Hello, everyone! Today I’m celebrating an exciting book birthday. I’m reviewing Once Was Willem by M.R. Carey. This historical fantasy is now available wherever you buy your books.

From the bestselling M. R. Carey comes an utterly unique and enchantingly dark epic fantasy fable like no other.

This is the tale of Once Was Willem, who – eleven hundred and some years after the death of Christ, in the kingdom that had but recently begun to call itself England – rose from the dead to defeat a great evil facing the humble village of Cosham.

Pennick for all its beauty was ever a place with a dark reputation. The forests of the Chase were said to be home to nixies and boggarts, and there was a common belief, passed down through many generations, that the castle housed an unquiet ghost of terrible and malign power. These rumours I can attest were all true; indeed they fell short of the truth by a long way . . .

***Thank you to Orbit Books for providing a copy of the book via NetGalley. My review contains my honest thoughts about my reading experience.***

I’ve never read anything quite like Once Was Willem. It had a strange mix of folksiness and horror that worked perfectly for a story set in medieval England. The story was interesting, and the plot had a steady pace that kept me wanting to read just one more chapter. The tale was mostly linear, but it did weave about quite a bit. There were times I wondered why certain things were relevant, but it all came together in the end.

I never expected to love the POV of a zombie quite so much. Once-Was-Willem was such a great character. He was a monster with a heart of gold. Anyone who has ever experienced being an outcast will be able to relate to him. Truthfully, I wish the book had focused on him even more. Despite him being the narrator, the story spent large swaths of time away from him to introduce his friends and set up the conflict. I enjoyed it all. I just wish we’d have gotten more time spent on developing the titular character even more.

The rest of the cast in Once Was Willem was great, too. Each of them had such a unique story. I particularly loved that such a myriad of monsters became the heroes of the story. The villain was truly ruthless in his quest for greater power and immortality. He did some really awful things that were often grotesque. I had a great time rooting for his downfall.

The world-building in Once Was Willem surprised me. I wasn’t expecting to love it so much. The inclusion of so many different creatures was interesting. Furthermore, I loved the depiction of the angels and the story’s take on Hell and the creation of the world. It was all so fascinating and left me thinking about free will and fate.

Overall, Once Was Willem was a great read. It captured the essence of medieval England well and delivered an exciting tale from a unique POV. The supporting cast and world-building were fantastic, as well. I cannot recommend it enough for fans of historical fantasy with heaping dose of horror. Therefore, I rate it 4.25 out of 5 stars.

There you have it! My thoughts on Once Was Willem by M.R. Carey. Is this book on your TBR? Let me know your thoughts in the comments! As always, happy reading!