Nightshade and Oak

• Author: Molly O’Neill
• Genre: Romantasy
• Publication Date: February 3, 2026
• Publisher: Orbit

Thank you to Orbit for sending me a copy of this ARC as well as offering it in audiobook format, in exchange for an honest review.

A goddess must grapple with becoming human in this delightful fantasy of myth and magic from Molly O’Neill, the author of Greenteeth. 

When Mallt, the goddess of death, is accidentally turned human by a wayward spell, she’s ill-equipped to deal with the trials of a mortal life. After all, why would a goddess need to know how to gather food or light a fire?

Unable to fend for herself, she teams up with warrior Belis on a perilous journey to the afterlife to try to restore her powers. Frustrated by her frail human body and beset by blisters, Mallt might not make the best traveling companion.

But as animosity slowly turns to attraction, these two very different women must learn to work together if they are to have any hope of surviving their quest.

I loved the way O’Neill threaded Celtic mythology and folklore throughout her first book, even if it wasn’t my favorite read at the time. My curiosity was way up to see what she would do with the Celtic mythology of a psychopomp. I really enjoyed this story and how it all came together. 

I’m not overly familiar with Celtic mythology and folklore outside of the big names, so a lot of this was brand new to me, and I was able to enjoy Mallt as a person, rather than an untouchable deity as she was before being hit by an unexpected spell that stripped her of her powers and turned her mortal. I am a little bit more familiar with British history so it was exciting to find some things that I do know, and to see a different take on Boudicca’s rebellion.

Belis is one of Boudicca’s two daughters, and the story takes place just after Boudicca’s rebellion has failed. There is one mention of what Belis has gone through, and it is only implied rather than stated outright. I appreciated the way that she treated it sensitively, although Belis felt like a little bit of a stilted character—readers only get to see inside her head in flashbacks from the past. Instead, we don’t really get much insight into Belis’ motivation, and I was a little disappointed not to get to know her better.

Mallt leads them on a wild journey and into the afterlife in an effort to reclaim her magic, and I found it quite humorous as she discovered the pains that come along with having a mortal body. As she adjusts to the needs of a body, she does a lot of talking about what she is feeling and/or experiences rather than identifying them easily, and it made her feel like more of a believable character. However, this became a bit overused and Mallt sounded whiny. It was especially pronounced in the audiobook format, where she actually does whine some of her lines. Catrin Walker-Booth narrated the book, and did a wonderful job of breathing life into the story. This option was especially appreciated since the way words and names are pronounced are completely different from what I would expect them to be. 

The romance that develops between Mallt and Belis develops slowly, with a more meandering pace in the first half of the book than the second. Initially, they are at odds, setting the scene for an enemies to lovers story that I really loved reading. As these two women are forced to work together and place their trust in each other, a bond slowly blossoms between them and I liked seeing the rocky road of their relationship. 

Overall, this was a fun read that had its issues but was really enjoyable. The pacing was not consistent throughout the book, but it gave off strong Kingfisher vibes, and I could read anything she wrote. While I would have liked Belis to have more character development, I thought it was fascinating to watch how much growth Mallt experiences throughout the book. The romance comes on a little strong at first, but by the end, I loved seeing the two of them together. And the idea of a death goddess who works to escort souls into the afterlife, but has a wickedly sharp sense of humor was irresistible to me. O’Neill is an author who will be on my radar going forward.

Bottom line: A Kingfisher-esque cozy fantasy romance featuring enemies to lovers and forced proximity, threaded through with plenty of Celtic mythology and folklore.

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