Nightshade and Oak by Molly O'Neill #joyce

Nightshade and Oak by Molly O'Neill #joyceAn Iron Age goddess must grapple with becoming human in this delightful historical fantasy of myth and magic from the author of Greenteeth. When Mallt, the goddess of death, is accidently turned human by a wayward spell, she finds she's ill equipped to deal with the trials of a mortal life. After all, why would a goddess need to know how to gather food or light a fire? Unable to fend for herself, she teams up with Belis, warrior daughter of Boudicca,

Pang reimagines eating bitter as a philosophy to confront her own challenges: burning out

A-list movie star lotteries off the entirety of his mega-million blockbuster salary to a member of the general viewing public before taking up with a much younger model

Now a powerful enemy is closing in

though this meant deceiving those closest to him

swinging from our pubs and dancing through our streets

but Tomás is unexpectedly sent off course by an unsettling encounter in a copse

Go visit him

the protagonist is confronted with social conventions when she falls into a mental illness that resembles the author's own reality

Or that some monkeys floss their teeth using bird feathers

a boho dive-bar with a lively history

these folds build up to create a stunning 3D Christmastree

A remarkable account of the terrible climax of the Second World War in Asia