his novella is interesting because it explicitly raises the question: is Brexit the same thing as the tropes of keeping monsters out with magic? The answer, by the way, is “no,” but it’s useful to have the question raised, as one of the witches deals with the fact that being born in a place isn’t enough to be considered part of it if you have the wrong skin color. ( )

https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/a-long-day-in-lychford-by-paul-cornell/

Third in the series of Lychford books by Paul Cornell, this is a rare case of a fantasy novel addressing Brexit. The magical women of Lychford are dealing with the internal consequences of the referendum, prejudice against foreigners and people of colour, and at the same time an eruption of danger from the much older inhabitants of their space. I see a lot of Lychford fans were not wowed by it, but I found it a thoughtful reflection on difficult political circumstances. ( )

What happened? This novella has nothing of the charm that the previous novella had. I was looking forward to reading the next installment in this series and it took me several times to finish it because I just couldn't find the storyline remotely interesting. Brexit, people that are disappearing, and three witches that find themselves the only ones that can find and bring everything back to normal. The only plus was that at the end did we get some more answers to what is going on, and that there is someone out there with some devious plan.

As you probably can tell was this novella not to my liking, and I hope the next one is better!

I want to thank the publisher for providing me with a free copy through NetGalley for an honest review! ( )

Series Info/Source: This is the third book in The Witches of Lychford series. I borrowed this as an audiobook from the library.

Audiobook Quality (4/5): In general the narration here was well done and is pleasant to listen to. I did have some issues with being able to tell when we were switching character POV. There wasn’t a pause or anything and it would take me a couple sentences to realize I was listening to someone else.

Thoughts: This was by far the weakest book of the series so far and made me decide I won’t be reading more books in the series. The whole premise is that Amber gets really pissed off about Brexit (I know..it’s all a bit random). She gets so angry she shoves through reality weakening the magical borders of Lychford. Now people are falling willy nilly into fairy and it’s up to our three witches to get everyone out.

I am going to admit I was a bit distracted while I listened to this. However, a lot of this didn’t make sense. Judith seems to be fighting dementia but this is never made very clear and is, at points, shrugged off as residual damage from her curse. Amber went off the rails but we don’t really understand why she was able to do so much damage. Lizzie didn’t have much of a role at all.

The story bounces back and forth frequently between the three characters without any notice. I was often confused whose POV I was listening to. In the end I found the plot silly and over-simplified and didn’t enjoy our characters much either. This was the final nail in the coffin for me. I am done with this series.

My Summary (3/5): Overall I did not enjoy this and thought the whole premise and plot were very silly. This didn’t have any of the magical charm of the first couple books. To be honest I didn’t love the first couple books in the series either and this pretty much sealed the deal for me; I will no longer be reading this series. ( )

Paul Cornell tackles the issue of the day in his roundabout manner, and if I didn't think he'd quite hit the mark as I read, I still finished the novella in tears. Just for a change.

Having made lots of comments about how Autumn's magic is informed by logic and science and how much I loved that, Long Day explores what happens when the apprentice witch lets her feelings get the better of her. And in the wake of Brexit, there are lots of feelings running high - and more than enough room for damage to be done that was never intended.

Sound familiar?

Humph.

Another excellent instalment in the Lychford series.

Full review ( )