Moorea Corrigan's fantastical Thistlemarsh is set squarely in a 1919 England marked as much by Faerie magic--and its sudden disappearance--as by the brutalities of World War I.
Against this backdrop, a young woman named Mouse is summoned back to her uncle's estate upon his death, where she is issued both an inheritance and a challenge: Thistlemarsh Hall, a Faerie-blessed manor house in the English countryside now in disrepair, must be fully restored within a month in order to secure her inheritance and the title of Lady Dewhurst. While she cares not a whit for the house or title, the bequest includes enough income to keep her brother, gravely injured at the front and with no remembrance of her, in good care for the rest of his days--and that's all the motivation the scrappy Mouse needs to try everything in her power to secure the inheritance. But when a Faerie lord named Thornwood enters her garden--the first Faerie appearance in more than a century--Mouse sees a possibility of success.
Despite every warning in Faerie lore, Mouse agrees to bargain with Thornwood. When the house seems to push back against Thornwood's magic, however, the two are forced to work ever more closely together to accomplish their goal of restoration (and inheritance).
In Thistlemarsh, Corrigan has crafted a singular novel--parts cozy, Fae-inspired fever dream, enemies-to-lovers romance, historical fiction--with a sense of place so vivid that Thistlemarsh Hall often feels like a character unto itself. --Kerry McHugh