4 out of 5 stars

This is another enjoyable escape to the village of Woodville, where we rejoin the villagers in the lead-up to Christmas. They have had quite the year so far, and are looking forward to the festivities whilst the war still rages overhead. However, the normal life of the village is going to be utterly ruined by the return of the Holly King. This demigod is not happy having been supressed for a long time and is going to use everything in his power to retake his woodland domain back.

Are the folks of Woodville not going to see this Christmas?

The plot was far more intense than the previous three books and I thought that the stakes were much higher for Faye and the other witches. It did strike me that there is not a huge amount of character development since the last book too, as they seem to be barely over the last drama as the next crisis arrives.

As with any series, the jeopardy in the story means that I know that the characters will emerge at the end of the story, but these books, as with any series are about the journey through the story. There was one bit that didn’t quite make sense to me, but as with the first three books, I really enjoyed my time in this world that Stay has created.

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