The Drowned Woods

The Drowned Woods by Emily Lloyd-Jones

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 Stars

YA Fantasy Retelling

352 Pages

Rep - LGBT+

TW - drowning, violence, poison, death

Synopsis - Once upon a time, the kingdoms of Wales were rife with magic and conflict, and eighteen-year-old Mererid “Mer” is well-acquainted with both. She is the last living water diviner and has spent years running from the prince who bound her into his service. Under the prince’s orders, she located the wells of his enemies, and he poisoned them without her knowledge, causing hundreds of deaths. After discovering what he had done, Mer went to great lengths to disappear from his reach. Then Mer’s old handler returns with a proposition: use her powers to bring down the very prince that abused them both.

The best way to do that is to destroy the magical well that keeps the prince’s lands safe. With a motley crew of allies, including a fae-cursed young man, the lady of thieves, and a corgi that may or may not be a spy, Mer may finally be able to steal precious freedom and peace for herself. After all, a person with a knife is one thing… but a person with a cause can topple kingdoms.

The Drowned Woods—set in the same world as The Bone Houses but with a whole new, unforgettable cast of characters—is part heist novel, part dark fairy tale.

My review - This is a book where I wish the characters were real so I could give them a hug. This book eally surprised me, I didn't originally like the cover although now it makes a lot of sense. Just gonna also start this off by saying there is a dog and here's my small spoiler as always when there's a dog in a book - the dog lives! It's a super cute corgi. Besides for the dog I love the found family going on a heist vibes and this also had a main sapphic relationship. I was not expecting that and was super happy to see it!