Creepy!
Folklore, horror and supernatural all manner of things going on here.
Sorrow Spring sounds lovely but don't go there what ever you do.
Creepy as Creepy can be.

As fine a folk horror tale as I've ever read.

"Sorrow Spring" opens in 2019, with a woman attempting to clear an old house, full of memories, and an old man, mourning the loss of a sister, long gone. Flash back to 1978, when twelve-year-old Rina Pine is taken by her mother from their commune, to the isolated village of Sorrow Spring where she is to live with her aunt Agatha. Rina soon discovers that the village is run by the "sistren" a group of women, headed up by her aunt, whose pagan beliefs are linked to a spring which is said to have healing properties. It also seems Rina's family is revered in the village and she is about to be inducted. But when a child goes missing and a mother is killed, she finds herself drawn into deep and menacing cycle of ages old beliefs, rituals and customs.

For me, the star of the book is the village of Sorrow Spring, isolated, insular and steeped in paganism. The sistren rule it quietly but completely, although it seems their time may be coming to a close. All the key elements are here - the village, deep in rural England, with a big house, a church, with graveyard, and a Moot Hall, where the Sistren meet and the villagers, suspicious and fearful. Rina is completely alone, abandoned, and with only a life in a friendly close-knit commune to sustain her she finds it a cold and frightening place. In the present timeline, things really hot up, as the village seems even more hostile to outsiders than 40 years ago. What happened?

I'm not a fan of dual timeline stories, even though they seem to be the norm nowadays, but it works well enough in this book, and much of the story takes place in the past anyway. As Rina in 1978, and her aunt in 2019 each seek to discover the secrets of Sorrow Spring, the events start to converge, and the climax is worth the wait. There's tension, mystery and a growing sense of the inevitable, as we learn what happened 40 years ago.

This book is a wonderful entry into the folk-horror genre and I'm sure fans will love it. Film-wise, think "Wicker Man", "The Witches" or "Robin Redbreast" and you get a sense of the growing tension and claustrophobia that inhabit each page. The author is from Worcestershire, so clearly understands that part of the country.

Fans of Catherine Clements and Andrew Michael-Hurley's book "The Loney" will love this. Heartily recommended.

A solid 4 stars , kept me guessing what was going to happen next , really enjoyed the plot and the characters . Read the book in 3 days would recommend

Prosperina Fuchsia Pine, or Rina, is twelve years old and living on her commune with her mother, Lullaby, and brother, Emesh. Until her mother takes her to, and leaves her with, her Aunt Agatha in the village of Sorrow Spring.

This novel creates a very sinister feel to the village, in the vein of The Wicker Man, you know something is going on under the surface. There’s a sense of foreboding and danger.
I enjoyed the book to start with, but I did find it overlong and my interest waned later on.

I was pleased to accept an invitation to read and review this. It started off really well as a girl, Rina, is left with her aunt by her mother, with no explanation, and is parted from her brother. This is in 1978. She begins to realize that her mother is not coming back and that her aunt and other people in the village are acting oddly.. She begins to be pulled into strange rituals (trying to avoid spoilers as the plot reveals itself slowly) and the threats build up. The other timeline in the present day involves Rina's niece who begins to search for her, putting herself in danger. I did get confused by the plot at times and did not think the violence was merited outside of the rituals. The link with the recent pandemic was a nice touch. I think the book could have been edited to reduce the length as I got bored towards the end waiting for the resolution.

This was really good and I flew through it within a couple of days. The atmosphere and setting is creepy while the plot keeps you turning pages wanting to know what’s going on. The characters were well written although most of them are horrible! This would be a great Halloween read

Thanks to NetGalley for the arc

Thanks to Netgalley and Harper Collins for this ARC. My thoughts are my own.

To be honest, whenni started this book I didn't know what was going to happen....a gee chapters in and I couldn't put it down.

It's not an author I've heard of before so i was nervous and bot sure I it was going to be my cup of tea.
How to describe this book it was horror,supernarural, folk lore/historical a mixture of everything.

Nothing is given away or where the story is heading...a girlnis dumped at her Aunts house in a village...no explanation of why and if her mum's is going to return..we like the child are left wondering what's going on and how could a mum do this....
Slowly but surely the story unravels and just when you think everything is answered there another twist.

If you like a book with twists and turns this tour book. I hope this gets the publicity it deserves as it was such a gripping book. I will definitely e reading more from this author in the future.