Week 9 Review: The Drowned Woods

From Goodreads:

A magical, ethereal fantasy from IndieBound bestselling author Emily Lloyd-Jones.

Once upon a time, the kingdoms of Wales were rife with magic and conflict, and eighteen-year-old Mererid "Mer" is well-acquainted with both. She is the last living water diviner and has spent years running from the prince who bound her into his service. Under the prince's orders, she located the wells of his enemies, and he poisoned them without her knowledge, causing hundreds of deaths. After discovering what he had done, Mer went to great lengths to disappear from his reach. Then Mer's old handler returns with a proposition: use her powers to bring down the very prince that abused them both.

The best way to do that is to destroy the magical well that keeps the prince's lands safe. With a motley crew of allies, including a fae-cursed young man, the lady of thieves, and a corgi that may or may not be a spy, Mer may finally be able to steal precious freedom and peace for herself. After all, a person with a knife is one thing…but a person with a cause can topple kingdoms.

The Drowned Woods—set in the same world as The Bone Houses but with a whole new, unforgettable cast of characters—is part heist novel, part dark fairy tale.

My Review:
Oh, I was really looking forward to reading this book! I've loved all the books that I've read by Emily Lloyd-Jones, and this one sounded really great! And oh, it was, I loved watching this story unfold, it was fantastic to read!

I was absolutely on Mer's side. That she was taken from her family, raised to be this pawn for the prince, to really not be allowed a life of her own, of course she ran off. To have a chance to take down this prince that used her to cause to much harm, of course she took it! 

Fane was an interesting character. When he was a child his family was killed by ruffians employed by the person ruling the area because they refused to make certain items. So he goes to the fae to get the power to get revenge. But he quickly learned that it was more complicated then that, and I really enjoyed his story! 

The gang that assembles to take on this task, I found a lot of fun, there were some pretty witty comments made throughout. They were from all sorts of walks of life, and they were after this common goal of destroying this magical well. But oh, the plots and the betrayals! I just couldn't put it down! And that ending, with that connection to the Bone Houses? I'm going to have to reread it now! 

This was a really excellent read, and I can't wait to read more by Emily Lloyd-Jones! 

Author: Emily Lloyd-Jones 
Read: February 26th, 2023 
Source: Library
Reason Why: Love her writing and it sounded really great, and it's a Historical Fiction 2023 Book, RR Book, SAC 2023 Book and a WoW Book! 
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Published: August 16th 2022

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars