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The Mistmantle Chronicles #6
Tales of Mistmantle
Mistmantle is an island full of stories, some of them are told here. Find out not only what happened after the Rage Tide, but what happened long before Crispin found a newborn squirrel on the shore. Plus the most simple version of The Threadings Code is included, along with a few tips from the island’s excellent cooks—and Apple.
Years have passed since the Rage Tide. And it’s time to catch up with Captain Urchin, Brother Juniper, and young Queen Catkin. Corr the Voyager has traveled far, but his next voyage will be unlike all the others.
Somewhere there are animals who need his help, and Corr knows he must go to them, but has no idea who they are, what they need, or even where in all the seas and oceans to find them. In the entire history of Voyagers, there has never been a quest like this.
Years have passed since the Rage Tide. And it’s time to catch up with Captain Urchin, Brother Juniper, and young Queen Catkin. Corr the Voyager has traveled far, but his next voyage will be unlike all the others.
Somewhere there are animals who need his help, and Corr knows he must go to them, but has no idea who they are, what they need, or even where in all the seas and oceans to find them. In the entire history of Voyagers, there has never been a quest like this.
- GenresFantasy
171 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 1, 2025
10 people are currently reading
68 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
October 27, 2025
For me this was a bittersweet journey back to Mistmantle—I hadn’t been back there since my childhood, and it was strange to visit again during the pages of this book. This volume contains short stories (past and present), recipes (with warnings never to try them), threadings code, a longer story about Corr that comes after The Rage Tide, and more! It’s very cute and lovingly made, you can feel the author’s love for her characters (especially Fingal—ha ha) and that she enjoyed spending time visiting (and sometimes interviewing) them in her imagination. There were also a couple of sweet surprises to satisfy any lover of the original series. I won’t tell you, so read it!
Very sweet. It was a lovely trip down memory lane to Mistmantle. And I’d love to visit again one day…
Here’s a couple of my favorite selections:
"He was nicer after that," she said. "He'd always been a nice animal, but he became so lovely after his accident. Quieter, he was quieter. Like one of the pebbles that's been well-washed by the sea until it's got no sharp edges. There was more depth to him. Tell you something else, though, it struck me at the time and I never forgot it. That day when he rescued Nidd, Fir started running before anyone else. He was well out in front, and it wasn't just that he was fast. It seemed to me that he had a head start. He was running before Nidd even fell." She put her paw on Juniper's. "He was like you, Brother Juniper. He was in tune with what was happening. He knew."
And:
"I like talking about those days. There are times when you live in a golden age, and the sad thing is that you don't always know it's a golden age until it's over. It's a golden age now, if you ask me.”
Very sweet. It was a lovely trip down memory lane to Mistmantle. And I’d love to visit again one day…
Here’s a couple of my favorite selections:
"He was nicer after that," she said. "He'd always been a nice animal, but he became so lovely after his accident. Quieter, he was quieter. Like one of the pebbles that's been well-washed by the sea until it's got no sharp edges. There was more depth to him. Tell you something else, though, it struck me at the time and I never forgot it. That day when he rescued Nidd, Fir started running before anyone else. He was well out in front, and it wasn't just that he was fast. It seemed to me that he had a head start. He was running before Nidd even fell." She put her paw on Juniper's. "He was like you, Brother Juniper. He was in tune with what was happening. He knew."
And:
"I like talking about those days. There are times when you live in a golden age, and the sad thing is that you don't always know it's a golden age until it's over. It's a golden age now, if you ask me.”
January 26, 2026
A very satisfying compilation of Mistmantle-related writings, demanded by a new and increasingly interested audience that wanted to know what comes after book 5’s ending. The author obliges her readers with writings about things that were referenced in the prior books of the Chronicles, fleshing out some unanswered or unexplored areas of the Mistmantle world, and finishing with an adventure novella that is a fitting encore ending to these characters. Personally I feel there are a lot more tales and spin off series that could be told but maybe sometimes it’s best to quit while you’re ahead, even as there’s hope there might be more to come.
Before the Beginning—a brief origin story of the Heart and inhabitants of Mistmantle and how they came to be.
The Tale of Gripthroat—the cautionary tale parents told their children at bedtime about a legendary wicked tyrant who ruled Mistmantle.
The Story of Quicksilver—reveals some of the origins of the chamber and pit central to the plot in Book 1.
The Threadings Code of Mistmantle—includes a brief overview of how Mistmantle history was recorded and passed in, including a visual lexicon of the basic symbols used in the Threadings, and a humorous scene between Needle, Urchin and Fingal.
Past and Present Tales of Mistmantle: The Summer Palace—tells the origins of the abandoned Summer Palace that was found in book 5.
Padra’s Story—Crispin recounts to Cedar on the Eve of the tides in book 5 the last rage tide he and Padra survived as youngsters, in which Padra’s father sacrificed his life trying to save another elderly creature.
Brother Fir—Crackle’s great grandmother comes to live her old age out at the Tower and is a favorite storyteller. She recounts various times in Brother Fir’s life prior to his becoming a priest, including his love and marriage to Linnet, referenced in book 4.
Scatter and the Queen’s Music—not referenced at all in book 5, Scatter is brought back into the reader’s mind with a short story about The history of Whitewings and Ashfire islands, particularly through song. The stride begins with Scatter who has limited memories, moves to Queen Cedar (this short story occurs during Crispin’s reign,) and then moves into a separately titled backstory Cedar tells Crispin when she’s trying to record songs if Whitewings before the demented tyrant Silverbirch took over and banned the old songs.
The Story of Finch and Lapwing—a Romeo and Juliet-esque tale from the island of Ashfire of two competing squirrel colonies from which two young squirrels fall in love, attempt to reconcile the division between their families, and are suspected to have either found peace on a different island or upon returning home from their explorations.
Play—childhood rhymes and songs are written out and accompanying motions briefly explained.
Mistress Apple’s Remedies—humorously told in first person by Apple herself.
Food and Drink—accounts of a careful passing of the baton from an aging cook to another generation of kitchen staff, Crackle’s best recipes as told by herself, with Fingal popping in and out of the narratives.
The Voyager’s Quest—this five chapter novella finishes out the book, picking up after many years have passed since King Crispin’s death. Needle has been made a Captain, married and had a son; Urchin and Sepia have had a snow white furred daughter. This short tale details Corr’s quest into the unknown—he has little direction other than an unexplainable pull to leave Mistmantle for unknown lands, somewhere cold according to Juniper, Needle, and Myrtle’s study of ancient Threadings that recorded the Voyagers of old. He goes and finds a frozen island where the inhabitants include refugees from Whitewings who fled during Silverbirch’s tyranny, and are now terrorized by the great white shark, Spearteeth.
Content considerations :
Magic: the animals live on an island enveloped by a mysterious, enchanted mist, which can itself actively allow or prevent creatures from arriving on the island. There’s a rather beautiful discussion with regards to magic and its uses in Book 2 between Urchin and Cedar that seems to clarify some questions about the nature of the sorcerer’s power, as well as the power protecting Mistmantle, in which both evil and good are very clearly separated from each other; various creatures from story to story are said to have a sixth-sense and can see/feel things other animals can’t; The animals are anthropomorphized.
Worldview: There is a spiritual aspect to this world, with various animals serving as a spiritual leader/priest throughout, and multiple characters pray to The Heart, blessing in the name of The Heart, seeking protection, comfort, and guidance from The Heart, and a sacred stone, the Heartstone, given to the inhabitants of Mistmantle as a sign of sovereignty; in prior books Myrtle is a prophet of sorts, she stitches symbols into the historical records of the Threadings before they happen, without realizing she’s stitching them or understanding their meanings, in Corr’s Quest, it’s revealed she can also see things in the Threadings that the other creatures cannot (sparking areas, symbols the others don’t understand etc)
Violence/Death :
The Tale of Gripthroat—he is an increasingly cruel tyrant to the animals of Mistmantle and slaughters whole families that don’t obey or agree with him (nothing is detailed); Gripthroat was known to kill for fun and reigned with terror, bullying the strongest and weakest creatures alike to do his will, until the point he becomes suspicious of all creatures and is ultimately captured and imprisoned by those he oppressed.
The Story of Quicksilver—selfish and prideful Queen Diamond is taken in with a fraudulent suitor named Quicksilver, who after marrying the Queen, begins to keep secret nightly activities from her, she has him followed (those animals disappear) and follows him herself one night, leading to her house arrest and Quicksilver convincing their attendants that she was sick and unstable and could not be trusted; a priest is mysteriously found dead, other animals disappear; during a rebellion against Quicksilvers wicked rule, he uses his own baby son as a hostage and threatens to kill him if the resistance attempts to arrest him, his plan is thwarted by the little Prince who bites Quicksilver and escapes; Quicksilvers ending according to the tale is a bit ambiguous, some say he died in the pit he was making (the origins of the same pit Husk used for evil and Brother Fir redeemed for light and peace) some say the rebelling mile army killed him, some say he lived his life out in prison; decaying bodies were found in the pit as sacrificed to something evil.
Padra’s Story—a character dies in a rage tide trying to rescue an elderly animal, who also dies.
Brother Fir—a character gets sick and is killed by the disease.
The Story of Finch and Lapwing—They initially hide their meeting together, then determine to marry and reveal their love to both sides. Lapwing is beaten violently by her brother when she tells him what she did, and Finch’s father punches him and exiles him on pain of death if he attempted return home. They determine to leave, but try only last attempt at reconciliation with their dailies and between the competing clans with the help of Sister Rede, the priest who married them. There families come to this parley, armed. Ultimately both Sister Rede and Finch are impaled, Sister Rede dies immediately, Finch is badly wounded but survives.
The Voyager’s Quest—It is Spearteeth’s practice to visit the waters surrounding Frostingfarne and kill an inhabitant for fun, and he is known to wait until he has the blood of an islander first before he leaves until the next bloodlust urge hits him. Cairn the winter hare tells Corr the story of the memorial stones of those creatures who had sacrificed themselves to Spearteeth in hopes of preventing other animals from being eaten; animals injure themselves intentionally to draw Spearteeth’s attention using fresh blood; Corr kills an enemy by plunging a sword into its heart spilling blood everywhere; a brief subplot involving an intentionally deceitful claim to the throne of Whitewings occurs but is cleared up very quickly once the training involved with being the Heir apparent was detailed.
If you’re here from the Reshelving Alexandria 52 Book Challenge 2026, the list below has categories this book would fit into:
3. A book with a person who chose mercy over revenge
4. A story with friendship between unlikely people
5. A book with a character who rescues someone in danger
9. A story with a community coming together after disaster
10. A book with an unlikely hero who helps others
13. A book modeling caring for the sick, elderly, or dying
14. A novel with love expressed through sacrifice
17. A book with a character who stands up for the powerless
19. A story with kindness across cultural or racial lines
21. A book with caring for refugees or displaced people
24. A book with a character who stands up for someone being bullied
27. A story where a small good deed has a big impact
35. A book about foresight, responsibility, and the effort to avert harm
39. A novel with kindness in a harsh setting
40. A book with sharing food as an act of love
44. A story with helping someone who can never repay you
45. A novel where love is proven through action, not words
46. A book with healing within community
47. A story with choosing responsibility over comfort
48. A novel with hope in hopeless circumstances
49. A book with a moral choice that costs everything
Before the Beginning—a brief origin story of the Heart and inhabitants of Mistmantle and how they came to be.
The Tale of Gripthroat—the cautionary tale parents told their children at bedtime about a legendary wicked tyrant who ruled Mistmantle.
The Story of Quicksilver—reveals some of the origins of the chamber and pit central to the plot in Book 1.
The Threadings Code of Mistmantle—includes a brief overview of how Mistmantle history was recorded and passed in, including a visual lexicon of the basic symbols used in the Threadings, and a humorous scene between Needle, Urchin and Fingal.
Past and Present Tales of Mistmantle: The Summer Palace—tells the origins of the abandoned Summer Palace that was found in book 5.
Padra’s Story—Crispin recounts to Cedar on the Eve of the tides in book 5 the last rage tide he and Padra survived as youngsters, in which Padra’s father sacrificed his life trying to save another elderly creature.
Brother Fir—Crackle’s great grandmother comes to live her old age out at the Tower and is a favorite storyteller. She recounts various times in Brother Fir’s life prior to his becoming a priest, including his love and marriage to Linnet, referenced in book 4.
Scatter and the Queen’s Music—not referenced at all in book 5, Scatter is brought back into the reader’s mind with a short story about The history of Whitewings and Ashfire islands, particularly through song. The stride begins with Scatter who has limited memories, moves to Queen Cedar (this short story occurs during Crispin’s reign,) and then moves into a separately titled backstory Cedar tells Crispin when she’s trying to record songs if Whitewings before the demented tyrant Silverbirch took over and banned the old songs.
The Story of Finch and Lapwing—a Romeo and Juliet-esque tale from the island of Ashfire of two competing squirrel colonies from which two young squirrels fall in love, attempt to reconcile the division between their families, and are suspected to have either found peace on a different island or upon returning home from their explorations.
Play—childhood rhymes and songs are written out and accompanying motions briefly explained.
Mistress Apple’s Remedies—humorously told in first person by Apple herself.
Food and Drink—accounts of a careful passing of the baton from an aging cook to another generation of kitchen staff, Crackle’s best recipes as told by herself, with Fingal popping in and out of the narratives.
The Voyager’s Quest—this five chapter novella finishes out the book, picking up after many years have passed since King Crispin’s death. Needle has been made a Captain, married and had a son; Urchin and Sepia have had a snow white furred daughter. This short tale details Corr’s quest into the unknown—he has little direction other than an unexplainable pull to leave Mistmantle for unknown lands, somewhere cold according to Juniper, Needle, and Myrtle’s study of ancient Threadings that recorded the Voyagers of old. He goes and finds a frozen island where the inhabitants include refugees from Whitewings who fled during Silverbirch’s tyranny, and are now terrorized by the great white shark, Spearteeth.
Content considerations :
Magic: the animals live on an island enveloped by a mysterious, enchanted mist, which can itself actively allow or prevent creatures from arriving on the island. There’s a rather beautiful discussion with regards to magic and its uses in Book 2 between Urchin and Cedar that seems to clarify some questions about the nature of the sorcerer’s power, as well as the power protecting Mistmantle, in which both evil and good are very clearly separated from each other; various creatures from story to story are said to have a sixth-sense and can see/feel things other animals can’t; The animals are anthropomorphized.
Worldview: There is a spiritual aspect to this world, with various animals serving as a spiritual leader/priest throughout, and multiple characters pray to The Heart, blessing in the name of The Heart, seeking protection, comfort, and guidance from The Heart, and a sacred stone, the Heartstone, given to the inhabitants of Mistmantle as a sign of sovereignty; in prior books Myrtle is a prophet of sorts, she stitches symbols into the historical records of the Threadings before they happen, without realizing she’s stitching them or understanding their meanings, in Corr’s Quest, it’s revealed she can also see things in the Threadings that the other creatures cannot (sparking areas, symbols the others don’t understand etc)
Violence/Death :
The Tale of Gripthroat—he is an increasingly cruel tyrant to the animals of Mistmantle and slaughters whole families that don’t obey or agree with him (nothing is detailed); Gripthroat was known to kill for fun and reigned with terror, bullying the strongest and weakest creatures alike to do his will, until the point he becomes suspicious of all creatures and is ultimately captured and imprisoned by those he oppressed.
The Story of Quicksilver—selfish and prideful Queen Diamond is taken in with a fraudulent suitor named Quicksilver, who after marrying the Queen, begins to keep secret nightly activities from her, she has him followed (those animals disappear) and follows him herself one night, leading to her house arrest and Quicksilver convincing their attendants that she was sick and unstable and could not be trusted; a priest is mysteriously found dead, other animals disappear; during a rebellion against Quicksilvers wicked rule, he uses his own baby son as a hostage and threatens to kill him if the resistance attempts to arrest him, his plan is thwarted by the little Prince who bites Quicksilver and escapes; Quicksilvers ending according to the tale is a bit ambiguous, some say he died in the pit he was making (the origins of the same pit Husk used for evil and Brother Fir redeemed for light and peace) some say the rebelling mile army killed him, some say he lived his life out in prison; decaying bodies were found in the pit as sacrificed to something evil.
Padra’s Story—a character dies in a rage tide trying to rescue an elderly animal, who also dies.
Brother Fir—a character gets sick and is killed by the disease.
The Story of Finch and Lapwing—They initially hide their meeting together, then determine to marry and reveal their love to both sides. Lapwing is beaten violently by her brother when she tells him what she did, and Finch’s father punches him and exiles him on pain of death if he attempted return home. They determine to leave, but try only last attempt at reconciliation with their dailies and between the competing clans with the help of Sister Rede, the priest who married them. There families come to this parley, armed. Ultimately both Sister Rede and Finch are impaled, Sister Rede dies immediately, Finch is badly wounded but survives.
The Voyager’s Quest—It is Spearteeth’s practice to visit the waters surrounding Frostingfarne and kill an inhabitant for fun, and he is known to wait until he has the blood of an islander first before he leaves until the next bloodlust urge hits him. Cairn the winter hare tells Corr the story of the memorial stones of those creatures who had sacrificed themselves to Spearteeth in hopes of preventing other animals from being eaten; animals injure themselves intentionally to draw Spearteeth’s attention using fresh blood; Corr kills an enemy by plunging a sword into its heart spilling blood everywhere; a brief subplot involving an intentionally deceitful claim to the throne of Whitewings occurs but is cleared up very quickly once the training involved with being the Heir apparent was detailed.
If you’re here from the Reshelving Alexandria 52 Book Challenge 2026, the list below has categories this book would fit into:
3. A book with a person who chose mercy over revenge
4. A story with friendship between unlikely people
5. A book with a character who rescues someone in danger
9. A story with a community coming together after disaster
10. A book with an unlikely hero who helps others
13. A book modeling caring for the sick, elderly, or dying
14. A novel with love expressed through sacrifice
17. A book with a character who stands up for the powerless
19. A story with kindness across cultural or racial lines
21. A book with caring for refugees or displaced people
24. A book with a character who stands up for someone being bullied
27. A story where a small good deed has a big impact
35. A book about foresight, responsibility, and the effort to avert harm
39. A novel with kindness in a harsh setting
40. A book with sharing food as an act of love
44. A story with helping someone who can never repay you
45. A novel where love is proven through action, not words
46. A book with healing within community
47. A story with choosing responsibility over comfort
48. A novel with hope in hopeless circumstances
49. A book with a moral choice that costs everything
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 18, 2026
something special about growing up with a character and with a series. This series was actually published the year I was born and my mom read it to me when I was small. And then I reread it every year after. urchin, juniper, sepia, cedar, padra and my beloved crispin were my childhood heroes and best friends.
so there's just something special about being grown up now and getting to come home, in a way. and find that all my friends have grown up too, rather than stayed locked in perpetual childhood. I have never been so excited when a book released as when this one came out.
and it was perfect. I am unabashedly a lover of history and lore in fantasy worlds so I loved the extra myths and snapshots of mistmantle culture and just to take some quiet moments learning more about old friends. and learning where their stories took them and that theyre grown up and happy and at peace. gives me hope for myself.
I also just want to say thank you to the author bc I write bc of these books. I became a writer bc of this series, and the stories I tell are so strongly influenced by the way these books emphasized love and community amd coziness while tackling hard themes.
never thought I'd be so lucky to read another mistmantle book.
so there's just something special about being grown up now and getting to come home, in a way. and find that all my friends have grown up too, rather than stayed locked in perpetual childhood. I have never been so excited when a book released as when this one came out.
and it was perfect. I am unabashedly a lover of history and lore in fantasy worlds so I loved the extra myths and snapshots of mistmantle culture and just to take some quiet moments learning more about old friends. and learning where their stories took them and that theyre grown up and happy and at peace. gives me hope for myself.
I also just want to say thank you to the author bc I write bc of these books. I became a writer bc of this series, and the stories I tell are so strongly influenced by the way these books emphasized love and community amd coziness while tackling hard themes.
never thought I'd be so lucky to read another mistmantle book.
October 22, 2025
This was a wonderful return to the world of Mistmantle!
Unlike previous installments in the series, this is a collection of shorter tales and works. Many of them delve into the history of characters and concepts from the previous books, and the collection concludes with a brand new work taking place after the previous finale to the series, Urchin and the Rage Tide. All shine with the same morality and humor of the previous Mistmantle books.
Unlike previous installments in the series, this is a collection of shorter tales and works. Many of them delve into the history of characters and concepts from the previous books, and the collection concludes with a brand new work taking place after the previous finale to the series, Urchin and the Rage Tide. All shine with the same morality and humor of the previous Mistmantle books.
January 22, 2026
As soon as I saw there was a new Mistmantle Chronicles book, I had to get it. Tales of Mistmantle is a companion book to the 5-book series, with short stories that add to the original series or explain some of the island's backstory and mythology.
This book gave us some insight into beloved characters like Apple (Urchin's adoptive mother) and Brother Fir, and showed us what happened to Whitewings after the fall of King Silverbirch (in Urchin and the Heartstone). There's also a chapter about the code used in the Threadings (coded tapestries that contain history or prophecies).
My only critique is that in one story, a character uncovers a secret meaning hidden in part of the Threadings by tearing it, but we never hear what it is or are given enough info to decipher it for ourselves.
This book gave us some insight into beloved characters like Apple (Urchin's adoptive mother) and Brother Fir, and showed us what happened to Whitewings after the fall of King Silverbirch (in Urchin and the Heartstone). There's also a chapter about the code used in the Threadings (coded tapestries that contain history or prophecies).
My only critique is that in one story, a character uncovers a secret meaning hidden in part of the Threadings by tearing it, but we never hear what it is or are given enough info to decipher it for ourselves.
December 19, 2025
We just received our copy from Purple House Press! What a wonderful book, read it in two days, and really enjoyed it. With all the history behind Mistmantle, the Threadings Code, a story that takes place after the final book, The Rage Tide, and so much more, it was a fulfilling ending to one of my favorite series. I couldn't believe there was going to be a sixth book! The story was far from disappointing. Many questions from the series were answered, like how Brother Fir got his limp, how Padra's father died, and the story of the evil hidden chamber in the castle. What a great book!
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