Once a Castle is a crossworlds YA fantasy novel and the second book in a series by Sarah Arthur. Released 11th Feb 2025 by WaterBrook, it's 416 pages and is available in paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout.
Engaging and very well written with appealing/interesting and well wrought characters, it is purpose made for fans of old-school fantasy like C.S. Lewis, Madeleine L'Engle, and maybe Diana Wynne Jones. The publisher is a Christian allied imprint, and there are some allegorical themes throughout, but that being said, it's -not- a preachy book and it can be read without the background subtext interfering with the story in any way.
This sequel follows strongly on from the first book and readers who try to read them out of order will likely find themselves struggling to pick up the threads of the narrative and figure out what's going on for a while. Also, the interrelationships and backgrounds of many of the (numerous) characters are developed in the first book and will spoil some of Once a Castle.
Four stars. It would make a good choice for public or secondary school library acquisition, home readers, and for a binge/buddy read.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
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