Published: April 21, 2026
Publisher: Berkley
Series: N/A
Genre: Fantasy, Historical
Pages: 429 (Kindle)
My Rating: 4 Stars
A copy of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Synopsis:
Faeries disappeared over one hundred years ago, as suddenly as slipping through a doorway. It was only the very foolish, or the very determined, who held out hope for their return.
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.
I think I have a thing for stories about faeries set around WWI because they seem to keep finding their way into my hands. I feel like this is also an oddly specific subgenre. Thistlemarsh is set post-WWI at a crumbling estate that was once a rumored favorite of the Faerie King who was a patron of the local noble family. It follows the young and unexpected heiress of Thistlemarsh Hall freshly returned from the war front as she attempts to save the home.
Mouse Dunne may have inherited Thistlemarsh Hall, but it was not without strings attached. If Mouse cannot restore the dilapidated estate to a suitable standard in a short amount of time, she will lose it to a man she loathes more than anyone else on the face of the Earth. It seems a hopeless task, particularly without any servants to assist and very little in the way of funds until she accidentally frees a faerie from a statue in the woods. Everyone knows it’s a poor idea to enter into a bargain with one of the Fair Folk, but that’s exactly what she does in order to keep her family home, with all its bittersweet memories. What unfolds is like a magical home renovation show with a whole new brand of drama.
Mouse herself is a wonderful character. She’s strong, stubborn, and a little reckless, as one has to be to consider a faerie bargain, especially considering the fae haven’t been seen in over a century. Nothing suspicious there at all! Thornwood, the aforementioned faerie, is nothing short of your classically handsome, tricky faerie. It’s painfully obvious he has his own reason for offering to help Mouse, but she’s so desperate he could have been waving red flags and she would have ignored them. Amazingly, his intentions seem to be mostly good and he does actually help to fix the house and untangle some tricky problems. He almost lulls you into thinking he’s not ultimately out to achieve his own goals, but the truth can’t help but to reassert itself. His rather spooky assistant, Micklewaithe, does warn Mouse but I suppose the mutual attraction between her and Thornwood is somewhat distracting.
This was an enjoyable read and the romance was a slow burning one, which made sense given both the time period and the main focus of the story. I like the faerie puzzles that had to be untangled throughout and I liked the characters. The final portion was considerably more dramatic and action packed than much of the rest of the story, but it was suitably climactic! If you’re looking for more WWI-era faerie stories, check out The Scholar and the Last Faerie Door by H.G. Parry and the upcoming No Man’s Land by Richard K. Morgan.
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