Between the Raven and the Dove
Rating: 5/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: Early copy courtesy of Accent YA (released 25th May 2017)

For as long as she can remember, thirteen-year-old Mag has lived with her father at a home for the mentally ill.

The patients are all clearly mad, so when the usually silent Grace claims that she's Mag's real mother and also a witch, Mag's world is turned upside down.

As things take a turn for the weird, and Mag sees things that others can't, it may just be that she is a witch after all.

In this new world, Mag discovers that the difference between good and evil isn't exactly black and white...


I expressed interest in this book when it popped up on my Twitter news-feed as previously, I'd not been reading much (apart from apart from After the Fire and Dream A Little Dream on holiday, reviews to follow) and I thought this sounded like a book that was an easy read and would captivate my love for reading again. I tweeted Accent YA that the book sounded great and they were kind enough to send me a proof of it. And wow, am I happy they did.

The book focuses on 13 year old Maggot (okay, her name's Margot but everyone calls her Maggot and it's just embedded in my brain now) and she lives in a mental institution with her dad, who runs the home. Mag enjoys helping out with the patients and has become fond of most of them but Grace, she's always been different; not as stable as the others and she never speaks. So when Grace and Mag end up in a room alone and Grace begins telling Mag that she's her mum and she needs Mag's help in regaining her powers, Mag has no idea what to think...

The next thing she knows, she's whisked off to Crossbeams boarding school. What she doesn't realise is that this is a school for potential witches and before she knows it, she's being taught witchcraft and spells by her new headteacher, Wildeth. One of the things I loved about this book is that witches don't have the conventional powers that we know of. In this book, each witch has a different sound and it is their deep magic that enables them to cast spells and get into the minds of others and by hearing other witches deep music, is how you connect. I found this a really interesting idea and loved the new take on witchcraft.

Mag makes lots of new friends but it isn't long before people start to betray her and she's not sure who to trust and who can help her reach her end goal: retrieving her mum's magic. It might just be a lot closer than she realises...

There's a lot of tension and anticipation as we lead up to the epic final battle and Mag soon learns who her enemies are and that everything isn't quite what it seemed at the beginning...

This book is full of new magical creatures (which I freaking love) and takes us into a new world of magic and witchcraft. This is the first book in the Witchwork series and I'm so excited for the next. I'd say you can read this book from a very young age, but can enjoy it at any age. I thought this book was utterly spellbinding and I've been lucky enough to be invited to the book launch at the end of the month. I'm so excited to see what this series has in store next!