I have seen the first book in this series everywhere when I am casually browsing for books on a Saturday night *wild* but I've read that you don't have to read the first book before this one so I stated with this second book in the series/world. I love the cover, the themes of the book which are of witchcraft, ghosts *kind of* and friendship as well as the English country village style setting.

I love the writing style, it's so quick and easy to follow and I finished this novella in a day or so; it is such an easy story but it does have a bit of an atmospheric feel in some parts but for most of the book it has a contemporary vibe which isn't usually what I go for. Even though there were aspects that I loved such as the writing style, the relationship between the three main characters, the setting and how easy to was to get through; I found that I wasn't really interested in what happened, it wasn't as interesting or as creepy, atmospheric or horror filled as I thought it would be sadly. I would recommend it as it's so quick and I definitely want to read more by this author however it just isn't as good, interesting or as witchy as I thought it would be.

Didn't make it far into the book. Did not like the narrative style or the introductions of the main characters. It may get better if you stick it out, but it is very British and stylized. It seemed to be building towards a mystery and may have good appeal to fans of psychic thrillers.

'The Lost Child of Lychford' by Paul Cornell is a is the second book in the Lychford series. It's also a ghost story that takes place at Christmas, so it's in good company with a lot of other Christmas ghost stories.

The English village of Lychford seems like a nice little town, but lurking on the edges things are not so nice. Protecting the village are three unlikely women: Judith, the village kook, Autumn, the owner of a witchcraft store, and Lizzie, the Reverend of St. Martin's.

Lizzie is getting ready for Christmas, with the sappy music and cynical occasional churchgoers souring her mood. She sees a young boy in the church by himself, and he appears to be a ghost. Add to that the very strange couple getting married on Christmas Eve with their very odd ceremony, and things aren't what they seem. The three women band together, but are separated and attacked. Can they band together and figure out who this ghostly young boy is?

I haven't read the first book in the series, but I felt able to follow along just fine. I really liked the main characters of this book, and I loved the Christmas setting, although that does fade as the story gets going. There is some decent humor along the way. It's got a cozy mystery feel, but don't let that fool you. There is a coldness at the core of this one. I really liked this book, and Paul Cornell is a very good writer.

I received a review copy of this ebook from Macmillan-Tor/Forge and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.

The three witches of Lychford are challenged once again when a ghost child finds its way into Lizzie’s church. What does it want? When Lizzie realises that it’s the ghost of a child still happily living in Lychford she enlists the help of her two witchy friends, Judith Mawson and Autumn, the local witchcraft shop owner, to track down the significance of the apparition. They’re on a deadline. Christmas is coming and unless they can do something about a magical incursion it may never arrive. Each one of them faces a personal challenge. This is the second of Paul Cornell’s Lychford novellas and the characters continue to develop. Lovely.