The Will and the Wilds

by Charlie N. Holmberg

Overview

A spellbinding story of truce and trickery from the Wall Street Journal bestselling author of The Paper Magician series.

Enna knows to fear the mystings that roam the wildwood near her home. When one tries to kill her to obtain an enchanted stone, Enna takes a huge risk: fighting back with a mysting of her own.

Maekallus’s help isn’t free. His price? A kiss. One with the power to steal her soul. But their deal leaves Maekallus bound to the mortal realm, which begins eating him alive. Only Enna’s kiss, given willingly, can save him from immediate destruction. It’s a temporary salvation for Maekallus and a lingering doom for Enna. Part of her soul now burns bright inside Maekallus, making him feel for the first time.

Enna shares Maekallus’s suffering, but her small sacrifice won’t last long. If she and Maekallus can’t break the spell binding him to the mortal realm, Maekallus will be consumed completely—and Enna’s soul with him.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781542005005
Publisher:	47north
Publication date:	01/21/2020
Pages:	268
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.20(h) x 0.90(d)
Age Range:	12 - 17 Years

About the Author

Charlie N. Holmberg is the award-winning author of the Numina series, The Fifth Doll, and many other books. Her Wall Street Journal bestselling Paper Magician series has been optioned by the Walt Disney Company. Charlie’s stand-alone novel, Followed by Frost, was nominated for a 2016 RITA Award for Best Young Adult Romance. Born in Salt Lake City, Charlie was raised a Trekkie alongside three sisters who also have boy names. She is a proud BYU alumna, plays the ukulele, owns too many pairs of glasses, and finally adopted a dog. She currently lives with her family in Utah. Visit her at www.charlienholmberg.com.

Editorial Reviews

11/11/2019

Holmberg (Siege & Sacrifice) remixes elements of “Beauty and the Beast,” “Little Red Riding Hood,” and other familiar tales to create an immersive, dangerous fantasy world. Enna lives at the border of the town of Fendell and the wildwood, caring for her ill father. Though Enna is terrified of the mystings and monsters that roam the forest, she’s devoted to continuing her late grandmother’s study of the creatures. When a monster called a gobler attacks Enna and her father, Enna knows she’s not strong enough to fight back on her own and takes the risk of summoning Maekallus, a mysting trickster, to hunt down the attacker. Maekallus agrees for the price of a single kiss, but with that kiss he steals part of Enna’s soul. When the gobler binds Maekallus to the forest during a confrontation, Enna and Maekallus work together to free him from the curse. Holmberg draws readers in with a fast-moving plot, rich details, and a surprisingly sweet human-monster romance. This is a lovely, memorable fairy tale. Agent: Marlene Stringer, Stringer Literary. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

01/01/2020

When she was a baby, Enna's father traveled beyond the wildwood to the realm of mystings (monstrous creatures) and stole a precious stone to protect his daughter. The Telling Stone warns whoever possesses it when mystings are near. Twenty years later, inquisitive Enna wears the stone daily to protect herself but also to study the deadly creatures it warns of. After being stalked by several mystings, all attempting to retrieve the stone, Enna summons a large humanoid mysting, Maekallus, complete with razor sharp tail and a massive horn protruding from his forehead. She strikes up a bargain with him, but such bargains are never as simple as they seem. Trickster Maekallus ends up trapped in the human world, slowly dying and tied to Enna. Enna can save Maekallus with a reenergizing kiss, giving up part of her soul in the process. Inextricably linked, Enna and Maekallus demonstrate that they both are more than they initially seemed. In this variation on Beauty and the Beast themes, Holmberg ("Paper Magician" series) zeroes in on two isolated heroes, allowing their relationship to gradually progress while they explore their feelings and seek information about the stone. VERDICT This slow-burn fantasy romance with one-of-a-kind worldbuilding is recommended for patient fans of fairy-tale retellings.—Katie Lawrence, Grand Rapids, MI

Library Journal

An Amazon Best Book of the Month: Science Fiction & Fantasy

“…An immersive, dangerous fantasy world. Holmberg draws readers in with a fast-moving plot, rich details, and a surprisingly sweet human-monster romance. This is a lovely, memorable fairy tale.” —Publishers Weekly

“Holmberg ably builds her latest fantasy world, and her brisk narrative and the romance at its heart will please fans of her previous magical tales.” —Booklist

From the Publisher

In a story full of myth and magic flawlessly narrated by Angela Dawe, a young woman puts her soul at risk by bargaining with a monster. As the creature, Maekallus, becomes more human, Enna struggles to release the curse connecting them and let go of her changing feelings toward him. Dawe’s narration draws listeners deep into the tale, keeping them engaged. It’s surprising to realize that only one person performs all of the characters. Dawe uses unique voices, imbuing each character with the traits described within the text. Particularly noteworthy is her voice for Maekallus, which is definitively masculine and significantly different from those of the other characters. Dawe’s performance is nothing short of stunning. She makes this listening experience as magical as the story itself. A.L.S.M. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine

JANUARY 2020 - AudioFile