The Revelry is a mysterious, and slightly creepy, story of secrets, friendship and power. The entire town of Ember Grove accepts that sometimes strange things happen and that the woods have powers of their own. Every year the revelry happens, a secret party for graduating students that no one really remembers. Our protagonists, Bitsy and Amy, sneak into one and chaos ensues. The plot unwinds slowly; we learn what happened at the revelry bit by bit as memories return and bad things happen. It gives the story an addictive unsettling feeling throughout, as if you can never really relax or know what's going to happen next. I wouldn't describe it as scary, but you certainly feel on edge! An intriguing read I zoomed through.

Recommend for fans of fantasy, mystery and thriller YA.

Every year, the graduating class head into hw woods of Ember Grove for The Revelry - a party that nobody will discuss and from which some people don't return. Bitsy and her friend Amy sneak into The Revelry 2 years too early and have the consequences...

This book has such a creepy vibe to it, and Ember Grove really jumps off the page. A little bit thriller with the mystery of what actually happened at The Revelry, its a gripping story that I read in a single sitting. Perfect for a winter night to get your pulse racing!

I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

A fascinating, atmospheric and eery novel about friendship, growing apart and memories.
It's a fast read and I liked the world building and the great character.
The author is a good storyteller and kept me reading and entertained.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

THE REVELRY is an eerie little book perfect to read in one go, but will linger into your dreams. It's about unremembered bargains linking two best friends and the strain it takes on their friendship, it's about a forest with too much power reaching out into ordinary lives.

This is one of those books that's very hard to classify. I eventually went with Contemporary Fantasy because the haunted wood and the strange goings on edge it enough into fantastical for me. However, they're very light fantastical elements vs the tone of two friends struggling - so more like
PERFECTLY PREVENTABLE DEATHS in terms of the fantasy vs contemporary balance.

It is a super creepy woods. Some of the ways it works are subtle, things that could be written off as nothingness. Others are impossible to ignore - and sometimes deadly. Plus a wood that can't be navigated the same way twice? Has locations that appear and disappear? Definitely a wood to stay out of unless you want to lose your life...

I loved the focus on female friendship rather than romance (which feels vanishingly rare in YA at the moment, and made its inclusion and prominence here all the more special.) Bitsy is not in a relationship - it's not acespec rep, it's just that the boys she knows aren't interesting to her (she's had crushes in the past.)

Instead of involving boy trouble, the book is all about two long-term best friends who find their friendship under strain thanks to the forest's meddling - and made worse by Amy not believing Bitsy about the influence of the forest. I loved how strong their friendship was, how they still had each other's backs when push came to shove. And, fitting, the finale is all about them getting into trouble for each other - and then going the extra mile to rescue them.

I was very interested in the plot line of this book when I read it, but as I read more, I found the relationship between Bitsy and Amy a bit repetitive, they fight, they make up, repeatedly and Bitsy became a bit irritating! I enjoyed the storyline but felt it was a bit drawn out and then rushed at the end.

Firstly I need to say how stunning the front cover is, it is definitely eye catching. I read this book in one sitting, I couldnt put it down. It was atmospheric and tense the whole way through with good narrative, well developed and intriguing characters and an interesting storyline. My one criticism would be that the end seemed very rushed and a bit flat after all the build up but it was still a good read. I really enjoyed it.

Strange things happen in Ember Grove. It’s just a fact.

Bitsy has lived there all her life, her best friend Amy since she was eight, and like everyone else they know that the town holds a certain mystery, pull, perhaps even a power.

This power undeniably comes from the woods. Everyone has a certain reverence for the woods, perhaps even a fear, but the year you turn 18 in Ember Grove, it’s your turn to attend The Revelry.

The Revelry is spoken about in whispers. No one really knows what happens there. It’s a celebration, a party, a coming of age ceremony, but is it something darker?

Amy and Bitsy’s curiosity can’t wait the two years until their rightful revelry, and wonder what would happen if they went early…

I really enjoyed this YA contemporary/dark fantasy read which was as much about friendship and growing up as it was about the mysterious goings on of the woods.

It‘s a quick and addictive read and I found myself easily racing through it. It’s suspenseful, atmospheric, haunting at times, it makes your heart beat faster! .

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the chance to read a digital arc in exchange for my feedback.

This was the first time I have read this authors work and found it very engaging. A rather spooky and magical tale but really is focussed on ensuring friendship. Look forward to reading more from this author.

You can’t not stop and look at this beautiful cover and I can certainly say that it is a wonderful reflection of the strange, ethereal story inside.

In Ember Grove, everyone attends The Revelry on finishing high school. The Revelry is a party in the woods that you can only attend at the end of your senior year and no one ever talks about it afterwards. Bitsy Clark has always been curious about it but she knows she can’t mess with the town’s long-held tradition. But her best friend Amy manages to persuade to sneak into this year’s Revelry. Neither of them can remember anything about it the next morning but strange things are happening and it seems that they can’t talk about The Revelry even if they wanted to.

The idea of The Revelry is unique and I was intrigued as to what it really was from the very beginning. It seems to be a kind of metaphor for the transition between childhood and adulthood but the more that Bitsy talks about its history of people going missing in its aftermath, it took on quite a dark and mystical nature.

The venue for The Revelry is very other-worldly and fantastically enchanting. I pictured a woodland dell surrounded by magic and evidence of mythical creatures. I felt uneasy but I had no idea why because something about it was wonderfully enticing. Webber is great at stimulating all the senses in her descriptions and I definitely felt like I was caught up in the haziness of The Revelry with Bitsy and Amy.

I’d say that this book is definitely more a YA contemporary than a fantasy, although it obviously does have dark fantasy elements. There is plenty of high school drama and friendship tension that set the characters very much in our world. Bitsy and Amy’s friendship is quite unhealthy for most of the book and Webber does a great job of highlighting why. The characters felt very authentic as flawed teens but with enough redeemable qualities that made me want them to figure things out.

Skyler is a very intriguing character and I wasn’t sure exactly who or what she was. She was very unsettling though and she was obviously no real friend to Bitsy. Bitsy has low self-confidence and is confused about who she really is. Therefore, she has a habit of latching on to desirable personalities, like Amy and Skyler, in an attempt to try and form her own. At several points, I wanted to shout at her that she already had all the power to be unique and her own person inside of her but alas, she couldn’t hear me!

The Revelry is a beguiling, strange and mysterious book that is full of superstition, witchcraft and dark vibes. With themes of friendship, coming-of-age and deep secrets, it has the pace of a thriller, the aura of a mythical fantasy and the heart of a contemporary romance.

Started #TheRevelry on #NetGalley on the bus to school this morning, thought about it all day, read on the way home & was so deeply in Bitsy's head that I had to shake myself out of it before getting Bea. Straight back to it after bedtime & 😲 Brilliant YA published yesterday! https://t.co/yWnBb3JYNR

Well, this was a dark little piece of fun. Thoroughly enjoyable! The concept of the Revelry is really fun - a secret and slightly magical party that no one really remembers. I found the way we learn more about it as the book progresses to be a very nice touch. Even with the party at the start of the book, this really works to build the mystery and the spooky feel of the world. This may be set in the real world, but it's not one we know.

Bitsy is a good main character, but I was really intrigued by Amy's POV early on and would have loved more of that. However, as the story progresses, it's clear why we need Bitsy as our lead. As a true Ember Grove girl, she should have known better, but also maybe knows enough to help. ;)

Honestly, I really enjoy Katherine's brand of contemporary with a tiny amount of fantasy built in, and want more books like it. Definitely one to check out.

4.5 stars.

Another YA masterpiece from Katherine Webber.

Everyone in Ember Grove knows about the Revelry - a secret party held in the woods each year and attended only by that year's senior class - until Bitsy and Amy decide to sneak into a revelry that isn't their own, that is. What follows -- bad luck, curses and a mysterious figure from the woods - will test the strength of their friendship to its limits. Will they make it out of the woods together? In Ember Grove, anything is possible.

For me, the shining star of this novel was Bitsy. She's a very relatable character. Her internal monologues reflect the turmoil of growing up - feeling jealous when your best friend has a boyfriend even though you're really happy for them, saying the wrong thing in an argument even though you know it's going to make everything worse, because you're too angry or frustrated to care - Bitsy shows that it's okay to make mistakes, or think negatively about what's going on in your life, without it making you a bad person. Webber does a superb job of taking you into Bitsy's head, so no matter how strange or otherworldly events become, it always feels completely plausible because Bitsy is so real.

I loved all the magical elements. This story is unnerving and Ember Grove feels like a great setting for a Netflix show (The Revelry could definitely be the starting point for a really great TV series). I have so many unanswered questions about this town, like where does the money in the fountain go?? I would love more stories set in the same location (or a TV show - really, someone needs to buy the rights to this!)

At its heart, however, despite magical curses and secret parties, The Revelry is very much a story about friendship, celebrating the overwhelming importance it holds when you are growing up. Bitsy and Amy have a loyalty that can weather any storm - supernatural or otherwise!

Thank you to #netgalley for my copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

This was an enchanting, mysterious and completely atmospheric story that I literally could not put down! I was gripped from the beginning.

The concept of the story - The Revelry at first seems quite fun and captivating. A secret party that only those of a certain age are to attend.. and a whole what happens in the woods stays in the woods scenario. Never to be spoken about again. As the story progresses we continue to learn more about the Revelry and the woods which adds to the build up.

The author did a great job at introducing us to the characters and showing us different parts of their personalities throughout the whole story. I enjoyed the friendship dynamic between Bitsy and Amy as I think it portrayed what some friendships are like and how we all perceive friends and boundaries and expectations differently.

This was my first taste of Katherine Webbers writing and honestly I can't wait to go searching for more. The words were enticing and I felt like I was a true fly on the wall.. or in the woods 😉

I'm a huge Katherine Webber fan, I've loved all her YA books, and been so thrilled to see her in person the times I've had a chance! The Revelry was definitely a wee bit of a departure from her normal magic realism, but I was very excited to dive into this new story from her.
That said, I found it a little bit difficult to get into. It's not an easy read to start with, I felt as if it moved quite slowly and didn't grab me right away. But once I got into it, Webber's trademarked storytelling really grabbed me. I think a lot of kids would recognise themselves in the friendship of Bitsy and Amy, two girls who love each other but find high school to be a bit of a polarising scene. I for one definitely recognised Bitsy's loneliness and how easy it is to grab onto that one person who acts as if they truly do care about you.
I really enjoyed the interspersed flashbacks, and how the full narrative of the night of Revelry was slowly built until we got the full picture of what had happened to the two girls. In the end it was a wee bit predictable, and I was left feeling like I wanted just a bit more tension, a bit more ambiguity about the antagonistic forces at play. It was also quite short, and I felt as if there could have been more that was left out.
In the end it was still a great book, as always from Katherine Webber, and I enjoyed it! It's always fun to see authors experiment a bit outside their comfort zone, and I can't wait to see what she gets up to next!

What a stunning book!

The Revelry was one of those books where I had no idea what to expect when I started reading it, and was just blown away by it. A town built on secrets, with hidden and mysterious parties in the woods. Two close friends who just have to sneak in and find out more about it. I was so excited to find out what happened at these revelries. And then, like Bitsy, our main protagonist, I was just told "Nope. You don't get to see that." Honestly it was frustrating and infuriating and just made me want to keep reading and delve deeper into this mystery.

What comes next was done so masterfully! The drip feeding of flashbacks, as Bitsy, and the reader, slowly see bits of what happened that night in the woods. Meeting new and intriguing characters with their own mystery about them. And the things that start to go wrong, subtle enough to leave us questioning is it a curse or is it all just coincidental? Is there dark magics afoot or is Bitsy losing it?

The woods are a character all of their own, and this was something else I absolutely loved. They just have so much presence, so much personality, power and mystery. Every time someone went into the woods, the tension was immediately raised.

Dark, mysterious and beautiful, The Revelry is a gorgeous book!

I am a HUGE fan of Katherine Webber's books and The Revelry certainly did not disappoint. I loved the mystery and darkness that laced throughout this book. The concept of your best friend getting all the luck and you seemingly getting nothing chilled me. I was both intrigued and terrified by what The Revelry was!

Have read Katherine Webber's MG books so was intrigued by her YA offering as it is a very different type of book. It is the story of 2 friends from Ember Grove who go to the Revelry, a famous party in the woods that happens once a year. However, those who go to the Revelry change and the book explores the reasons for this. It follows Amy and Bitsy and their lives following their attendance at the Revelry and wedges are suddenly created between the 2 friends. Slowly, the mysteries unravel and the magical elements of what went on come to light. This book was well written, as I would expect from Webber. However, the story was just not for me. Thank you to the publishers and netgalley for the eArc.

Welcome to (hopefully) the last mixed review of the year!

Katherine Webber can definitely write. The turns of phrase and descriptions in this novel are fantastic. I was never bored and I always wanted to know what was going to happen next. They story itself was interesting and not like anything else I've read.

However, I felt a bit like Katherine was trying to marry two different genres and it didn't work very well for me. Spoilers: I'm still not sure now what really happened. Were the woods magic? Did Bitsy talk herself into believing they were? A mix of both? I really couldn't tell and I'm not sure Katherine knew, either. Weird for weirdness sake doesn't work too well for me.

Overall I enjoyed it, though, and I do recommend it to other readers who enjoy urban fantasy. I think it's going to do well.



Amy became obsessed.
Ever since, she's tried to find out what day it falls, exactly where it happens - what happens. All we know is that it's near the end of summer, before the new school year begins.
And that it's in the woods.
Once, when we were around nine, and still having sleepovers in the tent in the apple orchard, we saw people stumbling out of the woods at dawn. Two girls were laughing, high-pitched almost hysterical giggles, but one boy, I could have sworn he was bleeding. And the strangest thing was they were all wearing wings. Costume wings, the kind you slip over your shoulders and the fake feathers moult in minutes, but as they came out of the woods, for a moment I thought those wings were real. And we knew, we knew they have come from the Revelry. We warched them in silence, waiting for a hint, a clue to what had happened.
But they didn't notice us at all.

I absolutely loved “The Revelry”. The strange, often creepy world of Ember Grove completely sucked me in from the start. The setting reminded me of Beautiful Creatures’ Gatlin, which I also loved. Friendship, with all its messiness and strains but also devotion, is at the heart of this tale. I loved Bitsy and Amy and how they keep finding and also missing each other. I also really loved Mark,; it’s lovely to see a “boyfriend character” who doesn’t get in the way of strong female bonds but rather, enhance them. A brilliant, unnerving in the best possible manner, read. I loved it.

The Revelry is the type of book that just utterly sucks you into its world. For me, the pages flew past as I lost myself in this dark and twisted gem.

Webber expertly creates this tangled web of secrets and lies, blurring the fantastical and the mysterious together in an utterly intoxicating way. I loved that creepy little nursery rhyme that kicked off proceedings. There’s nothing like that to unsettle and unnerve you, preparing you to doubt everything that’s to come. This is a book that you constantly have to question. Nothing here is as it seems, with plenty of hidden depths and turns to uncover.

The Revelry felt like a folk tale brought to life, packed full of atmosphere, tension and something that you can’t quite put your finger on. Folktales often have these incredibly dark hearts to them and I think Webber captures both the glamour and the intensity of this allure. This is fundamentally a coming of age tale about friendship, but I adored the darker undertones, where Webber delves into the question of what you would sacrifice in order to succeed. Every fairytale has its shadowy past and Webber calls back to those blood drenched original tales brilliantly.

I loved Bitsy as a protagonist. You can feel that she is just trying to find her feet in a world that seems to have shifted overnight. Her passion and loyalty is wonderful to see and Webber makes her huge heart abundantly clear. However, her faith in the superstitions of her small town feed her anxiety and paranoia. It is precisely this belief that may truly be undermining her, but you can see her cling to it in the midst of all this chaos. She’s so relatable and lovable, so I’m sure readers will open their hearts to her.

The Revelry is a wonderfully refreshing and modern twist on the folktales of old, blending a nail-biting mystery with the true power of friendship.