Book Synopsis:
The Witches of Woodville Part 2
July, 1940
In a quiet village in rural Kent, a magical mystery leads to murder . . .
Woodville has returned to ‘normal’ after the departure of the Crow Folk. The villagers put out fires from aircraft shot down in the Battle of Britain, and Faye Bright discovers that magic can be just as dangerous as any weapon.
The arrival of a trio of Jewish children fleeing the Nazis brings the fight for Europe to the village. When their guardian is found dead, Faye must play nanny to the terrified children while gathering clues to uncover a dark magic that threatens to change the course of the war. And she must do it quickly – the children have seen too much and someone wants them silenced for good.
For fans of Lev Grossman and Terry Pratchett comes the second novel in this delightful trilogy of war, mystery and a little bit of magic . . .
Babes In The Wood is available in ebook and paperback now. You can purchase your copy using the links below.
My Review:
Babes In The Woods is another fantastic, magical adventure from the wonderful Witches Of Woodville series.
Firstly it was great fun to be back in the village of Woodville and amongst the fabulous residents again,many of whom I was pleased to see had returned from the last book. As before Faye was a great main character and it was fun to follow her throughout the book as she grows in confidence both in herself and her magical abilities. Her best friend Bertie also makes a reappearance which was great as he was one of my favourite characters from the first book.
The author weaves some historical details into the book which I thought was very clever. From Lord and Lady Ashton whose grand house has been made into a hospital to little hints at the class differences we see between the neighbours the reader gets an idea of what life was like in this period. The subject of the Holocaust is also touched on through the inclusion of the two Jewish children Faye helps rescue. Although the author doesn’t go into graphic detail we get a hint of what is happening through the children’s fear and uncertainty as they take in the new country they’ve fled to. Their fear is almost palpable at times and I wished I could reach into the book to give them a hug. They do help provide some of the funniest moments in the book at times however, with some of their reactions to things making me laugh out loud. I think that the author managed to hit the right note with this,mentioning the Holocaust but somehow not letting the book become too sad because of it.
Overall I thought this was a fantastic story with the perfect blend of magic and adventure to keep the reader thoroughly absorbed in the world the author has created. Along with some old favourites there is a new villain to fear who was very interesting to learn more about, though he did chill me to the bone with some if the things he did.
This is the second book in the series and while I do think it could be read as a standalone it would probably be best to read the books in order so you can understand the characters better.
Huge thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me onto the blog tour and to Simon and Schuster for my copy of this book.
About The Author:
Mark Stay got a part-time Christmas job at Waterstone’s in the nineties (back when it still had an apostrophe) and somehow ended up working in publishing for over 25 years. He would write in his spare time and (he can admit this now) on company time, and sometimes those writings would get turned into books and films. Mark is also co-presenter of the Bestseller Experiment podcast, which has inspired writers all over the world to finish and publish their books. Born in London, he lives in Kent with Youtube gardener Claire Burgess and a declining assortment of retired chickens. Come and say hello at markstaywrites.com
Over The Rainbow Blog 
Thanks for the blog tour support Jo
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