Help me find this book, I beg you!

[GiddyRobin]

I've been searching for this book for years. I'm in publishing and I still can't bloody find it; spent years in English Departments in universities - still nothing!

I read it when I was about 14. It was about a woman named possibly Angharad who was on a journey through some very dark, winding woods with a man (a Knight?), and I think he was protecting her but they bickered a lot...I think. They ended up falling in love from what I remember. It was a fantasy type, medieval I think. It most definitely was not YA, so adult fiction and not for kids.

Cover was a John William Waterhouse style painting of a woman with (I think) red or dark blonde hair, and possibly a Knight, surrounded by gnarly trees. I'm thinking it may have been written in the 90s, but honestly can't tell you. Not sure if the author was male or female.

Am I imagining this book?! 😂 I loved it as a kid but the library refurbished. I went back and...poof! Gone! Any help and I will drink a glass of prosecco in your name. 😁 I'd love to find it before Christmas and have a nostalgic read during the week!

Oh my God, I actually don't know. I've either read this one too or it IS this one. I don't suppose you remember if there's travel in the woods with someone she falls for? My memory is SO VAGUE. The cover isn't exactly what I remember but it is VERY close with the red hair and woods. Maybe there was another cover...

This is going in my top 3 possibilities. It really does have similarities! I need to get my hands on it. Might be out in the library first thing in the morning to gather info. 😂 Thank you so much!

@ILoveAnnaQuay Oh I remember that one too! Sadly not, but that was one of my absolute favourites at that age!

Ooh good thread. My one that got away was deffo young adult, main character was a female shape shifter with a male teacher called something like Numenor, she once quietened her heart too much trying to shift and passed out in the sea, he fished her out and they realised they loved each other...

Could it be this? I just had a quick Google and found a vaguely similar description, but with a name very alike, in this thread:

https://scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/230462/book-about-a-girl-who-can-shapeshift-into-various-forms-like-hyena-and-squirrel/230478#230478

It's so difficult tracking them down! Book detectives. 😁

Omg @GiddyRobin how how how!!! Good work, I'm buying them for DD (me)

OMG YAAAAAYY!! Ahhh I'm so excited for you! I just typed in "female shapeshifter teacher book"! I worked as a librarian for a while in uni, and it wasn't part of the job but I'd get people asking for forgotten books all the time. I loved finding them! This is why I'm baffled I can't find mine haha!

Ahhh I hope you enjoy it! How absolutely lovely - you and DD will get to chat about it and everything! ❤️

@GiddyRobin i don't know, sorry, haven't read it although your description sounded familiar. I just googled Angharad +knight and the wiki page of the name came up with a list of fiction at the end! en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angharad

Ooohh! What a brilliant idea! Thank you! Going to tuck right into some sleuthing! I so hope I'm right about her name. I'd never read a name like that before so I am so sure it is!

"the . mirror of her dreams"..."a man rides through it".not sure mirror,mighta been river n dunno what order book s

Oooh, it wasn't that one but crossing mirrors and time sounds like excellent reading!

@Monvelo You might like to know that there are also prequel series to The Immortals. The Song of the Lioness books have already been mentioned earlier in the thread and the lead character in those appears in some of The Immortals books. There’s also a two part series called the Numair Chronicles (part 2 out next year) which leads up to his life in The Immortals series. There are various others set in the same kingdom but those are the two most closely connected.

Correct me if I'm wrong but I think Daine and Numair appear in the Protector of the Small series in that universe too? And possibly in the collection of short stories by the same author which includes some stories related to those books. I love these book series, especially how interwoven the books are with characters reappearing, so happy to see people talk about them, might have to read them again :)

I've flicked through quickly and I see another poster has suggested the Lloyd Alexander Chronicles of Prydain books. This was the cover of The Castle of Llyr (maybe book 3) featuring Princess Eilonwy who does bicker a lot with Taran. I think she has a golden ball that she can make light up.

https://www.abebooks.co.uk/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=31306877100&dest=gbr&ref_=ps_ggl_2039220669&cm_mmc=ggl--UK_Shopp_Tradestandard--product_id=UK9780006711285USED-_-keyword=&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiAgoq7BhBxEiwAVcW0LMhdEmq87vHquucTieCg5JDQbQOiz4MUj69exKf2luuzRdCytWHeHxoC41QQAvD_BwE

This is one I kept coming back to, too. I'm torn, because I don't know if it was a standalone book I read, or if I didn't realise it was part of a series. It didn't seem to be, but then again I was 14 and would gobble up anything with words. 😂

I've decided to make a list of possibilities. I'm going to take it off to the library tomorrow and get my Sherlock Holmes hat on! This one is definitely making the list!

@Swedewithmashedpotatoes You’re probably correct - tbh, I’d pretty much forgotten about Protector of the Small, haven’t read it in years as it always seemed more babyish than the other series. Haven’t read the short stories at all though so I’ll see if I can find them as a Christmas treat to myself!

Might be worth trying the HABO feature at Smart Bitches, Trashy Books - a romance site. Basically you email the site with the description, they post it and invite comments from readers.

Oohhh! That's excellent! I love that, thank you! So glad these new modern fangled things exist. If I don't find it after MN, this site, the other book search site, and a library session...I'm going to have to declare myself slightly mad. 😂

Was the cover any of these paintings?

Lady of Hay? The book cover has changed now but when I read it it sounds similar to your description

The second one is the one that's always reminded me of it. It's so close, but in my mind's eye she was standing and sort of looking into the trees of this deep, gnarly wood. I think he was either kneeling or standing beside her.

I know that's so unhelpful! I drive myself absolute potty with it!

Sadly not, but that does look good! I love a good past-lives plot!!

Definitely not one of the Raymond E Feist Kelewan/Kingdom books.

I wonder whether it's one of the Arthurian books by Gillian Bradshaw? Hawk of May, Kingdom of Summer and In Winter's Shadow. I'm sure that there was a similar plot in one of the volumes. I remember his name as Huw, but, looking at Kingdom of Summer, the only volume of the series left on my shelves (I misguidedly tried having a clearout some years ago) I see that the hero is actually called Gwalchmai.

Reading the synopsis, it definitely had a similar feel, if that makes sense? I know there was a war of some description going on, though I don't remember anything happening...but that's probably just my memory. I can't remember if it was written from a male or female perspective either. I'm leaning female, but in one scene I'm sure I remember his irritation being described.

It's the one time in my life I wish I hadn't returned a library book! And I know my descriptions of it are so bloody vague, which is really weird because around that period so many other books stick out vividly. But this was my favourite and I barely remember a single useful thing!

Something by Lynn Kurland perhaps?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Princess-Sword-Nine-Kingdoms-Kurland/dp/0425225682/ref=sr_1_1

LyNn Kurland - Princess of the Sword

The cover sounds like a Burne-Jones painting.