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A review by letsgetreadical
Petrichor by Melanie Rees
4.0
Thank you to Hague Publishing for an ARC copy of Petrichor by Melanie Rees, a YA rural fantasy short novel. Officially out on the 15th of October!
A first of this genre that I’ve read, and what drew me to wanting to read this one as the fantasy genre is where I mainly live in my reading life.
Following his brother's death, Clayton seeks to destroy the demonic Red King who is preventing rain from returning to his family's farm.
Melanie Rees herself is an environmental scientist, and has spent a lot of time working on outback properties, wetlands, forests and along the coast. She lives in Fleurieu Peninsula on a bushland property.
You can definitely see the environmental inspiration behind her writing. In fact, the descriptions around the weather, the hard ground and the harsh conditions around the drought to be very rich and detailed. I absolutely loved how Rees took the drought and the rain and turned them into characters. The Red King being the drought and keeping the rain at bay, and destroying everything in its wake.
I loved the found friendship with Waringa… a spirit inhabiting a dead fox, yes you read that right. There was some very strong imagery around this that I don’t think I will ever forget. Let’s just say, it was pretty graphic in parts. But I enjoyed that nothing was hidden and it definitely gave a great dynamic to the story that I was not expecting going in.
I will say though, that I think the book should be considered more adult than young adult, purely because of what I said above. The writing itself felt more geared to an “adult” readership. So this might be something to bear in mind if you’re thinking of picking this one up.
But overall, I thought that this one was a great read that gave an important overview of grief and suicide in a fantasy setting. I thought that the relationship with his parents, particularly with his dad, to be powerful. However, I wanted more from the mother, she fell a bit flat for me.
A first of this genre that I’ve read, and what drew me to wanting to read this one as the fantasy genre is where I mainly live in my reading life.
Following his brother's death, Clayton seeks to destroy the demonic Red King who is preventing rain from returning to his family's farm.
Melanie Rees herself is an environmental scientist, and has spent a lot of time working on outback properties, wetlands, forests and along the coast. She lives in Fleurieu Peninsula on a bushland property.
You can definitely see the environmental inspiration behind her writing. In fact, the descriptions around the weather, the hard ground and the harsh conditions around the drought to be very rich and detailed. I absolutely loved how Rees took the drought and the rain and turned them into characters. The Red King being the drought and keeping the rain at bay, and destroying everything in its wake.
I loved the found friendship with Waringa… a spirit inhabiting a dead fox, yes you read that right. There was some very strong imagery around this that I don’t think I will ever forget. Let’s just say, it was pretty graphic in parts. But I enjoyed that nothing was hidden and it definitely gave a great dynamic to the story that I was not expecting going in.
I will say though, that I think the book should be considered more adult than young adult, purely because of what I said above. The writing itself felt more geared to an “adult” readership. So this might be something to bear in mind if you’re thinking of picking this one up.
But overall, I thought that this one was a great read that gave an important overview of grief and suicide in a fantasy setting. I thought that the relationship with his parents, particularly with his dad, to be powerful. However, I wanted more from the mother, she fell a bit flat for me.