REVIEW: Here Be Witches by Sarah Mussi

Pages: 432
Format: Paperback
Series: The Snowdonia Chronicles #2
Publisher: Shrine Bell
Genre: Adventure, Mythology
Release Date: February 1st 2017
Buy The Book: Vertebrate Publishing - Book Depository

All Ellie Morgan wants is to be with her one true love, Henry. But she’s caught in the middle of a BATTLE as old as SNOWDON itself. A battle between GOOD and EVIL.

A WITCHES’ SPELL, cast high on the mountain, has sped up time and made matters MUCH WORSE. The dragons are awake; mythical creatures and evil ghosts have risen. And nearly all of them want Ellie DEAD.

Thank heavens for loyal friend George, disloyal bestie Rhi, and mysterious stranger, Davey. Armed with Granny Jones’s potions, Ellie and her companions must set out on a journey to REVERSE THE SPELL, stop the EVIL White Dragon and find Henry.

As an eternal winter tightens its grip on Snowdon, Ellie and her friends have just THREE DAYS to SURVIVE and complete their quest.

My Thoughts:

Following the events that happened in Here Be Dragons, Ellie is determined to find a way to get Henry back from his tomb under the mountain. But when her friend Rihannon gets into a spot of trouble and a witch's curse is unleashed upon Snowdon, Ellie ends up thrown into a race against time with her best friend George. After highly enjoying the first book in this series, I was keen to get stuck in with this sequel.

The quest that Ellie and her friends have to go on in Here Be Witches was fascinating and packed full of adventure. With the story taking place on and around Mount Snowdon, it provided an epic setting for the journey of the characters. Something that I loved about this book was the magical myths within it. There's nothing I love more than learning about legends, so I appreciated the way that not only were they included in the story itself, but there were also extra notes at the bottom of the pages to explain things thoroughly. This series is great for getting to know epic tales from Welsh history!

I loved seeing how the characters developed in this story. Whilst Ellie has learned a lot from the events in Here Be Dragons, she still has this sense of innocence about her which I love. She has a funny, relatable attitude and I like how Mussi doesn't try to make her seem older than her age, which is something I feel a lot of YA fantasy writers tend to do. I enjoyed watching the relationship between Ellie and her friends change as they faced different situations, and despite her love for Henry, Ellie's will-they-won't-they tension with George was cute to see.

What I love about this series is the chatty way in which it's told. Though it's a fantasy novel with action and adventure, there is also something very contemporary in Ellie's narration of the story, and it makes for a delightful combination. It also helps the situation and characters feel believable because they are acting exactly how you'd imagine a bunch of teenagers would if they were thrown into a magical quest.

The Snowdonia Chronicles is fun fantasy, but dark and more serious when it needs to be, and I'm definitely excited to see what happens to this varied bunch of characters next! 

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