The trees are practically dripping with new life, the wildflowers are popping up everywhere you look, and the warm breezes beckon you outside to bask in those long, lazy days. Yep, spring is giving way to summer's glorious embrace - and if you ask me, there's no better season for immersing yourself in fae-touched tales full of lush mysteries and magic.
So grab a cozy spot in a sun-dappled clearing or your backyard hammock (iced tea optional but highly encouraged!). We've rounded up five reads that'll spirit you away to enchanted forests, bewitched small towns, and the emerald heart of nature's most seductively sinister secrets. Consider this your trail map into the season's strange adventures...just mind where those winding paths may lead!
The Wood Wife by Terri Windling
When a young woman flees her 19th-century Arizona homestead and abusive husband, she seeks refuge in the ancient forests of the Southwest. There she's initiated into the timeless, primordial world of the Wood Wife - an elemental spirit who emerges every spring to renew the woodlands. Windling blends Native American legends with fairy-tale whimsy.
The Nature of Witches by Rachel Griffin
For centuries, the women of an occult Philadelphia family have practiced an elemental magic over turning seasons and the wilderness. But they've hidden their witchery after a tragic mistake. When a terrifying event sparks the magic's return, two estranged sisters must rebuild their powerful bonds to the earth before it's too late. Vividly enchanting.
When the Moon Was Ours by Anna-Marie McLemore
As two Pakistani-American transgender teens grow closer, they unravel an intoxicating decades-old magic surrounding a rose-tree ring of moons in their Virginia neighborhood. Haunting injustices and generational pain intertwine with McLemore's lyrical exploration of identity, love, and the power of storytelling.
The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow
In the suffragist era, Eastwood women have one last chance to reclaim their suppressed magic before it fades forever. But the witch's path is tangled with ancient forces, bitter feuds, and family secrets rooted deep in New Salem. Harrow expertly braids rich historical detail, dark fairytale whimsy, and folklore-laced feminism.
These Fleeting Shadows by Kate Alice Marshall
In a secluded British village hiding ancient roots, young Helen's first love is overshadowed by rumors her family bears a sinister curse from the surrounding forest. As strange events escalate, her sense of reality begins to twist until nothing is as it seems. An enthralling, thought-provoking foray into psychological Gothic territory.
Lose yourself in the verdant mysteries of spring morphing into summer's strange adventures. With intricately woven elements of mythology, folklore, and nature's untamed power, these tales promise thrills wherever your trail may lead.
What alluringly eerie, whimsically haunting novels will you be escaping into this season? We'd love to hear about any gems calling to your darker naturalistic side!