Recommendations based on "The Knight and the Butcherbird"

'I was totally gripped by this sharp, layered novel' Douglas Stuart, author of Shuggie Bain 'A brilliant, riveting fox-trap - an epic mystery' Miranda Cowley Heller, author of The Paper Palace 'A rare gem, an immersive and enthralling literary thriller' Paula Hawkins, author of The Girl on the Train ----------------------------------------------------- From the author of LONG BRIGHT RIVER, a Barack Obama Pick and a New York Times bestseller, comes a once-in-a-generation story; a novel you'll never forget. Some said it was tragic, what happened to the Van Laars. Some said the Van Laars deserved it. That they never even thanked the searchers who stayed out for five nights in the freezing forest trying to help find their missing son. Some said there was a reason it took the family so long to call for help. That they knew what happened to the boy. Now, fifteen years later, the daughter the family had in their grief has gone missing in the same wilderness as her brother. Some say the two disappearances aren't connected. Some say they are.

Juliet Marillier is a rare talent, a writer who can imbue her characters and her story with such warmth, such heart, that no reader can come away from her work untouched. Daughter of the Forest is a testimony to that talent, a first novel and the beginning of a trilogy like no other: a mixture of history and fantasy, myth and magic, legend and love.Lord Colum of Sevenwaters is blessed with six sons: Liam, a natural leader; Diarmid, with his passion for adventure; twins Cormack and Conor, each with a different calling; rebellious Finbar, grown old before his time by his gift of the Sight; and the young, compassionate Padriac.But it is Sorcha, the seventh child and only daughter, who alone is destined to defend her family and protect her land from the Britons and the clan known as Northwoods. For her father has been bewitched, and her brothers bound by a spell that only Sorcha can lift.To reclaim the lives of her brothers, Sorcha leaves the only safe place she has ever known, and embarks on a journey filled with pain, loss, and terror.When she is kidnapped by enemy forces and taken to a foreign land, it seems that there will be no way for her to break the spell that condemns all that she loves. But magic knows no boundaries, and Sorcha will have to choose between the life she has always known and a love that comes only once..

Trapped in a world ruled by the Elves, separated from Geralt and her destiny, Ciri will need all her training as a fighter and sorceress to survive in the fifth novel of the Witcher, Andrzej Sapkowski's groundbreaking epic fantasy series that inspired the hit Netflix show and the blockbuster video games -- in hardcover for the first time! After walking through the portal in the Tower of Swallows and narrowly escaping death, Ciri finds herself in a completely different world. . . an Elven world. Time does not seem to exist and there are no obvious borders or portals to cross back into her home world. She is trapped. But this is the child of prophecy, and she will not be defeated. She knows she must escape to finally rejoin the Witcher and his companions--and also to conquer her worst nightmare. Leo Bonhart, the man who chased, wounded, and tortured Ciri, is still on her trail. And the world is still at war. Witcher collections The Last Wish Sword of Destiny Witcher novels Blood of Elves The Time of Contempt Baptism of Fire The Tower of Swallows Lady of the Lake Season of Storms Hussite Trilogy The Tower of Fools Warriors of God Translated from original Polish by David French

Simon, the foundling from The Wolves of Willoughby Chase, arrives in London to meet an old friend and pursue the study of painting. Instead he finds himself unwittingly in the middle of a wicked crew's fiendish caper to overthrow the good King James and the Duke and Duchess of Battersea. With the help of his friend Sophie and the resourceful waif Dido, Simon narrowly escapes a series of madcap close calls and dangerous run-ins. In a time and place where villains do nothing halfway, Simon is faced with wild wolves, poisoned pies, kidnapping, and a wrecked ship. This is a cleverly contrived tale of intrigue and misadventure.

The ordinary becomes extraordinary in this sparkling first book in the Starfell series, a modern classic perfect for fans of Nevermoor and The Land of Stories. Willow Moss's small magic has always seemed unremarkable. But when the most feared witch in the land of Starfell appears on the Moss family's doorstep looking for help, it's not Willow's talented sisters she seeks, it's Willow. Because Willow is a finder of lost things--and Moreg Vaine says that last Tuesday has gone missing. Willow and Moreg set out on a perilous journey across the wilds of Starfell, looking for what they've lost. If they don't discover what happened to the missing day, the repercussions could be devastating for the entire kingdom. Can Willow find the day, to save the day?

A Sparrow Falls, another gripping installment in Wilbur Smith's Courtney Family Adventure seriesMark Anders grew up on eight thousand acres of African land that bore his family name. Then he fought in Europe's Great War and, upon returning to his ancestral home, he saw savagery unlike any other....In Africa, Mark's family estate has been despoiled. His grandfather has died under mysterious circumstances. And he has inherited a murderous enemy--the rogue scion of the powerful Courtney clan--in an altogether new kind of war.Now, Mark will make a fateful choice between two women. Journey into the wilderness to uncover his grandfather's fate. Find his way through battles raging between fathers and sons, generals and politicians, and nature and man. In an age of violent conflict, Mark Anders will live or die for justice--and his fight will echo across a country he always loved....

It is August, time of the first harvest, traditional time of plenty. But at the farthest reaches of the Hyddenworld, in sea-bound Englalond, disaster looms. A blight in the land is growing, marked by quakes and increasingly unnatural blizzards. Judith is tasked with healing the land, but this burden is almost unbearable. Lonely and lovelorn, she threatens to reap a terrible harvest of her own. Yet a trio of hydden travellers hold out hope - for both the land and the war threatening the hydden people. For Jack and Katherine, Judith's parents, the shadow of the hydden Empire's army looms large. They must muster allies or it will mean disaster for the city of Brum. And only Bedwyn Stort, Brum's famed scrivener, has the courage to unravel a secret that could heal their world. The lost gem of Autumn must be found and Stort must risk death to seek it. Only his love for Judith will give him the will to endure - and bring her the gem she needs to tame the wild earth.

The most magical children's book debut of 2020, shortlisted for the Waterstones Children's Book Prize and illustrated by award-winning Chris Riddell Imogen should be nice to her little sister Marie. She should be nice to her mum's boyfriend too. And she certainly shouldn't follow a strange silver moth through a door in a tree. But then . . . who does what they're told? Followed by Marie, Imogen finds herself falling into a magical kingdom where the two sisters are swept up in a thrilling race against time - helped by the spoiled prince of the kingdom, a dancing bear, a very grumpy hunter . . . and even the stars above them. Thrilling, sharply funny, and with characters you will fall in love with, A Clock of Stars is a timeless fantasy from an astonishing new voice - and the beginning of an unforgettable journey . . .

Sent out of her pack to live in the world alone, Morgra finds a new pack whom she can rule until she encounters Larka, an old she-wolf who has the power to read the minds of all animals and human beings. Reprint.

"Magical."--Kirkus Reviews Resourceful twin sisters and a desperate queen must find a new source of magic to stop their kingdom from being consumed by darkness. This classic fantasy-adventure from bestselling author Claire Legrand is full of twists, turns, and unforgettable moments. Thornlight is a must-have for fans of Tahereh Mafi and Diana Wynne Jones. A stand-alone companion to the acclaimed Foxheart. Centuries and centuries ago, the Vale was split in two in a war between witches. Ever since, an evil darkness has been climbing, climbing, climbing out of the Break, infecting everything it touches. The people of the Vale fight it with discs made of lightning--and with an ancient spell. Brier Skystone is the youngest, most talented lightning harvester the Vale's ever seen. Her twin sister, Thorn, is a sensitive artist who's braver than even she knows. And young Queen Celestyna Hightower is determined to be Mender of the Break, the last of her family to bear the weight of anchoring the spell--which is really more of a curse. As the darkness keeps coming, these three girls will each undertake their own perilous journeys to try to save their home--and each quest reveals an electrifying surprise. Perhaps they've been fighting the wrong monster all along. New York Times-bestselling author Claire Legrand creates an intricate and layered world full of unicorns, witches, mistbirds, grifflets, and unlikely heroes--with an appearance by the legendary witch Quicksilver Foxheart. This stand-alone companion to Foxheart explores what it means to be brave, and the destructive force of war on nature and community Fast-paced, memorable, and surprising, Thornlight is a perfect introduction to Claire Legrand's work and will appeal to fans of Kelly Barnhill and Jessica Townsend.