Review: Spellraiser by Tim Hawken

Posted September 26, 2022 by Stephanie in 4 Stars, Fantasy, Review, Young Adult / 7 Comments

 

Title: Spellraiser
Author: Tim Hawken
Illustrator: Sofia Behnke
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Find it on:Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository
Rating: 4/5★

Saint Lucius’ Secondary College. Or as I called it, Lucifer’s. Hell on earth.

Society’s rich roses enjoyed a first-class education here. Facilities second to none. Teachers trained to bring forth the best.

Then, there were the thorns – me and Meg. The poor on scholarships. Teased mercilessly as second-class citizens.

Mostly, we kept our heads down, letting the elite enjoy their 80s Eden of perms and perfume.

If we stuck to the library and didn’t try to move up the vine, all was tolerable. Just.

Until the roses started turning up dead, and everyone at school thought that I’d done it.

Spellraiser is an experimental YA fantasy novelete, threaded with mystery, murder, magic & possession, all accompanied by illustrations from the incredible Sofia Behnke.

“A dark and clever YA delight…” – Coffee, Books and Magic

Spellraiser by Tim Hawken was a YA fantasy right up my alley. With its unique format of 100 hundred chapters of exactly 100 words, it was so fun to read. It also had some amazing illustrations by Sofia Behnke making it even more of a page-turner!

This is the story of Lily, who along with her best friend Meg are outsiders at their school, Saint Lucius Secondary College, because they got in on scholarships. But at least they have each other. Then students start turning up dead and everyone thinks Lily did it. Determined to clear her name, she and Meg uncover a whole new and dark world hidden from everyone. And that’s just the beginning of it.

Short chapters really are my jam and that once again got comfirmed while I was reading this book. I always feel like I read much more faster and much more easily when the chapters are not very long. Now this is a story where each chapter has only 100 words so these are very short chapters and the book can be easily read in one sitting.

A murder mystery combined with magic and possession, Spellraiser by Tim Hawker makes for the perfect read for spooky season.

 

 

About the author:

Tim’s first novel, Hellbound, was born while on the road, written on airplanes and in hotel rooms. The book was discovered on an online writer’s forum by Dangerous Little Books author CJ Werleman (God Hates You, Hate Him Back), who immediately recommended it to his publisher. Hellbound has since been followed by sequels, I Am Satan and Deicide.

Tim has since won the AHWA ‘Flash Fiction’ Story of the Year twice (2013, 2020) and has been shortlisted for an Australian Shadows Award. He has recently contributed to best-selling books such as Dear Santa, Dear Dad, and Dear Mum, plus released a literary fiction novel under the pen name T.S. Hawken.

To get frequent updates about Tim and his work you can sign up to his newsletter here, or follow along on Instagram where he posts a 100-word, art-inspired story most days (@tim_hawken).

Website | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads

 

Find the illustrator, Sofia Behnke on:

Twitter | Instagram | Redbubble | Goodreads

 

7 responses to “Review: Spellraiser by Tim Hawken

  1. Oh, I love the sound of this one. Not just the blurb, but also the fact there are short chapters of exactly 100 words, that is so creative! Great review, thanks for sharing~ This one is going on the list.

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