A Sprinkle of Sorcery

Welcome back to the Poacher’s Pocket Inn, where Granny Widdershins rules over Betty, Fliss and Charlie, all the while grumping at the customers.
This book begins, not with the Widdershin sisters, but with a local legend about a powerful witch, a black raven and a cruel lord. He had fallen in love with the witch and when he was rejected, he blinded her and cut her tongue. Escaping to a hidden island, she lived simply with her raven. However, over time stories about her swilled around and she was visited again by the lord.
This legend is imperative to the rest of the story and is used to help Betty, Fliss and Charlie on their next adventure, which finds them one stormy night after the prison bells have tolled. A prisoner has escaped and the warders are on the hunt. Doors are locked and lights are out, when Betty notices Charlie is missing. Finding her in the yard, they see another child cowering in amongst the crates.
The adventure begins here, as warders soon come knocking looking for a young girl. A young girl who has been hidden using the nesting dolls. A young girl who the warders believe to be Charlie. Charlie and Granny are both taken this night and it falls to Betty and Fliss to find them and bring them home.
Brave and bold Betty prepares them for the journey and they head out on the water searching for clues. The young girl, Willow, carries a few secrets with her, including a wisp, which can be dangerous. The girl and her mother have escaped exile in order to save her father who has been wrongly accused of murder. Time is ticking and his execution is days away. Believing the wisp to be helpful, the girl protects it.
Unknown dangers lurk in every dark corner, every mist swirling direction and certainly in the shipwreck of Rusty Swindles, the most dangerous smuggler of all. Betty heads into adventure with fear in her heart but determination in her soul. She will find Charlie and she will help Willow but it might just be the last thing she does. Betty soon finds herself devising plans to trick Ronia, the most dangerous pirate captain, recalling the legend of the witch and her Raven and having hope against all odds that she will do as she needs.
This is an incredible journey to travel on and I would definitely trust Betty to lead me. She is brave, loving and determined to do the right thing. Her fierce love for her family has her facing dire situations and hope is all she has at times. A plot line full of twists, new characters to love and hate and mysterious hag stones showing true islands. So much brilliance to shout about in this sequel!
Wonderfully atmospheric, full of legends and magic, this is a tale to transport you! It will take you back in time to when legends were told and believed. Back to a time when fear lived as a character in a story and back to a time when corruption was rife and honesty was hard to find. The Widdershins are honest, brave and bold and they are the heroines of their own story!
It was so wonderful to be back with the Widdershins family, and I wonder what they might get up to next. Please say there will be a third....

'Everyone's dealt bad luck at some point ... It's how you cope that counts.'

Earlier this week, O and I bid a welcome return to the Widdershins as we headed back to Crowstones. Here's what we thought:

Whilst out in the yard of The Poacher's Pocket one night, Charlie discovers Willow hiding. She and Betty take pity on her, bringing her in to the pub, only to be disturbed by two prison wardens who are looking for two escaped prisoners. Hiding Willow, the sisters try to protect her, however, Charlie is then mistaken for one of the escapees, arrested and taken away (along with their granny). Willow then explains that her father has been wrongly imprisoned for murder and is due to be executed if she cannot prove his innocence. Determined to rescue their sister and also help Willow, Betty and Fliss head off (with Willow) on an adventure that will take them over marshes and seas to an island that doesn't exist according to the maps.

It was so good to return to The Poacher's Pocket and to catch-up with the Widdershins, to be welcomed by the shabbiness of the pub and to sit next to Fingerty with a wee nip of port - it felt like heading back to somewhere warm and familiar. The book is wonderfully written with a flow the to the description that carries you along effortlessly through the pages (particular shout out has to go to the place names used (Nestynook Green, Great Snodbury & The Snooty Fox are all places I now feel the need to visit!).

This is a roller-coaster of an adventure that grips from the very beginning (I literally couldn't put the book down!). We see, once again, Charlie's feisty nature and Fliss' ability to charm (which can come in handy!) but it's Betty who leads the way, showing strength and determination in everything; driven by doing the right thing but, ultimately, by her love for her sisters. There are a host of characters that will enthral and that you'll love and also hate but it's the mystery, magic and wonder within the plot that truly captured me, from the mystery of the pirates to the unknown islands and the sense of anticipation. A Sprinkle of Sorcery is a brilliant and fitting adventure for the sisters that will have you utterly gripped.

This review will go live on my blog on 17th Jan

I loved A PINCH OF MAGIC when I read it earlier this year, and this sequel returns with all the same fun, whimsy and enchantment. The mist is back, rolling off the sea to cloak the islands and confuse seafarers. This book spends even more time on the sea in boats and bathtubs(!). There are even pirates and a sunken treasure ship.

The story is masterfully told, deftly rowing from scene to scene with beautiful writing. The dialogue is brilliant, the world wonderfully evoked through the phrases they use. It sounds just like a proper British tar's dialect, and conjures up the sense of a sea-based community drenched in superstition and not a small bit of sorcery. Charlie's speech in particular shows her gumption, and her age as she proudly announces slightly wrong versions of words.

There's a fairy tale told in three installments throughout the book, which seems like a pretty standard "be humble and you will live well". Imagine The Tale of the Three Brothers but light and cheery, and you've got a good idea of the overall story. Like Three Brothers, the story is very much true BUT the way it plays out in real life is where the real fun begins.

In the second half, Betty et al have to use the story as a guide if they want to save their friend and get home. However, the story isn't playing out exactly as it did in the story, so it doesn't cut the tension of spoil any moments. I really enjoyed watching them puzzle out how the fairy tale mapped on their current situation, because the "ah hah" moments once they'd worked it out were very satisfying.

I was drawn to this book by the lovely cover, and the content matched (exceeded, in fact) my expectations. I really enjoyed this fun and magical adventure, which held my attention throughout. It is the second written about the three Widdershin sisters. I haven’t read the first one, but the story works well on its own.

I’d definitely recommend it to anyone looking for an entertaining adventure (children and adults), with a pleasing happy ending.

A Sprinkle of Sorcery is the absolutely irresistible and most welcome return to the Poacher’s Pocket and the lives of the Widdershin sisters and their wonderfully crotchety, straight-talking, protective Granny. This unforgettable, thrilling adventure captivated me just as much as my introduction to these incredible girls in the equally amazing A Pinch of Magic.
Betty Widdershin discovers a pitiful, frightened young girl, who introduces herself as Willow, and who brings with her a will-o-the-wisp from the marshes. Despite being wary and scared herself, Betty is unable to resist helping someone in need, so aides Willow in hiding from those hunting her. Betty’s decision leads to terrible consequences, and a deeply felt guilt, as her young sister Charlie is kidnapped in a case of mistaken identity.
Determined to rescue their young sister, Betty, her older sister Fliss, alongside Willow, leave The Poacher’s Pocket and find themselves venturing in search of the truth behind some old legends, aboard their trusty boat, as they seek out clues not only to save Charlie, but also to help Willow in her own determined mission to seek justice for her father.
Their action-packed adventure leads them from an encounter with pirates to a search for a hidden island … through periods of great danger and tension to heart-pounding revelations and towards new friendships.
The Widdershin sisters epitomise the heart-warming, strong bond of sisterhood. I adored the genuine relationship between the girls: full of warmth, honesty and love, their unbreakable bond giving them the strength to overcome fear, and show incredible fortitude, resilience and resourcefulness in the face of great peril. Betty is kind-hearted, empathetic and determined, willing to make tough decisions and take risks. Charlie is gregarious, irrepressible and fearless. Fliss is charming and, although she can doubt herself, she shows herself to be just as courageous and ingenious as her sisters.
A Sprinkle of Sorcery has absolutely everything I adore in a perfectly enthralling story which kept me turning the pages with bated breath, desperate not only to find out what happens, but also just because the Widdershin sisters captured my heart and I wanted to spend time with them. I don’t know if that’s because I am one of three sisters, or because the closeness between the sisters is just so beautifully portrayed. It doesn’t matter at all that they have their arguments and disagreements– what sisters don’t? – what really stands out is that they look out for each other and love each other sincerely and deeply.
I am in awe of Michelle Harrison’s imagination and skill in writing this story: hidden islands of legend, will-o-the-wisps in different guises, pirates, witches and a sprinkle of sorcery. You absolutely must pick up this book: it will transport you into an unforgettable, richly-drawn world filled with a superb cast of characters which is brimming with action that will have you on the edge-of-your-seat, desperate for more … be prepared to devour this masterpiece in one sitting!

Wow, a great story for key stage two children! It had magic, pirates, strong girls, mysterious fairy tales,a labyrinth and a happy ending! It is the second in a series but was easy to follow without having read the first. However, I will be going back and reading a Pinch of Magic. Beautiful writing and a thrilling plot, interleaved with a fairy tale that helps the girls solve the mystery and escape. I would recommend to ages 8-14.