A bit sad, I hadn't read the first first one. I love magical books and this one is wonderful! I think kids will enjoy this book. It reminds me a bit Angie Sage stories and a few others I've enjoyed over the past few years. Strong heroine, adventure, strong families, community, loyalty. Characters were well developed and plot was great! Good story to sit and read as summer comes to a close.

Emma and the Silk Thieves is the follow up to Emma and the Banderwigh. You can see by my review of Emma and the Banderwigh that I loved it. When I finished the first book, I emailed the author asking him to let me know when the next book was available. These books are so magical and filled with such descriptive language that you’ll feel as if you’ve traveled to another world and another time.

In the first book, Emma found that she belongs to a magical family, and she also has magical powers. She had to make a deal with some enormous, frightening spiders in the last book, so they would leave her town alone. Her deal puts her in a lot of danger from thieves who want the spider silk since it’s very valuable.

Once again, your middle grade readers will be enthralled with Emma and her magical family. The way that the author brings the story to life makes this book enjoyable for readers of all ages. I really think that if you have a reluctant reader, this would be a fun book to read with them. Be sure you start with book one because you won’t know what is going on otherwise!

When Emma makes a promise, she takes that responsibly seriously. If you read the previous book in this series you know that Emma is a druid, but if you haven’t read the first novel, this novel will fill you in with the details but I do suggest you read the first novel, as I really enjoyed it. Emma, a young child, has a few powers that she can call upon when she needs them. Thank heavens for these powers, for they get her out of some tricky situations and they help her considerably. Emma has made a promise to enter Widowswood forest to collect silk from Spider Queen to bring to the Marsten. After her last escape from the forest, you would think the forest would be the last place that Emma would want to venture into but Emma has made a promise, so Emma will fulfill her word for as long as need be. It’s a tricky situation and the woodland is just as dark as she remembers. The Spider Queen tells Emma of a problem that the spiders are having and Emma assures her that Emma will help her elevate this issue as the consequences for the problem continuing are not positive for anyone. If only the solution was easy.

This is a great fantasy story to wrap yourself in. The author provides excellent details that allow you to fully understand the happenings of the events that are taking place. I had to laugh as Emma tries to make things easier but finds that what she is doing is just the opposite. The second half of the novel is one that you just can’t put down. Written for middle school or older grade school children, I think they will enjoy it.

I received a copy of this novel from NetGalley and Curiosity Quills Press in exchange for an honest review.

Emma and the Silk Thieves (Tales of Widowswood #2) by Matthew S. Cox is book two in the series by can be read without reading the first but don't do that to yourself, book one is AWESOME! This book is just as great and starts up where Emma and the Banderwigh ends. Now there are different dangers and different kind of monsters she must deal with. Again there is suspense, adventure, action, magic, fantasy (more and exciting than book one), new creatures, and great dialogue. Wonderful plot, the characters I just love, and the close family bonds get closer. What an exciting and wonderful book for people of all ages! I would give this 10 stars if I could. Cox has a way of weaving magic into his words and trapping the reader there like the Queen spider! Loved it. Thanks NetGalley for allowing me to read this book.

3.5 stars.

It's about Magic, Courage and a little girl, Emma.
Emma, is a brave hearted lovely girl, who feels a huge responsibility towards her family and her forest. There is a spider queen, a set of thieves and silk. How Emma holds herself among these thieves to protect everybody she knows is the story.
Narration is good, descriptive and long. But will keep the reader enthralled with the magic. A magical read, if you love magic go for it :)


ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making this available!