Ravensong

January 23, 2023
In tiny Newgrange Harbor, also known as Massachusetts’s “Secret Salem,” 17-year-old Neve Morgan is the youngest in a triad of reincarnating sister-goddesses known as the Morrigan, who are tasked with preventing demons from entering the world via a portal to hell. As much as she yearns to battle, though, she’s not yet 18, and is therefore “stuck in the bullshit liminal space between humanity and divinity,” separated from her powers, the memories of her former lives, and the older sisters determined to protect her. Worse, if she dies before reaching adulthood, the event will break the cycle of magic that brings the trio back, leaving the world unguarded. Neve nevertheless persists, training and fighting while maintaining her prickly reputation at school. When she encounters transfer student Alexandria Abbott during a battle with a demon one night, she and Alexandria become tentative school friends, in turn attracting others into a diverse friendship circle. As Neve and Alexandria fall for one another, the demon attacks upon the town intensify, leading to a terrifying revelation about the Morgan sisters’ true origin. Twining Irish mythology into solid worldbuilding and plenty of action scenes, Fay’s appealing, Buffy-tinged debut, a duology starter, offers up rich emotional interplay as perpetually snarky Neve slowly reveals her vulnerable side. Protagonists read as white. Ages 12–up. Agent: Patrice Caldwell, New Leaf Literary.