Like a Curse

Thirteen-year-old Ramya Knox has become accustomed to having aunts who are witches and a friend who is secretly a vampire. She’s even accepted that she has magical powers herself, and can see through the ‘Glamour’ used by many mythical creatures to disguise themselves from humans. However, she is still only an apprentice. And at their home near Loch Ness, training from her Aunt Opal in how to use her magic is frustratingly slow – and all the time the evil siren Portia is increasing her control over Hidden Folk and humans alike. So, accompanied by her loyal cousin Marley, an impatient Ramya flies off (literally) to Edinburgh, to challenge her arch enemy and try to rescue her friends. 

With exquisite fantasy embedded into a convincing modern-day setting, this is a wonderfully compelling adventure. Neurodivergent Ramya is a protagonist you cannot help but fall in love with – a beautiful mixture of bravery, resolve, fallibility and self-doubt. Readers of the first book in the duology will be delighted to be reunited with the familiar cast of characters, but this is also a thoroughly effective standalone story. Along the way, both books offer timely food of thought about division, fear, political control and how we treat others. We see Ramya learning that “you don’t have to throw stones at things that scare you” and eventually recognise that family and love are surely stronger than hatred and revenge.

There are plot twists and surprises in abundance – and even the most spectacular reveal about what is really lurking in the depths of Loch Ness!