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The Seventh Sister
From the author of The Madness comes a haunting folk horror fable of lost sisters, old gods, and the terrible power of belief left to rot in the woods.
After the tragic death of their parents, the seven Ward sisters are sent to live with their grandmother on the remote forest island of Beltane, a place suspended between time and shadow. What begins as an attempt to mend their fractured lives soon twists into a waking nightmare, where grief bleeds into childhood fantasy and ancient rites awaken a dark and eerie devotion to Daudir, the Forgotten God of the Wood.
When another cruel tragedy strikes, the sisters are left to fend for themselves, learning to live with death as a constant, lurking presence. The fragile world they’ve carved splinters beneath the weight of isolation, and the forest around them grows restless…
Years later, a cryptic letter summons the surviving sisters home. Drawn back into the wild embrace of their dangerous faith, they confront a truth more terrible than memory, and the dreadful secret that waits, silent and sentient, in the depths of the all-seeing trees.
This lyrical and haunting folk horror explores how trauma can root itself in the soil of childhood, how love can curdle into obsession, and how gods, especially forgotten ones, never stay buried for long. But at its heart, it’s about how they fracture, survive, return, and reckon with what they’ve made together.
After the tragic death of their parents, the seven Ward sisters are sent to live with their grandmother on the remote forest island of Beltane, a place suspended between time and shadow. What begins as an attempt to mend their fractured lives soon twists into a waking nightmare, where grief bleeds into childhood fantasy and ancient rites awaken a dark and eerie devotion to Daudir, the Forgotten God of the Wood.
When another cruel tragedy strikes, the sisters are left to fend for themselves, learning to live with death as a constant, lurking presence. The fragile world they’ve carved splinters beneath the weight of isolation, and the forest around them grows restless…
Years later, a cryptic letter summons the surviving sisters home. Drawn back into the wild embrace of their dangerous faith, they confront a truth more terrible than memory, and the dreadful secret that waits, silent and sentient, in the depths of the all-seeing trees.
This lyrical and haunting folk horror explores how trauma can root itself in the soil of childhood, how love can curdle into obsession, and how gods, especially forgotten ones, never stay buried for long. But at its heart, it’s about how they fracture, survive, return, and reckon with what they’ve made together.
278 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 7, 2026
About the author
Dawn Kurtagich
12 books1,687 followersDAWN KURTAGICH IS AN AWARD-WINNING HORROR AUTHOR.
Her debut novel, THE DEAD HOUSE, was a YALSA Top 10 Pick, An Audie Award Nominee and an Earphone Award Winner. It has been optioned for TV by Lime Productions. She is also the author of THE CREEPER MAN / AND THE TREES CREPT IN, NAIDA and TEETH IN THE MIST, and BLOOD ON THE WIND. Her adult debut novel, THE MADNESS, was pre-empted in a two book, six-figure deal and was published in August 2024. Her next adult novel, DEVIL’S THORN, was announced in 2024, another two-book, six-figure deal, forthcoming in 2025.
By the time she was eighteen, she had been to fifteen schools across two continents. The daughter of a British globe-trotter and single mother, she grew up all over the place, but her formative years were spent in Africa—on a mission, in the bush, in the city and in the desert.
She has been lucky enough to see an elephant stampede at close range, a giraffe tongue at very close range, and she once witnessed the stealing of her (and her friends’) underwear by very large, angry baboons. (This will most definitely end up in a book . . . ) While she has quite a few tales to tell about the jumping African baboon spider, she tends to save these for Halloween!
When she was sixteen, she thought she'd be an astronomer and writer at the same time, and did a month-long internship at Cambridge's prestigious Cavendish Laboratories. At the age of 25, she received a life-saving liver transplant. Her doctor’s still have no idea why her original liver (Leonard) failed. She is enjoying life with her new liver, Lucy.
She leaves her North Wales crypt after midnight during blood moons. The rest of the time she exists somewhere between mushrooms, maggots and mould.
Her debut novel, THE DEAD HOUSE, was a YALSA Top 10 Pick, An Audie Award Nominee and an Earphone Award Winner. It has been optioned for TV by Lime Productions. She is also the author of THE CREEPER MAN / AND THE TREES CREPT IN, NAIDA and TEETH IN THE MIST, and BLOOD ON THE WIND. Her adult debut novel, THE MADNESS, was pre-empted in a two book, six-figure deal and was published in August 2024. Her next adult novel, DEVIL’S THORN, was announced in 2024, another two-book, six-figure deal, forthcoming in 2025.
By the time she was eighteen, she had been to fifteen schools across two continents. The daughter of a British globe-trotter and single mother, she grew up all over the place, but her formative years were spent in Africa—on a mission, in the bush, in the city and in the desert.
She has been lucky enough to see an elephant stampede at close range, a giraffe tongue at very close range, and she once witnessed the stealing of her (and her friends’) underwear by very large, angry baboons. (This will most definitely end up in a book . . . ) While she has quite a few tales to tell about the jumping African baboon spider, she tends to save these for Halloween!
When she was sixteen, she thought she'd be an astronomer and writer at the same time, and did a month-long internship at Cambridge's prestigious Cavendish Laboratories. At the age of 25, she received a life-saving liver transplant. Her doctor’s still have no idea why her original liver (Leonard) failed. She is enjoying life with her new liver, Lucy.
She leaves her North Wales crypt after midnight during blood moons. The rest of the time she exists somewhere between mushrooms, maggots and mould.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 131 reviews
April 21, 2026
4.0☆
Follow the seven Ward sisters as they quietly descend into a dark fairytale of their own making.
After being orphaned the Ward sisters move to the island of Beltane to live with their reclusive, indulgent, fanciful grandmother. Grandmother Alys tells the girls about The Forgotten God of the Wood, who the girls name, Daudir.
As the girl's lives fall farther away from civilization, and after tragedy strikes, the more their lives take on dark rites and beliefs centering on their spontaneous beliefs of Daudir.
Each sister has her role to play within their belief system. Juniper is the hierophant, Hazel is the alchemist, twins Ivy and Holly are the oracles, Willow is the seer, little Poppy is the watcher, and protagonist Clementine is the effigist. Each sister takes her role seriously.
In one bloody, tragic night the girl's lives are turned upside down. Twenty years later some, not all, of the sisters are called back to Beltane to face years of guilt, accusation, and madness.
I could not read the pages fast enough. I had to discover the secrets of the girl's history. I read this gripping novel in one afternoon.
Favorite Quote:
"That lingering question---did the magic leave, or did I?"
Dawn Kurtagich, Author
Follow the seven Ward sisters as they quietly descend into a dark fairytale of their own making.
After being orphaned the Ward sisters move to the island of Beltane to live with their reclusive, indulgent, fanciful grandmother. Grandmother Alys tells the girls about The Forgotten God of the Wood, who the girls name, Daudir.
As the girl's lives fall farther away from civilization, and after tragedy strikes, the more their lives take on dark rites and beliefs centering on their spontaneous beliefs of Daudir.
Each sister has her role to play within their belief system. Juniper is the hierophant, Hazel is the alchemist, twins Ivy and Holly are the oracles, Willow is the seer, little Poppy is the watcher, and protagonist Clementine is the effigist. Each sister takes her role seriously.
In one bloody, tragic night the girl's lives are turned upside down. Twenty years later some, not all, of the sisters are called back to Beltane to face years of guilt, accusation, and madness.
I could not read the pages fast enough. I had to discover the secrets of the girl's history. I read this gripping novel in one afternoon.
Favorite Quote:
"That lingering question---did the magic leave, or did I?"
Dawn Kurtagich, Author
January 16, 2026
2.5 cornball yellowjackets knock off but with sisters.. but thanks for the arc netgalley!
Want to Read
April 8, 2026ARC received! Thank you, Brilliance Audio!!!
April 23, 2026
《4.5⭐️ rounded up to 5⭐️》
After the sudden death of their parents, the seven Ward sisters are sent to live with their reclusive grandmother on a remote island steeped in old traditions. Cut off from the outside world, the sisters cling to one another as grief settles in... but something else begins to take hold too. What starts as a coping mechanism, a shared story about an ancient woodland entity known as Daudir, the Forgotten God of the Wood, slowly spirals into something far more consuming. As the fine line between imagination and reality blurs, the sisters begin to change, their bond fraying under the weight of fear, belief and isolation. With each passing season, the forest seems to draw closer, watching, waiting... until the sisters must confront whether the true danger lies within the woods or within themselves.
Seven Sisters. Dead parents. A remote island soaked in grief so heavy it starts to warp reality. What begins as imagination slowly twists into something darker, blurrier, and deeply unsettling. Clem, our unraveling main character, carries guilt like a second skin, and watching her move between past and present is haunting in that quiet creeping way. And the forest? Practically the eighth sibling. Alive, watchful and holding secrets it has no intention of giving back. The atmosphere is suffocating in the best way. The woods close in, the isolation stretches endlessly and the tension just keeps building. The mood? Immaculate. This isn't fast paced horror. It lingers, like a shadow that refuses to leave. Read it if you love eerie atmospheric horror, sister dynamics that feel raw and real and unsettling folklore vibes.
Thank you to NetGalley, Dawn Kurtagich, and Thomas and Mercer for this eARC! And thank you so much to Dawn for the physical ARC giveaway win!
After the sudden death of their parents, the seven Ward sisters are sent to live with their reclusive grandmother on a remote island steeped in old traditions. Cut off from the outside world, the sisters cling to one another as grief settles in... but something else begins to take hold too. What starts as a coping mechanism, a shared story about an ancient woodland entity known as Daudir, the Forgotten God of the Wood, slowly spirals into something far more consuming. As the fine line between imagination and reality blurs, the sisters begin to change, their bond fraying under the weight of fear, belief and isolation. With each passing season, the forest seems to draw closer, watching, waiting... until the sisters must confront whether the true danger lies within the woods or within themselves.
Seven Sisters. Dead parents. A remote island soaked in grief so heavy it starts to warp reality. What begins as imagination slowly twists into something darker, blurrier, and deeply unsettling. Clem, our unraveling main character, carries guilt like a second skin, and watching her move between past and present is haunting in that quiet creeping way. And the forest? Practically the eighth sibling. Alive, watchful and holding secrets it has no intention of giving back. The atmosphere is suffocating in the best way. The woods close in, the isolation stretches endlessly and the tension just keeps building. The mood? Immaculate. This isn't fast paced horror. It lingers, like a shadow that refuses to leave. Read it if you love eerie atmospheric horror, sister dynamics that feel raw and real and unsettling folklore vibes.
Thank you to NetGalley, Dawn Kurtagich, and Thomas and Mercer for this eARC! And thank you so much to Dawn for the physical ARC giveaway win!
November 26, 2025
This copy was made available to me for free through NetGalley. I want to thank them for the opportunity to read and review this.
Here is a description from NetGalley:
The Seventh Sister
By Dawn Kurtagich
After the tragic death of their parents, the seven Ward sisters are sent to live with their grandmother on the remote forest island of Beltane, a place suspended between time and shadow. What begins as an attempt to mend their fractured lives soon twists into a waking nightmare, where grief bleeds into childhood fantasy and ancient rites awaken a dark and eerie devotion to Daudir, the Forgotten God of the Wood.
When another cruel tragedy strikes, the sisters are left to fend for themselves, learning to live with death as a constant, lurking presence. The fragile world they’ve carved splinters beneath the weight of isolation, and the forest around them grows restless…
Years later, a cryptic letter summons the surviving sisters home. Drawn back into the wild embrace of their dangerous faith, they confront a truth more terrible than memory, and the dreadful secret that waits, silent and sentient, in the depths of the all-seeing trees.
This lyrical and haunting folk horror explores how trauma can root itself in the soil of childhood, how love can curdle into obsession, and how gods, especially forgotten ones, never stay buried for long. But at its heart, it’s about sisters: how they fracture, survive, return, and reckon with what they’ve made together.
:OFFICIAL REVIEW:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
4 Stars
When I was a little girl, running feral outside with my younger sister was a daily occurrence. Especially in summer, when we’d transform into whatever we wanted to be for the afternoon. Olympic gold medalists on the trampoline like Dominique Moceanu and Shannon Miller. Badass roller bladers from the movie Airborne. Pink and yellow Power Rangers fighting off Rita Repulsa. (I was always Kimberly. My sister hated the color pink.) Playing “light as a feather, stiff as a board” from The Craft. (We never could quite nail down witchcraft.)
When I think back on those times, (I’m sure my references age me. And that’s fine. Everything’s fine), it’s like another dimension. Another world. Difficult to describe.
The Seventh Sister IS that feeling.
With a plot that keeps you on the edge of your seat, the author is able to weave the tale seamlessly between the past and the present. Told through the eyes and experiences of a woman with six sisters, this story will have you questioning whether your own childhood experiences were truly born of imagination…or was it something other?
The book explores themes of family, tragedy, trauma, and growing up. All things that resonated so deeply with me, I had to wipe away tears. (If you have a sisterly bond, you might be able to relate.)
I was swept away into Beltane, into the rot and roots and soil, walking amongst the trees with the Ward sisters. The author’s ability to put you there, and to care about this family is masterful. The images crafted are difficult to look at, but harder still to look away from.
Overall, I’m so pleased I read this story. I would recommend this to anyone who loves gothic-esque stories, and who doesn’t mind some scenes that may be hard to stomach.
And I’ll end with thanks to Daudir, forgotten God of the Wood. Because it just feels wrong not to.
Here is a description from NetGalley:
The Seventh Sister
By Dawn Kurtagich
After the tragic death of their parents, the seven Ward sisters are sent to live with their grandmother on the remote forest island of Beltane, a place suspended between time and shadow. What begins as an attempt to mend their fractured lives soon twists into a waking nightmare, where grief bleeds into childhood fantasy and ancient rites awaken a dark and eerie devotion to Daudir, the Forgotten God of the Wood.
When another cruel tragedy strikes, the sisters are left to fend for themselves, learning to live with death as a constant, lurking presence. The fragile world they’ve carved splinters beneath the weight of isolation, and the forest around them grows restless…
Years later, a cryptic letter summons the surviving sisters home. Drawn back into the wild embrace of their dangerous faith, they confront a truth more terrible than memory, and the dreadful secret that waits, silent and sentient, in the depths of the all-seeing trees.
This lyrical and haunting folk horror explores how trauma can root itself in the soil of childhood, how love can curdle into obsession, and how gods, especially forgotten ones, never stay buried for long. But at its heart, it’s about sisters: how they fracture, survive, return, and reckon with what they’ve made together.
:OFFICIAL REVIEW:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
4 Stars
When I was a little girl, running feral outside with my younger sister was a daily occurrence. Especially in summer, when we’d transform into whatever we wanted to be for the afternoon. Olympic gold medalists on the trampoline like Dominique Moceanu and Shannon Miller. Badass roller bladers from the movie Airborne. Pink and yellow Power Rangers fighting off Rita Repulsa. (I was always Kimberly. My sister hated the color pink.) Playing “light as a feather, stiff as a board” from The Craft. (We never could quite nail down witchcraft.)
When I think back on those times, (I’m sure my references age me. And that’s fine. Everything’s fine), it’s like another dimension. Another world. Difficult to describe.
The Seventh Sister IS that feeling.
With a plot that keeps you on the edge of your seat, the author is able to weave the tale seamlessly between the past and the present. Told through the eyes and experiences of a woman with six sisters, this story will have you questioning whether your own childhood experiences were truly born of imagination…or was it something other?
The book explores themes of family, tragedy, trauma, and growing up. All things that resonated so deeply with me, I had to wipe away tears. (If you have a sisterly bond, you might be able to relate.)
I was swept away into Beltane, into the rot and roots and soil, walking amongst the trees with the Ward sisters. The author’s ability to put you there, and to care about this family is masterful. The images crafted are difficult to look at, but harder still to look away from.
Overall, I’m so pleased I read this story. I would recommend this to anyone who loves gothic-esque stories, and who doesn’t mind some scenes that may be hard to stomach.
And I’ll end with thanks to Daudir, forgotten God of the Wood. Because it just feels wrong not to.
April 16, 2026
Dawn Kurtagich has been, and will always be, one of my favourite authors of all time, so I was more than thrilled to be lucky enough to read it in advance of its publication on NetGalley. All of the stories of hers that I’ve read have been amazing, and this book was no exception. In fact, I think it just might be my new favourite of hers considering that I devoured 60% of it in one sitting.
“The Seventh Sister” is a heart wrenching story about grief, sisterhood, and what exactly it is that makes us human. It has such a perfect blend of feminine rage and the wildness of William Golding’s “Lord of the Flies” that I’ve never read before, and it was part of what made this book so addictive.
As much as I tried not to get attached to any of the characters (especially the ones I suspected weren’t making it to the end of the book), it was impossible not to. The Ward family was such a cohesive unit that having to read about their struggles felt like going through it myself. And of course, as usual, Kurtagich’s writing managed to be both somehow horrifying and beautiful as it depicted the abhorrent things that these girls were experiencing.
If you’re a fan of folk horror, this book is for you, but be warned — it is NOT for the faint of heart.
RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
“The Seventh Sister” is a heart wrenching story about grief, sisterhood, and what exactly it is that makes us human. It has such a perfect blend of feminine rage and the wildness of William Golding’s “Lord of the Flies” that I’ve never read before, and it was part of what made this book so addictive.
As much as I tried not to get attached to any of the characters (especially the ones I suspected weren’t making it to the end of the book), it was impossible not to. The Ward family was such a cohesive unit that having to read about their struggles felt like going through it myself. And of course, as usual, Kurtagich’s writing managed to be both somehow horrifying and beautiful as it depicted the abhorrent things that these girls were experiencing.
If you’re a fan of folk horror, this book is for you, but be warned — it is NOT for the faint of heart.
RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
December 1, 2025
As usual the author weaves horror with deeper themes of grief, friendship bonds and sisterhood. I’ve read all of the authors books and they are all very unique, the writing style is different and stands out, and the ending of the book will always leave you thinking.
Im definitely a fan of this author, I think “the seventh sister” may be my new favourite of her work. Her books are definitely a good choice for book club picks if you want to have lots to discuss.
Im definitely a fan of this author, I think “the seventh sister” may be my new favourite of her work. Her books are definitely a good choice for book club picks if you want to have lots to discuss.
April 13, 2026
Seven sisters are sent to live on an isolated island after their parents death. They are cared for by their grandmother who instills in them the belief that there is an entity on the island who protects the Wards. They begin to worship this entity which leads them down a pretty horrific and traumatic path. Eventually they are removed from the island and years later go back and are forced to confront their past.
The Seventh sister has a lot of tough subjects such as grief, trauma, isolation and a blurring of fantasy and reality. At times the imagary and events in the story are extremely gross and unsettling. Its also told in a dual timeline by a petty unreliable narrator. It did a fantastic job of getting my attention and not letting up. I couldn't stop reading once I started.
I had a really good time with this one overall. I will admit at times I was convinced though that every one had to be tripping balls especially with all the talk of them consuming mushrooms that were growing from the walls.... But it wasn't quite that simple. There was definitely a darkness on the island, but the darkest doesn't just come from the forest God.
If you are a reader who enjoys folk and psychological horror in a gothic setting, this book is perfect. If yellow jackets and Mexican Gothic had a book love child I feel like this would be it.
I received a copy in exchange for my honest review.
The Seventh sister has a lot of tough subjects such as grief, trauma, isolation and a blurring of fantasy and reality. At times the imagary and events in the story are extremely gross and unsettling. Its also told in a dual timeline by a petty unreliable narrator. It did a fantastic job of getting my attention and not letting up. I couldn't stop reading once I started.
I had a really good time with this one overall. I will admit at times I was convinced though that every one had to be tripping balls especially with all the talk of them consuming mushrooms that were growing from the walls.... But it wasn't quite that simple. There was definitely a darkness on the island, but the darkest doesn't just come from the forest God.
If you are a reader who enjoys folk and psychological horror in a gothic setting, this book is perfect. If yellow jackets and Mexican Gothic had a book love child I feel like this would be it.
I received a copy in exchange for my honest review.
November 29, 2025
This book weaves the grief and imagination of seven sisters in a way that I was not expecting, but will be happily haunted by for a while. It may not be for the faint of heart or stomach. It is raw and shocking at times. Grief is that way. It is the story of the wards we use to protect ourselves from grief and trauma, that sometimes fracture and we have to reckon with and make right later.
The Ward sisters quite literally have their own language and are fiercely loyal to each other, and are also divisive at times. As someone with sisters, I immediately resonated with this. Their arrival at Beltane after their parent's tragic death will test these bonds, but this book is beautifully layered and complex in so many more ways too.
At first, the forest is a place of exploration and fantasy...a safe haven if you will. Dawn Kurtagich does a fantastic job of stitching doubt and an unsettling feeling which pulled me in right away. They learn to live in harmony with the forest and their new world, and then it becomes an obsession, a religion, a necessity, survival. Eventually they turn their backs on it, or it on them...and there will be a reckoning. Their beliefs are tested. Was everything always just childhood fairy tales they told themselves to get through their grief? In the end, it all comes full circle and is deeply affecting.
All hail Daudir.
Side note: I don't understand what happened with Willow.
#netgalley
The Ward sisters quite literally have their own language and are fiercely loyal to each other, and are also divisive at times. As someone with sisters, I immediately resonated with this. Their arrival at Beltane after their parent's tragic death will test these bonds, but this book is beautifully layered and complex in so many more ways too.
At first, the forest is a place of exploration and fantasy...a safe haven if you will. Dawn Kurtagich does a fantastic job of stitching doubt and an unsettling feeling which pulled me in right away. They learn to live in harmony with the forest and their new world, and then it becomes an obsession, a religion, a necessity, survival. Eventually they turn their backs on it, or it on them...and there will be a reckoning. Their beliefs are tested. Was everything always just childhood fairy tales they told themselves to get through their grief? In the end, it all comes full circle and is deeply affecting.
All hail Daudir.
Side note: I don't understand what happened with Willow.
#netgalley
April 7, 2026
“the seventh sister” by dawn kurtagich was a pleasant surprise, as i requested it on a whim based on its description - and it ended up being really good. it reads very fast and it keeps the reader engaged, but it took me a little bit to get into the story. in the end, i think it’s definitely worth the read.
i loved how we don’t really know if the god of the forest is real or just something created by the imagination of seven grief-stricken girls that try to grapple with the idea of being completely on their own on the remote island. the way they created a whole cult based on this entity was really well explored - i was constantly questioning its existence. i also thoroughly enjoyed the folklore around the island and “the wards”, whom the island supposedly protects.
the book jumps between timelines - we get parts of the girls’ childhood and parts of the present, when the girls get a letter that brings them back to beltane. i think this was a brilliant choice on the author’s part, because it gave the reader just enough to keep the book interesting. the atmosphere is deeply unsettling in both timelines, with everything seeming less welcoming in the current one. the juxtaposition of the girls faith between the past and the present seems to reflect in the narrative and the state of the island, which i thought was a nice touch. the feeling of “something is very wrong” is a lot more poignant towards the end of the book and i really liked how it made me question everything.
overall, i liked the writing, but i do have to point out it tends to get a bit too flowery at times. some phrases were overused just to point out something, which was unnecessary. however, it’s very easy to read and it’s fast paced after the initial set-up, so i didn’t mind the writing style.
another thing that i noticed is the fact that some of the sisters were a lot more fleshed out than others. i wish we would’ve gotten to see more of them instead of having the focus be on a few that played a bigger role in the story. however, i did like the relationship between the girls, it felt very authentic, although it evolved into something different towards the ending.
overall, this was a great read - not a perfect one, but it got me out of my reading slump, which is a win in my books. it kept me engaged and i was actually very curious to see how everything wrapped up.
- ARC received from Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion
- 3.5 stars
i loved how we don’t really know if the god of the forest is real or just something created by the imagination of seven grief-stricken girls that try to grapple with the idea of being completely on their own on the remote island. the way they created a whole cult based on this entity was really well explored - i was constantly questioning its existence. i also thoroughly enjoyed the folklore around the island and “the wards”, whom the island supposedly protects.
the book jumps between timelines - we get parts of the girls’ childhood and parts of the present, when the girls get a letter that brings them back to beltane. i think this was a brilliant choice on the author’s part, because it gave the reader just enough to keep the book interesting. the atmosphere is deeply unsettling in both timelines, with everything seeming less welcoming in the current one. the juxtaposition of the girls faith between the past and the present seems to reflect in the narrative and the state of the island, which i thought was a nice touch. the feeling of “something is very wrong” is a lot more poignant towards the end of the book and i really liked how it made me question everything.
overall, i liked the writing, but i do have to point out it tends to get a bit too flowery at times. some phrases were overused just to point out something, which was unnecessary. however, it’s very easy to read and it’s fast paced after the initial set-up, so i didn’t mind the writing style.
another thing that i noticed is the fact that some of the sisters were a lot more fleshed out than others. i wish we would’ve gotten to see more of them instead of having the focus be on a few that played a bigger role in the story. however, i did like the relationship between the girls, it felt very authentic, although it evolved into something different towards the ending.
overall, this was a great read - not a perfect one, but it got me out of my reading slump, which is a win in my books. it kept me engaged and i was actually very curious to see how everything wrapped up.
- ARC received from Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion
- 3.5 stars
Did Not Finish
March 31, 2026DNF 42%
I can forgive slow pacing, I can even overlook writing that's a little "intro to creative writing", but what I refuse to do is force myself to read a book that gives me nothing but a lot of colorful (literally) descriptions of damn-near everything for almost half the story and then decides to throw in a random explicit sex scene because... well, like I said, nothing has happened so I guess that was the only way to keep readers interested. What are we doing here? What was the reason?
I can forgive slow pacing, I can even overlook writing that's a little "intro to creative writing", but what I refuse to do is force myself to read a book that gives me nothing but a lot of colorful (literally) descriptions of damn-near everything for almost half the story and then decides to throw in a random explicit sex scene because... well, like I said, nothing has happened so I guess that was the only way to keep readers interested. What are we doing here? What was the reason?
April 21, 2026
3.5 stars
I can't figure out how I honestly felt about this book. It was weird girls don't weird girl shit in a place made wholly for weird girls and I usually eat that shit up, which I did. But by the end of the book I didn't feel resolved. I'm not saying the story didn't feel resolved... I'm say I DIDN'T. And I can't even explain what that means. I can say that this had some great descriptions of some gross/horrific scenes and those remain in my head, rent-free. Maggot granny. Or was she their aunt? I can't remember.
I can't figure out how I honestly felt about this book. It was weird girls don't weird girl shit in a place made wholly for weird girls and I usually eat that shit up, which I did. But by the end of the book I didn't feel resolved. I'm not saying the story didn't feel resolved... I'm say I DIDN'T. And I can't even explain what that means. I can say that this had some great descriptions of some gross/horrific scenes and those remain in my head, rent-free. Maggot granny. Or was she their aunt? I can't remember.
May 1, 2026
4.5 ⭐️| 📱 E-book
——————————————
🪝 The Hook:
Seven sisters are sent to live with their grandmother on a remote island following their parent’s death. After more tragedy strikes, they are left alone to fend for themselves with only the forest and each other for company.
A folk horror that is feral, witchy, and filled with eerie childhood fantasies. May Daudir, the Forgotten God of the Wood, guide you on your journey through these pages. ₊˚ʚ 🌱 ₊˚✧ ﾟ.
——————————————
💬 Quote:
“We are feral compulsion. We are a debt repaid. We are rot, and root, and revenge. And we are done running.”
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💙 What I Liked:
This book had some of the best imagery that I’ve read in a long time! The descriptions of the sights, sounds, smells, and emotions happening in each scene were perfectly done. Not so overly written that it’s taking up page upon page (looking at you, Tolkein 👀) but just the right amount to make you feel like you’re experiencing each scene along with the characters.
There was such a great mix of folk horror and witchy vibes in this book. Left to their own devices, the girls put all of their faith into Daudir, the Forgotten God of the Wood. Through prayers, sacrifices, rituals, and offerings, the girls are convinced that Daudir will provide for all their needs. But is Daudir a real entity, or just a product of childhood fantasy?
I absolutely loved this story. The chapters alternate between the present day, following the sisters as adults called back to the island of their childhood, and the past when the sisters were just girls figuring out how to survive on their own.
I loved that despite there being seven sisters, they each were so well written and given individuality. It was easy to understand who was who and not mix them up. The author did a fantastic job.
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💔 What Could’ve Been Better:
For me, this story felt almost perfect. There were some moments that I think could have been shortened or cut out, as they felt repetitive. There was a lot of time spent on the buildup, which I thought was well-done but might have benefited from a quicker pace.
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🧐 Overall Thoughts:
The story kept me locked in and on edge the whole time. I felt tense during quite a few of the scenes, and I loved how the present day timeline gave just enough of the story away to keep you wanting more as we jumped back and forth.
The writing was gorgeous, and the characters were given such life. Definitely one of my top reads of the year! 𓂃˖⋆📖⋆˖𓂃 ִֶָ
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~ Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review! 📚 ~
✨If you liked this review, check out my blog! /ᐠ. .ᐟ\✨
February 18, 2026
As always, this author’s writing is beautiful and haunting, this time drawing you onto the mysterious island of Beltane and the dreamlike yet terrifying fairytale world the 7 Ward sisters weave for themselves there.
When the Ward sisters arrive at Beltane after the death of their parents their grandmother tells them that the Forgotten God of the Woods will always protect their family so long as they are on Beltane - and there are only three rules: Always be back by sundown, Dinner must be eaten in the dining room at 7pm sharp, and Do not go beyond the boundary after dark.
Within a year of their arrival the sisters are essentially a society unto themselves, living like lost children of the woods, worshipping the forest god, and performing rituals to honor him.
But life is far from dreamlike as one tragedy befalls them after another - tragedies that will tear them apart and remake them until the sisterly bonds they once shared are only memories.
Now, 25 years later 3 Ward sisters have returned to Beltane after receiving cryptic letters from the eldest sister who remained. As memories and long buried horrors resurface it becomes clear that the Forgotten God of the Forest has not forgotten how the daughters of the forest abandoned him. But is it an angry god come to take his payment in blood? Or is someone flesh and bone hiding in the shadows waiting for the right moment to strike?
This book is tense and eerie. You can so clearly picture the disrepair and decay of the home, the wildness of the girls the longer they spend on the island, and the foreboding feeling that something is lurking just out of sight, waiting, watching. This book reminds the reader that sometimes the only way out is through.
I really, really enjoyed this book! The author is one of my absolute favorites and I’m always in awe of each new story I read by her!
When the Ward sisters arrive at Beltane after the death of their parents their grandmother tells them that the Forgotten God of the Woods will always protect their family so long as they are on Beltane - and there are only three rules: Always be back by sundown, Dinner must be eaten in the dining room at 7pm sharp, and Do not go beyond the boundary after dark.
Within a year of their arrival the sisters are essentially a society unto themselves, living like lost children of the woods, worshipping the forest god, and performing rituals to honor him.
But life is far from dreamlike as one tragedy befalls them after another - tragedies that will tear them apart and remake them until the sisterly bonds they once shared are only memories.
Now, 25 years later 3 Ward sisters have returned to Beltane after receiving cryptic letters from the eldest sister who remained. As memories and long buried horrors resurface it becomes clear that the Forgotten God of the Forest has not forgotten how the daughters of the forest abandoned him. But is it an angry god come to take his payment in blood? Or is someone flesh and bone hiding in the shadows waiting for the right moment to strike?
This book is tense and eerie. You can so clearly picture the disrepair and decay of the home, the wildness of the girls the longer they spend on the island, and the foreboding feeling that something is lurking just out of sight, waiting, watching. This book reminds the reader that sometimes the only way out is through.
I really, really enjoyed this book! The author is one of my absolute favorites and I’m always in awe of each new story I read by her!
April 11, 2026
The seven Ward sisters are sent to live with their grandmother, a free spirit of the earth, on the isolated island of Beltane, following the deaths of their parents. Here they run free communing with nature and honouring the old Gods. But then disaster strikes and they are forced away from another home, separated and their sisterhood fractured. As the survivors are called back as adults what awaits them in the mud, what secrets will be brought into the light and can they survive the revelations.
A multi layered folkloric horror that rips apart the bonds of sisterhood, grief and belief. The sisters are scarily close, speaking in their own language, completely dependent on each other. The island speaks to them, protects them, whispers to them as their sister bonds fracture and break. A place of childhood freedom becomes a prison of ritual and sacrifice.
As with all Dawn’s books this is beautifully written, the imagery is pure fantasy but wrapped in a creeping fetid horror that makes you feel something is coming and it’s not good! As their memories and the horrors they experienced slithers back into their lives you witness their raw and brutal reality. The tension and eerie magical quality of their journey through childhood and now as adults is mesmerising. Loved it!
A multi layered folkloric horror that rips apart the bonds of sisterhood, grief and belief. The sisters are scarily close, speaking in their own language, completely dependent on each other. The island speaks to them, protects them, whispers to them as their sister bonds fracture and break. A place of childhood freedom becomes a prison of ritual and sacrifice.
As with all Dawn’s books this is beautifully written, the imagery is pure fantasy but wrapped in a creeping fetid horror that makes you feel something is coming and it’s not good! As their memories and the horrors they experienced slithers back into their lives you witness their raw and brutal reality. The tension and eerie magical quality of their journey through childhood and now as adults is mesmerising. Loved it!
March 24, 2026
It was a book that I had high expectations for. The story dealt with seven orphaned sisters meeting their grandmother at an island, far away from civilization. The grandmother teaches them to live closer to nature and to worship the forgotten God. But what happened since then, haunted the sisters !
It might be my high expectations that made me not enjoy the story a lot. For one thing, I can understand how sisters would behave living in Beltane. But the ending made me confused a lot. Many things couldn't make sense to me.
That said, the eerie atmosphere and the alternating chapters between past and present preserved the chilliness of the story. The book was also fast paced so I never once felt it lagging.
People who enjoy reading books set in eerie isolated settings with a bit of ancient ritual references will enjoy this story.
It might be my high expectations that made me not enjoy the story a lot. For one thing, I can understand how sisters would behave living in Beltane. But the ending made me confused a lot. Many things couldn't make sense to me.
That said, the eerie atmosphere and the alternating chapters between past and present preserved the chilliness of the story. The book was also fast paced so I never once felt it lagging.
People who enjoy reading books set in eerie isolated settings with a bit of ancient ritual references will enjoy this story.
April 8, 2026
This was such a fast and fun read. The body horror was fantastically disgusting. The dual timelines really added to the book, it was always such a confusion about what was real and what was childhood trauma. I really enjoyed this one!
Thank you to Netgalley and the author for an ARC!
Thank you to Netgalley and the author for an ARC!
April 25, 2026
3.5/5 ⭐️
A little ponderous at times but a good read. Lord of the Flies X T. Kingfisher American gothic vibes.
A little ponderous at times but a good read. Lord of the Flies X T. Kingfisher American gothic vibes.
April 27, 2026
3.5 stars rounded up, this felt like a mushroom induced fever dream. imagine 7 sisters running wild through the forest praying to an ancient god that no one has ever seen. I'd say that this is that in a nutshell. Years later all of the siblings still alive come back to the forest and i'm not sure if anyone actually made it out (including myself). This has wormed its way under my skin and im not sure ill ever forget. It was weird, very, very weird. I enjoy reading the bonds of sisterhood though (possibly because i don't have any). but also, why are sisters always so weird, especially twins??? I did not see the twist at the end coming but im not sure the story as a whole hit me as it was intended.
May 3, 2026
Thank you NetGalley and Brilliance Publishing | Brilliance Audio for the ARC of this audiobook.
I found this book to be really grotesque and mostly gross. Anything with gross maggots makes me want to gag. The rest of this book was just okay. I kept getting the 7 sister mixed up and because I really didn't care, I didn't want to keep them separate. I think if there was more plot, and less fluff and descriptive writing on the same things over and over, I'd give it a higher rating.
Also, the entire time I was thinking of Mort and King Julien when talking about all of the sacrifices they all had to make 😅
I found this book to be really grotesque and mostly gross. Anything with gross maggots makes me want to gag. The rest of this book was just okay. I kept getting the 7 sister mixed up and because I really didn't care, I didn't want to keep them separate. I think if there was more plot, and less fluff and descriptive writing on the same things over and over, I'd give it a higher rating.
Also, the entire time I was thinking of Mort and King Julien when talking about all of the sacrifices they all had to make 😅
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Clem has a visceral reaction to receiving a single juniper berry in an unmarked envelope, a message that harkens back to a time in her childhood wrought with loss and the bonds of her sisters. Though twenty years has passed, the remaining sisters return to the island of Beltane where she and her sisters were brought to live with their Granny Alys after the passing of their parents. They find the oldest of the sisters, Juniper, has remained on the island all this time and has continued to uphold the traditions they began in the name of Daudir, the forgotten God of the Wood. The sisters are forced to confront their absence from the island and each other after all these years and come to terms with the wild ways of their old home. Years of isolation and stewing in her own delusions have made Juniper a deranged shadow of herself. Unless the feeling Clem has that the woods are watching isn't just a feeling. Maybe the forgotten God of the Wood requires penitence for being abandoned and a sacrifice to balance the scales.
The book immediately established this eery foreboding feeling right from the opening scene. The ways that the sisters interact between themselves and others in minute ways shows their solidarity from strangers and the traumatic codependence of children trying to survive. The book narrates from present day Clem returning to the island she left long ago and then flashes back to the past when the girls first came to the island and what happened that they had to leave. The pacing was well done for the majority of the book and worked to show parallels in the sisters behavior in present day repeating and also worked to grow tension as the plot moved along. The prose was descriptive and engaging. The imagery was moving and disturbing. The ending felt a little sudden and unfinished to me. Up until this point in the book I was enthralled and thinking this was a 5 star read, but after all the build up I felt like I had more questions than answers. I had to go back and reread the page with the reveal because it felt like it happened so quickly and then the book wrapped up. I did love the haunting aesthetic and the folklore created by young lost girls looking for meaning and thought that was so well done in the book. Ultimately I will recommend for someone seeking an unsettling read exploring the bonds of family who enjoys a dark folktale.
Thanks to Net Galley, Thomas & Mercer, and the author for the opportunity to read and review the book. All opinions are my own.
The book immediately established this eery foreboding feeling right from the opening scene. The ways that the sisters interact between themselves and others in minute ways shows their solidarity from strangers and the traumatic codependence of children trying to survive. The book narrates from present day Clem returning to the island she left long ago and then flashes back to the past when the girls first came to the island and what happened that they had to leave. The pacing was well done for the majority of the book and worked to show parallels in the sisters behavior in present day repeating and also worked to grow tension as the plot moved along. The prose was descriptive and engaging. The imagery was moving and disturbing. The ending felt a little sudden and unfinished to me. Up until this point in the book I was enthralled and thinking this was a 5 star read, but after all the build up I felt like I had more questions than answers. I had to go back and reread the page with the reveal because it felt like it happened so quickly and then the book wrapped up. I did love the haunting aesthetic and the folklore created by young lost girls looking for meaning and thought that was so well done in the book. Ultimately I will recommend for someone seeking an unsettling read exploring the bonds of family who enjoys a dark folktale.
Thanks to Net Galley, Thomas & Mercer, and the author for the opportunity to read and review the book. All opinions are my own.
March 4, 2026
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher (Thomas & Mercer) for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!!
All Hail Daudir 🙏🏻🦌
‘Yellowjackets’ + folklore horror + nature horror + witchy vibes + ancient gods = one freaking awesome book!!!
This was my first Dawn Kurtagich book and I am hooked. I had so much fun with this book- I binged it in 2 days and couldn’t stop thinking about it when I had to put it down. It was deliciously macabre and the eerie tone of the story was crafted perfectly. I could feel the forest leaning in as I read its story, holding its breath until I finished. I was immersed in this world, and the Baltane island felt like my island.
**SPOILERS BELOW** 👇🏻
I recognize that this was an ARC, but i knocked a star off for plot hole issues! Some questions I have:
-Why did Ernest stay on the island after Grandma Alys died? He stopped bringing provisions to the Ward sisters a few years after she died but then mentions a blood debt at the end of the story as his motive for killing. If he stopped fulfilling his debt many many years ago why did he stay on the island and therefore what was his motive in killing off the Ward sisters?
-I think the whole story could have been done without Henry. Don’t get me wrong- I loved him but he served no purpose in the story whatsoever.
-What happened to Henry after his father died? There is no mention of him whatsoever
-Some minor issues in the dual timeline (saying it was one month when it was previously mentioned to be a different month)
All Hail Daudir 🙏🏻🦌
‘Yellowjackets’ + folklore horror + nature horror + witchy vibes + ancient gods = one freaking awesome book!!!
This was my first Dawn Kurtagich book and I am hooked. I had so much fun with this book- I binged it in 2 days and couldn’t stop thinking about it when I had to put it down. It was deliciously macabre and the eerie tone of the story was crafted perfectly. I could feel the forest leaning in as I read its story, holding its breath until I finished. I was immersed in this world, and the Baltane island felt like my island.
**SPOILERS BELOW** 👇🏻
I recognize that this was an ARC, but i knocked a star off for plot hole issues! Some questions I have:
-Why did Ernest stay on the island after Grandma Alys died? He stopped bringing provisions to the Ward sisters a few years after she died but then mentions a blood debt at the end of the story as his motive for killing. If he stopped fulfilling his debt many many years ago why did he stay on the island and therefore what was his motive in killing off the Ward sisters?
-I think the whole story could have been done without Henry. Don’t get me wrong- I loved him but he served no purpose in the story whatsoever.
-What happened to Henry after his father died? There is no mention of him whatsoever
-Some minor issues in the dual timeline (saying it was one month when it was previously mentioned to be a different month)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
You know that feeling when you’re walking through the woods and you swear the trees are watching you? Yeah. The Seventh Sister is that feeling, but in book form, and also you’re barefoot, grieving, probably hallucinating, and possibly in a cult you made up with your six sisters. And I LOVED it.
We’ve got seven girls, one dead set of parents, a grandmother who’s definitely auditioning for Most Cryptic Crone of the Year, and an island that should’ve come with a big ol’ “GET OUT” sign carved into a tree. Beltane is not the vibe. It's mossy and eldritch and so steeped in rot and grief you can practically smell the mildew off the page. The Ward sisters arrive already broken, but instead of healing? They build a religion. About a god. In the forest. Who might be real. Or might just be what grief looks like when it puts on a leafy crown and crawls into your bones.
Clem, our narrator and certified “Middle Child Who’s Seen Too Much,” is a walking raw nerve in the best, most deliciously haunted way. She’s got guilt, secrets, and a whole suitcase of buried trauma just rattling around her psyche. Watching her navigate both the present and the 1999 timeline is like watching someone try to put out a forest fire with a bottle of wine and denial. It’s unhinged. It’s tragic. It’s so good.
Also, can we talk about how the forest is basically the eighth sister? It’s sentient, it’s petty, it holds a grudge, and it is always eavesdropping. The way Dawn Kurtagich writes the setting... girl. I felt damp reading this. My skin pruned. The moss grew in me. The prose is lush in a feral way, like it wants to braid your hair while whispering secrets from the dirt. And yeah, it's a slow burn. But it’s the kind of burn that ends in a ritual circle with no exit and way too many teeth.
Now listen. There’s a moment in this book where the sisterhood goes full tilt. Like, sacrificial, sacred, unhinged girlhood that’s all knives and lullabies. It’s messy and sad and sometimes the only way these girls can show love is by bleeding for each other or hiding bodies (figuratively… mostly). And that's kind of the point. Sisterhood in this book is a religion, a disease, a survival tactic. It's not cute. It’s culty and it’s complicated and it HURTS. If you’ve ever fought with someone you’d still bury a body for, this book gets it.
Was it perfect? No. A couple reveals didn’t quite hit like they were supposed to, and I wanted just a bit more bite at the end. Like, if you're gonna summon a woodland god, I want full antlered chaos, not just spooky metaphors and lingering dread. But you know what? It earned that fourth star with atmosphere alone. And the emotional payoff still slapped.
So yeah. Four stars. This book felt like a bruise blooming slowly over your ribs. Tender, weirdly beautiful, a little alarming... and you’re not totally sure how you got it.
Whodunity Award: For Making Me Side-Eye Every Mossy Tree Like It Knew My Sins
Huge thanks to Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for the ARC, and for apparently deciding I needed to be personally haunted by mildew, mushrooms, and sisterhood-based psychological collapse. I have not known peace since page 47 and honestly, I wouldn’t have it any other way.
We’ve got seven girls, one dead set of parents, a grandmother who’s definitely auditioning for Most Cryptic Crone of the Year, and an island that should’ve come with a big ol’ “GET OUT” sign carved into a tree. Beltane is not the vibe. It's mossy and eldritch and so steeped in rot and grief you can practically smell the mildew off the page. The Ward sisters arrive already broken, but instead of healing? They build a religion. About a god. In the forest. Who might be real. Or might just be what grief looks like when it puts on a leafy crown and crawls into your bones.
Clem, our narrator and certified “Middle Child Who’s Seen Too Much,” is a walking raw nerve in the best, most deliciously haunted way. She’s got guilt, secrets, and a whole suitcase of buried trauma just rattling around her psyche. Watching her navigate both the present and the 1999 timeline is like watching someone try to put out a forest fire with a bottle of wine and denial. It’s unhinged. It’s tragic. It’s so good.
Also, can we talk about how the forest is basically the eighth sister? It’s sentient, it’s petty, it holds a grudge, and it is always eavesdropping. The way Dawn Kurtagich writes the setting... girl. I felt damp reading this. My skin pruned. The moss grew in me. The prose is lush in a feral way, like it wants to braid your hair while whispering secrets from the dirt. And yeah, it's a slow burn. But it’s the kind of burn that ends in a ritual circle with no exit and way too many teeth.
Now listen. There’s a moment in this book where the sisterhood goes full tilt. Like, sacrificial, sacred, unhinged girlhood that’s all knives and lullabies. It’s messy and sad and sometimes the only way these girls can show love is by bleeding for each other or hiding bodies (figuratively… mostly). And that's kind of the point. Sisterhood in this book is a religion, a disease, a survival tactic. It's not cute. It’s culty and it’s complicated and it HURTS. If you’ve ever fought with someone you’d still bury a body for, this book gets it.
Was it perfect? No. A couple reveals didn’t quite hit like they were supposed to, and I wanted just a bit more bite at the end. Like, if you're gonna summon a woodland god, I want full antlered chaos, not just spooky metaphors and lingering dread. But you know what? It earned that fourth star with atmosphere alone. And the emotional payoff still slapped.
So yeah. Four stars. This book felt like a bruise blooming slowly over your ribs. Tender, weirdly beautiful, a little alarming... and you’re not totally sure how you got it.
Whodunity Award: For Making Me Side-Eye Every Mossy Tree Like It Knew My Sins
Huge thanks to Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for the ARC, and for apparently deciding I needed to be personally haunted by mildew, mushrooms, and sisterhood-based psychological collapse. I have not known peace since page 47 and honestly, I wouldn’t have it any other way.
April 18, 2026
Author Dawn Kurtagich has risen through the ranks from YA novelist to Adult novelist and along the way has been penning some terrific horror tales. Her latest is a gothic throwback story that is full of complex familial relationships entitled THE SEVENTH SISTER.
If the storyline seems a bit familiar to you it might be because it reminded me a lot of the terrific cable series Yellowjackets, which also deals with a group of young women stranded in a strange place. In this novel, the women are all young sisters who moved to the remote forest island Beltane to live with their grandmother following the tragic death of their parents. Granny Alys is happy to take them all in and join her in an isolated form of living that may also include some really creepy supernatural forces which may exist on the island.
The opening of the story is set in present day, decades after the young sisters first went to Beltane, and it is here where we see the adult version of some of them receiving a mysterious letter calling them back to that island, sent in an envelope containing a single dried juniper berry. Back in 1999, we meet the sisters for the first time as they arrive on Beltane --- Juniper, Hazel, Clementine, twins Holly and Ivy, Willow, and the youngest Poppy who was merely three years old. Clem is the only sister who instantly is suspicious of both Granny and Beltane and feels that her grandmother is sowing the seeds of discord between herself and her sisters as a result.
Among the numerous things that Granny teaches the sisters is the existence of the one she worships on Beltane, the being known to her as The God of the Woods, also known as Daudir. Juniper, the eldest, buys fully into this mythology and all but Clem follow suit. When the unthinkable happens and Granny passes away, Juniper steps up to take the lead and that includes not burying the body but living with it in their small home as it rots away. Meanwhile, the sisters all follow the initial instructions that Granny had given them which included not going outside at night as the woods seem to creep closer to the house during this time.
Not all of the girls will survive their time on Beldane and that sets the stage for the eventual reunion of the surviving sisters decades later. Juniper has never left Beldane and now presides over the island and its’ supposed lore in the same way Granny once did. It is this older version of their sister that Clem, Hazel, and Ivy meet when they return, and they find that not only has nothing seemed to change but Juniper may be more deeply intertwined into the mythology of the island than even their grandmother was. When Ivy goes missing, the danger of the island is once again on full display and this time it might not let the sisters go.
Secrets will be revealed between the surviving sisters that only increase the dangerous void between them and adds to the bizarre reunion that none of them may survive. THE SEVENTH SISTER is classic gothic horror that maintains a deep unsettling feeling from start to finish. Kurtagich indicates in the Prologue that the idea of children moving freely through a wild, unstructured landscape has always stirred something deep within her. She also wishes to leave her readers with the question when reading this: did the magic leave or did I?
Reviewed by Ray Palen for Book Reporter
If the storyline seems a bit familiar to you it might be because it reminded me a lot of the terrific cable series Yellowjackets, which also deals with a group of young women stranded in a strange place. In this novel, the women are all young sisters who moved to the remote forest island Beltane to live with their grandmother following the tragic death of their parents. Granny Alys is happy to take them all in and join her in an isolated form of living that may also include some really creepy supernatural forces which may exist on the island.
The opening of the story is set in present day, decades after the young sisters first went to Beltane, and it is here where we see the adult version of some of them receiving a mysterious letter calling them back to that island, sent in an envelope containing a single dried juniper berry. Back in 1999, we meet the sisters for the first time as they arrive on Beltane --- Juniper, Hazel, Clementine, twins Holly and Ivy, Willow, and the youngest Poppy who was merely three years old. Clem is the only sister who instantly is suspicious of both Granny and Beltane and feels that her grandmother is sowing the seeds of discord between herself and her sisters as a result.
Among the numerous things that Granny teaches the sisters is the existence of the one she worships on Beltane, the being known to her as The God of the Woods, also known as Daudir. Juniper, the eldest, buys fully into this mythology and all but Clem follow suit. When the unthinkable happens and Granny passes away, Juniper steps up to take the lead and that includes not burying the body but living with it in their small home as it rots away. Meanwhile, the sisters all follow the initial instructions that Granny had given them which included not going outside at night as the woods seem to creep closer to the house during this time.
Not all of the girls will survive their time on Beldane and that sets the stage for the eventual reunion of the surviving sisters decades later. Juniper has never left Beldane and now presides over the island and its’ supposed lore in the same way Granny once did. It is this older version of their sister that Clem, Hazel, and Ivy meet when they return, and they find that not only has nothing seemed to change but Juniper may be more deeply intertwined into the mythology of the island than even their grandmother was. When Ivy goes missing, the danger of the island is once again on full display and this time it might not let the sisters go.
Secrets will be revealed between the surviving sisters that only increase the dangerous void between them and adds to the bizarre reunion that none of them may survive. THE SEVENTH SISTER is classic gothic horror that maintains a deep unsettling feeling from start to finish. Kurtagich indicates in the Prologue that the idea of children moving freely through a wild, unstructured landscape has always stirred something deep within her. She also wishes to leave her readers with the question when reading this: did the magic leave or did I?
Reviewed by Ray Palen for Book Reporter
April 7, 2026
“The Seventh Sister” by Dawn Kurtagich brilliantly weaves folk horror and grief together in this spooky, bewitching novel.
When their parents die, the seven Ward sisters are sent to live with their grandmother on the isolated island of Beltane, where time and reality hang suspended. Their grief awakens a creepy and unsettling devotion to Daudir, the Forgotten God of the Wood.
Shortly after arriving, another tragedy strikes and the sisters are left to fend for themselves and grapple with the lurking presence of death. Around them, the forest begins to grow restless.
Years later, an invitation from Beltane have the surviving sisters return home, where nothing is as they've left it and nothing is quite as it seems. They’re forced to reckon with the forest god they left behind, along with secrets and truths they believed they had buried.
Grief can be a hard emotion to depict in a story, especially when it’s experienced in so many different ways. Each sister in this story handles their grief in a way their other sisters don’t, and that often causes friction and arguments between them all. Living somewhere new and under their grandmother’s rules (or lack thereof) changes the family dynamic that’s always been in place. These little instabilities make the rocky relationship between the sisters feel authentic and genuine to the story and aid in understanding why they have the reactions that they do.
The folklore is incredibly well-written, immediately immersing the reader into life on the island where it’s just the sisters, their grandmother, and the forest. In their grief, it makes sense to believe in a forest god that looks over them and ensures they’re safe and provided for. Having lost their parents, the god acts as a stand-in, someone who can give them the parental care they’re lacking. Yet, it becomes clear that there might be more going on than displaced children looking for something to believe in. Throughout the story, readers will be questioning the veracity of this forest god.
Written in two timelines of past and present, the story unfolds a lot like a mystery with horror/folk aspects. Having to return to their childhood home on Beltane, the sisters are forced to confront the trauma and grief from the past, including their belief in Daudir. Sometimes the pacing slows to provide these vivid descriptions of Beltane and what life was like as children, and how disorienting it was to return as adults. Throughout, the mystery of what happened to them as kids and what’s happening to them in their adulthood really creates this overlapping, full-circle moment as they once again must deal with their grief and forgotten god.
“The Seventh Sister” by Dawn Kurtagich is an intriguing read that pulls readers into this mystifying world of grief, trauma, and divine entities. This is a story perfect for readers who like a good, slow, creepy mystery with a mix of horror and folk elements to create a very unsettling atmosphere. “The Seventh Sister” is expected to be published on April 07, 2026. Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for providing me with a free e-arc and the opportunity to share my honest opinion in this review.
When their parents die, the seven Ward sisters are sent to live with their grandmother on the isolated island of Beltane, where time and reality hang suspended. Their grief awakens a creepy and unsettling devotion to Daudir, the Forgotten God of the Wood.
Shortly after arriving, another tragedy strikes and the sisters are left to fend for themselves and grapple with the lurking presence of death. Around them, the forest begins to grow restless.
Years later, an invitation from Beltane have the surviving sisters return home, where nothing is as they've left it and nothing is quite as it seems. They’re forced to reckon with the forest god they left behind, along with secrets and truths they believed they had buried.
Grief can be a hard emotion to depict in a story, especially when it’s experienced in so many different ways. Each sister in this story handles their grief in a way their other sisters don’t, and that often causes friction and arguments between them all. Living somewhere new and under their grandmother’s rules (or lack thereof) changes the family dynamic that’s always been in place. These little instabilities make the rocky relationship between the sisters feel authentic and genuine to the story and aid in understanding why they have the reactions that they do.
The folklore is incredibly well-written, immediately immersing the reader into life on the island where it’s just the sisters, their grandmother, and the forest. In their grief, it makes sense to believe in a forest god that looks over them and ensures they’re safe and provided for. Having lost their parents, the god acts as a stand-in, someone who can give them the parental care they’re lacking. Yet, it becomes clear that there might be more going on than displaced children looking for something to believe in. Throughout the story, readers will be questioning the veracity of this forest god.
Written in two timelines of past and present, the story unfolds a lot like a mystery with horror/folk aspects. Having to return to their childhood home on Beltane, the sisters are forced to confront the trauma and grief from the past, including their belief in Daudir. Sometimes the pacing slows to provide these vivid descriptions of Beltane and what life was like as children, and how disorienting it was to return as adults. Throughout, the mystery of what happened to them as kids and what’s happening to them in their adulthood really creates this overlapping, full-circle moment as they once again must deal with their grief and forgotten god.
“The Seventh Sister” by Dawn Kurtagich is an intriguing read that pulls readers into this mystifying world of grief, trauma, and divine entities. This is a story perfect for readers who like a good, slow, creepy mystery with a mix of horror and folk elements to create a very unsettling atmosphere. “The Seventh Sister” is expected to be published on April 07, 2026. Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for providing me with a free e-arc and the opportunity to share my honest opinion in this review.
April 23, 2026
The Seventh Sister: Folk Horror, with Full Glossary.
BWAF Score: 6/10
The Seventh Sister opens with an envelope containing a single dried juniper berry, and Clementine Ward promptly throws up on a toilet seat. The book will spend the next three hundred pages asking us to share her level of sensory alarm, and for long stretches we do. Dawn Kurtagich is a writer of real atmosphere. She knows what mushrooms smell like, how rain hits a corrugated roof, what color a bruise is on the third day. She has the trick, rarer than it sounds, of making the air of a place breathable on the page.
What she has not quite made is seven distinct girls.
The Ward sisters arrive at Beltane, a forested island with a white Second Empire house on it, each assigned a name, a color, and a single defining adjective. Juniper is stern. Hazel is flirtatious. Clem is the middle one who worries. The twins are eerie. Willow has the Sight. Poppy is three. The schema is a lovely fairy-tale conceit; it is also a cage. When the plot needs Hazel to be something other than flirtatious, the prose has to go outside and fetch another adjective for her.
The grandmother, Granny Alys, is the novel’s strongest character. She is barefoot, soil-scented, kindly, and sure of herself in a way that brooks no interruption, and Kurtagich writes her with the unhurried precision reserved for people the author loves. Alys introduces the girls to Daudir, the Forgotten God of the Wood, a stag-skulled figure who requires tribute and can be bargained with, and the religious apparatus begins to hum. The rituals are vivid. The secret language the sisters invent (glossed in an appendix) is either charming or twee depending on your tolerance for appendices.
Kurtagich, Welsh-based and Africa-raised, built her career in YA with The Dead House and its successors before moving into adult horror with The Madness in 2024. The Seventh Sister is her third book for grown readers, and the YA muscle memory still shows, particularly in how it explains itself.
The prose works hardest when it does the least: short declarative sentences about bones, wine, mud. It falters in simile, of which there is a great deal. Things here are always like something else, often like three somethings in a row, which is one or two past the point where like is still doing work. The dual timeline, 1999 and 2024, is efficient, though the present-day chapters know things the past-tense chapters are still pretending to discover.
When the book arrives at the woods at night with knives, it arrives.
Somewhere in Clementine’s corroded memory the forest has been waiting, and the forest remembers everyone.
BWAF Score: 6/10
The Seventh Sister opens with an envelope containing a single dried juniper berry, and Clementine Ward promptly throws up on a toilet seat. The book will spend the next three hundred pages asking us to share her level of sensory alarm, and for long stretches we do. Dawn Kurtagich is a writer of real atmosphere. She knows what mushrooms smell like, how rain hits a corrugated roof, what color a bruise is on the third day. She has the trick, rarer than it sounds, of making the air of a place breathable on the page.
What she has not quite made is seven distinct girls.
The Ward sisters arrive at Beltane, a forested island with a white Second Empire house on it, each assigned a name, a color, and a single defining adjective. Juniper is stern. Hazel is flirtatious. Clem is the middle one who worries. The twins are eerie. Willow has the Sight. Poppy is three. The schema is a lovely fairy-tale conceit; it is also a cage. When the plot needs Hazel to be something other than flirtatious, the prose has to go outside and fetch another adjective for her.
The grandmother, Granny Alys, is the novel’s strongest character. She is barefoot, soil-scented, kindly, and sure of herself in a way that brooks no interruption, and Kurtagich writes her with the unhurried precision reserved for people the author loves. Alys introduces the girls to Daudir, the Forgotten God of the Wood, a stag-skulled figure who requires tribute and can be bargained with, and the religious apparatus begins to hum. The rituals are vivid. The secret language the sisters invent (glossed in an appendix) is either charming or twee depending on your tolerance for appendices.
Kurtagich, Welsh-based and Africa-raised, built her career in YA with The Dead House and its successors before moving into adult horror with The Madness in 2024. The Seventh Sister is her third book for grown readers, and the YA muscle memory still shows, particularly in how it explains itself.
The prose works hardest when it does the least: short declarative sentences about bones, wine, mud. It falters in simile, of which there is a great deal. Things here are always like something else, often like three somethings in a row, which is one or two past the point where like is still doing work. The dual timeline, 1999 and 2024, is efficient, though the present-day chapters know things the past-tense chapters are still pretending to discover.
When the book arrives at the woods at night with knives, it arrives.
Somewhere in Clementine’s corroded memory the forest has been waiting, and the forest remembers everyone.
April 19, 2026
Dawn Kurtagich has penned some terrific horror tales. Her latest effort, THE SEVENTH SISTER, is a gothic throwback featuring complex familial relationships.
The storyline reminded me a lot of the series “Yellowjackets,” which also revolved around a group of young ladies stranded in a strange place. In this novel, the Ward sisters moved to the remote forest island of Beltane to live with their grandmother following their parents’ tragic deaths. Granny Alys is happy to take them all in and join her in an isolated form of living that also may include some truly creepy supernatural forces that exist on the island.
Decades later, the surviving sisters receive a cryptic letter summoning them back to the island. It is sent in an envelope containing a single dried juniper berry.
Juniper, Hazel, Clementine, twins Holly and Ivy, Willow and Poppy first arrive on Beltane in 1999. Clem is the only one who is immediately suspicious of their surroundings and feels that her grandmother is sowing the seeds of discord between herself and her sisters as a result.
Granny teaches the girls about the existence of the being she worships, Daudir, the Forgotten God of the Wood. Juniper buys fully into this mythology, and all but Clem follow suit. When the unthinkable happens and Granny passes away, Juniper steps up to take the lead. But instead of buring the body, they live with it in their small space as it rots away. Meanwhile, they follow the initial instructions that Granny had given them, which includes not going outside at night as the woods seem to creep closer to the house during this time.
Not all of the girls will make it out of Beltane alive, setting the stage for the eventual reunion of those who are still living. Juniper never left and now presides over the island and its supposed lore in the same way that Granny once did. Her siblings realize that not only has nothing seemed to change, but she may be more deeply intertwined in the mythology of the island than even their grandmother was.
Secrets will be revealed among the sisters that only increase the dangerous void between them and adds to the bizarre reunion that perhaps none of them will survive.
THE SEVENTH SISTER is classic gothic horror that maintains a deep unsettling feeling from start to finish. Kurtagich indicates in the prologue that the idea of children moving freely through a wild, unstructured landscape has always stirred something deep within her. She also wishes to leave her readers with a question: Did the magic leave, or did I?
Reviewed by Ray Palen
The storyline reminded me a lot of the series “Yellowjackets,” which also revolved around a group of young ladies stranded in a strange place. In this novel, the Ward sisters moved to the remote forest island of Beltane to live with their grandmother following their parents’ tragic deaths. Granny Alys is happy to take them all in and join her in an isolated form of living that also may include some truly creepy supernatural forces that exist on the island.
Decades later, the surviving sisters receive a cryptic letter summoning them back to the island. It is sent in an envelope containing a single dried juniper berry.
Juniper, Hazel, Clementine, twins Holly and Ivy, Willow and Poppy first arrive on Beltane in 1999. Clem is the only one who is immediately suspicious of their surroundings and feels that her grandmother is sowing the seeds of discord between herself and her sisters as a result.
Granny teaches the girls about the existence of the being she worships, Daudir, the Forgotten God of the Wood. Juniper buys fully into this mythology, and all but Clem follow suit. When the unthinkable happens and Granny passes away, Juniper steps up to take the lead. But instead of buring the body, they live with it in their small space as it rots away. Meanwhile, they follow the initial instructions that Granny had given them, which includes not going outside at night as the woods seem to creep closer to the house during this time.
Not all of the girls will make it out of Beltane alive, setting the stage for the eventual reunion of those who are still living. Juniper never left and now presides over the island and its supposed lore in the same way that Granny once did. Her siblings realize that not only has nothing seemed to change, but she may be more deeply intertwined in the mythology of the island than even their grandmother was.
Secrets will be revealed among the sisters that only increase the dangerous void between them and adds to the bizarre reunion that perhaps none of them will survive.
THE SEVENTH SISTER is classic gothic horror that maintains a deep unsettling feeling from start to finish. Kurtagich indicates in the prologue that the idea of children moving freely through a wild, unstructured landscape has always stirred something deep within her. She also wishes to leave her readers with a question: Did the magic leave, or did I?
Reviewed by Ray Palen
December 7, 2025
Thank you NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!
“The Seventh Sister” by Dawn Kurtagich is a fever-dream of folklore, trauma, and sisterhood; it’s an eerie, atmospheric combination of “Yellowjackets” and “Lord of the Flies,” all taking place in what the characters believe is a gothic fairytale.
The story follows Clem, one of seven sisters raised on the isolated island of Beltane under the watch of their grandmother who is a woman devoted to an unnamed, ancient forest god. Told largely through flashbacks, the story slips between Clem’s present-day disbelief in magic and her haunting memories of childhood: ritual games, whispered rules, and escalating sacrifices that blur the line between survival and worship. As you move between past and present, the unsettling question lingers: Was the god real or was he born from grief, neglect, and imagination?
Kurtagich’s writing is vivid, immersive, and often brutal. The forest is alive in every sense; it’s lush, rotting, hungry. Body horror and decay imagery appear throughout, making this a book not suited for faint stomachs but perfect for those who embrace darker, visceral storytelling.
Each sister suffers in her own way, and while their names can be difficult to track at times, their dynamic is hauntingly real: tender and vicious, loyal and fractured. Their isolation after being forgotten by the adults and systems meant to protect them pushes them into ritual, obsession, and belief as a way to survive overwhelming loss. Watching the childhood games twist into religion, sacrifice, and delusion is both heartbreaking and spellbinding.
There are hints of romance with a character from Clem’s past, though his presence feels fleeting compared to the overwhelming emotional weight carried by the sisterhood, grief, and mythology. The story builds slowly but deliberately as secrets surface and the truth of what happened to the sisters, including the deaths that still haunt Beltane, comes to light.
The final reveal about the god and the island is bold and definitive, though I did wish it remained more ambiguous, but the ending resonates, pulling together themes of belief, trauma, and the unbreakable tether between siblings.
Beautifully written, disturbing, and emotionally raw, “The Seventh Sister” is a story that crawls under the skin and lingers. It’s a dark, lyrical exploration of grief, imagination, and the powerful, sometimes terrifying, bond of sisterhood.
“The Seventh Sister” by Dawn Kurtagich is a fever-dream of folklore, trauma, and sisterhood; it’s an eerie, atmospheric combination of “Yellowjackets” and “Lord of the Flies,” all taking place in what the characters believe is a gothic fairytale.
The story follows Clem, one of seven sisters raised on the isolated island of Beltane under the watch of their grandmother who is a woman devoted to an unnamed, ancient forest god. Told largely through flashbacks, the story slips between Clem’s present-day disbelief in magic and her haunting memories of childhood: ritual games, whispered rules, and escalating sacrifices that blur the line between survival and worship. As you move between past and present, the unsettling question lingers: Was the god real or was he born from grief, neglect, and imagination?
Kurtagich’s writing is vivid, immersive, and often brutal. The forest is alive in every sense; it’s lush, rotting, hungry. Body horror and decay imagery appear throughout, making this a book not suited for faint stomachs but perfect for those who embrace darker, visceral storytelling.
Each sister suffers in her own way, and while their names can be difficult to track at times, their dynamic is hauntingly real: tender and vicious, loyal and fractured. Their isolation after being forgotten by the adults and systems meant to protect them pushes them into ritual, obsession, and belief as a way to survive overwhelming loss. Watching the childhood games twist into religion, sacrifice, and delusion is both heartbreaking and spellbinding.
There are hints of romance with a character from Clem’s past, though his presence feels fleeting compared to the overwhelming emotional weight carried by the sisterhood, grief, and mythology. The story builds slowly but deliberately as secrets surface and the truth of what happened to the sisters, including the deaths that still haunt Beltane, comes to light.
The final reveal about the god and the island is bold and definitive, though I did wish it remained more ambiguous, but the ending resonates, pulling together themes of belief, trauma, and the unbreakable tether between siblings.
Beautifully written, disturbing, and emotionally raw, “The Seventh Sister” is a story that crawls under the skin and lingers. It’s a dark, lyrical exploration of grief, imagination, and the powerful, sometimes terrifying, bond of sisterhood.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
The queen of darkness returns....
The Seventh Sister is dark, twisty and a true delight... it is a tale that has come out of the shadows... sure to haunt you in the dead of night, or keep you up long after you're supposed to be in bed...brought to a terrifying reality by Kurtagich's talented voice... from its eerie, creepy beginning to its last lingering soft whispers, this is a world where fear holds an iron fist, and the truth may not be reality...for who knows what truly lingers in the dak after all...
Join the Ward sisters on their tale of loss and grief, as tragedy has struck and they journey back to Beltane, to live with their grandmother in a hopefully calmer life... except tragedy strikes once more before the girls settle down, and now an Old God demands appeasement...and unfortunately the Ward sisters are thrown once more into chaos, and a world of dark sacrifice, and grisly deaths in the name of this "Forgotten God of the Wood". Once more, I found myself enraptured by Kurtagich's talent, drawn into the dark (and yet deliciously disturbing) world that she has made...and how she is able to blend something so simple into something that is utterly terrifying... and yet also being able to blend these horrific elements into something more.
For The Seventh Sister is not just a tale to cater to the dark but caters to the side that most of us keep buried... it explores a side that many of us might feel ashamed of or only talk about to those that we trust the most. It reminds us that sometimes, while we may be feeling at our lowest and the universe seems to be throwing us all the signs that we might not belong, to keep going. Not only that, but it allows us to explore how it can change someone, and how it can also fracture to cause someone to become a new person from who they were before.
This was a truly delicious, dark, twisty, and grisly novel, akin to authors like Ava Reid or T. Kingfisher. It is an eerie masterpiece that will linger to haunt you long after you have finished it, and something that I will be recommending to all who enjoy a beautifully dark, somewhat grotesque, somewhat fantastical read.
Thank you to Thomas & Mercer, as well as Netgalley for a copy of this delightfully spooky novel in advanced. I am voluntarily leaving this review, and all thoughts and opinions are my own.
The rest of my reviews may be found at: https://littlereapling.wixsite.com/fa....
The Seventh Sister is dark, twisty and a true delight... it is a tale that has come out of the shadows... sure to haunt you in the dead of night, or keep you up long after you're supposed to be in bed...brought to a terrifying reality by Kurtagich's talented voice... from its eerie, creepy beginning to its last lingering soft whispers, this is a world where fear holds an iron fist, and the truth may not be reality...for who knows what truly lingers in the dak after all...
Join the Ward sisters on their tale of loss and grief, as tragedy has struck and they journey back to Beltane, to live with their grandmother in a hopefully calmer life... except tragedy strikes once more before the girls settle down, and now an Old God demands appeasement...and unfortunately the Ward sisters are thrown once more into chaos, and a world of dark sacrifice, and grisly deaths in the name of this "Forgotten God of the Wood". Once more, I found myself enraptured by Kurtagich's talent, drawn into the dark (and yet deliciously disturbing) world that she has made...and how she is able to blend something so simple into something that is utterly terrifying... and yet also being able to blend these horrific elements into something more.
For The Seventh Sister is not just a tale to cater to the dark but caters to the side that most of us keep buried... it explores a side that many of us might feel ashamed of or only talk about to those that we trust the most. It reminds us that sometimes, while we may be feeling at our lowest and the universe seems to be throwing us all the signs that we might not belong, to keep going. Not only that, but it allows us to explore how it can change someone, and how it can also fracture to cause someone to become a new person from who they were before.
This was a truly delicious, dark, twisty, and grisly novel, akin to authors like Ava Reid or T. Kingfisher. It is an eerie masterpiece that will linger to haunt you long after you have finished it, and something that I will be recommending to all who enjoy a beautifully dark, somewhat grotesque, somewhat fantastical read.
Thank you to Thomas & Mercer, as well as Netgalley for a copy of this delightfully spooky novel in advanced. I am voluntarily leaving this review, and all thoughts and opinions are my own.
The rest of my reviews may be found at: https://littlereapling.wixsite.com/fa....
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