Shadow Wrack (Eldritch Manor Book 2) - Kim Thompson

After defeating the forces of evil in Eldritch Manor, Willa must rebuild the manor — and her family.

Can Willa rally her supernatural friends to defeat an invasion from beyond?

After battling and defeating the forces of darkness, Willa is looking forward to a little well-earned peace and quiet. Unfortunately, her recent adventures have given birth to new problems, not the least of which is the task of rebuilding Eldritch Manor, a retirement home for supernatural beings, from the ground up. And no one is behaving themselves: Mab’s fairies have declared war on the dwarf construction crew, Willa’s Mom and Belle are feuding, Baz is running amok, Horace is living in the woods, the phoenix squawks all night long, and there’s never a dragon around when you need one. 

To be perfectly honest, Willa is starting to think the forces of darkness were easier to handle than her family and friends — until those forces start to rise again!

Although it will likely benefit younger readers to check out the first book, the prologue and summary of characters at the beginning of this novel will allow the majority of readers to understand what is happening at the moment in which Shadow Wrack begins. Without prior experience with the characters in the Eldritch Manor world, their various mannerisms and eccentricities can be somewhat overwhelming while attempting to sort out who's who.

Willa is a likeable and sympathetic protagonist who works tirelessly to keep relations between the various supernatural beings as they wait for their new home to be built. There are mysteries galore and Willa is repeatedly confronted by more questions than answers as she tries to untangle the mystery of her own family. Why did her grandma leave? Where did she go? Why won't her mom or dad talk about it? Though there is a seriousness at the core of this novel, Thompson uses humour to diffuse some of the more tense situations.

Readers who enjoy Alice in Wonderland will likely be fans of this book. Alice is thrown into bizarre situations and lands inhabited by eccentric beings from various mythological backgrounds. Willa is similarly thrown into a situation inhabited by characters of diverse mythological origins (fairies, centaurs, half-animal hybrids, and mermaids).

A delightful and engaging mixture of the fantastic and the mundane.

Recommended

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