Nicki Thornton Books

When a suspicious visitor arrives on Sleeford Island, Veena Vale is the only one who doesn’t fall for his charms. She senses that something is very wrong and believes that magic is involved. Eventually, cracks start to appear and it’s up to Veena and her friends to save their island home. She seeks out the help of Nightshade the talking cat and Hetty, a witch. They discover that an ancient curse was reactivated by a lightning strike and they must figure out a way to stop it and their charing visitor Scott, for things to begin to get back to how they should be.

It was very refreshing to see how these children were so determined to save their home and stay together. They were willing to do anything. This showed resilience and how much they cared about their home and each other.

I love this series of books. Each one just gets better and better and the world-building is brilliant. It was easy to picture sitting on the island next to the river, watching the boats come and go. I love any book that involves magic and this one is superb in that it is just magical enough without needing to frighten any younger readers. The mystery elements are also highly enjoyable.