Out 29th September, Tim Tilley's follow-up to Harklights is wonderful. Witchstorm is storytelling at its very best: wildly imaginative and exquisitely written with lightning pace and atmospheric illustrations. I loved it!  I have confession to make: I never got round to reading Harklights last year. I know! Now I really must read it because I've enjoyed Witchstorm so much. This book is an absolute treasure. Tim Tilley's writing is crisp, light, beautiful and evocative, like a wild walk on a fine day, while delighting in an approaching storm! He manages to conjure vivid, atmospheric scenes through pitch-perfect prose and stark, surprising visuals. For me, it is hugely inspiring for my own writing - I admire what Tim Tilley is doing enormously. Chapters are short and bursting with adventure, magic, wildness and. above all, heart.  This is a fabulous story. It's a magical adventure that never lets up, weaving a rich mythology of witches and wildness like a love-letter to nature and our place in it. Will is a terrific protagonist with a voice that beats to the rhythm of magic and wildness. I really enjoyed how each chapter builds upon a new clue as Will searches for his Ma, revealing more of the witch world and the danger that it brings. Will discovers clues in artefacts, in coded messages, underground and in the sky - it's so inventive and also just great fun! And let's talk about Hildreth...  a brilliantly cold and sinister enemy, plucked from fairy-tale and completely terrifying as he and his Crows are never far behind Will. The story is practically a relentless chase from beginning to end - with nearly every transport imaginable used too!  At its core, though, Witchstorm is all about the heart: our love for the landscape and our love for each other. And I've had a heart-knowing... Tim Tilley is one of my new favourite children authors. Now to getting round to reading Harklights...

This was such an exciting adventure, so gripping that I didn't want to put the book down. I loved the mystery with all the clues and riddles to follow, it almost felt like being part of the story. What I didn't love was the bullying, and even more, friends who turn to side with the bullies. It was so hard to read and I just wanted to help Will and protect him! Luckily he makes a much better friend. Unlike everyone else in The Fens, Will and his Ma still believe in witches, particularly as their ancestor was the one who helped the last witches when other people turned on them. The way Ma's folk stories gradually started to fit together was really clever. I wondered if maybe she was trying to prepare him for the future adventures she knew he would have one day. There was a truly lovely ending. It was so touching and meaningful, really making people think about their effect on the world we live in. After this I ran out for a copy of Tim's previous book, Harklights and was so excited to find a signed copy!

Witchstorm is an exhilarating fantasy adventure singing to the wonder of nature’s magic: a tale of long-forgotten witches, of lost treasure and of the heart of family and friendship. Will believes in magic and in witches and is convinced that his Ma’s recent disappearance is linked to her search for a witch’s treasure, a treasure that is sung of in a song passed down through his family left to them by one of the last Fenland witches, Agatha Crow. When searching for his Ma, Will discovers an amulet with a missing stone hidden by her and signs that witches have been at their wildlife hide. Have the witches taken his Ma? Why would she keep the amulet from them? Taking the amulet to his aunt Hera, who is an archaeologist, he is surprised when a young witch crashes into his life. She has been drawn to the power of the amulet and needs the stone that should be at its centre to save her world. Can Will, who has been let down by his best friend, learn to trust Magda? Can they work together to save those that are precious to them, and their homes? So begins the most incredible, atmospheric adventure as Will and Magda find themselves on a quest to find the Stormstone, a magical stone with the power to summon the mythical storm-lion and unleash terrifying storms capable of great destruction. But someone has awoken from a centuries-old slumber and is determined to control the Stormstone and use it to wreak revenge on the Fenlanders. Will and Magda find themselves in a race to find the Stormstone before it is used against both the witches and the people of the Fens, a race which has them solving riddles, visiting the clouds, making narrow escapes and battling against a twisting tower as well as using some fantastic modes of transport! There is a real sense of danger, of threat and of time running out as the children realise the peril their worlds are in, and as they fight to save those they love as the villain edges ever closer and closer, and hope seems lost … Will is a wonderful protagonist, a believer in magic and in stories and in songs. He is struggling to trust after he loses the friendship of his best friend, Alfie. Learning to trust Magda is difficult at first, but they bond over what they are both seeking. Will is kind-hearted, determined and courageous and is close to both his Ma and aunt Hera. He follows his heart, faces his fears and shows himself to be a wonderfully supportive friend. I loved the ecological message in the story with the contrast between those like Will and his Ma who appreciated nature and want to see it flourish and be protected to those who do not care about destroying it in order to meet their needs. There is an apt warning that, whilst we may not be aware of the importance of what we are destroying, it could open the path for future peril. The natural environment has its own awe-inspiring magic and maybe we just need to take time to cherish it and look after it before we lose forever that which is of great benefit to us. A magical, nature-inspired and heartfelt fantasy adventure that is a perfect read for cold, dark, spooky evenings … highly recommended for young adventurers of 9+.

Will is a really sweet main character. He's caring, thoughtful, and he still believes in things like witches and magic, keeping alive old family traditions that say they helped protect one of the last witches in the broads. After his mum goes missing he's fired into action, going to his archaeologist aunt for help and meeting a spirited young lady who might, despite her denials, be a witch. We're then treated to a fantastic treasure hunt, and I love these kinds of stories so much! There's (possibly) an ancient magical artefact hidden somewhere in the broads, and they have to find it before the evil witches do. There are clues hidden in old songs, in old stones, puzzles and riddles and mysteries aplenty, and a fair few prophecies thrown in for good measure. It's exciting and magical and there's a real sense of pace to the book with the need to get there before the other side do. The whole thing builds to an exciting climax, a confrontation in a magical city that's literally falling apart around them, with the future of witches and people alike hanging in the balance. It's thrilling stuff! There's also a really interesting environmental aspect to the whole thing. There are themes around humanity's destruction of our environment and the impact this has on different species. There's particular reference to the fact that we often don't even know what we're losing or what it could have done, as the witches lose plants crucial to their spell crafting. There's a clear and definite love of the rich ecosystem of the broads evident throughout too, really making it clear what it is we stand to lose. One of the most interesting elements of this is that at times it definitely felt like the evil witch had a good point. Mankind has largely failed to protect the environment, and his "rewilding scheme" had a lot to recommend about it. This grey moral area made this a particularly interesting read and I enjoyed Witchstorm a lot.