It is a shame that I could not enjoy this book in the way that I had hoped and I’m not sure why there are so many positive reviews on Amazon. There are hints about Alison’s relationship with her mother, who we never see and Gwyn and his mother are constantly arguing but we never get much of a back story or much history of any of the characters. Although The Owl Service is for children, it still could have done with some more character depth.

It is set in such a perfect location and has such a promising storyline which really could have done with more descriptive pieces to set the scene and continue the tension throughout the book. There is a lot of dialogue and it is not always immediately clear who is saying what. I found it difficult to get into this book and hard to relate to any of the characters. Gwyn tries to understand what is going on, and when he overhears Huw ‘Halfbacon’, the mad, old gardener chanting to himself ‘she’s coming’, he has a sudden feeling that something terrible might be about to happen.

The plates are decorated with a flowery pattern, which Alison soon recognises as owls.įrom this moment on, strange things start to happen and Alison begins to act very oddly. Instead of finding rats though, they find the attic empty apart from the dusty old dinner service in the corner. It is clear that something strange is going on when Alison and Gwyn hear the scratching coming from the ceiling. The main characters are Alison, a spoilt teenager who owns the cottage, her step brother Roger and Gwyn, the son of the cook and cleaner who has been hired for the summer. This is the perfect setting for eerie and magical happenings and when there are mysterious scratching noises coming from the attic, the reader can’t help but feel a bit of a shiver down the spine.

It’s set in a secluded cottage in a beautiful valley in Wales. Supposedly a book to be enjoyed by both children and adults, the idea behind The Owl Service is wonderful. When I settled myself down comfortably to read The Owl Service, I thought I was in for a real treat, so maybe my expectations were a bit too high from the very beginning. I bought this book on Amazon in a frenzy of excitement after reading some reviews raving about how fantastic it was.

The owl service book review