunted & burned at stakes, its horrible, despicable and ultimately discriminatory bcus it was pepretrated against women only. Beware of some triggering scenes in here bcus the punishments are violent and graphic. What attracted me to the book is the potrayal of the main character as he was fascinating to follow, his fondness with Althamia is quite charming and i love her too. Her strong will & passion in her interest really shined here, a very clever girl that doesnt feel afraid to be vocal about her thoughts amidst the whole event. Although, one confounding factor that detract a comfortable reading for me is the writing style, its complex & poetic nature, sometimes can get hard to read as i have to reread the sentences just to understand whats going on. Its not simple, its superflous with whimsy proses which may worked for others but a bit difficult for me.I was very interested to find that the POV of this is a male character – the brother of the infamous Witch hunter of the time. At the time, the country was completely wrapped up and taken over by the fear of witchcraft. This fear had infiltrated the highest levels of government and the royal household. King James I for example, felt that witches were plotting to assasinate him in a plot with the devil. With a leader as mad as this, you can understand why the whole country was soon involved in a witch hunt of any woman suspected of wrongdoing. Most women accused died as a result of the treatment she got. This is an entirely different story to the largely portrayed “cunning” woman and I love that. With many twists and turns. Men were also wrongfully accused but that is so often overlooked in favour of the traditional horror stories of women and hags who fell prey to evil. Especially the Pendle Witches who you envision as spindly old women and children flopping around the Lancashire countryside. On the human world, society is very stratified, with some people existing as untouchable beggars, others in a merchant class and an aristocracy. And, of course, the usual complement of thieves, con artists and murderers. But within that society, people are free to declare and express their genders as they wish. Your social status, however, is fixed to your identity at birth, so there is very little upward mobility, but lots of opportunities to move down. This is an interesting social setting for a fantasy, and one I haven't seen before. Sometimes I feel like I'll never read a good book again. Sometimes I have to settle for an "it was ok" one.

Where to begin my rant ... I'm not quite sure what subgenre this book is trying to go for, so I'll first review it as high fantasy, then as fantasy romance. Though with either genre expectation, the rating would end up the same for me. Beyond the darker side of this story is the special relationship between Nicholas and Althamia. I enjoyed watching their connection grow. She is a key figure and one who brings acceptance and love into his life. One who does not care that he is more comfortable with the dead than the living. Nicholas Pearce, the narrator and protagonist, is an aspiring playwright and the master of his own murky secret. Upon his brother’s death, Nicholas becomes the wily, assured apprentice of retired witch-hunter and judge William Percival. Much to his disappointment, as Nicholas can hear the dead. A gift he keeps very close to his chest. Their misgivings, their voices and songs are all his to bear. The Promoter accepts no responsibility for winners not receiving the prize before stated publication date due to prize unavailability from the publisher, technical issue resulting in a delay from the publisher, or for any other reason.

Advance Praise

I read an uncorrected proof copy but found several memorable quotes that I think will stay with readers. With witchy vibes and atmospheric writing, I think readers who enjoy historical fiction will enjoy this book, especially fans of Bridget Collins and Laura Purcell. 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. Thief Arcady scrapes a living on the streets of Vatra. Desperate, Arcady steals a powerful artifact from the bones of the Plaguebringer, the most hated person in Lumet history. Only Arcady knows the artifact's magic holds the key to a new life among the nobles at court and a chance for revenge. Thanks to NetGalley and DAW for an advance reader copy of Dragonfall. This review expresses my honest opinions. is reviewed between 08.30 to 16.30 Monday to Friday. We're experiencing a high volume of enquiries so it may take us