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A review by natashaleighton_
The Rookery by Deborah Hewitt
4.0
The anticipated sequel to The Nightjar is an absolutely stunning contemporary fantasy, richly detailed,darkly sinister and magically addictive.
Set a year after the events in The Nightjar and still following Alice Wyndham, who- after discovering her ability to see people’s souls in the form of birds called Nightjars (and the existence of a magical world parallel to her own),has only three goals: to join house Mielikki,learn to master her magic and to find out who she really is.
But as Alice comes to terms with her inherited legacy,the Rookery begins to crumble around her.With so much at stake, it’s time to decide how far is she’s willing to go to save the city and people she loves.
I cannot tell you how excited I was to read this after finishing The Nightjar and I really didn’t think It could get any better- I mean what could top a magical death cult? But The Rookery manages to surpass the dark charm and inventive storytelling that made me love this series.
Alice is a charmingly flawed character (actually Hewitt writes flawed characters quite well) and the relationship between Alice and Crowley is quite slow to get going, however it does eventually pick up. The ending was great, truly a rollercoaster of revelations- some I hadn’t even seen coming.
As in The Nightjar, the world building was phenomenal and the use of finnish mythology/folklore in the world- building was a breath of fresh air as we usually only see a lot of Greek/Roman/Viking or British mythology in fantasy.
I would have to recommend to any fans of contemporary fantasy fiction,or alternative London settings.
A huge thank you to Pan Macmillan and Net Galley for the ARC.
Set a year after the events in The Nightjar and still following Alice Wyndham, who- after discovering her ability to see people’s souls in the form of birds called Nightjars (and the existence of a magical world parallel to her own),has only three goals: to join house Mielikki,learn to master her magic and to find out who she really is.
But as Alice comes to terms with her inherited legacy,the Rookery begins to crumble around her.With so much at stake, it’s time to decide how far is she’s willing to go to save the city and people she loves.
I cannot tell you how excited I was to read this after finishing The Nightjar and I really didn’t think It could get any better- I mean what could top a magical death cult? But The Rookery manages to surpass the dark charm and inventive storytelling that made me love this series.
Alice is a charmingly flawed character (actually Hewitt writes flawed characters quite well) and the relationship between Alice and Crowley is quite slow to get going, however it does eventually pick up. The ending was great, truly a rollercoaster of revelations- some I hadn’t even seen coming.
As in The Nightjar, the world building was phenomenal and the use of finnish mythology/folklore in the world- building was a breath of fresh air as we usually only see a lot of Greek/Roman/Viking or British mythology in fantasy.
I would have to recommend to any fans of contemporary fantasy fiction,or alternative London settings.
A huge thank you to Pan Macmillan and Net Galley for the ARC.