The Girl from Rawblood
ByPublisher Description
"An impressively hectic spin on the Gothic tradition"—Telegraph
The winner of BEST HORROR NOVEL at the British Fantasy Awards by the author of The House on Needless Street!
What if it's not your mansion that's haunted—it's you?
Young Iris Villarca is the last of her family's line. They are haunted by "her," a curse passed down through the generations that marks each Villarca for certain heartbreak and death. For generations, the Villarcas have died young, under mysterious circumstances.
But Iris dares to fall in love, and the consequences of her choice are immediate and terrifying. As the world falls apart around her, she must take a final journey back to Rawblood where it all began, and where it must all end…
Perfect for fans of Shirley Jackson, Susan Hill, and Silvia Moreno-Garcia, The Girl from Rawblood will pull readers through time into the early 1800s and 1900s, mesmerizing them with this lyrical story of cunning folk horror right until the breathtaking finish.
Praise for The Girl from Rawblood:
"Superb debut....Ward perfectly balances sensory richness with the chills of the uncanny."
—Publishers Weekly, STARRED review
"The Girl from Rawblood makes a powerful contribution to the British literature of the fantastic…There's a touch of Ted Hughes here, Emily Bronte and M.R James in this eerie and by turns moving story that spans generations…A definite book of the year for me."
—Adam Nevill, award-winning author of The Ritual and No One Gets Out Alive
"The Girl from Rawblood weaves a spell that both terrifies and mesmerizes. As each layer of mystery is peeled away, more haunting truth is revealed. The book leaves the reader breathless in its gothic tale of fear, family, blood, and love."
—Simone St. James, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of The Sun Down Motel
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Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communities149 Reviews
Angela Winfrey O'Rorke
Created 18 days agokceygillespie
Created about 1 month agosummerqueen
Created about 2 months agoDawn
Created 2 months agoGia
Created 3 months ago
“The Girl from Rawblood is the debut novel by Catriona Ward, but it’s the third novel of hers that I’ve read, after Sundial, The Last House on Needless Street, and Looking Glass Sound.
After reading several of her books, I think I’m already familiar with her writing style: mind-twisting stories, slow burns (requiring a lot of patience), and narratives like puzzles that readers can piece together (or not, if they just want to go along for the ride). The final third of her books will take your breath away—thrilling, gripping, and confusing all at once—and they often feature ambiguous endings that leave you thinking long after you’ve finished.
The Girl from Rawblood embodies all these traits. However, this book contains more romance—bittersweet and tragic. Once again, I thoroughly enjoyed the mind-bending plot twists. To be honest, it reminds me of Netflix's The Haunting of Hill House, though this one is sadder. Still, I can say I enjoyed it. I always love books that make me lose myself.”About Catriona Ward
Catriona Ward was born in Washington DC and grew up in the US, Kenya, Madagascar, Yemen and Morocco. She studied English at St Edmund Hall, Oxford followed by the UEA Masters in Creative Writing. After living in New York for 4 years where she trained as an actor, she now works for a human rights foundation and lives in London.
Other books by Catriona Ward
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