Feast of the Mother (Witch of the Lake #1)

A witch. A murder. A curse…

Beneath the murky waters of the lake, an ancient being slumbers, and Brygida is its servant. Kept sheltered in the woods by her mothers from the nearby village, Brygida has never had so much as a friend--until the day she meets a charming stranger painting by the lake. He invites her to the village’s harvest feast, but her taste of the forbidden ends with a murder.

Called into service for the first time, Brygida must take up her ancestral duty as Reaper of Death and solve the murder within three days. If she brings the murderer to the lake on the third day, the being she serves will be sated. If she fails, Brygida herself will be drawn beneath the murky waters, and the village massacred. There’s only one problem: the main suspect is her charming painter, Kaspian.

As Brygida investigates, the dangers are many and answers few. The village and her family stand against her, and with time running short, the lake demands a price. Brygida believes Kaspian is innocent, but can she stake her life on it, when failure means condemning the rest of the village, and being dragged into the deep...?

Find out what lurks beneath the lake in FEAST OF THE MOTHER, the first entry in a dark romantic fantasy series inspired by Slavic mythology and folklore, sure to please fans of Juliet Marillier’s Blackthorn & Grim series and Naomi Novik’s Uprooted.

Read Feast of the Mother to begin the beautifully haunting adventure today!

Excerpt:

Pronunciation Guide

• Agata Duma: “Ah-GAH-tah DOO-mah”

• Albert Malicki: “AHL-behrt Mah-LEETS-kee”

• Andrzej: “ON-dzhey”

• bies: “BYESS”

• błędnica: “Bwend-NEETS-ah”

• Bogdan: “BOHG-dahn”

• Brygida Mrok: “Brih-GHEE-dah Mrohk”

• chorobnik: “Hoh-ROBE-neek”

• Czarnobrzeg: “Char-NOH-bzheg”

• Dariusz Baran: “DAHR-yoosh BAH-rahn”

• Demon: “DEH-mon”

• Dażbóg: “DAHZH-boog”

• Dorota Duma: “Doh-ROH-tah DOO-mah”

• drak: “DRAHK”

• Dziewanna: “Djeh-VAHN-nah”

• Ewa Mrok: “EH-vah Mrohk”

• Gerard: “GHEH-rahrd”

• gęśla: “GHEWSCH-lah”

• Granat: “GRAH-not”

• Halina: “Hah-LEE-nah”

• Henryk Wolski: “HEN-rihk VOHL-skee”

• Iga Mrok: “EE-gah Mrohk”

• Iskra: “EES-krah”

• Julian Zając: “YOOL-yan ZAH-yohntz”

• Kaspian Wolski: “KAHS-pyahn VOHL-skee”

• Kolęda: “Kohl-EN-dah”

• lasowik: “lah-SOH-veek”; [pl. lasowiki: “lah-soh-VEE-kee”]

• lejiń: “LEH-yeen”; [pl. lejinie: “Leh-YEE-nyeh”]

• leśna nimfa: “LESH-nah NEEM-fah”

• leszy: “LEH-shih” [pl. lesze: “LEH-sheh”]

• Liliana Mrok: “Leel-YAH-nah Mrohk”

• Łukasz Wolski: “WOO-kash VOHL-skee”

• maleńka: “Mah-LEN-kah”

• mamon: “Mah-MOHN”

• Mamusia: “Mah-MOO-shah”

• Mokosza: “Moh-KOH-shah”

• Mroczne: “MROCH-neh”

• Nikodem: “Nee-KOH-dem”

• Nina Baran: “NEE-nah BAH-rahn”

• Nizina: “Nee-ZEE-nah”

• Oskar Grobowski: “OHS-kahr Groh-BOHF-skee”

• Perun: “PEH-roon”

• polewik: “Poh-LEH-veek” [pl. polewiki: “Poh-leh-VEE-kee”]

• Rafał: “RAH-fahw”

• Roksana Malicka: “Rok-SAH-nah Mah-LEETS-kah”

• Rubin: “ROO-been”

• rusałka: “Roo-SOW-kah” [pl. rusałki: “Roo-SOW-kee”]

• Sabina Wolska: “Sah-BEE-nah VOHL-skah”

• Skawa: “SKAH-vah”

• Stefan Bania: “STEH-fahn BAH-nyah”

• Stryjek: “STRIH-yek”

• Swaróg: “SFAH-roog”

• Tarnowice: “Tar-noh-VEE-tzeh”

• Tata: “TAH-tah”

• Teresa Malicka: “Teh-REH-sah Mah-LEETS-kah”

• Urszula: “Ur-SHOO-lah”

• Weles: “VEL-es”

• Wilk: “VEELK”

• wilkołak: “Veel-KOH-wok”

• Zofia Baran: “ZOHF-yah BAH-rahn”

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