This historically mystical and wistful novel, folklore and myths are exchanged for a historical adventure, inspired by the Battle of Hastings and King Harold (who is believed to be buried in the real abbey) mixed with the magical narrative of young restless witch Isobel. The historical elements of this story being new, intriguing and climatic developments to the series.
In the third instalment of the White Witch of Spiton series, Isobel and Holly find a enchanted coin in the haunted abbey grounds, that sends Isobel back in time to 1066, the year of King Harold and the Battle of Hastings. When she lands in the last, the king mistakes the young witch and her gifts for a lucky messenger, sent to him by the gods themselves. Harold believes these gods were the keepers of the Stones of Destiny, that cannot fall into the wrong hands.
A new challenge leading to challenges, scarifies and risky consequences sees Isobel step into a role outside her comfort zone, as she befriends Harolds son Edmund and wonders if she could make small changes to history, but conflicted about the consequences it could have in the future, despite how easy and tempering it is for Isobel to change History. As Isobel’s friends strives to find her and come to her aid in the final battle of Hastings, Isobel must learn to trust herself and gifts until she can rejoin the others, if she can that is.
The Stones of Destiny has all the elements of a dual narrative between time, time travelling shenanigans and historical fiction, as Isobel is forced to figure out her situation for herself and protect the king and the stones, whilst figuring out a way back to her own time. This dramatic, overwhelming and unpredictable race against the last and future, reveals new sides to Isobel’s character.
Despite the intense tension rising nature of the high stakes in Hastings and Isobel’s quest to find her way back to her own century, a heartfelt sub plot is played out in between the main narrative. Isobel’s mother comes to find peace in the events and magic that led to her fathers death and slowly but surely begins to embrace and share in her daughters and her own pathways as a gifted witch.
This next part of the White Witch of Spiton series marks a key change in the series as Isobel is now a teenage witch, and is left on her own (in the last) with her growing powers for the first time, and must figure out how to do things on her own, whilst reserving the past and racing to get back to the future. It also gives the chance for other female characters such as Holly, Lilith and Diana to shine as they cope with the abbey and in trying to work out the meaning and explanation for Isobel’s disappearance into the past.
The historical elements provide a new perspective to the true to life inspiration and origins behind the new series and provides a new opportunity to delve deeper into characters development and provides different darker stories for them, for a fanatical effect for readers to devour and delight in.
You can purchase the The White Witch of Spiton and the Stones of Destiny and the rest of the books in the series, on Amazon; here:
The White Witch and the Serpent of Anata
The White Witch and the Book of Dreams
The White Witch and the Stones of Destiny
The White Witch and the Goddess of the Moon
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