The Drowned Woods by Emily Lloyd-Jones – Book Review

A diviner on the run, a fae-cursed man, a princess of thieves, and a spymaster embark on a heist to destroy a magical well and stop an evil prince’s plans in this YA fantasy novel inspired by Welsh folklore. This book has been on my reading list for a while and I’m glad to say it did not disappoint.

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Title: The Drowned Woods by Emily Lloyd-Jones

Genre: Fantasy | Young Adult

Published: August 16, 2022

Links: Amazon | Storygraph

Content warnings: Violence, grief, murder, suicidal thoughts, death, survivor’s guilt.

My rating: 4 stars!

Synopsis:

Once upon a time, the kingdoms of Wales were rife with magic and conflict, and eighteen-year-old Mererid “Mer” is well-acquainted with both. She is the last living water diviner and has spent years running from the prince. One day Mer’s old handler returns with a proposition: use her powers to bring down the very prince that abused them both.

The best way to do that is to destroy the magical well that keeps the prince’s lands safe. With a motley crew of allies, including a fae-cursed young man, the lady of thieves, and a corgi that may or may not be a spy, Mer may finally be able to steal precious freedom and peace for herself

My Review

Described as part heist and part dark fairy tale, I went into this book with no expectations and I was pleasantly surprised by how good it was.

Inspired by Welsh Mythology, The Drowned Woods follows a cast of characters who come together to carry out a heist that’ll free them from a wicked prince. There’s action, betrayal, magic, high stakes and a little romance that’s really subtle (which I loved).

Great and well-written characters

The characters really stood out to me in this book. The main characters are well-written and you really feel yourself struggling with them to survive and move past their pasts, even though you don’t agree with all their actions.

Mer who is the last water diviner in a world where magical races (fae) and creatures exist but humans who can use magic are kind of rare. She’s quite powerful, resilient, self-aware and is on the run after she escaped from a life of servitude to a terrible prince.

She comes off as a morally grey character, she’s been through a lot and is not above killing when she’s threatened but there is still a softness to her, a part of her that wishes for peace and a better life, and to an extent, several of the other characters are like that, though some are definitely more twisted than the others.

There were very few things Mer trusted in the world. Among them were her insticts, the strength of the water running beneath the ground, the capacity for human cruelty – and that a person could be judged by how they treated the powerless.

Fane is a human who works for the Tylwyth Teg (fae) and has a bit of magic. Due to this he isolates himself and is sort of pulled into taking part in the heist, along with his cute dog companion, a corgi called Trefor (don’t worry, nothing bad happens to the dog 😊).

Then we have Renfrew, a former spymaster and Mer’s former handler who plans the heist to destroy the magical well and recruits the members of the crew. He’s a somewhat complex character who you never really know what he’s thinking till the very end.

As we progress through the story, we’re introduced to a good number of characters but it never gets overwhelming, and even those who show up briefly leave an impact in this well-oiled story. Though the story is mostly told through Mer and Fane’s point of view, we do get some chapters told through the eyes of other characters and it’s all executed so well.

She lifted her face to the waves. She was a water diviner, an unwitting prisoner, a former spy, and a thief. She’d almost forgotten that little farm girl who had made puddles dance for her siblings.

I also loved the fact that the main characters in this novel are mostly morally grey characters, they aren’t heroes or straight-up villains (at least in the beginning). They have different goals and it somehow all relates to destroying the magical well so that the cruel prince would lose his advantage.

The prince fell flat for me though, we’re told about the terrible things he’s done and plans to do but barely interact with the character and I wasn’t interested in him at all. But this wasn’t so bad as the story is primarily about the crew and their struggles to carry out the heist and I honestly couldn’t get enough of them 😂.

The world of The Drowned Houses

Along the way, we’re introduced to the world of The Drowned Houses – the magical beings, lands and how some of the characters’ magic works. The worldbuilding is done pretty well, it’s not all in your face and is woven well into the story as it progresses.

I loved the writing style of this book, how well it all flowed with no word wasted, and how Welsh mythology was woven into the story. Emily’s ability to weave together elements of myth, magic, and emotion results in a book that is entertaining and heartwarming.

I also loved how the magic of Mer & Fane was explored in this book. As someone who reads a lot of fantasy, magic systems in books tend to blend together after a while but I couldn’t get enough of the scenes where Mer & Fane used their power in this book. You really get to know the advantages and disadvantages of their powers and that it’s not all powerful. I can’t really explain this so you’d have to read the book for yourself to understand this 😉.

The fact that in Welsh mythology corgis were spies for the fairies and they used to ride them into battle was a fun discovery for me.

Since this story is inspired by Welsh mythology, there are several Welsh words present in the story without much of an explanation, but you can sort of guess what they refer to or do a quick Google search to know what they mean and learn more about the folklore.

Lots of action and a fast-paced plot that draws you in

There’s action and several high-stakes fight scenes, even before the heist actually starts. I’d say most of the books explores the characters getting comfortable with each other, walking through the plan, trying to evade capture and exploring their backstories before we do get to the main heist part. And it was just so fun to read in its entirety, at the end I was like nooo I want more of Mer and this world.

There were some pretty brutal scenes which remind you about how harsh the world can be and the fact that several characters aren’t above killing or fighting hard if they’re threatened. There is a little romance in this but it’s so subtle that it doesn’t distract you from the main plot.

A diviner on the run, a fae-cursed man, a princess of thieves, and a spymaster embark on a heist to destroy a magical well and stop an evil prince's plans in this YA fantasy novel inspired by Welsh folklore. Check out my review of The… Share on X

This book explores found family, betrayal, survival, the search for belonging, and you do get a feel of the high stakes as so much could go wrong and they’ve only got one shot at this but it’s not just your typical “anyone can die and so much violence for shock value” heist story.

I mean, it definitely has that vibe at some point but it’s written really intentionally with all the pieces coming together to finally click in place towards the end.

It was an easy read with fast pacing and it’s a book you can finish in a day because of how it draws you in and moves along seamlessly. I honestly didn’t have any issues with this book, it’s a quick, fun, well-written and surprisingly heartwarming book that I’d recommend to fantasy lovers.

If this were an old story, she would beat him. She would find a clever crack in his defenses and bring down the murderer, prove that goodness and decency mattered. But this was not an old folktale; there were no heroes.

Final thoughts

I loved reading this book, it has great characters, good worldbuilding, a good dose of action and it’s one I definitely recommend you check out, especially if you love fantasy books.

This is the first book by Emily Lloyd-Jones I’ve read and I didn’t know what to expect going in but now I’m looking forward to reading more of her books. After I finished reading this book, I found out that there are two more standalone fantasy books set in the same world with different sets of characters so I’d definitely be checking that out.

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Recommended for those who enjoy reading:

• fantasy books with a mix of an action and character-driven story line,
• fantasy books with little or no romance
• books with morally grey characters and multiple POVs
• standalone fantasy books instead of series

Rec’s corner: Here are some fantasy books with similar themes to The Drowned Houses

Chat time!

📌 Have you read The Drowned Houses? How was it for you?

📌 Have you read any books recently that has characters embarking on a heist?

Let me know in the comments 😊.

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