Nightshade and Oak
Buy Now
By using these links, you support READO. We receive an affiliate commission without any additional costs to you.
Description
Reader reviews:
'Compelling, and moving' ¿¿¿¿¿
'Beautifully written' ¿¿¿¿¿
'I loved it!' ¿¿¿¿¿
'Full of heart and magic' ¿¿¿¿¿
'Absolutely delightful' ¿¿¿¿¿
'Sharp, witty, funny, tragic and heartfelt' ¿¿¿¿¿
'An exquisitely written novel'¿¿¿¿¿
When Mallt, the goddess of death, is accidently turned human by a wayward spell, she finds she's ill-equipped to deal with the trials of a mortal life. After all, why would a goddess need to know how to gather food or light a fire?
Unable to fend for herself, she teams up with Belis, warrior daughter of Boudicca, on a perilous journey to the afterlife to try to restore her powers. Frustrated by her frail human body and its inability to run a hundred miles in a single day, Mallt might not make the best travelling companion. But as animosity slowly turns to attraction, these two very different women must learn to work together if they are to have any hope of surviving their quest.
'O'Neill has delivered yet another excellent story rooted in the folklore of the British isles, this one charged with a slow-burn queer love story'
Booklist (starred review)
Reader reviews:
'Just as beautifully written as Greenteeth - Molly's quickly becoming an auto-buy for me' ¿¿¿¿¿
'I think I read for about 78 hours, almost forgetting to eat . . . This book is in my heart, together with Greenteeth for many years to come' ¿¿¿¿¿
'Tender and heartbreaking, yet punchy and humorous. Nightshade and Oak was a fabulous read' ¿¿¿¿¿
Praise for Greenteeth:
'A charmingly monstrous debut' T. Kingfisher, author of Nettle and Bone
'I loved every second of this wonderful, delicious book!' Sarah Beth Durst, New York Times bestselling author of The Spellshop
'A masterclass in the art of storytelling' Tom Holt
'Full of magic, but even more heart' Kirkus
Reader reviews:
Book Information
Posts
Molly O'Neill liefert mit "Nightshade and Oak" ein packenden Fantasyroman ab, der – wie schon ihr erster Roman "Waterwitch" – tief in der britischen Folklore verwurzelt ist. Vor dem Hintergrund der römischen Invasion entfaltet sich eine poetische Geschichte über Götter, Ghule und andere Geisterwesen wie die Wilde Jagd. Im Zentrum steht eine faszinierende Prämisse: Mallt Y Nos, die Göttin des Todes, ist menschlich geworden. Ihrer Kräfte beraubt, begibt sie sich auf eine gefährliche Quest, um ihre göttliche Macht zurückzugewinnen. An ihrer Seite steht eine Gefährtin, wie sie geschichtsträchtiger nicht sein könnte: Belis, die Tochter der legendären Icener-Königin Boudicca. Während Mallt Y Nos ihre Unsterblichkeit sucht, verfolgt Belis ein zutiefst menschliches, aber nicht weniger unmögliches Ziel: Sie will die Seele ihrer verstorbenen Schwester aus dem Totenreich befreien. Diese Allianz aus göttlichem Stolz und menschlicher Trauer bildet das emotionale Rückgrat der Geschichte. Die Verbindung aus packenden Kampfszenen, einer atmosphärischen Welt und einer feinfühligen, queeren Liebesgeschichte als Nebenhandlung macht die große Stärke dieses Buches aus. Eine Empfehlung für Fans von atmosphärischer Mythologie und starken, vielschichtigen Frauenfiguren.
After I really liked Greenteeth by this author last year, this book somehow fell a little flat, literally. Even though the setting and time period was unique and I loved the historical and mythological characters appearing in the story, the plot was just a bit jumbled and almost every tension arc was flat and underwhelming. Everything always worked out perfectly, plot points and progression seemed random and the characters were a bit too one-dimensional as well. Even though I liked both Mallt and Belis and their character development in general, it felt a bit predictable and listlessly.. the writing however was good again and the book was easy enough to get through. Maybe my expectations were a little high, maybe I would have profited by listening to this as an audiobook, but as it is it was just middling, imo. I would have much preferred to read something about Boudicca and her rebellion, that seemed like a much more intriguing story to me than this wild goose chase 🙈 Still, thanks to netgalley and Little Brown for the e-arc!
Description
Reader reviews:
'Compelling, and moving' ¿¿¿¿¿
'Beautifully written' ¿¿¿¿¿
'I loved it!' ¿¿¿¿¿
'Full of heart and magic' ¿¿¿¿¿
'Absolutely delightful' ¿¿¿¿¿
'Sharp, witty, funny, tragic and heartfelt' ¿¿¿¿¿
'An exquisitely written novel'¿¿¿¿¿
When Mallt, the goddess of death, is accidently turned human by a wayward spell, she finds she's ill-equipped to deal with the trials of a mortal life. After all, why would a goddess need to know how to gather food or light a fire?
Unable to fend for herself, she teams up with Belis, warrior daughter of Boudicca, on a perilous journey to the afterlife to try to restore her powers. Frustrated by her frail human body and its inability to run a hundred miles in a single day, Mallt might not make the best travelling companion. But as animosity slowly turns to attraction, these two very different women must learn to work together if they are to have any hope of surviving their quest.
'O'Neill has delivered yet another excellent story rooted in the folklore of the British isles, this one charged with a slow-burn queer love story'
Booklist (starred review)
Reader reviews:
'Just as beautifully written as Greenteeth - Molly's quickly becoming an auto-buy for me' ¿¿¿¿¿
'I think I read for about 78 hours, almost forgetting to eat . . . This book is in my heart, together with Greenteeth for many years to come' ¿¿¿¿¿
'Tender and heartbreaking, yet punchy and humorous. Nightshade and Oak was a fabulous read' ¿¿¿¿¿
Praise for Greenteeth:
'A charmingly monstrous debut' T. Kingfisher, author of Nettle and Bone
'I loved every second of this wonderful, delicious book!' Sarah Beth Durst, New York Times bestselling author of The Spellshop
'A masterclass in the art of storytelling' Tom Holt
'Full of magic, but even more heart' Kirkus
Reader reviews:
Book Information
Posts
Molly O'Neill liefert mit "Nightshade and Oak" ein packenden Fantasyroman ab, der – wie schon ihr erster Roman "Waterwitch" – tief in der britischen Folklore verwurzelt ist. Vor dem Hintergrund der römischen Invasion entfaltet sich eine poetische Geschichte über Götter, Ghule und andere Geisterwesen wie die Wilde Jagd. Im Zentrum steht eine faszinierende Prämisse: Mallt Y Nos, die Göttin des Todes, ist menschlich geworden. Ihrer Kräfte beraubt, begibt sie sich auf eine gefährliche Quest, um ihre göttliche Macht zurückzugewinnen. An ihrer Seite steht eine Gefährtin, wie sie geschichtsträchtiger nicht sein könnte: Belis, die Tochter der legendären Icener-Königin Boudicca. Während Mallt Y Nos ihre Unsterblichkeit sucht, verfolgt Belis ein zutiefst menschliches, aber nicht weniger unmögliches Ziel: Sie will die Seele ihrer verstorbenen Schwester aus dem Totenreich befreien. Diese Allianz aus göttlichem Stolz und menschlicher Trauer bildet das emotionale Rückgrat der Geschichte. Die Verbindung aus packenden Kampfszenen, einer atmosphärischen Welt und einer feinfühligen, queeren Liebesgeschichte als Nebenhandlung macht die große Stärke dieses Buches aus. Eine Empfehlung für Fans von atmosphärischer Mythologie und starken, vielschichtigen Frauenfiguren.
After I really liked Greenteeth by this author last year, this book somehow fell a little flat, literally. Even though the setting and time period was unique and I loved the historical and mythological characters appearing in the story, the plot was just a bit jumbled and almost every tension arc was flat and underwhelming. Everything always worked out perfectly, plot points and progression seemed random and the characters were a bit too one-dimensional as well. Even though I liked both Mallt and Belis and their character development in general, it felt a bit predictable and listlessly.. the writing however was good again and the book was easy enough to get through. Maybe my expectations were a little high, maybe I would have profited by listening to this as an audiobook, but as it is it was just middling, imo. I would have much preferred to read something about Boudicca and her rebellion, that seemed like a much more intriguing story to me than this wild goose chase 🙈 Still, thanks to netgalley and Little Brown for the e-arc!