Deep Is the Fen

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Pub Date Apr 16 2024 | Archive Date Feb 25 2024
Allen & Unwin | A&U Children

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Description

A bewitching journey behind the closed doors of a secret society, featuring sinister toadmen, resistance witches and a steamy enemies-to-lovers romance, from the acclaimed author of A Hunger of Thorns.

Merriwether Morgan doesn't need a happily-ever-after. Her life in the idyllic town of Candlecott is fine just as it is: simple, happy, and with absolutely no magic. Magic only ever leads to trouble.

But Merry's best friend, Teddy, is joining the Toadmen - a secret society upholding backward thinking and suspiciously supernatural traditions - and she is determined to stop him. Even if it means teaming up with her academic arch-nemesis, Caraway Boswell, an ice-cold snob who hides his true face behind a glamour.

An ancient Toad ritual is being held in the nightmarish Deeping Fen, and if Merry doesn't rescue Teddy, she'll lose him forever. But the further she travels into Deeping Fen's foul waters, the more Merry wonders if she can possibly save her friend - or if she's walking straight into a trap.

Because there's nothing the Toadmen love more than a damsel in distress . . .

A bewitching journey behind the closed doors of a secret society, featuring sinister toadmen, resistance witches and a steamy enemies-to-lovers romance, from the acclaimed author of A Hunger of Thorns...


Available Editions

EDITION Paperback
ISBN 9781761066863
PRICE A$24.99 (AUD)
PAGES 416

Available on NetGalley

NetGalley Shelf App (EPUB)
Send to Kindle (EPUB)
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Average rating from 7 members


Featured Reviews

Lili Wilkinson has outdone herself yet again. Deep is the Fen took a premise I couldn't resist--hello, toad-based sinister magic secret society?!--and delivered everything I wanted from it and more. It's dark, and gross (there's a certain image from the climax I don't think I'll ever scrub from my brain, which I mean as a compliment) while also being unapologetically hopeful, funny and warm; in a nutshell, it's Wilkinson's trademark approach to YA that I'll never grow tired of or stop singing about.

Merry is such a perfectly teenage protagonist: she's fiercely loyal, brave and loving, and also, not to put too fine a point on it, a complete disaster. She makes mistakes (many) and in trying to fix them usually just creates more messes, propelling the story forward in such catastrophic yet compelling ways. I couldn't help loving her, and rooting for her, as well as the rest of the cast of teenage disasters [affectionate]. Her voice, too, was impossible not to be reeled in by--Wilkinson's effortless, clean and above all distinctly teenage narrative voice has been one of the biggest strengths in every one of her titles I've read. Perhaps what I loved most about this book (and Wilkinson's writing in general) really is how much this reads as YA *for teens* rather than for a YA-loving adult audience. In a similar vein, I thought all the central relationships, both romantic and platonic, were super well handled and very easy to invest in.

It should also not go unremarked: my god, Lili Wilkinson does not pull her punches. When the narrative goes hard, it really goes HARD, both with the horror elements (suitably disgusting, thank you) and narrative consequences. It's a pretty damn dark book, especially in the teen market, and I really appreciated that Wilkinson didn't flinch away from exploring the full scope of the premise she set up. I also loved returning to the world of Hunger of Thorns and further exploring many of the central questions it asked.

Overall, this was a fresh, confident and always surprising title from an author with a masterful control of her craft. I'll be eagerly waiting for the release date, as well as whatever Lili Wilkinson puts out next--frankly, at this point I'd stand in line to read her shopping lists.

Many thanks to Allen & Unwin and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my review!

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Very enjoyable story. Didn't need to have read the first book in the series to enjoy it. Will be a good one for teens.

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I really enjoyed this book. I found the characters engaging and well rounded and the world it was set in very interesting.

I enjoyed the magical elements and overcoming the challenges engaging. Enemies to lovers is always a winner.

Interesting read and I look forward to see how it continues.

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Every now and then a book comes along that is so unique it surprises you, and for me it is this book. I wasn't sure what to expect going in, but DEEP IS THE FEN was so hauntingly atmospheric, so perfectly voicey, that I found myself absolutely speeding through the pages. Merry is a wonderfully relatable main character, and I found myself so drawn by the themes of love and friendship that echo throughout. Lili Wilkinson pulls no punches when it comes to storytelling - the book is equal parts beautiful and gory, devastating and uplifting, chilling and heartwarming. I absolutely loved it!

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