Thistlemarsh by Moorea Corrigan

TL;DR: Historical Fairy Fantasy with a splash of romance
Source: NetGalley, thank you so much!

Plot: Mouse needs help to restore her family’s manor before it leaves the family, and to do it she makes a fairy bargain.
Characters: I loved Mouse and Thornwood. The side characters were great, but these two leads stole my heart.
Setting: Thistlemarsh became it’s own person in this, I could see a lot of the house as I was reading which helped so much.
Fantasy: This is one of those books I’d say is just Fantasy. It may have a dash of romance but ultimately this is a fantasy about the Fair Folk and bargains.

Summary:

Welcome to Thistlemarsh—a ramshackle estate where an impoverished orphan and a beguiling Faerie collide in an enchanting novel of love, revenge, and ruin.

In the wake of World War I, the world is a decidedly unmagical place for Mouse Dunne. She once dreamed of becoming a Faerie anthropologist, but with one telegram, her world shattered. At the Battle of the Somme, her cousin’s body disappeared into the mud, and her brother was left with debilitating shell shock. It was time, she knew, to put aside childish dreams.

When Mouse receives news that her uncle has left her the Faerie-blessed Thistlemarsh Hall, a dilapidated manor in the English countryside, she must leave her brother’s side and return to her childhood home to claim her birthright. But there is a catch in her uncle’s will: If Mouse does not rehabilitate the crumbling house in one month’s time, she will forfeit her inheritance and any hope of caring for her brother.

It quickly becomes clear it’s impossible to repair the manor in the allotted time, until a mysterious Faerie appears with a proposition. He offers to restore Thistlemarsh…for a price. Mouse knows better than to trust a Faerie—especially one so insufferably handsome and arrogant—but she is out of options. There are dark and magical forces at work in the house, and Mouse must confront the ghosts of her past and the secrets of her heart or lose Thistlemarsh, and herself, in the process.

Thoughts:

Historical Fairy Fantasy books don’t always hit. They have to have a certain spark that’s missing frequently. They often lean too far on the romance and not on the characters or setting. Thistlemarsh did NOT have that problem. This was fantastic. I even found myself wondering, are they going to get together on page? I could feel the chemistry, it was hinted at. But the focus here was the house and the puzzle.

This is a great atmospheric read. The house has it’s own personality, alongside our characters who have fantastic stories as well. Mouse felt true to her history, a former nurse and someone who struggled with her childhood at the house. Meanwhile Thornwood gave me Howl vibes, with the feral fairy traits he needed to come off perfectly chaotic and morally suspect at times.

The setting, story, and characters came together perfectly for me. I loved reading this and I couldn’t wait to get back too it any time I had to put it down. The climax was long, but perfectly tuned, and I adored where the story went. I really can’t recommend this enough.