A girl marked for death ventures into the wooded realm of the fairies to rescue her mother in this dark, lyrical fantasy about vengeful witches, beastly fathers, and the stories mothers tell to keep their daughters safeβfrom the author of Nocturne.
Gemma Cassata lives with her mother in an isolated antiques shop in Michigan, near a seductive patch of woods concealing an enchanted gateway to fairyland. Gemma knows sheβs not supposed to go into the woodsβher mother, Virginia, has warned her multiple times about the monsters that lurk thereβand yet she canβt resist.
Virginia understands her daughterβs defiance. She knows the allure of the woods all too well. Her own mother warned her about the monsters, and Virginia also did not listenβuntil a witch cursed her true love just days before their childβs birth. So Virginia will do whatever she can to protect her daughterβeven if it means stealing Gemmaβs memories.
But everything changes when Gemma gets too close to the truth, and the witch takes Virginia . Now it is up to Gemma to venture deep into the mysterious woods to rescue her mother and break the curse.
Told in the alternating viewpoints of Gemma and Virginia, this novel is not only a tale of a girlβs fantastical quest through a darkly magical fairyland but also an exploration of the complex bonds between children and their parents.
Science fiction & fantasy