Braid
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Braid is a dark and spellbinding reimagining of Rapunzel from the award-winning Kirstyn McDermott. Ideal for fans of Emma Donoghue¸ Kelly Link¸ and A.S. Byatt.
Decades after escaping the tower¸ Zel makes her living as a healer and wise-woman¸ travelling the lands with her family and the sentient¸ serpentine braid that still carries a touch of the witch's magic. Short-haired and happy¸ Zel prepares for the birth of her first great-grandchild¸ only to find herself shaken by unexpected news: Mother Gothel is dead.
Memories of the woman who raised her¸ isolated and imprisoned¸ unlock within Zel an equal measure of anger and grief¸ forcing her at last to reckon with the tragic events of that long-ago summer when her own children came of age ... a season where implacable death stalked her family across the wild¸ grassy plains and the world Zel knew split open and soured.
For there are graver threats in Zel's world than witches¸ greater sorrows to be borne than the loss of true love¸ and some dangers from which even the oldest¸ strongest magic may not be enough to protect her.
Braid is the fourth novella in Kirstyn McDermott's Never Afters series. Dark¸ powerful¸ and brimming with magic¸ these tales weave a reimagined world in which fairy-tale girls grow up to find both love and heartbreak¸ family and friendship¸ and moments of loss and forgiveness.