DEBUTJenny Greenteeth is a figure straight out of English folklore. She’s also the keeper of the lake next to the sleepy village of Chipping Appleby. At least, it was sleepy until the new parson held a fire-and-brimstone witch trial and chained a cunning woman to the bottom of Jenny’s lake. Jenny frees the witch, because she’s lonely, because the witch, Temperance, doesn’t fear her too much, and because she plans to fight the threatening power taking over Chipping Appleby. With the help of the witch and a rogue of a goblin, Jenny sets out on a quest to gather the last of England’s magical power to save her lake, Temperance’s village, and the soul of the country she has vowed to protect.
VERDICT This delightfully magical historical fantasy combines creatures out of folklore (including the lake-dwelling monster Jenny) with a desperate quest, a sad tale of magic leaving the world, and a soul-quaking battle between quiet good and vast evil, all set in a beautiful story of sisterhood and found family among the most disparate of creatures. Readers who love the creatures, magic, and mythic settings of T. Kingfisher’s Thornhedge and Nicola Griffith’s Spear will find something similar and beautiful in O’Neill’s debut.
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