Emily Lloyd-Jones

The Drowned Woods tells the story of the last living water diviner, Mer, and how the Kingdom of Gwaelod (also known as the Lowland Hundred) became flooded.

I had no idea about the Welsh myth at the core of the novel and thought it might be fun to read it during the run-up to our short break in Wales. Imagine my surprise when it turned out that Bae Ceredigion was actually near to where the story is set! Visiting the bay and the remains of the sunken forest that are still visible at low tide show more near Borth was definitely the highlight of the trip, and increased enjoyment of the novel no end – though the story is of course still highly enjoyable even if you don't combine it with a holiday in Wales.

I always admire an author's skill to create real, believable, complex characters on the page about whom you care so much that you drop chores and stay up late in order to find out what happens next. I loved that I expected a certain kind of story based on the blurb, which then turned out to be something different, with no noticeable foreshadowing (although there were clues looking back); not many books can accomplish that. I thought the pace was well balanced; there's enough back story to the major three characters (Mer, Ifanna and Fane, though I would have liked to see Renfrew included too) to flesh out their motivations while keeping the present-day action flowing, and there are some very tense (the chapters set in the sewers!) as well as some lighter moments, in particular owing to the inclusion of Trefor, the corgi. Though the real events date back to the Bronze Age, the novel is set roughly in the seventeenth century (there are potatoes and tea), when Gwynedd and Powys were no longer kingdoms in their own right, but it works well within the confines of the story (and it is fantasy, after all).

The reason I didn't give it the full five stars is because I noticed certain phrases or ideas being repeated towards the end, which I thought was quite noticeable when the rest of the story is so taut. However, based on the strength of the writing I've already ordered the author's debut novel, The Bone Houses. show less

I didn't know what to expect with THE WILD HUNTRESS by Emily Lloyd-Jones. So, imagine my surprise when I discovered a compulsively readable story with its roots based on real Welsh myths and legends. When combined with a great heroine, good tension between the three main characters, and a mysterious, Otherworldly Hunt, THE WILD HUNTRESS became a novel I finished with the satisfaction that comes from reading an excellent story.

I love a heroine who is not only independent and intelligent but show more also highly capable, street-savvy, and angry. Branwen is all that and more, for she is also kind, loving, and loyal. She has a large heart and is the type of person you would want as a role model. But she's not old-school Disney princess perfect. She is naive, too eager to trust, and, while she might be angry, she is slow to take action using that anger as fuel. Watching her go toe-to-toe with two members of royalty, ignoring all subservience and respect, is a delight, just as watching her use skills most often attributed to male characters is another thumbing of the nose at the patriarchy. THE WILD HUNTRESS would not be half as enjoyable without Branwen there to provide the sobering reality to the other two characters' more lordly points of view.

Gwydion and Pryderi are also great foils for each other and for Branwen. Ms. Lloyd-Jones does not hide Gwydion's motives or his ability to manipulate situations to his advantage, and it is with great fascination that you watch him move people and situations to suit his needs. Meanwhile, Pryderi is less about manipulation and more about his personal struggles. Two very different problems for two very different boys, and Branwen is the glue that ties them together.

The story of THE WILD HUNTRESS is very mysterious, charming (but not in a cozy fantasy way), and highly engaging. I found myself doing nothing but reading, not only to learn more about the mysterious Hunt but also to see how Ms. Lloyd-Jones resolves the three different goals ofthe three main characters. Once I learned that there are Welsh legends around Pryderi and Gwydion, I was all in and knew that THE WILD HUNTRESS would be a novel I would not soon forget. show less

SO much fun! Yet, also shivery. This is yet another review that I have to begin with "I don't like zombie books, yet..." because really, I don't usually enjoy stories about the undead rising again and attacking people. But! But! This one was so much fun, it was a lighthearted comic fantasy with a dash of romance amid the horror. And anyway, they weren't really zombies so much as animated skeletons. Okay, with a little bit of flesh maybe. But they weren't nearly as horrific as say, the show more zombies in The Forest of Hands and Teeth for example. These were just...bone houses! And, there's an undead goat who just totally makes the book worth a read. He's hilarious. By the end I was really getting a "The Book of Three" or The Black Cauldron vibe from the book, because of the Welsh place names and legends, as well as the lightheartedness, and then I read in the author's note that she was heavily inspired by Lloyd Alexander's work. And that made total sense. Highly recommended for fans of dark medieval fantasy, but who don't really want it to be *too* dark. Also, a great strong heroine. show less

Emily Lloyd-Jones might be following a tried and true pattern of many fantasy epics (a magic user and their companions try to topple a kingdom), but she does it with a decent enough amount of world- and character-building that we are convinced of her story from page one to the finale. She begins with a mythical tone for the preamble, setting the stage for her protagonist, a water diviner named Mererid, to rail against the crown that took her captive as a child and raised her as a weapon of show more magical countenance. Mer has built a quiet life for herself as a serving maid in a bar, but when the spymaster who raised her offers her a chance at destroying the kingdom that turned her magic to nefarious purposes she chooses to take a stand rather than continue running from her past. Along their journey, Mer and Renfrew build a crew of interesting characters ranging from a fey-blessed iron fetch to the heir of the kingdom’s criminal guild and plan a complicated heist that draws on each person’s abilities, but when they reach their destination (a treasure trove on the centre of a hidden island) Lloyd-Jones pulls out a solid double-cross that brings to bear the deeper themes of the story. The careful balance between the fey and human worlds is precarious at best, with few seeing the larger magical and political picture that keeps their borders secure, and it is up to Mer and co. to choose a path forward that keeps the balance intact. Rife with magical lore that quietly suffuses the largely mundane heist narrative, the titular drowned woods becomes a symbol for the duality of Mer’s magic and her inevitable choice that saves the kingdom. Coming full circle as we reach the final pages, Lloyd-Jones wraps up the story with a happy ending for Mer and her iron fetch, but their existence on the border of the fey and human lands hints at a potential for conflict or cooperation between the two realms that remains unanswered. show less