After reading the magical Snowglobe, I couldn’t wait to read Amy’s newest title: ‘Shadows of Winterspell,’ which I read over the summer but have had to wait until nearer its publication date to review (17th October). Finally, the wait is almost over!

Winterspell Forest inhabited by the magical fae folk and haunted by the dark shadow creatures who stalk it. On the edge of the forest, in a house projected by silver charms, lives twelve-year-old Stella, her ghost nan and her nan’s imp, Peg.

You see Stella isn’t your average twelve-year-old girl. She’s a sprite. But, isolated and disguised as a human by her nan’s glamour, Stella longs to attend human school and maybe even make some friends. Just to be ordinary.

However, what Stella learns at school brings her closer to the magical fae folk she’s part of and allows her to develop friendships which may just help her to stand strong against the much feared Shadow King who’s shadows blight the forest.

Once again, Wilson weaves a spell over her readers as they explore the shadowy depths of Winterspell and search for the frozen palace nestled within. A thoroughly absorbing, magical read. I loved that the story didn’t focus on ‘pretty’ magic but practical, powerful and life-saving magic. There was real darkness and conflict lurking within this book’s pages. The shadow wolves in particular are terrifying!

As a contrast to the magical world of the fae folk, large parts of this story take place in the ‘modern’ world – the local secondary school being just one of them. I think the idea of a magical fantasy world set squarely in the middle of the modern world is part of what makes this book so special and relatable – which is very hard  for this type of story to be.

A brilliant magical read for anyone looking to expand their reading horizons and their imaginations aged 9+

Library Girl.

*Thank you to Macmillan Children’s Books for sending me this title to review*