A woman foretells the death of the man she’s destined to love and must defy fate to save him. For centuries, Éireann has traveled alone across Ireland with nothing but visions from Death and a compulsion to warn people of their impending doom. That is, until Death sends her to the English countryside, where she meets Elin, a fellow countryman returning home after fighting in the Napoleonic wars.
Both Elin and Éireann are weary of traveling the long road alone and need only reach out to find comfort in each other’s company. But when Éireann receives a startling vision of them kissing beneath a yew tree, followed by a dark omen foretelling Elin’s demise, a heartbreaking truth is unveiled: he might not live long enough to make the journey home. Or for them to fall in love.
Death is playing cruel games with their lives and hearts. But there’s a silver lining to seeing his death before it unfolds. If Éireann can stop it before it happens, Elin just might have a chance at love and a life that finally belongs to him. And nothing will stop Éireann from securing their future. Not even Death itself.
Follow Me to the Yew Tree is an adult historical romance novella with supernatural and folkloric elements and chronic illness representation that the author shares.
By night, Desirée M. Niccoli writes a blend of vicious romance and cozy horror, featuring monsters, villains, and the supernatural, and often served with (mostly) emotionally intelligent characters and heart. By day, she is a public relations professional living the nomadic military life with her husband and two cats Pawdry Hepburn and Puma Thurman. Although born and raised in Pittsburgh, Desirée has since lived in coastal Maine (where her spooky heart truly lies) and Maryland.
Name Pronunciation: DE-zi-RAY NI-Koh-lee. Rhymes with cannoli.
She is represented by Kaitlyn Katsoupis at Belcastro Agency.
For emailed book news and author’s musings, subscribe to Desirée’s blog Brain Ink at www.dmniccoli.com. And for even more regular book-related updates, you can find her on Twitter/X and TikTok @dmniccoli and Instagram @author_dmniccoli.
What a beautifully emotional and weighty novella. I've wanted to use atmospheric in a review for a bit after seeing a couple friends use it to great effect and I feel like it fits here. Thank you to Wicked Fox for this find! I did get a tear in my eye, but thankfully didn't full on weep.
Follow Me to the Yew Tree immediately drew me in and had my heart aching for Éireann (h) and Elin (H). Their tale begins in 1816 England with Éireann waiting for Elin on a road as she is a messenger for Death and she's been called for Elin. Except this time, her mission takes a different turn as she's given a vision of the two of them in the future and in love. So she's presented with a possibility that's never occurred to her, fighting Death. Of course, she tells Elin none of this and presents herself as a simple traveler headed back to their shared home country of Ireland. Their relationship quickly develops over forced proximity during their trip. Written in first person, single POV of Éireann. No ow/om drama and neither appeared to be virgins (no history given).
The backgrounds of both characters are sparse, Elin was a sailor impressed by the British to fight in their war. Éireann has worked for Death for centuries. Both characters still manage to be captivating and so sweet as their personalities shine during their journey. Elin has a chronic illness that's at times awkward or humiliating for him and I loved how matter of fact Éireann was about his issues. During their trip, Éireann is beset with visions at times that she tries to thwart and has some words with Death. I felt like Elin was fairly accepting of Éireann's interest in him, but the reasoning for that is addressed later and made sense. The chemistry between them is delightful and this is surprisingly steamy given Elin's health issues, Éireann's mission, and the shortness of the story.
The author's note at the start does have content warnings and an assurance of a HEA and I'll second those. The climax was heart wrenching, and didn't completely sit well with me, but the ending is their beautiful HEA and the epilogue is in the future of them still steady in their love. I did have nitpicky questions at the end though, some related to the climax and others that were more basic like where Éireann's coins came from, where did they live, and what type of work did Elin do? I think their romance worked really well in this shorter format, but a bit more details on the how and what of some aspects and general fleshing out a teensy bit more would have taken this to a five star for me.
This book is deeply personal. It’s my first time writing a character with Ulcerative Colitis, something I have myself, and my grandmother had before me.
I never got to meet her.
She had a severe case that developed into colon cancer, but by the time they caught it, it was too late. She was 42 when she died, leaving behind a husband, three children, a sister, and both her parents.
It’s a loss my mother still feels keenly to this day.
My grandmother taught me how much you can miss a person you’ve never met. There’s a deep longing in my heart to know her, in whatever way I can. When I released my first book, I learned that she read romance novels, and knowing that we have something so beloved in common makes me feel closer to her. I hope this one makes her proud.
Follow Me to the Yew Tree is intended to pack an emotional punch. It’ll be heartbreaking at times, but I promise there’s a happily-ever-after, because believe me when I say, I know how important that is.
xoxo Desirée
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Content Warnings
Near death experiences, grief, brief suicide ideation, mentions of war, Death, murder, and chronic illness (ulcerative colitis, cancer is briefly mentioned but ultimately not terminal).
I gotta be honest about the amount of times I BAWLED my eyes out reading this book 😭💜 It's beautiful in so many ways. It was whimsical, painful, and breathtaking in the best possible way. I couldn't help but fall in love with these two. Getting to read their HEA brought me to tears fioekdjdkdnd 😭😭
I’ve had this on my TBR for forever and I’m glad I decided to pick it up today. Both characters were delightfully complex and their relationship had so much depth for being such a short book. Elin was an excellent depiction of what it’s like to live with a chronic illness - especially one that has detrimental social side effects. Eireann was a compassionate partner that still had to go through a learning curve on how to best support a partner with chronic illness. Growing pains are normal, but kindness goes a long way.
Spice: 4/5
Triggers: mention of death, mention of war, cancer, severe illness, sexual harassment, robbery, brief discussion of suicidal ideation, death, murder
Gorgeous little folkloric romance! The story was appealing, and it was so gripping I read it in one sitting. MMC is unlike any MMC I've read before, and I did not expect to be so touched by the chronic illness rep. Absolutely perfect length, and the author managed to pack a really satisfying story of emotional connection and development into a novella-length tale. I'd like to check out more books by this author now.
✨historical fantasy ✨chronic illness rep ✨novella ✨whimsical ✨magical
REP: Own voices Ulcerative Colitis
This romance novella is about Éireann and Elin. They meet one day when both of them are traveling the countryside, and decide to travel together. It has this whimsical air to it, that made me want to keep reading. I loved the writing, and I can't wait to read more from this author!
I think the chronic illness aspect of this book was my favorite part. I am also a part of the chronically ill community and appreciate the representation portrayed in this book. I really felt for the hero Elin, and loved how patient Éireann was with him.
Thank you so much to the author who sent me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I was given this book as an ARC and I thought it was so wholesome! It was the perfect combination of wholesome romance with some spice. For it being a novella, the story was perfectly executed and I loved it all! Thank you so much!
What a perfect historical romance novella! The author puts an incredible amount of character development in 95 pages, and there’s just the right amount of magic. You fall in love with Elin right alongside Eireanne, and I wanted to fight Death right alongside her to save Elin. Perfectly balanced seriousness with the hope of falling in love.
This novella was just the antidote I needed for a long day at work.
I'm not sure how Desirée managed to fit such a perfect love story into so few pages, but wow. This blew me out of the water.
Because this is a novella and it is shorter than the books I typically review, I'll refrain from writing a summary. I don't want to spoil this beautiful story for anyone else. However, needless to say, I adored it.
This novella checks off so many of my favorite boxes: historical fiction, romance, paranormal beings. The storyline moves at a relatively quick pace due to the nature of the format but at the same time, it didn't feel rushed in the slightest. I believed the love story with my entire heart and never wanted it to end.
Honestly, this novella gave me some Addie LaRue vibes and I was absolutely here for it. I'd be over the moon if we ever got more from Éirann and Elin. I have a feeling the stories they could tell would be legendary.
Despite this book being entertaining and interesting I wasn't *that* into it so I think I'm gonna have to give this a 2.5 stars. Round up to 3
I think the biggest thing that sticks out to me is despite not being able to connect to the characters I still enjoyed the romance. And I found that it was refreshing to read a romance that was healthy and where the mc's were actually respectful towards each other and sympathetic and affectionate. And even though it was lowkey good, I *was* kinda surprised by how consistently spicy it got by the end and overall didn't care for that aspect too much. Other than that I actually don't have a lot of thoughts about this. I was able to finish it in a day, for some reason it was really hard for me to properly visualize the environment and characters, I enjoyed what little of celtic folklore was included, I genuinely enjoyed and was shocked by the plot twist we got at the end, and the disability rep was definitely an important factor. Despite all of my thoughts though, I may check out other books by the author in the future, I wanna say well done to the author and that even though it wasn't completely my cup of tea, I'm definitely glad that I checked this book out
This book had no right being so good and making me cry as many times as it did! Totally hit me in all the feels. The characters' relationship felt so deep and genuine even for such a short story. And the chronic illness rep? Amazing. Readers that are part of the Stomach Issues Club (or Stomach Calamity Club as Elin would call it) will relate to the MMC so much. Eireann was so compassionate and understanding. I was in tears reading how supportive she was for him.
I'm so annoyed at myself for waiting so long to read this.
A girl who does as death commands and a boy destined for death. Their destiny is entertwined and fates merge but the girl must fight to keep death away.
For being only 68 pages, they sure banged a lot. So any romance girlies out there, definitely pick this one up!
This was an achingly beautiful historic romantasy set in the English countryside in the aftermath of the Napoleonic War. The reader follows Éireann who is tasked by death to warn others of their impending deaths. It’s later on revealed that she’s a Bean Sí, or most commonly known in English as a banshee, and Niccoli’s take on this legendary Irish figure was done so well. I loved how caring she is of her wards and how these deaths affect her. It really brought a wonderful light to a figure who is so often avoided due to her link to death. ☠️
Elin was a wonderful love interest. He’s kind and protective of Éireann even though they have just met. The portrayal of his chronic illness was done so wonderfully well, and I thought it provided this man a good kind of vulnerability not often shown in a male character. 💚
Another element that I honestly loved was the inclusion of the Irish language in the novella. I think it would have been even better if the setting were in Ireland to really help set the tone. The only thing I honestly found myself wanting more of was just time with the characters. By the end of the novella, I wasn’t ready go part with them and found myself wanting more pages to read. 🥹
All in all, a beautiful and aching story of love on a timer that dabbles wonderfully in Irish folklore. 🍀
“If Icarus could see me now, would he warn me away, tell me to find a man who didn’t have Death nipping at his heels? Or would he beckon me closer to my doom?”
I saw some lovely fanart for this story and went into it pretty blind. What a fantastic short story! This is sweet, heartfelt, sexy and mysterious with a bit of sinister dread that keeps your turning the pages. All mixed with Irish folklore.
Have I mentioned how much I love perfectly written novellas?
Éireann is a Bean-Sídhe, she once made a deal with death and has been his herald now for hundreds of years. The story starts when she meets the next person who’s death she has witnessed, Elin. However, death has also shown her a glimpse of the life they could live together. Fighting against fate, Eireann is determined to do everything in her power to help Elin cheat death.
This is beautiful writing and a well polished story. Eireann is strong, independent, and kind. She doesn’t fit the cookie cutter standard of 1800’s ladies, having seen so much, and I’m all for it. Elin is kind, strong but vulnerable with her. I loved that he could accept care from her when struggling. He was also very hot during sexy times.
Read this story! It was so very good. I really want to check out more by this author now.
I loved this so much! Under 100 pages but packed with story. Hear me out...its a romantic 1800's version of a Final Destination movie!
Set the scene: After the Napoleonic wars War weary soldier making his way home to Ireland by land meets Mysterious traveler who has visions of death He has a chronic health issue that is not well known or treated at this time period She is keeping her mission on the DL because her feelings begin to be in conflict with her duties
This was interesting, sweet and tense at points. Beautiful! I thoroughly enjoyed this!
This novella was truly just a lovely journey. I love the way that this author writes and the way she describes things. This story was hauntingly beautiful and it sucked me in from the first page. The tender moments had me swooning and tearing up, it all felt really vulnerable and made me emotional even though this novella is under 90 pages. I found the story to be incredibly unique in the best way. 💖
I appreciate reading a book that has chronic illness rep and folklore elements in it.
I'm honestly upset because this had so much potential but everything felt under-utilised. I think as a longer form book this could have been great.
Preferably without all the weird smut scenes that just felt really uncomfortable to me. I don't think I'd want a guy to try and initiate bonk time while I was crying, but maybe that's just me.
Normally I cold read a book this size in one day. This took me far too long because it was boring.
I’m glad it was short, because this would have been unbearable if it wasn’t. I wanted to love this so much. I’ve been looking forward to it, but am really let down.
This was just beautiful. Let it be known I read more than just dark spice! Oh I really want more of these two. This is my first read by this author, won’t be my last. The effortless beauty etched into such a frantic, heart rending story, it’s absolute perfection.
This was a super cute and super quick read. Great palate cleanser between bigger/more stressful reads. I really loved the story and plan to get a physical copy for my shelves.