Thistlemarsh By Moorea Corrigan

This book reminded me how much I love a moody fae story. I’m obsessed. 

Book Synopsis:

Welcome to Thistlemarsh—a ramshackle estate where an impoverished orphan and a beguiling Faerie collide in an enchanting novel of love, revenge, and ruin.

In the wake of The Great War, the world is a decidedly unmagical place for Mouse Dunne. She once dreamed of becoming a Faerie anthropologist, but with one telegram, her world shattered. At the Battle of the Somme, her cousin’s body disappeared into the mud, and her brother was left with debilitating shell shock. It was time, she knew, to put aside childish dreams.

When Mouse receives news that her uncle has left her the Faerie-blessed Thistlemarsh Hall, a dilapidated manor in the English countryside, she must leave her brother’s side and return to her childhood home to claim her birthright. But there is a catch in her uncle’s offer: If Mouse does not rehabilitate the crumbling house in one month’s time, she will forfeit her inheritance and any hope of caring for her brother.

It quickly becomes clear it’s impossible to repair the manor in the allotted time, until a mysterious Faerie appears with a proposition. He offers to restore Thistlemarsh…for a price. Mouse knows better than to trust a Faerie—especially one so insufferably handsome and arrogant—but she is out of options. There are dark and magical forces at work in the house, and Mouse must confront the ghosts of her past and the secrets of her heart or lose Thistlemarsh, and herself, in the process. 

Review:

This book will weave a magical spell under you. You’ll enter Thistlemarsh and be enchanted, and love every moment of it. I love a dark, atmospheric and dense story bristling with SOMETHING that creeps along your spine. Mouse is in England in the aftermath of WW1, and it’s dark, depressing and she’s trying to build a life on her own as a nurse after a war that ravaged her whole family.  She’s been avoiding her ancestral home where her abusive uncle lives and trying to make her own way. The problem? Her very shell shocked brother has to be discharged from the hospital and is incapable of living by himself. Mouse knows she will have to take care of him and it’s going to be hard. 

Then she finds out her uncle has passed away and has left the manor to her. The manor, which is in even more disrepair than she remembers, must be fixed up before she can claim her inheritance. If she doesn’t do it in a ridiculously short period of time then she loses everything. Mouse is desperate and makes an agreement with a fairie to help her. His price is high but she is desperate. Mouse isn’t sure why he’s come to help her. After all, fairies had supposedly vanished decades before she was born, however, Thistlemarsh was known to be a special place for the fae, so perhaps that’s why he’s here? Thornwood, the fae, has his own secrets. As does the house, Mouse and Thornwood find out much to their surprise. The house rejects all of the fae’s magic until they start to solve puzzles that the house leads them to. As they solve puzzles and restore the house, Mouse gathers an army of supporters including a magical dragon who can disguise himself as a dog, the village priest who is a long time friend of Mouse’s, and her deceased cousin’s lover and Thornwood’s constant companion. The latter is creepy and mysterious but also funny and charming. As Mouse discovers her passions, she has to deal with her grief over her lost loved ones, her guilt at surviving, and finding her own spark to be true to herself and not just the daughter, sister, niece she’s been expected to be. There’s a delicious slow burn romance between her and the handsome, mysterious and troubled fae which adds a delicate layer to this atmospheric and gothic read. 

I love a book that blends real world pain, fear and grim reality with the whisper of a magical world. What child hasn’t wondered, what if the fairies were real? This book fed my soul like a warm cup of tea on a cold and stormy day. This is an astonishing debut and I can’t wait to return to Moore’s Corrigan’s writing in the future. 

This book is perfect for fans of India Holton, Kate Morton and Ava Wider.

Thank you, Berkley Publishing Group, for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.