A fascinating adventure, steeped in unexpected fantasy, that makes for a rich and intelligent tale of magic. We're in New Zealand, and the ranch owned by one woman, Morag. Her elderly mother is there, too, dying of cancer, and her two daughters, principally Ella, our main character. There are no men at this trekking centre and stables, because they have both in their own time disappeared, Ella's father presumed drowned in the local lake six years ago. The drama here starts when another male vanishes – a local kid. But him being a pest, he could have just disappeared because Ella put a curse on him – the locals all think the family some weird outsider witches, after all. Is there any connection between the missing lad, and a new face in the neighbourhood, and even between them and a new horse seen around, a sterling and pitch black stallion? You'll have to read on to find out.

What with Morag's mother being staunchly Scottish, many chapters are focused on one of the dialect words the girls are being taught by the old woman, but that slice of Scottishness is not the only element here from north of Hadrian's Wall. I didn't expect to see such a strong blend of horse book, Scottish folklore and serious, emotive drama – not set on Aotearoa, anyway. I have to admit it felt a little awkward when shown at first just how Scottish this was going to be – I know for a fact the land of Rata would have its own myth to use. But it all seems to work very well – the piece is fairly old-fashioned, even while sounding as fresh and lively as one could wish, for bringing up semi-obscure weather terms, for not going too deep or woke with the culture clashes, and for just concentrating on its own intrigues. I've avoided saying exactly what the story precisely concerns, because I think that is better left in the book to be discovered, but what I can easily state is that this feels like the definitive drama to feature that concern. I'm left thinking that sense of authority and veracity the story has is another old-fashioned quality, and one worth four and a half stars.

4.5 stars
5 stars for older children, MG and YA, 4 stars for adults.
Witches, kelpies, selkies, grief, family, folklore and reality.
Plot 4 stars
Characterisarion 4.5 stars
Prose 4.5 stars
Themes and atmosphere 5 stars

The Grimmelings is a stunning magical story for middle-grade readers. Set on a horse-trekking farm in New Zealand, the novel follows Ella as she is drawn into a series of increasingly sinister adventures alongside her horse Magpie.

Ella belongs to a family of strong women, all of whom are complex and compellingly drawn, and the novel movingly explores families, loss and communities, as well as offering interesting insights into the impact of colonisation and the way that settlers from Europe have introduced their own problems to those already living in New Zealand.

Rachael King's prose is beautiful, particularly when describing horses and kelpies. and she makes excellent use of the idea of 'thin places' (inspired by Celtic spirituality) and 'lost words' from Ella's grandmother's Scottish heritage (inspired by Robert Macfarlane). King acknowledges Susan Cooper as a major influence on her writing - I thought this was at least as good as The Dark Is Rising, and although there were plenty of links between King and Cooper's work, this also felt totally original.

This deserves to be a popular read for older primary and younger secondary readers. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an ARC to review!

This is a book all about those liminal spaces. The magic that is just beyond our grasp. Until the magic finds us. Whether we want it to or not.

With an imposing, menacing kelpie, a haunting boy with an impish grin, a family legacy, disappearances and shadows, The Grimmelings is a haunting and enchanting story that will have your heart racing.

The writing in this is steeped in the magic of old stories, of folklore and of kinship. Rachael King writes beautifully of landscapes, of horse riding, of old grannies who have secrets and of the bewitching and shape-shifting kelpie. But this is all balanced with quick dialogue, sibling friendship and the pressures of running a family business. Reading this feels as familiar as a folk tale, but for a modern audience.

It’s compelling. Enchanting. Bewitching.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing an E-arc of this book for my honest review.
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What appealed to me about this book is that the story is set in New Zealand but also features Scottish Lore. A mix of two beautiful cultures creates a gorgeous story.
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The characters are written well, the plot is unique and well-thought-out. I loved the addition of the Magpies. I enjoyed this book so much that I purchased a physical copy.
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My only issue is that this is targeted at younger Middle grade aged readers and there were pretty adult words that even I struggled with and didn't know.

Thank you Guppy Books and NetGalley for providing me with this arc in exchange for my honest review.

An enchanting and very entertaining read with a breathtakingly beautiful cover!

As an adult horse owner I often crave a good book with horses, preferably one for older kids or adults but those are hard to find! I loved being able to relate to this family in so many ways, who had horses at home like I do. A tight knitted family of strong and interesting women, every single one of them.

The same day Josh, a boy from Ella’s school, goes missing, a mysterious and impressive black horse appears on the hill above their house. Ella feels guilty.. She didn’t like Josh and she thinks she cursed him.

That horse, a mysterious boy, even more mysterious dreams and a story that might be more than just a story, told by their dying grandmother, are the start of a grand and dangerous adventure for Ella, her amazing pony and her younger sister Fiona. An adventure with higher stakes than they could have ever imagined.

There’s sadness and some very scary moments in this book, but also a lot of love and courage and it was so entertaining that I had a hard time putting it down! The ending was a little too abrupt in my opinion and I am not the biggest fan of using (slightly altered) quotes, events and names from other books (classics in this case so easily recognizable) but I know that other readers will love that and there weren’t too many so it didn’t bother me too much. I loved the Scottish folklore and the warmth this book radiated and I 100% recommend picking this one up!

I enjoyed this title, although we already have it for sale in store I now can see it really is for the older age group. It is quite scary in places but never the less all stories cannot be fairies and magical people.
When 13 year old Ella curses Josh, a boy she knows, he goes missing. On the night he vanishes a midnight black horse appears to her. The horse seems magical and soon appears in Ella’s dreams and those of her sister Fiona. When a lad Gus appears, Ella thinks she has found a friend but Ella’s horse Maggie is skitterish around him breaking the spell he seems to have cast on Ella.
Good story for 12+ year olds, full of mystery and Celtic mysticism.

#The Grimmelings #NetGalley

A dark fantasy, unsettling at times. Set in New Zealand against the backdrop of the world of horse riding.

Probably a little too dark for most of our children in spite of the recommended age category but highly enjoyable as an early YA read (or a very late MG read).

I loved this dark fantasy very much. I've never been on a horse and to be completely honest I've never really understood the appeal of riding but after reading this book I feel as though I finally get it! There is a fair amount of description of horses, horse riding and what it's like to run a riding school in this book but even to someone with no previous interest in this like myself it was so well written that I was drawn straight into this very specific world. The dark fantasy elements are just the right kind of deliciously creepy and unnerving. I found myself deeply unsettled and freaked out as the story went on and I genuinely couldn't tell where it was all going to end or how. I can't put my finger on what makes this book so different to other fantasy books being published at the moment but I think it's because there's a seriousness that underpins the story that is so often missing from modern writing for children. King clearly believes deeply in this story in a way that permeates her writing through and through and it is all the better for it. My fantasy fans at school will love this dark treasure, my riding school book fanatics are about to discover a whole new genre...!

I couldn't make it through this one. I got almost 30% through but was finding myself uninterested in the story and characters. Very little seemed to be happening besides horse riding, and even that wasn't very interesting. There was the odd mention of the Kelpie, but not enough for me to read on.
I had high hopes for this but it just wasn't for me.

This was an incredible upper-middle-grade book! I loved it being set in New Zealand (my homeland) but not being overwhelmed by NZ references or Maori language. It was just even interspersed throughout while also making it feel like a Scottish story with Grizzle and the kelpie from Scottish folklore. There was quite a lot going on but it flowed together really well and I am obsessed with this cover!

I really enjoyed this book and I was so happy when all of the children came back as well as the dad! my favourite bit was when the two sisters realized what Gus was.