Review: Beguiled

Title: Beguiled
Author: Cyla Panin
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Publisher: Amulet Books
Source: Publisher and Author
Format: Hardcover
Release Date: August 23, 2022
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

A dark and enthralling story about a young woman who makes a deal with a spirit to try and gain her independence—and the twisted price she has to pay for it

Ella is a 17-year-old weaver whose entire livelihood depends on her loom. She dreams of opening her own shop, but when her father died in debtor’s prison, she had to support herself by taking whatever clients she could get. In order to buy her supplies she goes into debt of her own, and when her loom breaks, Ella realizes she needs more help than a repairperson can give her. She, like everyone, has heard about the old washerwoman spirit called the Bean-Nighe who will grant any one wish—for a price.

But Ella is desperate, so she asks the Bean-Nighe to fix her loom. And it works. The loom is fixed, and she’s creating beautiful pieces she could have never imagined before. All she has to do is feed the loom a drop of blood each time she weaves—a small price to pay for such magnificent silks. And when she brings two bolts to a rich client, she meets a mysterious young man named Callum and bargains for an invitation to his exclusive party. At that party, he’s so mesmerized by her talent, he offers Ella a place to live and patronage for her art. It seems like Ella’s fortune is finally turning for the better . . . until she begins to notice the loom taking more from her than she offered.

As she becomes entangled in the lives of the city’s rich, swept into Callum’s allure, and trapped by the Bean-Nighe’s magic, Ella must figure out a way to secure her future while she still has a future at all.

Review:

Since Ella’s father died in a debtor’s prison, she’s had to support herself with her weaving. She dreams of being able to open a shop, but she has had to go into debt to buy the supplies for her weaving. When her loom breaks, Ella only has one choice: to go make a deal with Bean-Nighe, a washerwoman spirit at the river who will grant any wish, for a price. Ella makes the deal and her loom is fixed, and now it creates better silks than ever before. She sells the silks to a high paying client, Odina, who introduces her to Callum. When they discover at a party that Ella’s silks also hold magical powers, Callum offers to be Ella’s patron so that he can have exclusive access to her silks. Ella thinks her luck has finally changed, but her new skill comes at a high price that she has to determine if it’s worth giving up part of herself. 

This was such a great fantasy novel. It was nearly impossible to put down by the end because there were so many twists and surprising reveals. 

One thing that I love in a story is when my feelings towards a character changes by the end of the story. There was one character who I was suspicious of for most of the story, but turned out to be a good person by the end. There was also a morally gray character who didn’t really have any redeeming qualities at the end. 

Beguiled is a great young adult fantasy!

Thank you Cyla Panin and Abrams Kids for sending me a copy!

What to read next:

Have you read Beguiled? What did you think of it?