Ultimate Blog Tour: The Whistlers In The Dark by Victoria Williamson (Review)

Hi Bookish friends!!!

Welcome to my spot on another exciting Ultimate Blog Tour with Dave @The_WriteReads/@WriteReadsTours and the gang!

For today’s post, I’m excited to share my thoughts on another great book from Victoria Williamson, The Whistlers In Dark!!!

Also a big thank you to Dave and Scotland Street Press for sending me a physical copy of the book for this tour!!

So, without further ado let’s dive right in!!

About The Book:

Genre: Middle Grade, Historical Fantasy

Length: 200 Pages

Publishing: 21st September 2023

Amazon (UK) || Goodreads 

Synopsis/Blurb:

Scotland, 158 AD, is a divided country.

On one side of the Antonine Wall, thirteen-year-old Felix is trying to become a good Roman soldier like his father. On the other, twelve-year old Jinny is vowing revenge on the ‘metal men’ who have invaded her Damnonii tribe’s homeland. At the Damnonii’s sacred circle of standing stones, her planned attack on Felix goes badly wrong, awakening a legend that threatens to bring fire and destruction down on them all.

Can Jinny and Felix overcome their differences and soothe the stones back to sleep before it’s too late?

My Thoughts:

Victoria does it again with another fun read!

The Whistler In The Dark is a historical fantasy middle-grade set in second-century Scotland that follows 12-year-old Jinny and 13-year-old Felix, who are both very different, but both are struggling to fit in.

This is another well-written middle grade, and like Victoria’s previous books, she covers some great themes, which include grief, overcoming anger, forgiveness, and friendship. All the themes are expertly interwind with the character-driven story.

I did find the pacing a little slow in places, especially at the start, but once it got going, I was gripped.

The story is told through alternating perspectives from Jinny and Felix, and I enjoyed this as I felt we got to know both of the characters. I did struggle with the dialogue at first, but it didn’t take too long to use it.

The characters are well developed, and I loved how different Jinny and Felix and I loved watching their friendship grow. My favourite character was Jinny. I loved how passionate she is to achieve what she sets her mind to, even if some of her decisions are impulsive and often get her into trouble.

This was another great read, and I can’t wait to pick up Victoria’s next book Feast of Ashes!!

My Rating

💙💙💙💙

About the Author:

Victoria Williamson is an award-winning author who grew up in Scotland surrounded by hills, books, and an historical farm estate which inspired many of her early adventure stories and spooky tales. After studying Physics at the University of Glasgow, she set out on her own real-life adventures, which included teaching maths and science in Cameroon, training teachers in Malawi, teaching English in China and working with children with additional support needs in the UK. Victoria currently works part time writing KS2 books for the education company Twinkl and spends the rest of her time writing novels, and visiting schools, libraries and literary festivals to give author talks and run creative writing workshops.

Victoria’s previous novels include The Fox Girl and the White Gazelle, The Boy with the Butterfly Mind, Hag Storm, and War of the Wind. She has won the Bolton Children’s Fiction Award 2020/2021, The YA-aldi Glasgow Secondary School Libraries Book Award 2023, and has been shortlisted for the Week Junior Book Awards 2023, The Leeds Book Awards 2023, the Red Book Award 2023, the James Reckitt Hull Book Awards 2021, The Trinity School Book Awards 2021, and longlisted for the ABA South Coast Book Awards 2023, the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize 2020, and the Branford Boase Award 2019.

Her latest novel, The Pawnshop of Stolen Dreams, is a middle grade fantasy inspired by classic folklore. Twenty percent of the author royalties for this book are donated to CharChar Literacy, an organisation working to improve children’s literacy levels in Malawi.

You can find out more about Victoria’s books, school visits and upcoming events on her website: www.strangelymagical.com

Twitter || Goodreads (Authors Page) 

And before I go, if you’re interested in joining in with some amazing blog tours and being part of the gang just head over to Twitter and get in touch with the awesome Dave @The_WriteReads or visit the website The Write Reads. Trust me you won’t be disappointed!!!

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You can also find me on: Twitter || Instagram ||Goodreads

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