From highly acclaimed, bestselling author Ava Reid comes a gothic
horror retelling of The Juniper Tree, set in another time and place
within the world of The Wolf and the Woodsman, where a young witch
seeks to discover her identity and escape the domination of her abusive
wizard father, perfect for fans of Shirley Jackson and Catherynne M.
Valente.
A gruesome curse. A city in upheaval. A monster with unquenchable
appetites.
Marlinchen and her two sisters live with their wizard father in a city
shifting from magic to industry. As Oblya's last true witches, she and
her sisters are little more than a tourist trap as they treat their
clients with archaic remedies and beguile them with nostalgic charm.
Marlinchen spends her days divining secrets in exchange for rubles and
trying to placate her tyrannical, xenophobic father, who keeps his
daughters sequestered from the outside world. But at night, Marlinchen
and her sisters sneak out to enjoy the city's amenities and revel in its
thrills, particularly the recently established ballet theater, where
Marlinchen meets a dancer who quickly captures her heart.
As Marlinchen's late-night trysts grow more fervent and frequent, so
does the threat of her father's rage and magic. And while Oblya
flourishes with culture and bustles with enterprise, a monster lurks in
its midst, borne of intolerance and resentment and suffused with
old-world power. Caught between history and progress and blood and
desire, Marlinchen must draw upon her own magic to keep her city safe
and find her place within it.