Soon the two women's lives will become inextricably bound together as the legendary trial at Lancaster approaches, and Fleetwood's stomach continues to grow. Time is running out, and both their lives are at stake. I think readers who enjoy historical fiction or books by authors such as Diane Setterfield or Kate Morton may well enjoy Stacy hall novels. The fervour of witch hunting was sweeping across this corner of England and when Alice is accused, Fleetwood makes desperate attempts to save her.

Stacy Hall’s has written a very crisp and beautiful debut and certainly an author that I gad to have add to my favorites list. Is there more to Alice than meets the eye? Fleetwood must risk everything to prove her innocence. As the two women’s lives become intertwined, the Witch Trials of 1612 loom. Time is running out; both their lives are at stake. Only they know the truth. Only they can save each other. Many of the characters in The Familiars are “historical figures” but Stacey Halls goes beyond a fictional recasting of the Pendle witch trials. She deftly “explores the lives and rights of seventeenth-century women, ultimately raising the question: Is witch-hunting really just women-hunting?” The second definition for witch-hunt, taken from Merriam-Webster, may also occur to readers: “the searching out and deliberate harassment of those (such as political opponents) with unpopular views.” Simply substitute the word “religious” for “political.” The Familiars is a riveting story, and although it takes place more than three hundred years ago, it raises issues that are still yet to be resolved. The story to me, is a tale of impressive women and disappointing men, not unlike most stories from history! I loved the unlikely friendship and connection between Fleetwood and Alice that transcended class barriers. I liked the character of Fleetwood and found her to be a really realistic character. She made naive, rash and often immature decisions which further reminds the reader that although she is the mistress of Gawthorpe Hall, she is still a young teenage girl. I enjoyed her character development, from a meek, baby-making machine to a woman determined to use her voice and privileged status to help her friend.She discovers a letter sent to her husband Richard telling him that his wife is not to conceive any more children or she will die during childbirth, she is simply devastated and doesn't know what to do. Heading to the final glyph stone outside of Bronzhaven, the familiars and the seven animals needed to summon the Shifting Fortress encounter a brutal battle between Paksahara's zombie forces and Queen Loranella's troops. They manage to make it to the third glyph stone, and summon the Shifting Fortress. The familiars and a few of their animal friends journey inside to stop Paksahara. After being accosted in the fortress by Dead warriors, the familiars' friends stay behind to fend them off, leaving Aldwyn, Skylar, and Gilbert to continue on. In September 2010, it was revealed that Sony Pictures Animation will adapt The Familiars into a 3D animated feature film, with Doug Sweetland set to direct it. [5] According to the books' authors, the film was scheduled to be released in 2014 but it got cancelled. [6] Fergal Reilly joined Sweetland to co-direct the film, [7] but in 2013, he left to co-direct The Angry Birds Movie. [8] In January 2013, when it was announced that Sweetland will direct a 2015 film for Warner Bros. (that would eventually become Storks from Warner Animation Group in 2016), Sony Pictures Animation responded that " The Familiars is cancelled." [9] Epstein and Jacobson said in September 2013 in an interview. [10]

A beautiful story based on the Pendle witch trials of 1612 makes for a fine debut. 5 stars" * The Sun * The Familiars is an incisive account of the brutal way women were treated by a patriarchal society in thrall to magic and the supernatural. From the king down, a fear of the unknown, of the dark arts, was used as a way to subjugate, villainise and murder women.At the Dreamworld, they meet a realmwalker, who guides them through the world. They pass a castle full of puzzles and set of to the Palace of Dreams. The Familiars is a riveting story, and although it takes place more than three hundred years ago, it raises issues that are still yet to be resolved. A debut to look out for, one of these books that once you start reading, you cannot put down * The Fountain *

Spellbinding, Superbly Written, It Pulled Me In, A Book that Will Stay with Me for a very long time! It's hard to believe this is a debut novel it's superbly written, with Strong Female Lead Characters that were perfectly written and enchanting.

Games

I simply adored all the Witch references and the eerie yet heart breaking storyline, was Compelling yet Poignant.

Halls said: “Nothing excites me more than discovering women’s stories that have been consigned to a dusty drawer of history, and when I came across Urania Cottage, the ‘house of fallen women’, I knew I had to write about it. Rather than a tale centred around the Pendle Witch Trials, it would be truer to say that the trials ran adjacent to the story. I would have enjoyed learning more about the “witches” and indeed about Alice herself, but this story was Fleetwood’s. Similarly, the story mentions “the familiars” a couple of times and hints at it in the mysterious appearance of animals, but these titular entities could have been explored a lot more. The story highlights the dangers of being a woman in the 17th Century where the use of herbs or a disfigured face was enough to be accused of witchcraft. It reminds us how, thankfully, times have changed. Even in life I had been the little ghost, and now I was consigned to death. I held my stomach, and imagined disappearing. It would come soon, no doubt, but it would not be gentle, like the light leaving the sky. It would be painful, and terrifying, and lonely, with no cool hand on my head, no amber eyes willing me calm. There would be a trial, and Alice would die, then I would die, both of us killed in an outbreak of misfortune.’

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To keep herself and unborn child from certain death, Fleetwood hires the midwife of her choosing, a young woman named Alice Grey. Fleetwood knows that Alice’s methods are unconventional, but she is desperate, willing to try anything. But, when Alice is accused of witchcraft, Fleetwood will do whatever it takes to free Alice, but time is of the essence.