"I didn't think myself truly silent. I possessed a voice, as sure as any other. It was simply not the same as any other I had met."
The year is 1838. Queen Victoria has ascended the throne. And within the United Kingdom lies Nightland: a sprawling forest filled with darkness and danger.
Beatrice has always been different. She has not spoken since childhood, communicates through drawings, and hates to be touched. And she is a grey: half-English and half-Nightlander.
When she is forced into servitude across the border, she hatches a plan to escape with siblings Anselm and Gretchen. But gaining her freedom will be no simple task, for first, she must unravel the secrets of her master, Prince Edward. A man rumoured to have murdered his wife - and who shares Beatrice's ability to see people's souls.
Pre-order your copy HERE today! The Shade Between Shadows releases April 9th.
Cat gives this book 4 Meows...
This story is different for me. It's a fantasy set in historical times with no romance. I usually am not a huge fan of either fantasy or historical, mainly because a lot of fantasy has weird names you can't pronounce for characters and cities. This one wasn't that way. It had relatively normal names.
It even has a hint of fairy tale makeovers with a pied piper being used in this.
I really enjoyed the story, it was very captivating and the characters were awesome. It's really hard to tell the good guys from the bad which I loved.
The world building is amazing too. I admit I'm a sucker for a great world and great characters, both good and bad, because what's a story without a Villian and conflict?
The only thing I didn't really like was between some paragraphs were sentences in bold... some ran together. I'm thinking they are Beatrice's thoughts, but most made no sense to me and threw me out of the story. I'd read some and the next paragraph then reread without that and for me it made the story flow better without...yes I did continue to read them all just in case there was something important I didn't need to miss.
So, all in all, it's a fantastic story, though it ends on a cliffhanger (which I don't mind since I love a good Cliffhanger and can't wait to get the next book)!
Author Guest post...
Tapestry of Tales: Every Fairy Tale in The Shade Between Shadows
The Shade Between Shadows, Book One of the Nightland Quartet, is the first page of a love letter to fairy tales. I’ve adored them all my life, but they hooked me on another level when I began delving into their histories and structures, examining all the ways they can connect.
I knew I didn’t want the Nightland Quartet to be a single fairy tale retelling, or even four retellings across four books. I wanted to pack the entire series with as many tales as I could. Some are obvious, while others are more subtle or obscure. Some are direct homages to the fairy tales, and others reference their earlier variants or origins.
There are a lot of layers - I mean, a lot! Of course, you don’t need to know them all in order to enjoy The Shade Between Shadows, but for those like me, who enjoy connecting dots, there’s definitely some fun to be had here.
So today, I’m going to share the main fairy tales which underpin this novel, alongside some of the ways they come alive in Nightland. But don’t worry, I won’t go into spoiler territory!
The Six Swans/The Twelve Brothers: A young girl’s elder brothers are cursed to become birds. In order to rescue them, she must take a vow of silence, and weave them garments made from thistles or nettles. In The Twelve Brothers, the girl is also said to bear a star upon her forehead.
The Six Swans/The Twelve Brothers: A young girl’s elder brothers are cursed to become birds. In order to rescue them, she must take a vow of silence, and weave them garments made from thistles or nettles. In The Twelve Brothers, the girl is also said to bear a star upon her forehead.
The Novel: The nonverbal protagonist, Beatrice, is inspired by the girls from these fairy tales, and a star-shaped birthmark is visible at her hairline. Nightwort, a stinging plant used to weave fabric for magical nightcloaks, is based on the nettle garments.
Rumpelstiltskin: A goblin-like man offers to spin straw into gold for a poor miller’s daughter, in exchange for three of her most treasured belongings.
Rumpelstiltskin: A goblin-like man offers to spin straw into gold for a poor miller’s daughter, in exchange for three of her most treasured belongings.
The Novel: Sir Rudi Stiltson is a goblin baronet, whose business is transforming nightwort fibre into nightcloaks. His coat of arms features a spinning wheel, bundle of straw, and three diamonds, representing the three treasures.
Cinderella: A poor girl is forced to act as a servant to her family for many years. When she is magically gifted a gown and beautiful shoes which fit no feet but hers, she attends a ball, where the prince falls in love with her.
The Novel: Beatrice spends most of her life as a servant, but this is heightened when she is forced into Nightland. While there, she grows close to her master, Prince Edward, who arranges for her to be specially fitted with valuable shoes of Starmine crystal. While Beatrice is wearing these shoes, the two share a tense but passionate dance.
The Pied Piper of Hamelin: A colourfully-clothed man magically rids Hamelin of its rat infestation, but when the townspeople refuse to pay him, he uses the same enchantment to abduct their children.
The Novel: Pipers are bounty hunters employed to find half-Nightlanders born on “the wrong side of the border” and sell them into indentured servitude. Pipers are identified by wearing colourful neckties, and have been plying their trade for centuries. The novel even references the real 1284 event which inspired the fairy tale, when 130 people mysteriously disappeared from Hamelin with a “piper clothed in many colours”.
Fitcher’s Bird: A sorcerer abducts a young woman to be his bride. He gives her strict instructions to not enter one particular room, but she disobeys him, and discovers the dismembered bodies of his previous victims. When she manages to escape, she disguises herself with feathers, leading passers-by to address her as “Fitcher’s Bird.”
The Novel: Prince Edward’s surname is Fitcher, and his family coat of arms references the fairy tale: a single feather in a cage. He bears a dark reputation, due in part to his seductive nature and the belief that he murdered his wife. When he becomes Beatrice’s master, he warns her to never enter the north wing of his castle, and affectionately refers to her as “little bird.”
Snow White: A princess, said to be the fairest of all, flees into a dark forest to escape her stepmother. The evil queen manages to kill her by giving her a poisoned apple, after which she is laid in a glass coffin.
The Novel: The dangers of the Nightland forests are inspired by the forests in Snow White. The beloved Princess Alba shares the same description as Snow White: pale skin and black hair; she also always dresses in white, and is referred to as “the fairest of all.” She meets her end due to poison, and at her funeral, she is presented in a glass coffin.
Sleeping Beauty: A princess is cursed to fall into an enchanted sleep by pricking her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel. When this occurs, a wall of thorns grows around her castle.
The Novel: The toxic bloodrose plant, with thorns as long as spindles, is inspired by Sleeping Beauty’s name in the Germanic version of the tale: Brier Rose. Thornvale Castle is also surrounded by an imposing wall of bloodrose.
Hansel and Gretel: A brother and sister are abandoned by their parents during a food shortage. They become lost in the woods, where they meet a witch in a gingerbread house.
The Novel: When food was scarce following the Napoleonic Wars, Anselm and Gretchen were sold into servitude by their parents. At one point, they become lost in the Nightland forests with Beatrice, and in reference to the gingerbread house, their surname is Becker: German for Baker.
The Ugly Duckling: A young bird is born in a nest of hens and is relentlessly tormented for his ugliness. He resigns himself to a life of sadness and loneliness, only to discover that he has grown into a beautiful swan.
The Novel: Beatrice is shunned by many due to her mutism, and believes that she is too different to find friends or love. She bonds with Anselm and Gretchen: two half-goblins who are similarly shunned for their appearance. However, Beatrice possesses the ability to see souls in the form of birds, and notes that both Anselm’s and Gretchen’s are swans.
Godfather Death: A man asks Death to act as his son’s godparent, since Death does not discriminate against anyone. The son grows into a renowned physician, able to see his godfather appearing to each patient, in order to declare who must die. When the physician breaks Death’s rules, Death takes him to a cavern filled with candles, each representing how long a person has left to live. Realising his own candle is about to go out, the physician attempts to trick Death again, but is unsuccessful.
The Novel: Nightland’s traditional religion is the Night Faith, with its followers known as Deathers. They view Death as their Godfather, and a common adage speaks of “the candles burning down.” The First King, a semi-legendary figure, was able to see souls, and was said to have been Death’s godson. However, his abuse of the power resulted in his own demise.
I had so much fun weaving these fairy tale threads into The Shade Between Shadows! I hope you’ll enjoy discovering even more of them within the pages!
Author E.C. Hibbs... Unique Fantasy for unique people
E. C. Hibbs is an award-winning author and artist, often found lost in the woods or in her own imagination. Her writing has been featured in the British Fantasy Society Journal, and she has provided artworks in various mediums for clients across the world. She is also a calligrapher and live storyteller, with a penchant for fairytales and legends. She adores nature, fantasy, history, and anything to do with winter. She lives with her family in Cheshire, England.
Entries can be made by pre-ordering/purchasing a copy of The Shade Between Shadows (+5), visiting my Facebook group (+2), or visiting my Facebook page (+1). The prize bundle includes:
- Book-accurate replica of Beatrice's indenture certificate, signed by me, and featuring a Batty wax seal.
- Personalised handwritten letter from me.
- Two signed colour prints of the Chester and Thornvale artworks, as featured in the paperback.
- Batty Brigade swag pack: button badge & 5 signed bookmarks, including a brand new Nightland bookmark.
- Sepia and Silver e-book.
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