The Ghost of Ivy Barn by Mark Stay

Happy Monday! Today I'm a stop on the Random Things tour for the latest installment in Mark Stay's fabulous Witches of Woodville series, The Ghost of Ivy Barn. 

It's August of 1940 and recent incidents have left England's witches in a bit of an upheaval. The High Witch, Vera Fivetrees, is under investigation after recent incidents in Woodville. Thankfully Faye, Miss Charlotte, and Miss Teach are so far in the clear as far as blame. But Otto Kopp is still on the loose and still wreaking havoc. And as the war continues to rage on, plans are being made for the witches to get involved. Plans Kopp is intent on ruining. 

Oh, how I adore this series! Mark Stay's Woodville is a charming little place where some really weird things have happened. In no small party thanks to the three witches who call it home. And of course the series begins with one of said witches only just learning witches exist at all, much less that she herself is one. 

Faye continues to learn to use her powers, with grumpy Mrs. Teach and Miss Charlotte teaching her. And they continue to skirt the lines of what's acceptable within the witch community. 

But since the stories take place during WWII there are actually bigger problems to worry about!

Faye and the others aside, Woodville and the people who live there are so completely charming and quirky that you can't help but fall in love! With hand bell ringers bouting against local Morris Men and even a little romance in the air, it's easy to forget the dangers of the outside world. 

At least until those dangers come knocking. 

And it's not just German bombers Woodville, and even the UK, are up against!

The Witches of Woodville series is such a breath of fresh air! It's fun and unique—an absolute perfect blend of supernatural, historical, and, as I mentioned, absolute charm!

Fair warning, this is the third book in the series and I do recommend reading them in order: The Crow Folk, Babes in the Woods, and then The Ghost of Ivy Barn. And if you read them and love them as much as I do, you can check out the official Witches of Woodville website for some super fun extras!

Babes in the Wood by Mark Stay

Hello, dear readers! Today I am stop on the Random Things tour for the second book in Mark Stay's Witches of Woodville series, Babes in the Wood!

It's July in Woodville and the Battle of Britain has officially begun. But overall, life in the village is fairly normal.

Faye, Bertie, and the rest of the bell ringers are returning home from an afternoon outing to Canterbury when they witness a plane crashing into one of the townspeople's houses. 

As the group works to put out the fire, Faye hears a cry for help and discovers four people trapped in a car. She's able to save them and quickly discovers that they're German. To be specific, they're Jews seeking refuge in Woodville. 

But shortly after their arrival, their guardian dies and Faye realizes that the children are in very grave danger from something other than the Nazis. And of course it's up to her to save the day. Again!

I don't think I can adequately express just how freaking excited I was about getting to be part of this tour! I reviewed the first book in the series, The Crow Folk, last February and even with toddler shenanigans (because we hadn't even started daycare/school at that point) it was a one day read for me. (Pre-toddler, it would absolutely have been one sitting!)

I adored it! And I've been anticipating the follow up ever since! And now it's officially here!

This one is set a month after the events of The Crow Folk and the town has not only recovered from those events, but they've become a bit indoctrinated to oddities now. But as much as they've gone back to "normal" there is still a war on. And things have changed accordingly. The bells, for example, are no longer allowed to ring. Much to the disappointment of the Saint Irene's Bell Ringers. 

And it would be fair to say that the arrival of four German Jews throws the town a bit. 

Faye begins the story playing hero once again. As mentioned above, they all dive in to try and control the fire that's broken out thanks to the plane crash, but when Faye hears the cries for help, she doesn't hesitate even if it means heading into a burning building! And she also puts herself between the townsfolk and the children when they hear the kids speaking German. 

From the start, Faye is experiencing something odd around the new arrivals. Visions of a sort, that only begin to make sense when the kids' guardian dies. 

I so love these books! I love the historical setting blended in with all the witchy magic and lore! The series just hits so many great beats in terms of things that interest me. Plus, the story is fun, there's a fabulous—light—creepy edge to it, and I genuinely care about Faye and everyone in Woodville!

And the writing is great! Absolutely great! Stay has clearly done deep research into the era that he writes about and he incorporates so many details that make these books so rich and real. (And yet another reason that we do care so much about Woodville.)

Babes in the Wood is out now from Simon and Schuster UK. Go forth and seek out a copy, good readers! And if you haven't had the pleasure of reading The Crow Folk as of yet, definitely grab a copy of that one too. You'll want to read them in order—and back to back. I promise you, you will not regret it!

I also highly recommend you check out Mark Stay's virtual launch video over on his website. And if you sign up for his newsletter, you get access to free Woodville extras!

The Crow Folk by Mark Stay

Happy Saturday! Today I'm a stop on the Random Things Tours for Mark Stay's The Crow Folk, the first book in the Witches of Woodville series.

Faye Bright's world is turned upside down when she discovers her mother was a witch!

Faye was just four when her mother passed away. And her father doesn't talk much about her. But when Faye discovers a book filled with spells and runes—and a recipe for jam roly-poly!—that belonged to her mother, it's the first time she's had a chance to get to know something about her. Which is why Faye is so determined to keep the book a secret. 

And a good thing too, because The Crow Folk have arrived and their one goal is finding that book! 

I absolutely adored The Crow Folk! 

So Pumpkinhead has arrived! And the first thing he does is raise all of the scarecrows as his minions. This coincides with Faye's discovery of her mother's book, which Pumkinhead can feel but cannot locate on his own. 

See, the witches have a code and one of its mainstays is to never write things down. But Faye's mother knew that she wasn't going to be around to teach Faye all of the things she knew about witchcraft, so this was her only way of ensuring that the knowledge would be passed down. 

Oops!

And since no one ever told Faye anything at all about her mother's powers, she has no idea just how much trouble she can cause. 

Double oops!

I almost hate to say it because I know just how much work goes into a book, but I read this in one sitting on a Saturday afternoon. And since it is the first in a series, that means I have that much more time to wait for the next book to release. But really, I loved this book so much!

First there's Faye, a boisterous and stubborn girl who is very set in her ways. She's seventeen and WWII is going on, so many of the village's men are gone away to war. And Faye doesn't exactly fit in with the other women in town—much the same, as she learns, as her own mother. 

So plot and characters are fabulous but then there's the setting! Stay does a really wonderful job with his world building. Obviously WWII England is not a time or place that I personally experienced, but the book perfectly combines the historical setting and the witchy atmosphere!

The Crow Folk is a real delight and I absolutely cannot wait to join the Witches of Woodville on further adventures!