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The Chaos Court, Anniversary Edition
Strange things are afoot in Whosebourne.
An invisible offaltosser throws trash everywhere. Patience Fell gets blamed. Cobblemaulers dig up the streets at night. Patience Fell gets blamed. Gabledancers stomp through the roof...
Patience is done taking the blame.
She digs into the mystery, with the doubtful help of a very old book, the crazy crow-lady in the attic, and a wheezy boy named Linus who just might be a wizard. What Patience finds unleashes an ancient enemy called the Chaos Court and catapults her into a world of magic and danger beyond her wildest imagination. It'll take all her courage (and a few good whacks with a kitchen broom) to save herself, her friends, and the whole town from certain doom.
Originally released in 2020, this 5th Year Anniversary edition includes expanded content, updated formatting, and a brand-new hardcover edition!
An invisible offaltosser throws trash everywhere. Patience Fell gets blamed. Cobblemaulers dig up the streets at night. Patience Fell gets blamed. Gabledancers stomp through the roof...
Patience is done taking the blame.
She digs into the mystery, with the doubtful help of a very old book, the crazy crow-lady in the attic, and a wheezy boy named Linus who just might be a wizard. What Patience finds unleashes an ancient enemy called the Chaos Court and catapults her into a world of magic and danger beyond her wildest imagination. It'll take all her courage (and a few good whacks with a kitchen broom) to save herself, her friends, and the whole town from certain doom.
Originally released in 2020, this 5th Year Anniversary edition includes expanded content, updated formatting, and a brand-new hardcover edition!
202 pages, ebook
Published December 2, 2025
About the author
Jake Burnett
4 books88 followersJake Burnett grew up in seven countries on four continents and now lives in North Carolina with his wife and two full-time career dogs. When he’s not creating stories or tormenting his friends in tabletop RPGs, his ego keeps writing checks his body can’t cash by careening down wilderness trails or trying to move heavy things way too fast. Look for his latest novel The Witch & the City out now!
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
May 3, 2026
Nicely distinctive junior fantasy, that has a lot of chutzpah in the telling and ends with the merits and power of stories. Patience is a girl with a broom seeking her place in the world, but doesn't expect anything like where she ends up. Sure, her work of being a cleaner and server and assistant at a small tavern is no shock, but there is the humanoid made of rotten food scraps, there is the alleged madwoman in the attic, and there is the bonkers isolated gate, with no wall either side, stuck attached to its lock and free-standing in the middle of the town hall square. What could any of it mean?
What it means is a story that balances the traditional and expected with things that are definitely on the fresher side. And even when it seems a touch old-hat – the very nature of Patience, in her kind of Victorian workhouse aspect and consequent summons to the world of the upper classes – it's done with a brio and liveliness that makes it all thoroughly worth reading. It's not that it's ever exceptional, but all told is a very lively, and stable, selection – this is one of those girl-completely-unaware-of-her-magical-destiny reads that judges a lot of the key elements just about right. A healthy four stars.
And from what I can tell – especially as it seems 70pp trimmer – a fair bit better than the original, 2020 edition.
What it means is a story that balances the traditional and expected with things that are definitely on the fresher side. And even when it seems a touch old-hat – the very nature of Patience, in her kind of Victorian workhouse aspect and consequent summons to the world of the upper classes – it's done with a brio and liveliness that makes it all thoroughly worth reading. It's not that it's ever exceptional, but all told is a very lively, and stable, selection – this is one of those girl-completely-unaware-of-her-magical-destiny reads that judges a lot of the key elements just about right. A healthy four stars.
And from what I can tell – especially as it seems 70pp trimmer – a fair bit better than the original, 2020 edition.
November 7, 2025
I received a NetGalley ARC of this book.
The Chaos Court is a fantasy middle grade novel about 12-year-old Patience Fell, who must leave home to find her place in the world. She ends up in Whosebourne, a town where magical beings create trash hurricanes, dance holes in roofs, and send letters by crow. When Patience gets swept up into an evil magical being's plan to become king, she teams up with a boy named Linus to send the magical beings back where they came from.
This story has my favorite middle grade trope: abnormal things happening to a normal main character. Patience is a girl who is sensible, kind, and brave, and many readers will see themselves reflected in her caring and determined nature. She has no special powers, but manages to hold her own against the Fancy and magical characters using her brain and grit. I really liked that in this story, it is the female character who must be brave and tough, while Linus, her friend, is more timid and book-smart .I also appreciated that the major struggle in this story was relatively low-stakes (no lives threatened) which made the story more light and entertaining.
The Chaos Court is a fantasy middle grade novel about 12-year-old Patience Fell, who must leave home to find her place in the world. She ends up in Whosebourne, a town where magical beings create trash hurricanes, dance holes in roofs, and send letters by crow. When Patience gets swept up into an evil magical being's plan to become king, she teams up with a boy named Linus to send the magical beings back where they came from.
This story has my favorite middle grade trope: abnormal things happening to a normal main character. Patience is a girl who is sensible, kind, and brave, and many readers will see themselves reflected in her caring and determined nature. She has no special powers, but manages to hold her own against the Fancy and magical characters using her brain and grit. I really liked that in this story, it is the female character who must be brave and tough, while Linus, her friend, is more timid and book-smart .I also appreciated that the major struggle in this story was relatively low-stakes (no lives threatened) which made the story more light and entertaining.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews