"Courage and kindness, trickery and deception, love, loyalty and timeless love — this beautiful book brims with magic and the hope of happy-ever-afters."
Timeless and poetic, Nettle’s haunting magic is cast with the kind of wand that will also captivate readers who are impatient for action, for Nettle isn’t only lusciously lyrical — it’s driven by a race-against-time quest that sees its marvellous protagonist compelled to complete three seemingly impossible tasks. Bravo to Bex Hogan for crafting a sublime story of faery magic, love and courage that will cast a hex on many a reader.
“Once there was a girl called Nettle. She was all things wild with a sting to boot... She was all things dangerous and laced with magic”. So begins this wondrous novel that sees Nettle fall through a portal after promising to do anything to save her beloved grandma’s life.
On finding herself in the faery realm, Nettle strikes a deal with the king — after completing three tasks, he will save her grandmother. Here she also finds a friend in Conor, who’s trapped in the kingdom as a result of being set his own impossible task, and meets Ellion, a shadow faery who was once sent to the human world in exchange for a mortal.
Against the odds, Nettle completes her first task — she’s the first human to do so — and embarks on the second. Though she knows “nothing here can be trusted”, Nettle’s impulse to complete the tasks leads her along perilous paths. In response to her circumventing all manner of traps, one inhabitant suggests Nettle “would be wise to consider why she is an exception”.
Resilient and resourceful, intuitive and empathetic, Nettle is a character many readers will respond to. The same goes for Conor’s loving kindnesses, and Ellion’s honesty. There are also powerful representations of loyalty and betrayal, trickery and truth, rising to a heart- swelling ending as Nettle’s true identity comes to light.
With tremendous appeal for readers who love magical worlds and quest-driven stories of bravery and love, Nettle also comes recommended as a wonderful book to share aloud. No- one is too old for the joy of being read to, and Nettle is ideal for reigniting the pleasure of listening in 12+-year-olds.
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