My daughter loved The Clockwork Crow and couldn't wait for this book to be published. It didn't disappoint. Catherine Fisher is a fantastic children's author and her books are entertaining and engaging. It's great to find a series that captivates and encourages a love of reading.

Magic and friendship working together to fight off the evil governess.
I enjoyed reading this book. Can not wait for the next one.

Settled in Plas y Fran after rescuing Tomos from the Fair Folk, orphan Seren begins to feel she belongs. However, when the glove wearing Mrs Honeybourne arrives, claiming she has been hired as their new governess, things start to take a downward turn. When Tomos becomes obsessed with a carousel she gives him for his birthday, Seren fears that magic is at work once again in Plas y Fran, and seeks the help of the Clockwork Crow to save Tomos and the family from danger.
As the characters on the carousel come to life while the rest of the house sleeps, Seren and the Crow must find ways to defeat each in turn, until they are faced with the Velvet Fox, who lies at the centre. Seren is a resourceful and courageous heroine who will fight to protect those she cares for. Although there is a real sense of peril in the book, both for Tomos and for Seren’s future, there is humour too, much of it provided through the relationship between the protagonist and the irascible Clockwork Crow. Anyone who enjoyed the first book in the series as I did will love this second adventure.

Another spine tingling story. This time Seren starts the tale in a happy place and a home to call her own, only to have this threatened by The Family, who again try to control Tomos and defeat the humans. With a mix if fairy tales and original plot this is a page turner and will keep the reader hooked.

What a treat! I loved this from beginning to end and I couldn’t put it down. I have now read all three books in the series and they are all equally as good which you don’t often get. I have really enjoyed the Welsh links within the book and the odd Welsh word in there which makes me feel makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside as you don’t often get English language books with Welshness within them.
I will be using the series within my classroom to promote a love of reading and champion Welsh authors.

Like the first book, this was a Very quick read. Unlike the first book, I didn’t mind that. We don’t have to get introduced to the characters and the world anymore, so there is plenty of time for the action… which we fall straight into.

They are back… and They are very, very creepy. The atmosphere in this book is So Good! A new, strange, governess appears at Plas-y-Fran and she really wants to make life hard for Seren. She brings with her a mysterious carousel, which plays eerie music and whose toy riders stalk the house at night.

It did use the standard Faery tropes a bit much, which I can imagine being a problem who read about them a lot. For me it was fine though, and I did feel the frustration of Seren of being blamed for the trouble They caused.

And of course there was the brilliant, sarcastic, clockwork crow who is just a joy to read about. I cannot wait to see what the third book holds in store for him.

Delightfully grumpy Crow and friends battle evil fairy folk...

Brilliant! I love this series. The Crow is now one of my favourite characters in children's fiction, and I adore how Seren just accepts him, warts and all - the reader shares in her enjoyment of his ridiculous tall tales. The story takes on a dream-like quality with the Fair Family becoming increasingly menacing. They simply don't have the capacity for empathy and it is very unsettling! Strong friendships bring magic into play, and the message for the reader is a powerful one. The ending to the second in this series is a joy, and I can't wait to see what Seren, Crow and Tomas get up to next. This book will be a firm recommendation in my high school library.


https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/customer-reviews/R2XP9J6IOENO81/ref=cm_cr_getr_d_rvw_ttl?ie=UTF8&ASIN=1913102084

https://www.waterstones.com/reviews/the-velvet-fox/catherine-fisher/9781913102081/164276#review-164276

https://twitter.com/TheLibraryatEHS/status/1303629726804779009

Thank you so much to firefly press and NetGalley for the earc to read and review.

What a thrilling and fun story, I was enthralled into the story from the first page. The characters were all so perfectly written and intermingled perfectly. The way the story was written made you desperate to get the whole story and solve the mystery.

I love and adored Seren and Tomos’ relationship what perfect magical friends they were together. Seren was such a strong, brave, independent girl who would and did not stop at anything to save her best friend from the evil Faery folk who wanted him as theirs again.

This story was magical, adventurous, thrilling and captivating. From the first chapter as the Governess shows up surprisingly you knew you had a mystery to follow and solve and with that mystery are so many twists and turns.

I really enjoyed reading this book and loved how easily the story flowed and the way the story went even though some parts were kinda sad, it was just so well written and so well thought out, I loved it.

An exciting magical story with the evil undercover governess. The gift of a magic carousel possesses Tomos and he forgets his friend, and he will be lost forever if Seren cannot save him.
Seren’s friendship and love works to save his memories and him from evil.
A great book for 8-10 year olds , cannnot wait for the sequel.
Thanks to #NetGelley for the opportunity to read in exchange for an honest review

The lilt of haunting music carried on the breeze; a soft, velvety laugh; a magical toy carousel turning in the night – The Velvet Fox is the spine-tingling sequel to Catherine Fisher’s brilliant story, The Clockwork Crow.

Seren and Tomos have become firm friends in Plas-y-Fran since their first dangerous encounter with the magical Tylwyth Teg fairies. As they play conkers on a fresh Autumn day, Tomos makes the grave mistake of boasting about how they defeated those mystical creatures. Suddenly, a breath of wind stirs up the crackling leaves and a mysterious carriage appears. Mrs Honeybourne has arrived to act as the children’s governess. Who is she? Where has she come from? Is she everything she seems to be? The gift of a mysterious toy carousel brings a kind of magic into the house that Seren thought was gone forever.

Seren soon finds herself treated unjustly – second best because she’s an orphan. When Tomos turns on her, she knows she needs help. It’s time to call for her old friend, the Clockwork Crow. He understands the old magic and might be able to help her defeat the enchantment encircling the house before it’s too late.

The Velvet Fox is a wonderful story of bravery and standing up for yourself. Readers will see that your background does not determine whether you are important or not but instead, who you are inside and how you choose to behave. There’s a power in friendship and strength in honesty.