Wraithwood

By: Alyssa Roat

Narrated by: Katie Marchant

Length: 11 hrs and 47 mins

Publisher's summary

An estranged uncle, a mysterious mansion, and Arthurian legend - together, they lead to a world of magic and bloodthirsty wizards who want teenage Brinnie dead.

Brynna “Brinnie” Lane has always lived a quiet life under the watchful eye of her hovering mother - until she’s sent off for the summer to live with an uncle she didn’t know she had. While her parents get to travel across the globe, she'll be spending three months in the middle of nowhere: upstate New York. It looks like she might spend the entire summer friendless with her nose in a book.

However, she soon finds that Wraithwood Estate, her uncle’s creepy old mansion, holds as many secrets as the man himself. When Brinnie is warned not to explore any of it, her curiosity only grows. As unnatural events take place and Brinnie hears whispers of a hidden war, she must unravel the truth about her family’s mysterious past if she wants to survive.

Something terrible happened at Wraithwood thirty years ago, and Brinnie is determined to find out what happened - even if it means confronting the possibility that magic is real.

©2021 Alyssa Roat (P)2021 Mountain Brook Ink

Modern Arthur

What if a young girl, raised as a human, discovers she’s really a wizard, but no one will tell her anything until she gets lost in a maze with a band of very bad evil wizards? You’d have the delightfully-imagined story of Wraithwood! Listen on for laughs and adventure with heart and soul.

Loved this story

Do you want a story that is captivating and fun? Then this is the book for you.

An absolute delight

This was such a delight! I wasn’t sure what to expect but I had a blast experiencing this modern fantasy adventure mostly set at a mysterious mansion, the Wraithwood Estate. It gave me such a nostalgic summer-holidays-novel vibe like some books I loved reading when I was younger (like The Dark Hills Divide meets Over Sea, Under Stone), but it was unique too! I loved disappearing into this lovely setting.

It was fun following Brinnie around and seeing her discover this greater fantastical world around her. I’m curious to see what she’ll do with some of it in the future! Her uncle Merlin was fabulous too and I wish he’d have been in it even more, but I loved him and his mysteriousness. The other characters made for an excellent cast, particularly Ms. Tynsdale and Quentin, who were great! Loved these characters!

The plot was exciting and kept me invested and curious at turns, guessing and second-guessing. And the setting was so cool! I especially loved the maze! No spoilers but there were so many great moments involving the maze and just—yesss. So cool. More books should have magical mazes, TBH. It made me so happy. *grinning* Definitely my favorite part of the book! Oh, and the flying chairs were cool . . . ;)

A note, too, that listening to the audiobook was a blast and I highly recommend it! The narrator did an amazing job of bringing each character to life and making a thoroughly enjoyable book all the more delightful. I highly recommend both the book and the audiobook!

It was simply a blast and I ended it going WAIT! COME BACK! Especially with that not-quite-a-cliffhanger-buuuut . . . So I’m super looking forward to checking out the sequel, Mordizan, soon. I need more! I can’t wait to go back to this series!

Definitely recommended if you enjoy light YA modern fantasy, a dash of peril and suspense, and Arthurian vibes. It was a blast!

(I received a free e-ARC of this book from the author and was not required to write a positive review. All opinions are my own. I did end up buying the audiobook and mostly listening to that, though.)

Super fun fantasy

Alyssa Roat is a promising new talent. I will be looking forward to more of her work. Katie Marchant does a wonderful job telling of the story of Brinnie with a full cast of characters.