More sirens, spells and secret magic in this delightful sequel to Like A Charm.

Whatever you do, don’t read Like A Curse before you read Like A Charm (below).

Like A Curse continues the story of Ramya Knox, a young witch.

Here’s the blurb on the back:

Stuck in Loch Ness while Edinburgh falls under the control of a terrifyingly powerful Siren, Ramya Knox is frustrated. She’s supposed to be learning magic from her Aunt Opal, but that isn’t going as smoothly as she’d hoped. As she pushes to rescue her Hidden Folk friends in the city, long-buried secrets come to light and legends come to life.

Ramya knows she’s different; she knows she’s a witch. But now she must learn the true meaning of her powers… before all she loves is lost.

McNicoll continues her run of successful children’s novels with Like A Curse, following her multi award-winning debut A Kind of Spark (which was adapted into a BBC TV series this year), Show Us Who Are, and Like A Charm.

Here we have a story full of family secrets, magical creatures, special powers, neurodiverse characters, and epic supernatural battles in Edinburgh. I defy anyone not to enjoy this.

I particularly loved the thrill of finding a reference to A Kind of Spark in this book!