I never usually enjoy fantasy books, yet, these two have won me over!
Merry is a young witch, living with her brother, Leo and her mum. She and her gran have practised magic but her mum and brother don't her mum believes it is dangerous, which it is and can be as we find out.
An ancient love gone wrong between Gwydion who was unrequitedly in love with his childhood friend, Edith. Gwydion made the kingdom same and the reward was to be marriage to Edith, however, the king didn't want to allow the lower class Gwydion into royalty and so Edith marries Aiden and has a baby boy, Jack whom Gwydion places a curse on to be the King Of Hearts.
Merry and the neighbours around them who are magic including Merry's young friends, whom support Merry on what she is facing in that she needs to stop Gwydion and keep them all safe and unharmed.
An ancient parchment reveals to Merry and Leo, they need to go to the lake and retrieve the two puppet hearts which can stop Gwydion and the King Of Hearts from what they are doing which is stabbing people whom believe themselves to be in love.
It is at the Black Lake where Merry and Leo first encounter Jack, though they soon learn he has two sides, the evil killing side which he feels trying to take him over all the time yet he can be normal for bouts of time between it having control of him again. They learn how Gwydion controls Jack to make him obey him and Merry dreams of Jack as well as fancying him!
I'm not spoiling this book further but it was an enticing and gripping read I read in one afternoon and then read the next sequel in the evening!
The Witch's Tears is the sequel and this book focuses on Merry learning and failing still how to manage her magic and finally get it to work right for her.
We also see the arrival of some new male characters, Leo's new love interest, Ronan, whom steps in to stop Simon beating up Leo after he's come out as gay. Then we meet Finn whom ends up trapped in a protective spell cast on Merry and Leo's Grans home after she has disappeared mysteriously and so the main aim of the book is to find their Gran and stop the evil at work quite literally.
We soon learn of enchantment extractors whom steal wizard and witch magic have also killed Flo, Merry's friend so just whom has Merry and Leo's Gran and what are their plans?
The Witch's Tears being set only three months apart, shows how love and loss can be healed and then another form of the same issue can arise. Grief is big in the book and I expect more to come in the next book but I'm not going to spoil anymore of the plot in The Witch's Tears.
Many thanks to the publisher's for sending me The Witch's Tears!
