A gripping enjoyable read. Not scary to me but very entertaining! Very realistic and relatable characters and the writing was very good, excellent imagery! Would definitely recommend this to fans of gothic!

I am completely baffled by this book. I have no idea how to classify it. Part horror, part dystopian, part futuristic, slightly over ambitious with not quite enough polish to be brilliant. And it could have been.

I liked the idea and overall premise of this but i don't think this worked for me. The writing and characters were okay but they just felt like something was missing from it. The action was okay but I did find a few moments didn't fit the world that was built entirely well. Overall this wasn't a bad book by any means but it just feels like something is lacking from it.

I put this down at 44%, it just wasn't the read for me. I was excited for the folklore elements and the idea of this post-brexit 'kingdom' landscape but the characters lacked depth and the commentary within the narrative didn't do nearly as much as I'd hoped it would within this kind of politicised setting. The romance was also unfortuntely a miss for me.

It's not an easy book to review because it's an excellent book that mixes fantasy, folk horror, folklore and a symbols.
Rowena is a strong and well plotted character, Hamin is up to this strong woman.
An atmospheric and gripping story, highly recommended.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Why, why, why did I keep this on my TBR for so long! It is an absolute gem.of a book, and I devoured it in a day!
From the day Rowena was born she was cursed. Death follows her every move, including the death of her Dad who dies in front of her. Her mum says the only way to save Rowena is to send her to her grandmother who is a known healer, and rid her of the curse before her 18th birthday, after that, the curse will stick for life. Her mum enlists the help of the farm hand, Halim, to take Rowena across the country to be healed. A surly young man with no time for the rebellious girl, who seems to be going out of her way to cause chaos. Halim has issues of his own, and Rowena's lack of sympathy for anyone but herself is infuriating.
As their journey progresses, Rowena's dreams and visions become increasingly disturbing. She finds warnings and death everywhere and the curse tightening its grip.
A wonderful mix of folklore and gothic imagery. This book needs to be read!!!!

This dystopian book blends magical realism elements, along with English folklore to create a truly unique book! We follow Rowena in a dystopian England (think Brexit vibes), each county runs itself, and superstition and folk remedies are now the norms (serious Whicker Man vibes). Leading up to her birthday, Rowena is running out of time to cure her curse or risk it settling into place forever. As a last resort, her mother spends her savings sending Rowena to her grandmother's to cleanse the curse away.

Halim is a farmhand with a mysterious past who is hiding from something he doesn't want to talk about. Escorting Rowena across the country seems like an easy job, perfect to fill his savings ready for the next step in his plan. However, he doesn't plan on starting to see the world as she does, learning to let go a little, and stray from his 'by the book' vision.

This is a debut by Nadia Attia' and she is certainly someone I will be watching in the future. Her writing has a quality that reflects the wayward, folk, midsummer of her story, capturing the beauty of English folk stories, and all the best Folk Horror Britain has to offer!


**Thank you to Netgalley and Serpent's Tail for allowing me to read this book. All thoughts are my honest opinions.**

Read this if you like: Folklore/folk horror, family curses, an absolute banger of a first kiss.
A post-Brexit dystopia meets with cunning-folk traditions in this beautifully written debut.

I really enjoyed this speculative/alternate universe fantasy novel, with a cli-fi/horror feel. The story follows two young chalk-and-cheese characters, Rowena and Halim, on a road trip in an alternate "Kingdom", where each county has it's own rules, bureaucracy and prejudice against strangers. Suffering each other out of necessity, they are slowly drawn to each other in an enemies to lover type way. Rowena has a curse upon her, which forces her to leave her home, travelling across the country, in the hopes that her grandmother can winkle it out her. Halim has a sink-or-swim business strategy, but really he's desperate to escape the path his parents have set him on.

The world-building surrounding folklore/arcane ritual was subtle but engrossing, woven throughout with a paired back writing style that really suited the premise. Written in the present tense, the narrator is almost invisible and Attia switches POV mid chapter effortlessly. I'm not always a fan of present tense/third person, but for me it really seemed to fit the near-future/alternate reality really well.

I've seen this described as "witchy" but for me it's richer than that. The horror is rooted in luck and curses, rabbit's feet and death in nature, which makes it feel earthy and grounded, unlike other witchcraft stories.

Ultimately, this is a story about the characters. Both Rowena and Halim have built walls around their hearts to protect themselves, but they also need each other's friendship as much as anything else. I really came to care for these two characters: Rowena, stroppy and reckless; Halim, uptight and practical.

I would say this is New Adult/Adult with slightly "spicy" content, which seems fitting with the darker/horror aspects of Attia's writing. Definitely a strong fantasy debut with a literary edge.

The day Rowena Murray was born, 250 starlings fell like stones from the sky. Ever since, she has been marked by Death.

This was an atmospheric Gothic story which I wish I could have enjoyed more.

I found it hard to connect to the world, and the protagonist didn't do much for me.

I did however enjoy the blend of folk horror elements & modern day.

This was such an interesting book, and it helped me get out of a reading slump I was deeply in - so easy to read and very enthralling.
I did however find the mixture of folk horror elements & modern day elements quite juxtaposing - the inclusion of smart phones in a book that otherwise felt quite old-worldy seemed anachronistic & sort of took me out of the story a bit at times.

This had a lot of potential to be great but ultimately just wasn’t it for me.

Rowena as a main character wasn’t very likable or relatable if i’m being real here…The major pick-me energy she exudes is exhausting and I wish there had been more in terms of character development and backstory. Almost everyone felt one dimensional. The world building on the other hand was fantastic. The way things are described and how we’re introduced to certain aspects of the story are great and in my opinion the best thing about Verge as a whole.

I adored this dark and mystical tale of greif, love, fear, death, bravery and youth.

Rowena and Halim are both young adults, finding themselves for different reasons. Both wishing to break free of the confines or even curses, of their regular lives.

Both are reaching milestone birthdays (Rowena is almost 18 and Halim, 21) which adds an urgency to their desire to head out on their own paths.

I love that this story shows the importance of trusting your instinct and reaffirms that although there is along course, evil in the world, there is also a lot of good. Whilst it's often difficult and may not work out as planned, we always have the choice to alter our paths and not just become passive bystanders in our own lives.

There are plenty of tense moments as well as tenderness, peril, humour and romance. All sprinkled with perfect witchy, Beltane atmosphere.

Rowena's confident, feisty and carefree nature make her a protagonist we root for.

Fabulous!

This was a gothic, haunting and atmospheric story that I couldn’t put down. It was gripping and engaging the whole way through with a level of suspense and unpredictability that added an extra layer to the storytelling. It was a chilling read that has stayed with me since I read it. This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and I would read more of their work.

The E-Book could be improved and more user-friendly, such as links to the chapters, and no significant gaps between words. Some text written has been typed in red and a cover for the book would be better. It is very document-like instead of a book. A star has been deducted because of this.

The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you very much to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

I really enjoyed reading "Verge" by Nadia Attia. It did have an old-fashioned way about it - the healers, manual labour and customs/traditions. It did confuse me at times when there was a mention of a mobile phone or truck as it did have a very medieval vibe about it, but that was part of the charm, getting across the Kingdom or lands that are no longer united. I feel as if this book is more about the journey rather than the destination. I also wouldn't be too surprised if this is just the beginning of the story for Rowena and Halim. I'd happily read more.

Part road trip part romance part paranormal story set in a dystopian version of the UK-the main characters weren’t very well fleshed out, their struggles with their families were cliche, there were arbitrary deadlines set that then seemed moveable at a whim. Side characters came and went with no real effect on the story.

(I received this book from the editor and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review)

Rowena is cursed. The day she was born, more than two hundred birds fell from the sky, as if someone had turned them into stone. Then, the misfortunes started. And now, her only salvation may be in Culcrith, to the North. And the Wilderness waits for its chance…
When I started reading this debut novel by Nadia Attia, I was sure, I suppose due to the ‘curse’ and ‘omen’ stuff, that I was, if not in another land, at least in another time. Then, I was convinced that Rowena and Halim, our other main character, were travelling by carriage or something like that. Then, they called each other in their phones. And they were in a hotel. Wait, what? And I was wondering what on earth was going on. So, I started reading it again and realized how influenced I was with what I was expecting.
Once I stroke a kind of compromise between the folk horror and the actual period (I am not going to say which period it is, by the way), I thought I was ready for the journey.
And then, after some more pages, I realized I was dreading any time Rowena was in focus, because she felt like what they are nowadays calling a ‘Pick Me Girl’: someone who thinks she is not like the other girls, and is adamant to show it to everyone around her (even the reader). I understand that not all protagonists need to be likeable, and that I could be biased, but she really does take some decisions and acts in a such a way that it does not really make sense to me.
I do like Halim, though. I can’t say a lot about him (the same way I would like to add some things about Rowena that I can’t because of spoiler-zone), but he is somehow a more complex character than her. On the other hand, I also think he looks better than he really is if the only other characters we can compare him to are Rowena and her family.
On a more positive note, I loved, loved, loved some of the descriptions! I think the creation of the world and the way the author describes it are definitely the most interesting part of Verge. It is easy to feel that the work surrounding the worldbuilding was a thorough one.
To sum up, I know this was not the book for me. I just reread my own review and realized most of the points I did not like (even the ones I did not write about) could be just what a younger audience craves. It simply might be due to these YA themes, or the lack of a more established horror, that I feel something is missing, but at the same time I can assess that this is a promising debut novel and I am looking forward to seeing how the author evolves.
(I received this book from the editor and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review)