Beneath A Thousand Skies

Summary:

After watching all Witchgorn’s familiars disappear through a portal, Eva Eclipse has to face the fact that she has lost all her protectorate’s familiars just before they host the magical inter village games, along with her chance at competing for the first time.

With no idea who stole them, and no way to work it out before the games begin, the protectorate might be facing a harmless prank, or something far more nefarious.

Can the village of Witchgorn pull together to get through a competition where they are the only competitors not using magic? And will Eva find more than a chance to compete as her need to find a fake familiar brings an old friendship back into her life.

I will admit right off the bat that I wasn’t initially sure how I would get on with this one. I’ve loved Hannaford’s other books, beautifully dark folklore and emotional, epic fantasies; but cozy fantasy with a cinnamon swirl of humour is not generally my cup of tea. But I was very happy to be proven wrong, because Unfamiliared hit all its cozy fantasy beats, with a lovely side dish of slow burn romance that is woven through, while also continuing with everything that I have loved about Hannaford’s writing so far. And the humour was very much up my street, not overdone, but not subtle either, but there were so many moments that had me grinning to myself and laughing out loud at points… you’ll understand once you get to the goat!!

As with Hannaford’s previous books the worldbuilding is fantastic, and while it is more focused due to the length of the book, we still have the hints and implications of the world beyond the borders of this story. Some are more directly involved, such as playing this village and its Protectorate in a network of similar places and Protectorates; but others are places mentioned, and the idea that this is a small part of a greater whole. Not only does this lay groundwork for future adventures in the world of the Two Chasms series, but it adds breadth and depth to this story, and I do love worldbuilding that leaves with the feeling that if I wandered past the end of the page, I would just find the world of that story continuing to go about its business.

One thing I loved about the Magical Inter village games is how it tapped into the feel of a village or country show, I remember as a kid how those would be the highlight of the year – and while obviously we didn’t have racing golems, or magic in the mix, Hannaford nailed the feeling. It also feeds into one of the major themes and focuses of this novella, which is the idea of community – it’s the feeling of found family but on steroids – as we get to see everyone pulling together, and I think what makes it work so well, is that leadership and guidance and ideas bounce around from person to person and group to group. Every layer of the village from the younger ones who find the who situation an opportunity to do something more, something bigger and have fun doing it, to those who have relied on the Protectorate and want to return the favour, all have a role to play. Which while extolling the power of community and how much strength there can be in that cooperation, also adds weight to the idea of the Protectorate and how much of a loss it would be, because we are getting an intimate showcase of what they are protecting and why they want to protect it.

The games are also where Hannaford shows the real ingenuity behind this story. Firstly, not only are the original events themselves both a lot of fun, but also show not only a range of talents, but are excellent demonstrations of a village Protectorate’s ability to protect and nurture the village; and again, building on that country village feel with some of the tasks. However, where it really shines through is in how the Protectorate and the whole village enact work arounds for each task so they can be done without magic. Firstly, it is a wonderful counter to the argument that magic can fix everything, because Unfamiliared challenges that – and also points out that there is danger in coming to rely to heavily on magic and forgetting how to do without. And secondly the imagination and fun that has gone into the workarounds – and it really does take a village!

Unfamiliared as with most of Hannaford’s books is incredibly character driven, and one of this novella’s greatest strengths – building on from that sense of community, is the characters. We have Eva who our main character and is a fascinating character to follow because in many ways she bridges the gap between the Protectorate to which she now belongs, and the village folk, because as a late blooming witch she lived that part of her life for longer than the others. Having a slightly older character with more life experience, but who is the ‘newbie’ in terms of being a witch makes for a fascinating viewpoint, and also makes for interesting interactions with the Protectorate (especially the younger members who are more experienced witches) and with the townspeople, and of course Royce. I love Eva as a character because she is so relatable on many levels, from being the one to screwed up and having to deal with the fallout of that, to the love she has for Archie, to juggling all the tasks and responsibilities she has, while finding herself with love as a distraction and just a brilliant character all around.

That strength of characterisation is present throughout the cast of characters, to that even the ones that we only have short interactions with leave a lasting impression; and I love how in this village where there are extraordinary people with powers (usually), everybody is extraordinary in their own way. It’s a wonderful demonstration that everybody, with all their quirks and strengths and weakness, has something to bring to the table. The romance is both an essential part of the story but also a side dish to the main story, and definitely a slow burn, but in the way of watching a flower blossom under the sun; and actually, ended up being one of my favourite interactions and part of the story. It was incredibly sweet , and getting to see the relationship develop on a foundation that was already there really made it for me.

Unfamiliared was an immensely fun read, both in terms of the humour but also through the sheer ingenuity of the story, characters and of course the author in bringing all these threads together. A perfect read for anyone who enjoys cozy fantasy, witches and more than a touch of whimsy – especially if you have a soft spot for animals and the crazy antics they can get up to!