Nettle
By Bex Hogan
Blurb
Inspired by faery myth and folklore, the haunting, heart wrenching tale of a girl called Nettle in a dark, foreboding faery kingdom.
A wild misfit in the human world, Nettle is enthralled by the glamour of the faery realm, with its two moons and scarlet stars. She grows close to Conor, a human stolen centuries before, and she also falls under the spell of mysterious Ellion, a Shadow Faery. To try to help her beloved grandmother who is fading in her world, Nettle makes a pact with the faery king. He’ll heal her grandmother in exchange for Nettle completing three tasks. She agrees, not realising that deception lurks in this enchanted place, and that she has been tricked…
In this dangerous fantasy kingdom Nettle discovers, too late, her part in an age-old love story and the price she will pay.
Our Review
“Once there was a girl called Nettle. She was all things dangerous and laced with magic. The fairies stole her away to their world.”
Nettle by Bex Hogan is a faery story of the old variety, a tale where faeries are not benevolent and pretty creatures to be trusted but sly and out to lead humans astray.
Nettle is an outsider in the small community in which she lives, friendless and alone except for her beloved grandmother. Her grandmother has taught her how to understand nature and the importance of leaving offerings to the faeries to keep them happy. She has also tried to keep Nettle safe by getting her to follow some simple rules.
“Do not venture into the forest. Ignore the voices on the wind. Stay on the moorland paths and stray for nothing.”
Nettle’s grandmother is dying though and soon Nettle will be alone. In desperation she makes a deal to save her grandmother’s life and ignores the lessons her grandmother has ingrained in her for her whole life.
Nettle earned her nickname from her affinity with the prickly plants. She could often be found by her grandmother as a child asleep among the nettles, and she always emerged without a mark on her. In need of comfort it is to the nettle patch she strays when she makes her desperate wish to save her grandmother’s life.
“Clutching the nettles more tightly, I closed my eyes. ‘If you can save her I’ll do anything.’
Nettle finds herself in the faery realm and makes a deal with the tricky faery king to save her grandmother’s life in exchange for three tasks, but the tasks are not what they seem, and Nettle will need all the help she can get.
I am a little older than the target audience for Nettle, but I truly enjoyed this book. Nettle’s naivety may rankle some, but I found it fitting with the feel of the story. In traditional tales the main characters often are aware of the rules for keeping safe, rules like never eating food from a faery and never straying from the path. The good faery tales exist in the gaps between what is sensible and what they desire.
I loved this tale from beginning to end.
Our Final Rating...
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