BLOG TOUR Deep is the Fen by Lili Wilkinson

Hi friends! Welcome to tour organized by TBR and Beyond Tours for Deep is the Fen by Lili Wilkinson. Check out the post to learn more about the book and the author as well as where you can get a copy of the book. Make sure you show the other tour hosts some love as well. The link to the tour schedule is below. 

Happy reading everyone!

Deep is the Fen by Lili Wilkinson Tour Schedule (TBR and Beyond Tours)

About the Book

Merry doesn’t need a happily-ever-after. Her life in the charming, idyllic town of Candlecott is fine just as it is. Simple, happy, and with absolutely no magic. Magic only ever leads to trouble.

But Merry’s best friend, Teddy, is joining the Toadmen—a secret society who specialize in backward thinking and suspiciously supernatural traditions—and Merry is determined to stop him. Even if it means teaming up with the person she hates most: her academic archnemesis, Caraway Boswell, an ice-cold snob who hides his true face under a glamour.

An ancient Toad ritual is being held in the sinister Deeping Fen, and if Merry doesn’t rescue Teddy before it’s finished, she’ll lose him forever. But the Toadmen have been keeping dangerous secrets, and so has Caraway. The farther Merry travels into Deeping Fen’s foul waters, the more she wonders if she’s truly come to save her friend . . . or if she’s walking straight into a trap.

There’s nothing the Toadmen love more than a damsel in distress.

Genre: YA Fantasy
Publishing date: April 16th, 2024

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound

About the Author

Lili Wilkinson is the award-winning author of eighteen books for young people, including The Erasure Initiative and After the Lights Go Out. Lili has a PhD from the University of Melbourne, and is a passionate advocate for YA and the young people who read it, establishing the Inky Awards at the Centre for Youth Literature, State Library of Victoria. Her latest book is Deep is the Fen.

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REVIEW A Touch of Darkness (Hades x Persephone Saga #1) by Scarlett St. Clair

A Touch of Darkness (Hades x Persephone Saga #1) by Scarlett St. Clair
Rating: 3.5 Stars (or ~4 Stars)
Release Date: May 24, 2019
Format: Audiobook (Library) + eBook (Kindle Unlimited)
Publisher: Bloom Books

With the recent release of the last book in the Hades x Persephone saga by Scarlett St. Clair, I figured it was a good time to go back and revisit the entire series. Starting with A Touch of Darkness, I actually increased my original rating from 3.5 stars to 4 stars, as I really enjoyed the re-read. 

In Ms. St. Clair’s world, Persephone knows she is a goddess, but she’s been sheltered her entire life by her mother Demeter and is left unable to access any type of godly power. When she finally convinces her mother to grant her freedom (albeit temporarily and with conditions), she becomes a writer in New Athens working for the local newspaper and hiding her true nature from all of those around her. However, a chance encounter with the Lord of the Underworld at his club ends up changing her life forever. 

As a lifelong fan of Greek mythology and a Bookstagrammer, I’ve always loved getting to read retellings of the various myths I already know and love. Hades and Persephone’s story is one of the most famous romances in Greek mythology, and Ms. St. Clair does a great job honoring the original myth while still putting her own unique stamp on it. For example, the setting of New Athens is a location that is modern while still honoring some ancient elements. All of the gods in this book are easily recognizable by their horns (when they aren’t using a glamour). Demeter’s protective nature over Persephone is a hallmark of almost every retelling, and it was nice as a reader to get to see Persephone’s journey from the timid Goddess of Spring towards her eventual fate as the Queen of the Underworld. 

The characters were another highlight of this book. As the book is told from Persephone’s perspective, we are getting to learn more about the elusive god of the Underworld at the same time she does. As Thanatos says in the book, “Lord Hades is not in the habit of trying to convince the world he is a good god.” He doesn’t really care much about what others outside of his inner circle think of him, but over time he opens up to Persephone and shows a different side of himself. For example, there’s more to the games he plays with mortals and the deals he makes than initially meets the eye. In addition to the main characters, I also enjoyed the various side characters that make an appearance throughout the book. Demeter is an easy villain to hate, and Hecate was a lot of fun. 

Overall, this was an excellent read. I was super engaged throughout the read, and audiobook narrator Meg Sylvan did a great job bringing the story to life with her performance.  I’m excited to work my way through the rest of the series towards the final book, A Touch of Chaos. I would recommend this book to adult romance readers who enjoy books that are retellings of myths and with a little bit of spice in them.