Nightshade and Oak
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- £5.99
Publisher Description
An Iron Age goddess must grapple with becoming human in this delightful historical fantasy of myth and magic from the author of Greenteeth.
When Mallt, the goddess of death, is accidently turned human by a wayward spell, she finds she's ill-equipped to deal with the trials of a mortal life. After all, why would a goddess need to know how to gather food or light a fire?
Unable to fend for herself, she teams up with Belis, warrior daughter of Boudicca, on a perilous journey to the afterlife to try to restore her powers. Frustrated by her frail human body and its inability to run a hundred miles in a single day, Mallt might not make the best travelling companion. But as animosity slowly turns to attraction, these two very different women must learn to work together if they are to have any hope of surviving their quest.
'O'Neill has delivered yet another excellent story rooted in the folklore of the British isles, this one charged with a slow-burn queer love story'
Booklist (starred review)
Praise for Greenteeth:
'A charmingly monstrous debut' T. Kingfisher, author of Nettle and Bone
'I loved every second of this wonderful, delicious book!' Sarah Beth Durst, New York Times bestselling author of The Spellshop
'A masterclass in the art of storytelling' Tom Holt
'Full of magic, but even more heart' Kirkus
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
With this solid historical fantasy, O'Neill (Greenteeth) takes readers on a jaunty quest through the afterlife. As the Romans battle the Celts in ancient Britain, Mallt Y Nos, aka the Nightshade, Goddess of Death, collects souls from the battlefield. Then she's hit by a spell cast by the warrior Princess Beliscena "Belis" of the Iceni, daughter of Celtic Queen Boudica. Belis's spell was meant to heal her mortally wounded younger sister, Catrisca, but instead it drained Mallt of her goddess powers, turning her human. Mallt and Belis must travel to Annwn, the Afterworld, to retrieve Catrisca's soul and return Mallt to goddess strength. As they evade the Roman legionnaires hot on their tails, Mallt learns more about what it means to be human, absorbing unexpected kindness, simple wisdom, and intense emotions. When they reach Annwn, Arawn, Lord of the Afterworld, warns them that the undead shadowbitten are rapidly corrupting the land, and only Mallt and Belis, the sole living beings in the afterworld, can stop them. O'Neill's swift and straightforward plot sees Mallt and Belis searching for a helpful witch, sparring with the fae, and succumbing to an opposites-attract romance. The blend of Celtic folklore, humor, drama, love, and magic makes for a pleasant diversion.
