Hayley Chewins slim book is a dark gothic fantasy for fans who like their magic with a creepy twist. Recommended!

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It always seems that for every one good book I read, it’s followed by two or three that I just cannot get through.

I was excited to read about a fun, magical house that does all the things but instead it’s just about three sisters and their creepy dogs who follow a bunch of weird routines for reasons unexplained.

The beginning of this book is so jarring. The story takes off right at the start with no world-building or explanation, and so many character names come up in just the first few pages that it’s really hard to keep track of them all. Who the heck is Tutto? This name keeps being thrown at us like we’re supposed to know who it is.

There’s lots of weird details thrown in seemingly at random and with no purpose, it starts to feel a bit silly. I did not feel engaged at all with this story and even though it seemed like a short and easy read, I DNF’d it at 25% when I decided that I was sick of Winnow’s shit - disappearing and reappearing on every other page. “OMG where’s Winnow”?! I just don’t care.

Fun, enjoyable novel/novella for about the 9-12 year old range. I was surprised to see it in the YA section at my library, to be honest, it seems more like a juvenile fiction novel. It is a little bit on the dark side, which could explain it, but it really is more written for younger readers, especially given how short it is.

Since their parents left, Mayhap and her sisters have lived alone at Straygarden Place, a lavish, magical manor and an oasis in a sea of towering silver grass. This setting is whimsical, magical, lyrical, mysterious, dangerous, and has a sort of Valente's Fairyland/Frances Hardinge/Katherine Rundell vibe; as a consequence the first half of this enraptured me. But it's a short book, which helps contain the whimsy but also makes for a hasty plot. I can forgive the convenience with which clues are dropped, but I'm disappointed by how quickly the character arcs find resolution. I wanted this to be five stars! It's not, but it's still very much to my taste and I was happy to spend time here. (The names, on the other hand, are 5 stars easy.)

This book is absolutely wonderful! It's filled with magic, familial love, and adorable dog like creatures called droomhunds. Beautiful, imaginative, and heart warming. Definitely pick this book up!

Slightly creepy in the best way.