A Dark and Wild Wood
A Novel
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2.0 • 2 Ratings
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
"[Lemon] is a poet with knives for teeth." —Roshani Chokshi
"Reads like a grimoire for overcoming." —Hannah Whitten
"A gorgeously gothic fairy tale." —Ava Reid
Inspired by the tale of Bluebeard, A Dark and Wild Wood is the lush and atmospheric story of a maiden with dark magic who becomes the apprentice to Lord Death—for a price.
Ever since she was a child, Salomé has been plagued by visions of spirits and dangerous powers she can’t control. After watching her foster mother burn as a witch, she and her beloved sister Rochelle are raised together in a convent, a grim and dreary existence. Until one day, Rochelle vanishes.
Determined to find a way to save her, Salomé runs: first to a brothel, and then, after a terrible accident, away from the village and into the woods. Deep amongst the trees of the wild Black Forest, she comes face-to-face with Lord Death.
Rather than taking her life, he brings her to his home at the heart of the woods, a strange manor full of locked rooms and mysterious corridors, crumbling one moment, magnificent the next. He promises to make her his apprentice and teach her how to harness her mind and magic. His words are as seductive as his presence—but should one trust Death?
A swirling mirage of gothic fairy tale and historical fantasy, A Dark and Wild Wood is a novel best devoured all at once. But proceed with caution, as everything is not what it seems...
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Salomé, the magic-wielding heroine of Lemon's deliciously dark debut, has felt cursed since birth, when her father attempted to drown both her and her mother. Salomé was saved by midwife Valerie, who went on to raise her and her older sister, Rochelle, until Valerie was accused of witchcraft and burned at the stake. A series of disasters, including Rochelle's disappearance, then lead Salomé from a convent to a brothel, where she finds a dear companion in fellow sex worker Dacia. When she accidentally kills a man with her magic, however, she's forced to run once more. Salomé is near death from cold and exhaustion when a dark figure on a black stallion finds her. This is Lord Death, who offers to take her in and teach her to control her abilities. As Salomé both suffers and delights under Death's care and teaching, something dark festers under the surface of their relationship, draining and frightening her. All the while, girls are going missing from across the barony, including the village where Dacia lives. Lemon does a good job balancing this mystery with the obsessive and abusive relationship between Salomé and Death and the lovely dynamic between Salomé and Dacia. With echoes of Bluebeard and the Hades and Persephone myth, this decadent tale is sure to please fans of gritty fantasy romance.
