The White Witch by J. J. Morrison

J. J. Morrison was kind enough to send me a copy of her debut novel, The White Witch, and if you’re a fan of anything Arthurian, this one is for you. “One thousand years after Merlin's death, Avalon stands divided by an enchanted forest. But the magic is weakening. When the last spell breaks, Merlin's descendants will be faced with an old enemy. War is inevitable, and it will awaken something far greater than anyone could imagine. The age of rulers and kingdoms is almost at an end. The White Witch is coming…”—Goodreads synopsis. 

My favorite aspect of this story was the world-building. While the characters and the plot were equally intriguing, it was the depictions of a medieval village lost in a dark woodland setting that truly hooked me. Morrison’s writing style is very easy to become attuned with—the chapters flowed well and the pace, while perhaps a bit slow at first, picks up about midway. At first, there is a lot of information being thrown your way, but like I said before, you are likely to be drawn in by the folklore and suddenly you don’t even notice how deeply engrossed in the various subplots you’ve become. Which, for readers who are perhaps not well accustomed to the fantasy genre, is a great thing! 

I found the characters to be relatable, which in turns makes them likable. While we may not live in the medieval era, it isn’t too far off to imagine yourself in the struggles of theses characters. I think this also ties back to Morrison’s knack for crafty storytelling. And with this being the first in a trilogy called The Serpent and the Sorcerer, I look forward to reading what else occurs later on! 

Because I enjoyed this book so much, I asked the author if she’d partake in a  quick Q&A. Below you can find a spoiler-free interview with J. J. Morrison!

—What inspired you to write The White Witch? Why Merlin and Avalon? 

I’ve always had an interest in Arthurian Legend. I think that has a lot to do with the fact that my sister, aunt, cousin, grandma and two great grandmothers are/were all called Merlyn (the girl version of Merlin), so I felt in some way connected to the legend. The first play I wrote in primary school was about King Arthur and the Sword in the Stone. My friends and I performed it in assembly and it went down so well we were asked to visit several classrooms to perform it again. It was such a fun experience and a happy childhood memory of mine. Ever since then, revisiting the legend makes me feel all warm and nostalgic. 

—Which character would you say reminds you of yourself?  

That’s a tough one. I think I might be an amalgamation of Iris and William. Like Iris, I can be stubborn and a tad impulsive at times, which, as we see in the book, can lead to all kinds of trouble! But I do have a cautious side to me as well, a touch of the sensible William. It really depends on the day and situation. Ultimately, though, all of our hearts are in the right place. 

—Did you listen to a certain playlist or music genre while writing the book?

I like to listen to epic instrumental music at the beginning and end of the writing day – it helps me to visualise a scene; sometimes, I come up with an entirely new scene based on what I’m listening to. I’m a big fan of Hans Zimmer, Howard Shore, Trevor Jones (who composed the beautiful score for the 1998 Merlin miniseries, which I loved), John Williams and Ramin Djawadi. They’re all such fantastic composers. 

—What was the most challenging scene to write?

I found the fight scenes particularly tricky. Everything is moving quickly and there are so many things going on at once but you still need to pack in description to give readers a clear idea of what is happening. My concern was that it was going to be confusing and difficult to follow. That’s going to be an ongoing challenge for me because there are a lot of fights to come in the next two books. 

—Any news about the second novel in the trilogy? 

The second novel is going to be released later this year. I have finally decided on a name, which I will be revealing on my Instagram in the next couple of weeks. While I don’t want to give too much away, I will say we are going to be visiting a few new places in this book, including Camelot, and meeting some familiar characters from Arthurian Legend along the way. There will also be flashbacks to the days of young Merlin.

Author Instagram. 

Wintersong by S. Jae Jones

“She was never a hothouse flower. She is a sturdy oak tree. If her leaves have fallen, then she will bloom again come spring. She was not ready to die when she gave her life to me. But she did anyway, because she loved, and loved deeply.”

I went into this book with high expectations….and those expectations we’re blown away entirely with the magnitude of this story. It was phenomenal. This book truly resonated with me. It’s rustic, atmospheric quality compared with it’s whimsical plot and even more estranged characters made for an epic fantasy like none other I’ve read in a long time. Fans of Uprooted by Naomi Novik will appreciate the eerie personification that nature plays in this tale. What felt like a folkloric retelling but was actually an original, genuine piece of literature, Wintersong follows a young girl as she rediscovers her childhood self through love, responsibility, and sacrifice… all while doing so beneath silt and soil of the Earth.

Nineteen-year-old Innkeeper’s daughter Liesl has grown up in a sleepy village on the boarders between woodlands and Bavaria. While her younger sister is being groomed for marriage, and her brother preparing for an upcoming apprenticeship with a renowned composer, Elisabeth is constantly fussing over the wellbeing and success of her siblings. The only time she allots for herself is to revel in her passion— composing music of her own dark, melancholy nature. As a child, Liesl would roam deep into the Goblin Grove and play for the Goblin King—luring him out from beneath the earth to sing and dance and revel with her. But as time passes, Liesl’s fiery nature fades into the recesses of her soul. She focuses on everyone else around her but herself. It isn’t until her sister, Käthe, is stolen by the Goblin King to be his bride that our protagonist is drawn from her grey stupor and thrown back into the world of spellbinding fantasy. But Elisabeth has known all this time that no fantasy comes without a price, and her childhood adventures with Der Elkönig, The Goblin King, won’t compare to the game she is about to partake in. Elusive, powerful, and ferocious, Wintersong is a book that forces you to read it in two sittings or less.

Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young

BREATHE FIRE— I’ve always had an infatuation with Norse mythology and the Vikings, and I’ve always wondered why no one had written about them through the lens of a YA novel. When I first heard about Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young, I was like “FINALLY. Someone is finally doing it!” Knowing what I do about reading a new author for the first time, I tried not to get my hopes up too high because I’ve been let down in the past. But Young really delivered with her tale, and I’m so pleased to tell you guys that this book has become near and dear to me. It definitely deserves 5/5 stars and I likely won’t ever stop recommending it. So, let me tell you a little about it!

“I stood at the entrance of the ritual house in the falling snow, holding basket piled high with yarrow. The huge archway was a detailed carving of the mountain, the trees etched into it in slanted patterns and the face of Thora, mouth full of fire.”

Sky in the Deep follows seventeen year old Eelyn, a viking warrior from the Aska tribe set on the coast of the snowy Fjord, who lives by the code “vegr yfir fjor” or “honor above life.” Her clansmen have an ancient rivalry with the Riki clan, who worship the goddess Thora above the Aska god Sigr. She lives to fight, and fights to survive. That is the ways of her people, and that is all she knows. Five years after the death of her beloved brother Iri, a brother who she’d seen fall in battle, she is revisited by his ghost fighting alongside their rival clan. But when she notices how corporal he appears, and how he has seemingly aged with time, she cannot fathom the truth. It is no longer a possibility that Iri is an apparition sent by her god—and her heart refuses to accept the harrowing truth of his deception.

Every five years, the Riki and the Aska converge in the mountains or alongside the coast to fight to the death. It is the way of their worlds, and a tradition that had been kept since the age of their gods. But when Eelyn tries to find her brother amongst broken bodies and swinging axes, she is nearly killed by Fiske—Riki’s new, adoptive brother. Iri pulls them apart before they tear murder one another, but Eelyn is then taken prisoner and sworn to secrecy about her brother’s lineage.

Eelyn must face her brother’s betrayal and live amongst his people, the Riki, and work as their servant if she hopes to survive the winter to then venture back home to her father. When the Riki village is suddenly raided, she must put her life in the hands of the man who nearly took it—Fiske. Her brother’s friend, and her captor, try to figure out how to unite the clans to defeat a deadlier enemy. But some rivalries run too deep, with too much blood spilled, and old rivals will never be truly at rest until their god’s thirst for blood and war is satisfied.

The setting takes place in a vague, Nordic country where one scene goes from thickly iced over lakes to snow-capped mountains where trees tower over the nestled villages. Young’s descriptions of the meeting halls and forests are gorgeous. I loved her writing style, because it easily hooked me from the first page and didn’t leave room for errors. In other words, anything I guessed that would occur actually didn’t occur, even with my close reading. It was a well thought out and characterized story, especially in regards to character development. A major theme throughout was the idea of giving in and changing. When to change, whether or not to change, and who to change for—which ultimately leads to the protagonist’s self-discovery and newfound outlook on life. The best part about this book is definitely following along as Eelyn struggles to find herself in two different worlds. Fiske fights the same inner battle, as does Iri, and all three of them go through this change differently and with contrasting perspectives. It was all very intriguing and stimulating to read.