Trigger warnings: Near death experiences

6/10, a rather unsatisfying historical novel since the main character was a very annoying and reckless character mainly because she kept making bad decisions like wandering off and going to the river so she nearly got herself killed and it was all to escape a prophecy and her father? Really? Also the plot started off action packed and then dragged when Moss wandered around, stowed herself away in a sleigh just to meet the Queen at the time this book was set and then went back to the Bloody Tower which I thought she hated so why would she come back? Also she made a new friend called Salter who turned out to be a thief and a scammer but she fell for it and then she hated him and now she's back with him and the only reason this happened was probably to show that that character experienced some development. Also the ending sucked since the Riverwitch rejected the prophecy and that's it, it fizzled out. What a shame. I wouldn't recommend this to anyone and you would be better off reading about King Henry VIII and Queen Anne elsewhere or you could read another historical novel like Traitor's Kiss by Pauline Francis. There's a sequel to this but I won't read it and it's unlikely that my library would get it considering that this is 9 years old now. ( )

Moss is the executioner’s daughter. That’s right; she lives in the Tower of London in England with her father who serves King Henry VIII, and lately they are way too busy with executions. Her job is to catch the severed heads in a basket after her father chops them off, a job she detests. She longs to escape and see more of the world beyond the castle confines and cannot understand why her father forbids it. Even the scary stories about the Riverwitich who lives in the River Thames and who is rumored to steal children cannot keep her away. But when she discovers the mystery surrounding her mother’s death and the Riverwitch’s curse on her family, will it be too late for destiny to prevail? This unusual historical novel intermingles history and fantasy, creating an interesting and engaging story for tweens and readers of all ages.

Sharyn H. / Marathon County Public Library
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..of kings and towers and superstitions

Missing children along the River Thames, a daughter trapped inside the tower with an unaccounted for past and tales to explain why she must never leave the tower. Moss, the Executioner's daughter is on the verge of an awful truth.
Stolen moments lead to outside the tower through a hidden way, stolen boots lead towards a new and unlikely friend.
What is the mystery of the Witch of the Rivers and what does Moss have to do with her?
Set against the backdrop of the Tower of London, Hardstaff weaves a story that gathers together, in the language of legends, a world bordering the reality of those who live outside the tower. A world where reality, superstition and witches meet on the eve of Anne Boleyn's downward path from Queen to traitor. A place where children are warned against being taken by the Riverwitch into the depths of the Thames.
Moss's meeting with Anne is a lovely vignette of the doomed Anne whose flame might be fluttering but whose determination and character is very evident.
Moss was born and saved from drowning by the Riverwitch, who in giving her back declared that she would come for Moss in twelve years. Moss it seems is bound by that utterance. She is haunted by the apparition of the Riverwitch glimpsed beneath the icy Thames. Only she can in the end calm the ravages of the Riverwitch.
Hardstaff's language is strongly evocative. I felt the terror of the beheadings, the dank sliminess of the tunnel under the tower, the icy coldness of the river edges in winter, and the insidiousness of the faceless figure that nearly catches Moss.
A fascinating read portraying the Tudor times from a different perspective.

A NetGalley ARC ( )