Caroline Llewellyn

I have been waiting with bated breath for the release of “The Butterfly Witch” and was over the moon to be able to be an ARC Reader, and all I can say is, this book is all I could have hoped for and more! I am a huge fan of E L Williams’ writing, and this book slots in perfectly alongside all her other wonderful stories. Although it is a Standalone, it does take place in her Ethereal World setting, which I was so happy about because I honestly just want to live inside this world all the time! It is a place filled with delightful characters, beautiful scenery, animals with as much personality as their humans…And best of all, magic (and a cup of tea!) is always just within reach. The main characters, Gwen and Dan, are so well formed and three-dimensional, you really feel like you know them as soon as you meet them on the page. My heart raced alongside Gwen’s every time the butterflies made their appearance, and every time she had to fight her way out of a sticky situation. I was behind Dan every step of the way on his journey, and loved seeing his friendship with Clemmy the dog blossoming! The cast of supporting characters are a delightful mix of warm, funny, caring and sometimes terrifying people who all feel equally as real as our heroes. I especially loved Gwen’s Nain (such a wonderfully strong, caring woman!) and Walt (who I just wanted to sit and chat to for hours and hours!) And I was overjoyed to see some characters from other books making appearances too! The story is set in various periods in the past, and at intervals it jumps forward into different timelines which I found really interesting and added to the mysterious feel to some of the story line. You’re really kept guessing at what might have happened in the past to bring these characters to their ‘now’, as well as the possibilities of what could happen in their futures, right up until the last minute which I found really exciting! This leads to some achingly suspenseful moments, and many many genuinely exciting twists and turns. All in all I absolutely loved reading this book and I would highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys a bit of magic, time travel, witchcraft, period drama, romance, suspense, humour and good dollops of descriptions of the beautiful Welsh countryside!