Published by Blink
Age Group: Young Adult
Format: Fiction
Genres and Categories: Adventure, Alternative Universe, Coming of Age, Found Family, Deity Characters, Historical Fantasy, Physical Disabilities, Scottish, Scottish Characters, Various Magic
My Rating:
Published on: 17th October 2023
Pages: 384
Disability Representation: Leg Injury
Buy this Book! Amazon UK / Amazon US / Barnes & Noble / Blackwells / Bookshop.org US / Bookshop.org UK / Waterstones / BookBeat Audio
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A sweeping YA fantasy inspired by Scottish history and folklore, Our Divine Mischief takes readers on a journey told in three voices: a determined heroine, an outcast young man, and a wish-granting canine. Their adventure spans an island fishing village to the king’s court in a story about identity, belonging, and the love between a human and her dog.
The Goddess Trial is designed to push young people to their edge and mark their coming of age, but Áila LacInis is ready for whatever it brings. She sets sail from her small fishing village to the island of the goddess Yslet, fully expecting a divine encounter, but what she finds is … nothing at all. The goddess is completely absent, and the only thing on the island is a dirty, mangy dog. Suddenly, everything Áila has ever known and believed is upended and her future becomes shrouded in uncertainty.
Hew already completed the Goddess Trial and received the designation of Unblessed. He is an outcast in the village, until he is tasked with assisting Áila through a series of Ordeals the town elders designed to compensate for her failed Trial. For the first time, he has hope he can make something of his life.
Orail isn’t quite sure who or what she is. She remembers little before Áila’s arrival on the island, and now all she knows is that she’ll never leave Áila’s side. But as she begins to realize and remember, she discovers powers—and an identity—she never could have imagined.
Told from three perspectives, Our Divine Mischief is an epic fantasy inspired by Scottish history and mythology that includes political intrigue, a sweeping love story, and an exploration of the powerful bond between dogs and humans.
This book was provided for free by Black Crow PR, NetGalley and the publishers in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks to the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read this book!
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Our Divine Mischief Review
I picked up Our Divine Mischief by Hanna C. Howard on a whim, the gorgeous cover catching my eye and leading me to a synopsis that intrigued me further. I am so glad it did, as this book is one of my favourite reads of the year! I adored it so much I had to share as much on GoodReads in the form of a temporary review, which is most unlike me!
A unique combination of mythology, history and fantasy, Our Divine Mischief offers a story of adventure, romance and, of course, mischief. The Gods are not only real, but they play an active role in people’s lives. On Fuiscea, the Goddess Yslet shapes lives through the Goddess Trial that villagers take during their youth. Alone, they row out to Yslet’s Isle to meet the Goddess, and return with one of her medallions. The medallion tells them what apprenticeship they have an aptitude for: sea glass for fishers, polished hoof for shepherds, and so on. Then there’s the plain gold medallion given to the unblessed, a gift from Yslet for them to buy passage to find their true path elsewhere.
Aila has finally persuaded her mother to let her take her Goddess Trial, and she’s excited to meet the Goddess. She has dreamed of meeting the Goddess on her Isle and being handed a medallion, of starting an apprenticeship at last. But when she gets to the Isle, it’s dark and empty, no Goddess awaits her. There’s no medallion, not even the dreaded gold one. Instead, she finds a golden-eyed puppy who follows her back to her boat.
Returning to the village with the puppy and no medallion, the leaders have no idea what to make of the results of Aila’s Goddess Trial. After consulting records, they find that Yslet has been absent before, but a dog has never been found in her place. In those situations, the person was tested further to see if they are blessed by the Gods or not. Aila is set five Ordeals. If she passes, she will be allowed to take the Goddess Trial for a second time. If she fails, then it will be taken as a sign that she is unblessed. Offered the chance to take the Ordeals or leave her village, Aila chooses to take the Ordeals rather than leave the only home she has ever known.
Until her status has been confirmed, it’s decided that Aila must live alone on the outskirts of the village. She must be chaperoned if she wishes to visit with any friends and family, and a young, unblessed man, Hew, is given the task of acting as chaperone and seeing to Aila’s needs. As an unblessed, he is an outcast, ignored and dismissed, considered only good enough to shovel peat. His new assignment provides him with the chance to prove that he can do more.
Aila has been kind to Hew from the start, and as her only confidante, the two grow closer. They both begin to notice when strange things start to happen around Orail, the puppy Aila brought back from the Island. It is just the beginning of a series of secrets that will lead the threesome into mystery and danger that reaches further than they could ever imagine.
I love animal companions in books, so there was a fairly good chance that I would fall in love with Our Divine Mischief and Orail. Then Hanna C. Howard had the marvellous idea of making the animal companion a narrator! Orail’s narration is written in poetic verse, and this works very well for an animal’s voice. I’m not a huge poetry fan, so if that’s not your jam either, don’t worry; Howard has judged just the right length for these chapters. They’re whimsical and interesting without being too much poetry for those of us who are not interested in that form.
Our Divine Mischief would be a wonderful book if it just focused on the relationship between the three narrators and mythology. With Scottish history woven into the story, it becomes an incredible book. Telling an alternative tale of history with fantastical and mythological elements, Howard’s writing jumped off the page and captured my heart. I was captivated from start to finish by the lives of Aila, Hew and Orail, and while I’m sad to leave these characters behind, the story wrapped up in a satisfactory fashion.
This is a rich tale with so many layers, and clearly written by an animal lover, which gives it an added depth. If you loved Kevin Hearne’s Iron Druid Chronicles, especially the scenes with Oberon, then this is a book for you.
About Hanna Howard
Hanna C. Howard started writing books in the fourth grade—and they were always about dogs. Her tastes have expanded since then, but her favorite stories still tend to have a dog in them somewhere. When she isn’t writing or reading with a pot of tea nearby, she prefers to be in her rambling cottage garden, conjuring beauty and nurturing compost. She lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma with her husband, three young hobbit children, and their athletic rescue mutt. Her first novel, Ignite the Sun, was a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection. Our Divine Mischief is due out in October of 2023.
Over to you
Thank you for reading my book review for Our Divine Mischief by Hanna C. Howard! It is due out on 17th October 2023 and is available to pre-order from any of the links in this review.
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