Perfect for fans of Neil Gaiman’s Coraline and Sarah Henning’s Sea Witch, this standalone YA fantasy is a spooky, chilling read that explores grief and loss that follows a teen girl who must fight dangerous fae and ancient gods to break a family curse.

BEYOND THE HAWTHORNE TREE
by Catelyn Wilson
Catelyn Wilson Publishing, August 2022
(via JABberwocky Literary Agency)

Cassie Murdoch is haunted by the black-eyed woman that killed her mother. For her mental health, Cassie is sent away to live with her estranged grandmother on Tide Island. While there, Cassie searches for clues to her mother’s old life and why she fled her home never to return. With help from her grandmother’s secretive errand boy, Henry, Cassie unravels a terrible family secret: a curse that spans generations.

Henry and Cassie follow a series of clues left by her ancestors to find that Tide Island is a dangerous place, the link to a mysterious realm called the Otherworld where the black-eyed woman rules. After learning she is descended from a long line of sea witches, Cassie is plunged into a world of spells and secret ceremonies. Desperate to save herself and her newfound friends from her spiraling control, Cassie searches for a way to break her curse. But in the Otherworld enemies are not as they seem, and Cassie must find whom to trust before those she loves most are lost at the hands of the black-eyed woman.

Catelyn Wilson writes YA Fantasy with a splash of romance. She loves incorporating mythology into her books and firmly believes morally grey is the way to any woman’s heart. She has an unhealthy obsession with Jane Austen, sunscreen, and animals. Catelyn lives in Texas with her husband and mini-Aussie, Churro.