Wundersmith: The Calling of Morrigan Crow

• Author: Jessica Townsend
• Genre: MG Fantasy
• Publication Date: February 1, 2019
• Publisher: Hachette Audio
• Series: Nevermoor #2

CONTENT WARNING: bullying, kidnapping, blood

Wunder is gathering in Nevermoor …

Morrigan Crow may have defeated her deadly curse, passed the dangerous trials and joined the mystical Wundrous Society, but her journey into Nevermoor and all its secrets has only just begun. And she is fast learning that not all magic is used for good.

Morrigan Crow has been invited to join the prestigious Wundrous Society, a place that promised her friendship, protection and belonging for life. She’s hoping for an education full of wunder, imagination and discovery – but all the Society want to teach her is how evil Wundersmiths are. And someone is blackmailing Morrigan’s unit, turning her last few loyal friends against her. Has Morrigan escaped from being the cursed child of Wintersea only to become the most hated figure in Nevermoor?

Worst of all, people have started to go missing. The fantastical city of Nevermoor, once a place of magic and safety, is now riddled with fear and suspicion…

After reading book 1, I absolutely couldn’t wait for whoever was (very slowly) listening to this audiobook to finally finish so I could get my turn. It took weeks, and I probably could have just checked out the hard copy book from my library faster, but I absolutely adored Gemma Whelan’s narration of the story, and couldn’t imagine reading this story without her quirky voices for the different characters, as well as the cute little musical interlude between the chapters that I’ve come to love so much. Finally, it was my turn to check out the audiobook, and I couldn’t wait to dive in immediately.

It picks up a little after the events of the first book, and Morrigan and the rest of the new recruits in the Wundrous Society, or WunSoc, are about to start their journey to the rest of their lives. Starting with an education. 

“In joining the society, Morrigan knew she was not just gaining an elite education and a world of opportunities, but also the thing she had craved above all else: a proper family.”

She’s part of Unit 919, along with her friend Hawthorne, her maybe-friend Cadence, and the rest of the kids in the group. But things aren’t exactly what she expected. While the rest of her group are taking all these amazing classes, she’s stuck with a horribly boring schedule, learning about all the terrible Wundersmiths that have come before her. And she and the rest of her unit are tasked with keeping her “knack” a secret from everyone else. Even worse, they start getting blackmailed almost immediately. And some of the older kids aren’t so friendly. Plus, not everyone in her unit is as friendly to her as Hawthorne has been. Especially with the threat of blackmail hanging over them. 

The story is full of adventure! We learn so much more about the wonders that Nevermoor has to offer, and the world-building is incredible. It feels like a real place that I want to visit, filled with such a wide range of amazingly quirky and intriguing characters that I want to meet! We get to see a lot more about what people can actually do in this book, including Morrigan, and that’s something I’ve wanted to see since she arrived in Nevermoor. 

While this is a MG series, I never got bored. Instead, I found myself looking forward to reading it, and finding out what new and exciting thing was going to happen. It’s written well, and the characters are all well-rounded and intriguing. The pace is consistently fast and there weren’t any boring parts, making this a perfect read for all ages. 

People who have sat around with me while I’m reading, especially when there’s a surprising reveal, a shocking plot twist, or an unexpected event often look up in alarm when I gasp audibly. The gasp factor is directly related to the number of times I audibly gasp during a reading, and there isn’t an upper limit.

Gasp Factor: 12