In the Serpent's Coils (Hallowmere) [Paperback]

Tiffany Trent (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 28, 2007 | Series: Hallowmere (Book 1)

Fairies can be downright dangerous!

In the Serpent's Coils marks the debut of Hallowmere, a dark, edgy historical fantasy series that teens won't be able to put down!

Ever since her parents died in the Civil War, Corrine's dreams have been filled with fairies warning her of impending peril. When she's sent to live at Falston Manor, she thinks she's escaped the danger stalking her. Instead the dreams grow stronger, just as girls begin disappearing from school.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Tiffany Trent teaches English at Virginia Tech. She currently lives in Virginia and is a member of the Class of 2K7 (www.classof2k7.com), a group of authors with first novels debuting in 2007 who have banded together to promote their books.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Paperback: 291 pages
• Publisher: Mirrorstone (August 28, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786942290
• ISBN-13: 978-0786942299
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #766,761 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

If you couldn't find Tiffany Trent up a tree in the Blue Ridge Mountains of her hometown of Roanoke, Virginia, the next best place was to find her curled up with a book in a blanket fort. She started writing at age nine and now writes full-time. Along the way, she earned three Master's degrees--MA in English, MFA in Creative Writing, and MS in Environmental Studies--at Virginia Tech and the University of Montana. She has worked as a senior editor for a wildlife conservation organization in Hong Kong, bred poison dart frogs and rare turtles at a science museum, and taught English at Virginia Tech (the most dangerous of all her jobs!).

She is the author of the YA dark fantasy HALLOWMERE series. The first book, In the Serpent's Coils, was named a BookSense (IndieBound) Children's Pick in Autumn 2007 and a New York Public Library Book of the Teen Age in 2008. She was also the recipient of the 2008 SCBWI Work-in-Progress grant, and has won awards and fellowships for her nonfiction. Her short story "Blackwater Baby" in Magic in the Mirrorstone was given Honorable Mention for the Year's Best Horror 2008.

Tiffany Tiffany currently lives and writes on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, with her husband,three cats, and one agoraphobic Labrador Retriever.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Evocative historical fantasy, September 19, 2007

By 

Kim Baccellia, "YA Books Central reviewer... (Southern California) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: In the Serpent's Coils (Hallowmere) (Paperback)

As the Civil war ends, Corrine's nightmare begins. Ever since her parents died, Corrine's dreams have been filled with faires warning her of danger. Her uncle sends her off to Falston Manor, in hopes of protecting her.

Instead the dreams intensify. She also finds some letters of forbidden love by a medieval monk who writes of his friendship of the fey. Mysteries surround the Manor. One of which has something to do with her. But who can Corrine trust? All she knows she needs to do something before Hallowe'en or else she might be the next girl who will be missing.

I LOVED this book! This story has a gothic feel complete with post Civil war atmosphere, fairies, and ancient love letters. Part historical fantasy and horror, the author sweeps the reader away in a very imaginative world. This is sure to please Holly Black fans.

I can't wait for the next book!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful Beginning To A New Series, September 16, 2007

By 

Kim "Hermione" (Massachusetts) - See all my reviews

This review is from: In the Serpent's Coils (Hallowmere) (Paperback)

Tiffany Trent's "In the Serpents Coils" is the first book in the "Hallowmere" trilogy. The book takes place in 1865, right after the Civil War, and the are many references to that. Corrine has recently lost both her parents and is sent to live with her Uncle. Corrine herself is recovering from a life threatening fever, and starts has disturbing dreams and seeing mysteries thing even while she is awake. When her curiosity gets the better of her, Corrine's Uncle sends her to a reform school for young ladies where the mystery only deepens. This book is a beautiful mix of historical fiction and fantasy. While trying to find her place in this new world, Corrine finds her perceptions of what is real and what is fantasy completely turned upside down. This is another great young adult book which would also appeal to many adults. I cannot wait for the 2nd book "By Venom's Sweet Sting" which is coming out in December.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Courtesy of Teens Read Too, October 19, 2007

By 

TeensReadToo "Eat. Drink. Read. Be Merrier." (All Over the US & Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: In the Serpent's Coils (Hallowmere) (Paperback)

"I do believe in faries! I do! I do! "

So begins the chant in the middle of Peter Pan (Aladdin Classics) to save Tinkerbell from dying. In Tiffany Trent's first book of the HALLOWMERE series, IN THE SERPENT'S COILS, you had better believe in fairies or you may find yourself dead.

The book opens to find Corrine, our heroine, deathly ill at her Uncle's home. She finds out that her beloved mother has died, and her father had died a few years before while fighting on the side of the North in the Civil War. She hardly knows her uncle and she quickly gets on his bad side.

While there at his home she starts having nightmares of the Fey, which are very confusing. She doesn't obey her uncle and gets sent to Falston, a boarding school for girls. The girls here are mostly unwanted. They get sent to Falston for many reasons, but mainly because their families don't want them. At Falston, they are treated like they are criminals.

They are locked in their rooms at night and are escorted wherever they go. The dreams that Corrine had in Virginia are now intensified. She is haunted by the Fey and is confused about who to trust, the witches who run the school, the priest, the very handsome groundskeeper who keeps saving her, and, of course, the Fey.

Things are not as they seem and the action is plentiful. This was a well-written and quite enjoyable story. It gave me some nice shivers and is the perfect fall book.

"I do believe in Fairies! I do! I do!"

Reviewed by: Marta Morrison