Fledgling is a beautifully written little fantasy piece that also acts as an almost coming of age story to its young protagonist. It follows it's heroine through the trials of childhood, emotionally unavailable and distant parents and the journey to discover ones self identify. This is offset by the fantasy storyline that provides a deeply atmospheric and somewhat disturbing setting for the journey whilst reminding you that it is not just a coming of age story. Despite being listed as a gothic fantasy, the tone of Fledgling isn't mature enough to fully carry a darker story. Fledgling is a somewhat wholesome story of discovery that makes it perfect for younger, teen readers as anyone older would struggle with it's lackluster attempt at a darker, 'gothic' storyline. Fledgling held a lot of promise however it didn't fully live up to its potential and as such, is better suited to younger readers.

I enjoyed the book, the setting and the characters. It is well written and has many twists and turns which I wasn't expecting in a book aimed at younger readers. I would love to see a follow-up book and a prequel. The book offers many opportunities to explain the back stories of the characters and what has happened in the past. At points I was left yearning for more information and explanation to what was happening. The characters in the book are very relatable and I love the explanation into the mothers behaviour at the end! If the story was part of a series or made slightly longer it would be well worthy of 5 stars. Definitely worth a read for most ages and perhaps the shorter length/ lack of detail more suited to a younger audience. But overall a great first novel for the author and I would be interested in reading any of her future novels, especially if they were aimed at an older audience.

Lucy Hope’s debut novel is an atmospheric gothic adventure set in Bavaria in 1900 where Cassie Engel’s lives in a rather idiosyncratic house originally built by her great-great-grandfather on top of a rock that overlooks the small town of Edenburg and the forest. Cassie doesn’t have the easiest home life with a distant and self-obsessed mother who is an opera singer and an alcoholic taxidermist father who has never recovered from the war. Her grandma is seriously ill and reliant on a morphine pump to ease her pain and even the family maid is elderly, meaning most of the running of the house falls to sensible Cassie, including caring for a collection of stuffed owls. Life gets ever more complicated for Cassie when during a treacherous thunderstorm a cherub is blown through her bedroom window. The story is written from the first-person perspective of Cassie which works well as it gives the reader a real understanding of Cassie’s frustration at her mother, bemusement at her father and worries about what the cherub’s arrival might mean. Her gentle best-friend, Raphael, joins her to scour the library for more information about the cherub but even he is acting oddly. When Cassie is attacked in the forest by a menacing vulture-like creature with foul breath called a Sturmfalken, she believes it is the growling cherub that she has to thank for protecting her. When Cassie and Raphael meet an old woman in the forest with a bizarre story about Raphael’s birth and he reveals to Cassie what has been worrying him, it leads to an emotional second half. To be honest I felt like the story took a few too many detours without offering much in the way of clarification or pointers in the right direction and leaving it right until the denouement to tie everything together in a rather disquieting manner. I certainly wouldn’t give this book to my middle grade age niece and I am in two minds about whether to give it to my sensitive 13 year-old niece. Either way, the storyline has the potential to confuse and I didn’t feel there was much in the way of logical progression from one scene to the next. Admittedly the story does come together but in has the feel of a dark and unsettling fairy tale that may well leave middle grade readers with some serious questions. Both my nieces like fantasy novels but Fledgling definitely has a heavier feel than I can imagine either of them being comfortable with as well as several characters who are belatedly revealed as not all they first appear. Far and away the best thing for me about this novel was the vividly imagined house on top of a tall rock with a helter-skelter road blasted into the rock face and complete with owlery and a zip wire to move between floors. The descriptions of the features added by different generations of the family were well-drawn and engagingly told and I think I could have read a book about Cassie’s unique home alone!

Was a easy and good read I would deffo recommend