Hallowmere: In the Serpent's Coils

Reader reviewed by Lucy

It is 1865 and the civil war had just ended. Corrine wakes up and is suprised to find out that she is at her uncle's house. She and her mother both suffered from swamp fever, which killed Corrine's mother. Corinne's father had previously disappeared in battle, so Corrine has no place to live but with her uncle, who is nearly a stranger to her. On top of her tragic loss, Corrine has been plagued by visions and nightmares of faeries of which she does not understand the meaning. Certain occurances lead to her unvle sending her away to Falston Manor. However, she is not relieved of her visions and nightmares her, in fact they get worse. Corrine quickly realizes that strange things are at hand at Falston Manor. Soon, she finds herself trying to figure out the big puzzle her life has become, from witches to the Fey to mysterious letters, to the disappearance of girls from the school, to the Unhallowed and much more. How do all these things come together? Who is good and who is bad? And most importantly, who can Corrine trust?

I enjoyed this book a lot. The plot moved quickly and there was suspense from the very beginning. I loved how you didn't know who was good and bad until the end, when everything suddenly fit and made sense. Surprisingly, I learned a lot from this book because it takes place right after the civil war and often mentions information about the time period. I can't wait for the next book in the series!

Reader reviewed by Jessica

Corrine's parents both died in the Civil War. Now during the Reconstruction, Corrine somehow finds herself sent to Falston Manor-a girl's school. She also begins dreaming disturbing things. Before Corrine even realizes it she is caught up in a supernatural mystery-one that could take her friends.....and her own.....life.

I REALLY liked this book. I hadn't heard about them until a publicist at Mirrorstone pointed them out to me.As all of my faithful readers know, I am a real big fan of historical fiction. I am also a big fan of fantasy's and mysteries. So this book was like a marriage of all 3 subjects.Ms. Trent is a wonderful writer-very vivid-but not to the point where you forget what a character was doing. Being a history Buff-I found the book to be very accurate but without loosing the feel of a mystic.

In Conclusion: A wonderful read for anyone-there's a little bit of everything in it and it has a wonderful cliff-hanger. I don't know if I will be reviewing the next 3 books of the series(and the ones succeeding those 3) but......I would LOVE to. This is a wonderful book and I encourage everyone to go and pick a copy up.

Reader reviewed by the book muncher

In the Serpents Coils is a wonderful new fantasy book that I read just a little while ago. It is filled with disaster, secret love letters, confusion, secret meetings, and the mysterious Fey.

At the beginning of the story, Corrine is sent to live with her uncle. There, she finds out that her mother is dead, and she has her first encounter with the people under the hawthorn bush. It seems like the hawthorn people are helping her, by curing her of her illness, but something isnt quite right.

By helping the hawthorn people, Corrine is sent away, although she isnt quite sure why. Throughout the book, there are a lot of secrets held by the adults, which often lead to trouble. There is more trouble in the form of a boy names Rory. Soon, Corrine doesnt know who to trust. This leads to even more disaster.

I found this book interesting and easy to read. It was also very educational because it takes place right after the civil war came to a close. The mystery and secrets involved held me intrigued until the end of the story. I cant wait for the sequel, By Venoms Sweet Sting, to be published. I would recommend this to any fantasy readers who havent found any new and good fantasy books to read, because this is a fantastic choice.