Title: A Pinch of Magic
Author: Michelle Harrison
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Published: March 2019
Format: Paperback
Pages: 368
Price: $16.99
Synopsis:‘A SPELLBINDING STORY, STEEPED IN MAGIC. I ADORED IT’ – Abi Elphinstone, author of Sky Song
Three sisters trapped by an ancient curse.
Three magical objects with the power to change their fate.
Will they be enough to break the curse?
Or will they lead the sisters even deeper into danger? …
The enchanting new story from Michelle Harrison, author of the bestselling THIRTEEN TREASURES trilogy
Praise for A PINCH OF MAGIC:
‘BRILLIANT’ Emma Carroll, author of Letters From The Lighthouse
‘This delightful tale fizzes with magic and races along at a fantastic pace. This book completely charmed my socks off!’ Alex Bell, author of The Polar Bear Explorers’ Club
‘Simply phenomenal! A breathtaking quest for survival and freedom, bursting with brave heroines, enchanted objects and deadly dangers. And at its heart is a powerful and beautiful message of sisterly love and loyalty overcoming jealousy and betrayal’ Sophie Anderson, author of The House With Chicken Legs
‘What a glorious book this is! I was utterly captivated by the Widdershins sisters’ Lisa Thompson, author of The Goldfish Boy
‘Take three sisters, add the cruellest of curses and a pinch of magic, and you’ll have a tantalising tale you cannot put down’ Tamsyn Murray, author of Completely Cassidy
‘Gutsy and rude, full of warts-and-all family love, Harrison’s latest has the wry enchantment of an E Nesbit classic’ Guardian
‘A fabulous magical adventure’ Sunday Express
‘Fantasy and adventure appear on every page of this spellbinding tale’ The Daily Mail
~*~
Three sisters – Betty, Fliss and Charlie – live in Crowstone with their grandmother. Their father is in jail, and their mother is dead. Crowstone is like a small English village, but seemingly without the trappings of the twenty-first century. Opening on Halloween in the days and weeks before Betty turns thirteen. They’ve never been allowed to leave Crowstone’s bounds, but in a daring attempt, Betty and Charlie try – only to be dragged back home by their grandmother, and the story of an old curse within the Widdershins family, that condemns them to stay within the bounds of Crowstone – or they’ll die.
Fliss and Betty decide to do some digging – they uncover links to Sorsha Spellthorn, whose story is woven throughout the novel as the girls work to break the curse that was laid upon their family one hundred and fifty years ago. The question is – how will they do it, and will they succeed?
This book was a recommendation from the awesome, friendly Merrill at Book Face, Erina Fair, my local indie bookshop where I find the majority of my reads outside of review books and quiz writing books. I’ll be talking about them in another post about Love Your Bookshop Day, which was yesterday, the tenth of August.
Back to the book – and I loved it. Filled with magic, mystery and family ties, it is a delightful and wonderful book that I thoroughly enjoyed, and found myself longing to get back to it whenever I had to put it down so I could find out what was going to happen to the Widdershins. It is exactly the kind of book I love, and I think it is fabulous that the staff at Book Face know what to recommend to me – and when, because it feels like this week was the right time to read this book.
Each sister is unique, and brings something delightful and special to the story, where they journey through their area and even through time to race to break the curse. It has everything, as I said before, but it is especially wonderful because it focuses on family love, rather than romantic love, and the lengths family goes for to help each other. We need more books that focus on family, and this is one to add to the list. I am looking forward to the sequel – if there is one – when it comes out.
