The High Gate

The Netherweird Chronicles #2

by Violet Fenn

“I’m being stalked by a vengeful half-witch, my love life’s deader than I am, and now there’s a runaway vampire in my spare room. Eternity isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.” Lilith O’Reilly just wants to be left alone to run her coffee shop on a quiet Liverpool back street. But you don’t choose the undead life—the undead life chooses you. There’s something strange going on in the local cemetery, and it’s not just the sharply dressed ghost who likes to practise his stage moves amongst the gravestones. The local pharmacist is suspiciously interested in Lili’s vital signs and her cat is developing unnervingly human abilities. And now there’s a voice in her head—a voice that definitely isn’t her own. Rivers of London meets Neverwhere in this funny and fast-paced urban fantasy about friendship, family secrets, and the power of a city’s spirit. *** Praise for RED & DEAD, book one in The Netherweird “I love, love, love this book! The main character is believable and well rounded, the writing is brilliant and the world building genuinely believable […] the best urban fantasy book I have read in years” “The lazy, obvious summing up would be 'Scouse Rivers of London' but this book stands on its own merits. Great world-building, engaging characters and a fast, twisty plot” “A great premise and interesting cast of characters. Fans of a slow burn style of urban fantasy will love it” “…great pacing, fun and likeable characters with a great sense of humour. It’s backed up with good world building and a solid foundation of historical fact intermingled with folklore.” “…this book knocked my socks off!!” AUTHOR’S The High Gate can be read as a standalone, but you’ll get more from it if you’ve read Red & Dead first. Have fun!

Genres: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy

272 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 16, 2023

Reviews

[TheGood ByeGirl · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cannot wait to see how Grimm evolves 😻

this is such a fun series!

[Helen Kershaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

Couldn't put this down! ❤

This book gave me a sleepless night because I couldn't put it down. I ended up reading it all in one night. As a native Scouser I also loved identifying the locations and deciphering the characters.

[Sarah Leenart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Red & Dead remains one of my favourite reads from all of last year and The High Gate has cemented itself in place for a top spot this year and has pretty much put the author on an auto buy favourite list for me. I'm not sure exactly how to describe what made this book so special, it's always a 'magical' indefinable quality but this book had it in spades. The writing is so familiar and engaging with the characters leaping to life in my head. Lili is so utterly relatable and and it was so easy to empathise with her. The secondary characters also leapt off the page as so real, something which makes a book stand out. Liverpool itself stood out as a character and I often googled certain buildings to see what they looked like in my head, I loved the use of such a real and accurate setting. It all added to the mood of the book.
Mapp, Heggie and the gang were such good fun and I loved getting to know them a bit better. How the world works in Netherweird is getting a little clearer and Lili is becoming more and more entangled. Her trip to London was so funny and there many times I snorted out loud with laughter. The overall plot of the book was entwined with the events of Red & Dead, and leaves plenty of threads dangling whilst still concluding the immediate threats.
I absolutely loved this book, stayed up till the small hours to get it finished and then regretted it the next day as it was all over too soon. I can't recommend this series enough!

[A · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lili continues to navigate the world of being undead in The Hugh Gate. We see Lili being forced to go to London to meet Queen Elizabeth (not the mortal monarch- and not even her as recently undead) but the ruler of Middlesex who has been undead for several hundred years.

Then Lili is presented with a series of minor issues from Missy reaching out to act friendly to meeting Martha a mortal who is around 130 years old but would like very much to be 40 again.

Lili has run ins with her aunt Kitty, her mom, and several others including a young newly minted vampire and her ever more sentient cat Grimm

This installment doesn’t have much plot but it was enjoyable and I’ll be reading the next installment. Hope you enjoy

[Louise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amusing

As a child of Liverpool & London, I appreciate these stories a lot. Lil isa funny one and even though I don't think there's really enough scousers in the writing (for a book set in Liverpool) the heart and soul of the city is captured really well. There was one glaring continuity error in the book (lil specifically didn't tell her bff anything about Mab and even mentions keeping her in the dark about it, the suddenly the bff is wishing hwr luck against Mab. I dunno. Maybe I missed a page, but it seemed weird) but other than that it's a fun book and well worth a read.

[Gail · Rating 5 out of 5]

Netherweird, just go weirder?!?

The City is taking, right in Lilith's brain? Ears?

She thought she was going round the bend, but no, the City is chattering away at her.

Also, it turns out Maria had a daughter, Mabb, who wants revenge. But it ultimately goes pear shaped.

It ends with one friend drained of most of his life force.

One 'friend' being made from London.

Also, stashing a traitor in her home!!!!

Oh, and moving a Vampire into the flat below her 😮

Wonderful books.

Love the Pinky and the Brain quotes 😂😂😂

Also, the detail of Liverpool that's added into the books is fantastic.

[Peter S Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

So it is true?

We all hear about the “Soul” of an area be it a town village or city but we never ever think that this “Soul” is Sentient. Knowing Liverpool as I do and knowing the people, reading these books of Violet Fenn do not surprise me, no they just reinforce what I know. The City is alive and we walk around not seeing anything. If it is Liverpool what about other Cities and Countries. We need to Listen and Listen hard.

[Liza · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great characters.... All of them

Not a single dull character among them , even the cat is cool. Storylines of both books are fast enough to keep your interest levels high but with little snippets of humurous conversation and dialogue that make you want to chat with these people . Thourougly enjoyed both books and will be looking out for the next . Good work

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't often give 5 stars but I am struggling to justify to myself what is missing. Death, supernatural, comedy.. I really enjoy these books and can't wait for the next one in a month or two.

Some of the plot feels a bit light; some of the supernatural rules a bit unexplained or inconsistent (but we still have a lot to learn) but this is an urban fantasy which is a joy to read.

[Jon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Better than Book One, and still fun and readable. Still characters not telling each other things, unfortunately (a trope that needs to die). Also, swearies. Now, I don't mind swearies, but if your character swears all the time, then you've got nowhere to go when you want to indicate the character is *really* up to high doh. It's called an 'F-bomb' for a reason.

[Ed FitzGerald · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the second book in the adventures of Lili, her cat Grimm and her long dead Great aunt and assorted other weird characters that come out of the city of Liverpool. The Story line is excellent as is the pace. But what I really like about this series is its English and not American and it has the quirks that come from it being English. I shall be reading the third book next, can't wait!

[varena manion · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good Read

Enjoyed the urban fantasy/paranormal storyline. Fenn is a talented storyteller. Biggest drawback was the inordinate amount of space devoted to retelling the first book. Scanned a good third of the book.

[Carol Kennedy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just love the concept of these books. That a select few "people " stay alive as the various players in charge of the undead country. Lilith is the latest to join them and takes them by surprise. That's all, really. Read them!

[Debbie Furze · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this, pleased I could read this straight after the first novel( re read this ) and looking forward to going onto the next book. Urban fantasy , secrets unknown in the city of Liverpool. Some humour and drama , interesting take on fantasy stories .

[Terrica Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this. Such a refreshing spin on the world of the supernatural. Looking forward to book number 3 !

[Rowan Crease · Rating 5 out of 5]

Favourite new series!

Read on a whim, hooked instantly. So looking forward to the next book. I just hope there will be lots more!

[Stacey · Rating 4 out of 5]

These are very enjoyable but a bit silly. I'm looking forward to the next one coming out.

[eggiecom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Couldn't put it down.

Definitely read this series, but start with the first book, of course, or you'll have no idea what's going on. This one had me laughing out loud.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful story from an author who has a superb sense of humour. A fanciful tale well told and very worth reading 📚

[Angela Kitchen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun series. Like the no nonsense main character and the zippy plotlines

[Jelena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good rollicking urban fantasy fun. I like that it's set in Liverpool as I get to learn about an area I don't know.

[suzanne sharp · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good read

Enjoying these books a bit different to other reads as in home city good storyline looking forward to reading more

[Caomhghain · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very jolly and fun as it gallops through a slightly different version of contemporary. The main character is a scream.

[Hils · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loving these books, I grew up in Liverpool and know these locations, However it is the humour and characterisations that I love. Thoroughly enjoying the evolving of Grim.

[Mohan Vemulapalli · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The High Gate", the second volume in Violett Fenn's "The Netherweird Chronicles", is a strong and engaging addition to this promising series. The book provides significant character development for Lilith, the main protagonist, while significantly fleshing out the world she inhabits and revealing a number of hints about the historical identities of many of the revenant characters. Additionally, there is a good deal of mystery and suspense with enough twists to keep most readers guessing. All in all this is a fun and exciting read that will draw readers deeper into the Netherweird universe.


4.5 stars out of 5 rounded to 4.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Building on the characters and story from the first book and introducing yet more interesting facts about Liverpool, this becoming a favourite series and I look forward to reading more about the Netherweird and Liverpool in future books

[Andy Edwards · Rating 5 out of 5]

As the books heroine Lili might say, this book is full of a lot of weird f@@@ing s@@@ but had me laughing and smiling throughout. Love the characters and how the places they inhabit or visit are brought alive. They even visited my old local haunts of Highgate in London which was great. Definitely recommend the series. I'll be reading the next when I am on holiday in a couple of days time.