A bewitching journey behind the closed doors of a secret society, featuring sinister toadmen, resistance witches and a steamy enemies-to-lovers romance, from the acclaimed author of A Hunger of Thorns.
Merriwether Morgan doesn't need a happily-ever-after. Her life in the idyllic town of Candlecott is fine just as it is: simple, happy, and with absolutely no magic. Magic only ever leads to trouble.
But Merry's best friend, Teddy, is joining the Toadmen - a secret society upholding backward thinking and suspiciously supernatural traditions - and she is determined to stop him. Even if it means teaming up with her academic arch-nemesis, Caraway Boswell, an ice-cold snob who hides his true face behind a glamour.
An ancient Toad ritual is being held in the nightmarish Deeping Fen, and if Merry doesn't rescue Teddy, she'll lose him forever. But the further she travels into Deeping Fen's foul waters, the more Merry wonders if she can possibly save her friend - or if she's walking straight into a trap.
Because there's nothing the Toadmen love more than a damsel in distress . . .
Praise for A Hunger of Thorns
'Completely entrancing.' - Amie Kaufman
'A lush, spellbinding tale with dangerously enchanting characters.' - CS Pacat
'Unlike anything else. Wilkinson creates a whole new kind of magic.' - Scott Westerfeld
'This is my kind of fairy tale: visceral and dark, lush and lovely.' - Kate J Armstrong
About the Author
Lili Wilkinson is the award-winning author of nineteen books for children and teenagers, including A Hunger of Thorns, After the Lights Go Out, The Erasure Initiative and How To Make A Pet Monster. Lili established the Inky Awards at the Centre for Youth Literature, State Library of Victoria. She has a PhD in Creative Writing, and lives in Melbourne with her partner, child, dog and three chickens.
