Where the sea meets the shore, where forest meets field, where mountain meets sky. Edges. Boundary lands. Betwixt-places where the fruits of life clash, fuse, create, and thrive. Edges are the most alive places on earth, the most fertile places within our minds.

The Hedge Witch is a novella by Cari Thomas, set in the world of her Threadneedle trilogy. It takes place the summer before the events of Threadneedle, and only features one character from the main trilogy; Anna’s friend Rowan. So if you haven’t read the other books, you can dive into this one without needing any prior knowledge. If you have read them, then you absolutely need to pick this one up. It doesn’t follow the Threadneedle story at all, but if you enjoyed Thomas’ world of magic, and if you loved Rowan as much as I did, then you will love The Hedge Witch.

This story is a wonderful, warming, coming-of-age tale. Rowan has been sent to the back-end of nowhere, somewhere deep in the Welsh countryside, to stay with her Aunt Winnie for the summer. Winnie is a hedge witch; and despite Rowan’s own unorthodox family, being members of the Wort Cummings grove, this is still considered somewhat eccentric. Rowan’s concerns involve the upcoming year in school, her social standing in said school (or painful lack therefore to be more specific) and her uncertainty over her own magical ability. The last thing she thinks she needs is to spend the summer getting dragged through hedges with zero chances to meet anyone interesting.

What Rowan discovers instead is a small town in which mysterious events keep happening, which are most definitely freaking out her Aunt no matter what she says to the contrary. A trio of new magical friends who have a tangled dynamic. And a grudging respect for hedges.

Despite this being novella, it felt like a full-length novel; Thomas packs so much heart and growth into this story that it’s perfectly satisfying. It doesn’t have the darkness of Threadneedle and Shadowstitch, the stakes aren’t quite as high, and Rowan doesn’t experience the hell that poor Anna gets put through, but it still feels like a great accompaniment to these books. It’s a glimpse into this world, to see how other witches live in this world, without feeling too far removed. It’s like that feeling of finishing a book and missing the world, and being able to return to it without the stress and drama of the main story. In that sense, it was quite cosy. It’s not all worldbuilding though, as Rowan’s navigating of family ties and new friendships, of solving a mystery, is a brilliantly plotted story that I loved following.

I think my favourite character had to be Aunt Winnie. She has bluntness to her I just adored; she didn’t get any of Rowan’s jokes, and sarcasm just soared over her head. Her hedge seems her number one priority, but it turns out she has as much to learn from Rowan as she does to teach her. Which brings me to Thomas’ representations of magic, too. This is a story about witches, of course, and fair play to Thomas she gives you your money’s worth. This story is packed full of magic, just like her others, but with different languages again to what we’ve seen before. As well as hedge magic (which is wild and difficult work, the personification of the hedge is just wonderful), there’s the absolutely gorgeous moon garden, and there’s dream magic. There’s even magic mushrooms.

This only took me two days to read but it left such a mark on my heart! It’s an impressive display of Thomas’ versatility and range, to be able to tell a completely different kind of story whilst keeping such a strong sense of relevance. If you want a taste of Cari Thomas’ world, but have been put off by the darkness of Threadneedle, then please try this one. Thomas is a wonderful writer, and this story glows with heart; it’s perfect for anyone looking for a light, magical read.

The Hedge Witch is available now. You can order your copy HERE