My Five Word TL:DR Review: History and Mythology Perfectly Blended

I absolutely adored Greenteeth and couldn’t wait to read more by this author and Nightshade and Oak certainly didn’t disappoint. O’Neill has a way of blending history and folklore that is quite magical, she also seems to like to bring together two totally different characters, who, on the face of it, really shouldn’t get on, and then throw them into a situation. In Greenteeth we had a lake monster and a witch and in Nightshade and Oak we have a Goddess and a warrior.

The start of the story is amazing. We witness the Goddess of Death, Mallt Y Nos, and her pack of dogs roaming as they sweep through the carnage of a battlefield. Mallt is responsible for sending souls to their final resting place, helping those that are stuck or unhappy. Unfortunately, during her work she is struck by an errant spell that strips her of her immortality. She becomes a frail human, no longer blessed with great strength and speed. The person responsible for this action is a female warrior called Bellis, daughter of Boudicca. The Iceni tribe were making a final stand against the Romans, it didn’t go well and Belis was trying a spell of healing. The two are now thrown together through need and to be fair, although they set out on a quite simple quest things become much more complicated along the way.

What I loved about this.

It’s a really easy story to engage with, similar to Greenteeth. It’s set in a period where myth and magic were still believed in and it blends into the story easily.

I love Mallt. She’s a great character to get along with. She’s been a Goddess for so long, she barely thinks about the things she now does, it’s all automatic, she takes for granted her long life and her abilities so when she loses them not only is it devastating for her but it does make for some situations that definitely bring light relief. She’s so naturally arrogant, but then she finds she can’t climb a hill without hurting everywhere, she feels hunger, she can’t run fast, and she’s smaller in stature than Belis. It’s all quite unbelievable to her and she has to go through a massive learning curve, understanding once again how to speak to others, how to ask for help and finally realising that she can be hurt, both physically and emotionally. She’s interesting and easy to read.

Belis isn’t quite as quirky so in some ways she takes a back seat. She also doesn’t share as much page time as Mallt so although we are treated to little chapters where we see her in the past, it’s not as easy to become attached. Don’t get me wrong, I liked this character, she’s steadfast and clearly been taught well but a lot of what she does takes place off page so you don’t really witness her capabilities. It’s like we’re more wrapped up in Mallt’s conundrum than Belis’s. Which I really didn’t mind.

The world building is to the point. It definitely is the sort of story that expects readers to pick up and run with things and I can’t deny that I found that easy enough to do. This isn’t a history lesson and I’m not sure how historically correct certain story lines depicted are but I enjoyed the way the story blends the Roman elements with the mythological. I also really liked the dialogue and the style in which the story is told. It isn’t heavily described but it conjures a picture and the dialogue isn’t olde worlde but at the same time it isn’t modern and I really appreciate that.

I think I’ve seen the author described as ‘cosy’ fantasy. I can see where this description fits in some ways as there is almost a fairytale element to her storytelling, probably more so with Greenteeth I think, but, I don’t know that I’d say this is cosy. This certainly doesn’t shy away from warfare and death. There is a very slow building romance but there’s also a bittersweet ending – which to me felt like the only real way that this story could end.

Overall, I had a really good time reading this and in fact practically completed it in only two sittings because I didn’t really like putting it aside. I think I can safely say that Molly O’Neill is an author that I will be watching with interest.

I received a copy through Netgalley, courtesy of the publisher, for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.

My rating 4 of 5 twinkly stars