Feast of the Mother (2019)
Written by: Miranda Honfleur, Nicolette Andrews
Series: Witch of the Lake #1
Genre: Fantasy/Young Adult
Pages: 308 (Paperback)
Publisher: Self-published
Why I Chose It: Earlier this year, I read and enjoyed Miranda Honfleur’s fantasy romance, No Man Can Tame. When the sequel was delayed, I decided to check out her other work and eventually settled on Feast of the Mother, which she co-wrote.
The premise: A witch. A murder. A curse…
Beneath the murky waters of the lake, an ancient being slumbers, and Brygida is its servant. Kept sheltered in the woods by her mothers from the nearby village, Brygida has never had so much as a friend — until the day she meets a charming stranger painting by the lake. He invites her to the village’s harvest feast, but her taste of the forbidden ends with a murder.
Called into service for the first time, Brygida must take up her ancestral duty as Reaper of Death and solve the murder within three days. If she brings the murderer to the lake on the third day, the being she serves will be sated. If she fails, Brygida herself will be drawn beneath the murky waters, and the village massacred. There’s only one problem: the main suspect is her charming painter, Kaspian.
As Brygida investigates, the dangers are many and answers few. The village and her family stand against her, and with time running short, the lake demands a price. Brygida believes Kaspian is innocent, but can she stake her life on it, when failure means condemning the rest of the village, and being dragged into the deep…?
This review is spoiler free
Discussion: I’m a sucker for genre mashups. If you enjoy both genres alone, then why not bring them together? This is something that Feast of the Mother does well, but not in the way I was expecting. From the summary above, and my experience with one of the authors, I was gearing up for another fantasy romance. But while romance does play a notable role, the main focus of Feast of the Mother is as a police procedural, and I believe the book is stronger for it. Some of my favorite parts of the novel feature Brygida questioning people and trying to piece together the mystery in front of her.
Born to a family of witches, sworn to enact justice for victims of murder, Brygida struggles with the life expected of her. Interestingly, this has less to do with her role as Reaper of Death, and more to do with the isolation that comes with such a position. Brygida desires a more carefree existence, like the people of the village. But of course, the one night she sneaks away to attend a local festival, tragedy strikes. A young girl has been raped and murdered, and the main suspect is Kaspian, a young artist who Brygida can’t help but be drawn to.
Kaspian is another character fighting against the plan laid out for him. As the scion of an influential family, he is burdened with an arranged marriage to a girl he sees as more as a little sister than a future wife. When he is accused of murder, this struggle only deepens, as his loved ones continue to try to orchestrate his life. Because this plot consumes so much of both Kaspian and Brygida’s time, there is less of a chance to develop the romance between them. This actually didn’t bother me too much, as it’s the first book in a series, and there will be clearly more time for that in future books.
Another strong element to this book is its worldbuilding. Inspired by Honfleur’s own Slavic roots, the many magical creatures that populate the background are both unique, and, at times, creepy. But because they are so unique, it would have helped to have a glossary in the back of the book that explained some of the more Slavic-inspired elements. The book does have a very handy pronunciation guide though, as some of the characters names are likely to be unfamiliar to an English-speaking audience.
It’s also worth mentioning that this book explores the consequences of sexual assault. There are no real graphic scenes, but along with the murder victim, there are multiple characters who are victims of assault, both sexual and otherwise, and one character in particular who is quite frank about their experience. Because I know some people don’t like to be surprised by that type of content, I just wanted to give a quick trigger warning.
In conclusion: If you’re looking for a young adult fantasy with unique world building, a compelling murder mystery plot, and a side order of romance, then Feast of the Mother is an excellent choice. I really enjoyed this series starter, and plan on picking up the second book in the series, Fate of the Demon, very soon.
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