This is a ghost story with folklore. It is very atmospheric and unsettling.
The atmosphere is very cold. The descriptions of the setting add to the eeriness. This is such a good haunting read

Well this was not my usual thing but what a gem, beautifully written with a great cast of characters it was fantastic….!!! I’m gonna look at more in the genre as I surprised myself at how much I loved it, thank you for giving me the chance to read it; twas brilliant

This was a very interesting tale bordering on fantastical with a touch of gothic finesse.

The way the story panned out was really unexpected for me which I liked. I find that if I can predict how a story is going to go it's less fun.

The characters were really interesting and the setting descriptions were to die for. At times though, it could become a little bit "purple prose" where perhaps there were details that weren't necessarily needed. But that didn't take away from the story in any way.

Small Angels by Lauren Owen is a ghost story. Like all the best ghost stories it melds myth and legend with the telling of the tale. Star of the show are Mockbeggar Woods, forbidden to locals, full of trees that seem to listen. Chloe plans to get married in the long abandoned Small Angels church. Each chapter reveals more of the unsettling secrets concealed in the woods and contained in the church. Spine tingling stuff, best not read at bedtime or near woods.

I’ve been away from reading for a while, but what a way to come back. An absolutely brilliant book., one of the best I’ve read in a long time. A fantastic cast of characters, twisted into an intriguing plot. There’s plenty of well conceived descriptive prose, which doesn’t slow the narrative, but adds depth and interest. Highly recommended.

I would struggle to be able to review this book due to issues with the file/download. The issues stopped the flow of the book. The issues are:
- Missing words in the middle of sentences
- Stop/start sentences on different lines
- No clear definition of chapters.

I’m not sure if it was a file/download issue but there were lots of gaps and stops/starts which really ruined the flow. I would love the chance to read a better version as the description of the book appeals to me.

4 of 5 stars
https://lynns-books.com/2022/09/01/small-angels-by-lauren-owen/
My Five Word TL:DR Review : A haunted forest, very gothic

Small Angels is a book that I enjoyed, I’m going to hold back from saying I loved it, but it certainly had a lot of elements that I enjoy in a story. The writing was very easy to read and get along with. I love anything gothic, it’s my absolute-can’t-resist-go-to, add to that a small suspicious village, a haunted forest and a reclusive and secretive family that seem to control things, throw in a dual timeline that slowly reveals events from the past and without doubt you have me hooked. And, I confess, I was hooked to this (in spite of a few little misgivings which I’ll discuss below).

Firstly, a few words about the story. Essentially this is a haunted woods story. Centuries ago the villagers new how to appease the local woods by telling stories but over time these traditions slowly dwindled, Mockbeggar Woods became a place to be avoided, people would become lost and some were never found again. Blanch Farm is nestled up next to the woods with it’s own church known locally as Small Angels. The Gonne family inhabit the place and keep alive the rituals and traditions that they believe keep everyone safe, that is until the youngest daughter, believed to be rebellious, starts breaking with tradition and tragedy ensues.

In the present day, Chloe and Sam are planning their wedding. Their original choice has fallen through and as a last minute arrangement they’ve booked Small Angels and it’s accompanying Barn for the celebrations. This is a new endeavour. Tithe Barn has been recently built as a venue and so Chloe and some of her friends and family need to take the week before the wedding to clean both the church and the Barn and dress it for the big event. Everything goes well. Everyone is ensconced in the cosy local pub enjoying a glass or two of their favourite tipple when one of the locals decides to enlighten them with some of the local history and from there things begin to slowly unravel.

The setting is fantastic. Mockbeggar Woods has a life of its own. Paths seem to appear and disappear at will, sometimes the outline of a figure can be seen on the edge, dogs can be heard and the smell of roses hangs in the air. Blanch Farm and the seemingly eccentric family that live there are given a wide berth by the rest of the village. They act as guardians, lighting beacons at the edge of their land and sticking strictly to rules that seem to have been handed down. Don’t annoy the presence in the woods, don’t interact and definitely do not enter the woods at night.

I really enjoyed the split timeline. We bounce back and forth spending time amongst the Gonnes and watching events unfold. This allows us to see just how large a burden Mockbeggar is upon the family. Things are definitely a little frayed but they have a strange connection to the woods that is slowly revealed. The bride-to-be seems to be slowly falling under a haunting of her very own, nurtured by the strange secrecy/paranoia of everyone around her she is determined to uncover answers. Kate is Sam’s sister. The two have buried events from their past so deeply that they struggle to recall the disastrous events from their past and choose to believe these things were due to wild imagination.

The characters. Well, some of them are very grumpy and almost difficult to like. Some are almost detached, willingly choosing to separate themselves from the story and others are simply misunderstood – in fact there’s a lot of that going on. Kate was my favourite character. She had a good attitude. I liked her courage in the face of some scary things and she was easy to follow. Chloe, well, I didn’t dislike her but I wanted to give her a shake sometimes. Sam was a bit wishy washy. The Gonne sisters – intriguing to read about and definitely, although a little eccentric, misunderstood.

In terms of criticisms. Well, this isn’t the fastest read that you’ll ever pick up. This isn’t something that particularly bothers me but I realise that slow pacing isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. On top of this the story more often that not relies on the whole ‘secrecy’ element – to such an extent that people are put at risk, simply because other people won’t tell them what the heck is going on. There’s a feeling of constant interruption just as you’re about to find something out which can be a bit frustrating and I felt like I wasn’t fully in possession, even by the conclusion, of the facts that led to the haunting. Things are loosely referred to rather than actually explained, okay, I do understand that this ties in with the whole idea of a creepy forest that is haunted – but, yeah, I had a feeling of having skipped something, even though I know I didn’t.

Slight criticisms aside I think this story is exactly what it promises. A story that is a haunting. A forest that appears to have a mind of its own. Secrets from the past. Misunderstandings, secrets and superstitions. Atmosphere aplenty.

I found this very easy to get on with even though it has a slowish pace.

I received a copy through Netgalley, courtesy of the publisher, for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.

I enjoyed this story of a community near to woods haunted by the restless ghost of a man murdered by his brother. It was atmospheric and creepy, but quite complex with a large cast of characters, and sometimes it was difficult to keep track of which of the girls was which. It's quite a subtle slow burn ghost story, not a great deal happens as such - the story uncovers what happened in the past, while in the present the day of the wedding grows closer.

This book had me, but then it lost me. On paper, Small Angels is very intriguing: a classic gothic ghost story with a stellar atmosphere and a certain ambience. In reality, the text is dense and the pace is slow, and my interest waned with every chapter to the point I barely dragged myself across the finish line.

Was it a good book? Yes. Was it a book for me? No.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an e-ARC copy of this book, in exchange for this honest review.

I absolutely loved this book, it drew me in to Mockbeggar Woods and I didn't want to leave. Beautifully written, I found that I was completely immersed in the story and felt both the chills and also the warmth that eminated from it. It was spooky and chilling, scary in parts but the characters were very well drawn and you shared in their emotions too. I enjoyed the different timelines, in the present day there is Chloe preparing for her wedding to Sam in the small country church where he and his sister Kate grew up. Then there is Kate, returning to the village after ten years away, she revists what happened then and what made her leave. We are also taken back further into the past and the lives of the Gonne family who have lived beside the woods for generations and how their lives were intertwined with both the lives and the spirits that live in the woods. There is much to like in this novel, folklore, gothic horror, hints of magic and mystery. A strong sense that there is more to nature than simply what we can see in front of us, there are stronger forces at play. I enjoyed the descriptions of the woods themselves and the use of the seasons, the sense of place is very well done. It's a book that lingers with you after reading, very enjoyable and highly recommend.

"If you go down to the woods tonight..." - well this fantasy novel will be a read full of surprises and many are shocking.
But overall this is a folklore fantasy - the old and the young times. A couple getting married - Sam and Chloe which brings her back into where she once lived and where (it seems ) time has not moved on from the spooky goings on from the past.
Beautifully described with wonderful imagery. This lingers long in the mind and evokes a grown up fairy tale - remembering that many of them had a happy ending!Storytellers. Spookiness. A good use of names - Mockbeggar, Gonnes, Albatross all bringing to mind tales of suspicion.
The importance of the woods - how they crowd out the humans and even the buildings. How they evoke olde time - their trunks bearing not just rings of passing years - but passing lives.
Exceptionally different and well written.

I love a gothic novel, something I put down to my first reading of Jane Eyre. Being only ten years old I read it as a ghost story, full of horrors like the Red Room and the haunted ghost-like creature stalking the corridors of Thornfield Hall, setting fire to Rochester’s bed and rending Jane’s wedding veil in two. So I picked this from the NetGalley shelves, my brain already turning towards the cooler air of September and the dark nights of the autumn. As it is I read it in the middle of a heatwave, but it still managed to send the odd chill up my spine. Chloe and Sam are getting married at Small Angels, a quaint little church in a wooded area with nearby Tithe Barn for their reception. The venue is situated near to Sam’s childhood village and they are the first couple to be married there. The owner has given them a key and they have a few days up to the wedding day to clean the dusty church and decorate both buildings. They’re staying at the Albatross, the village pub and on the first night they gather to have a drink with their guests among the locals. One local man, Brian, approaches the couple to tell them a story about Small Angels that might make them rethink their plans. Others are more reticent, they don’t want Brian to tell the tale and ruin the couple’s big day. What Sam doesn’t know is that the person best placed to tell this tale is his own sister Kate.

We’re told this story from several perspectives and to be honest I did get a little confused at first. The current perspectives are split between Chloe and Kate. However, Kate also goes back to when she was a child and started a friendship with one of the Gonne girls. The Gonnes lived on a farm, close to Small Angels and Mockbeggar - the local woodland. For years they have kept up a ritual of lighting beacons every evening and ringing the church bells once a year, followed by a candlelight vigil overnight. The rest of the village have traditionally left the Gonnes to their lonely rituals, but Kate knows that the story Brian will tell the wedding party, might not be so far fetched. The Gonnes believe they are appeasing the ghost of Harry Child, a vicious and vengeful ghost who wants to keep the wood for his own. Kate is shocked to hear that one of the sisters she knew from childhood is living at the farm. Will all the generations of secrets surrounding the village come to light on her brother’s wedding day? Kate questions her brother’s sense in agreeing to hold it at Small Angels, no matter how much Chloe fell in love with it.

Chloe takes up the narrative, as the innocent bystander thrown into this strange village with it’s spooky history. Chloe has been the driving force behind the week’s celebrations and has no idea of the story Brian tells on the Hag Night. She is amazed that Sam has never told her and has thought Kate doesn’t like her because she’s seemed disinterested in their plans. She’s surprised that Kate has committed to helping out this week, not realising that she’s coming to keep an eye on things. The tension in this section is brilliant as we see Chloe sucked in by the legend and looking for local history at the library. She’s confused by the villagers avoidance of the subject, even her own in- laws are reluctant to discuss it. Chloe start to find her sleep disturbed and with Sam called away to work she’s alone at the Albatross. She can’t shake the feeling she’s being watched after taking a walk into the woods. While cleaning the church she hears an animal scratching at the door, then again at night. Has something or someone followed her? I was intrigued as to what it might want from Chloe and whether the wedding will ever happen.

The Gonnes seem to be the key to solving this mystery so I was fascinated with Lucia’s sections of the book, especially those that go back to her childhood. She lives at the far with her father, her grandparents and three sisters: Elphine, Helena and Ruby. One day while playing, Lucia goes into the woods and finds a small boy to play with. He becomes her secret friend and his name is Harry. With all the adults working on the vines at the farm and keeping up the family rituals, it’s easy for her to slip away unnoticed. Besides she’s the black sheep of the family, Nan calls her Lucia the Bad, so I felt sorry for her and could understand why she was looking for friends. Years later she meets another teenage girl in the woods and is happy to have a second friend, but Harry isn’t so happy. He wants Lucia to himself and she’s never seen him angry. All the rituals in the world won’t satisfy his wrath and Lucia is terrified. What will happen to the Gonne family now?

As we countdown to the wedding the stakes become greater and the author creates a real sense of fear and horror. Whatever force is in the woods, it’s growing stronger by the day. The real cost of the wedding starts to become clear and I loved how the author brought experiences from the past into the present to terrify the wedding party. I had a real sense of my old Jane Eyre fears when Chloe wakes from a nightmare to find a tear in her wedding dress and her veil fashioned into a noose. I really felt the burden of the Gonne family, ostracised by the village and left with the responsibilities of Mockbeggar. Once I’d reached a third of the way in, I was hooked on the mystery in the same way Chloe was, wanting to find out more about the malicious spirit and why he is determined to terrify her. I was also fascinated by the Gonne sisters and why Lucia is the only one left at the farm. I was also interested in how long the locals had kept their heads in the sand, merely speeding up on the road out of the village to evade the woods. You’ll be asking all the same questions and more. This is a really atmospheric, modern, Gothic tale with enough scares that I kept the bedside light on once or twice.

This book is going to straight to the top of my Best Reads in 2022.

It is a book full of haunting riches; from the intensely created atmosphere, where I could feel the cold, slightly damp air of Small Angels church compared to the warmth of the sun in the graveyard beyond. I could hear the wind through the trees in the wood and the rustle of the ivy as it crept up on the unwary who ventured into its depths. I was totally transported and struggled to ground myself in my own surroundings when I finished reading.

The plot is at once delightfully old and recognisable-the fraternal jealousy tangled with love-and simultaneously new and exciting. Lucia and Kate are the two children shaped by their families and village expectations, and their desire to break away from these constraints, with in the past and the present, are what drives the story forward.

Earthly situations entwine with the supernatural in such an effortless and compelling way that I felt be-spelled by this book. I will be urging all my friends and family to read it.

My thanks go to the publishers and NetGalley for the advance copy in return for an honest review.

I loved this book. Beautifully written and perfectly paced, it’s a gorgeous gothic blend of ghost story, family drama and coming of age. The description is so vivid that you can almost imagine yourself walking through Mockbeggar wood, and the strange atmosphere the author creates lingers long after you finish.

Deliciously dark and very well written, this book will transport you into the shadows. The author does a great job of layering the various timelines and stories and In A Country Churchyard won't sound the same again...

Thank you Net Galley, Headline and Tinder Press for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I liked this book, but I didn’t find anything special about it. The concept of the novel and plot sounded exciting and thrilling, but once I read it the events seemed very detached and I felt that they could be better written to make them more compelling and enjoyable. I thought it might improve as I got more into it and unfortunately that didn’t happen. The characters were likeable and the tone of the book was easy to read - I would have just wanted it to be more exciting.

I would recommend this to mystery lovers and those that like books set in the English countryside.

Headlines:
Creepy gothic horror wrapped in the now
A small village
Legend meets reality

I got an invite to Chloe and Sam's wedding thanks to the team at Headline, I will be sending my apologies because the wedding that brought the old tales to life in this story scared the life out of me at times. I have been dipping my toe into more creep and mild horror this year and Small Angels really did test my mettle in terms of what I could cope with.

The story is told from a range of POVS, but they're slowly and gradually introduced; they're not overwhelming and easy to follow. The idea of the Gonnes, the tales of the past, the church and eventually the things that Chloe experienced had my hairs on the back of my neck on end.

Kate was something of a pivotal character, building from small beginnings into the centre of how things evolved. She had a tight connection to the Gonne sister. Her role in the plot was crucial and atmospheric. How Kate's character linked with Laura, then Harry kept me reading and the reveals eventually came.

The blurb for this book says come if you dare and I would second that statement, only if you dare!

Thank you to Tinder Press for the exceptionally beautiful arc.

A modern gothic ghost story with some exquisite writing on nature. For the full review see https://www.tumblr.com/blog/view/joebloggshere/689562569782001664?source=share

Gothic, mystical, lyrical. Small Angels is a truly gripping, spooky tale full of tension and atmosphere.

Gripping and taut, ripe with well built characters that add value to the plot, with gothical elements and a folklorish vibe it is a perfect book to read to get the spooky vibe.
Fantasy in nature and with a dash of magical realism, it really gets you right at your spook centre. Totally loved reading the book.