Regular visitors will know that I’m a big fan of Elle McNicoll.

I loved her debut, A Kind of Spark, and have followed her career ever since, quickly reading her second novel Show Us Who You Are and eagerly anticipating her third, Like A Charm.

Well, Like A Charm is finally here and I’ve spent this week savouring the story.

I had to pace myself so I didn’t finish it too quickly.

Here’s the blurb on the back:

Edinburgh is a city filled with magical creatures. No one can see them…except Ramya Knox.

As she is pulled into her family’s world of secrets and spells, Ramya sets out to discover the truth about the Hidden Folk with only three words of warning from her grandfather: Beware the Sirens.

Plunged into an adventure that will change everything, Ramya is about to learn that there is more to her powers than she ever imagined.

Like Ramya, Elle McNicoll is on a mission. Unlike Ramya, McNicoll’s mission is grounded in reality rather than magic.

Elle McNicoll is dedicated to producing children’s fiction with neurodiverse characters at the heart of her stories. A Kind of Spark stars an autistic girl; Show Us Who You Are centres around an autistic girl and a boy who has ADHD; the main character in Like A Charm has dyspraxia, like McNicoll herself.

The Sunday Times calls Like A Charm “a wildly imaginative world of secrets and spells” and chose it as it’s Book of the Week.

Ramya has a special ability to see through the disguise worn by magical creatures (such as vampires and sprites) which prevents them from being seen by humans. Her grandfather leaves her a book which takes Ramya on an unexpected journey around the hidden magic of Edinburgh, while at the same time uncovering secrets from within her own family.

Fantastic stuff and highly recommended!