Chime by Franny Billingsley

Before Briony's stepmother died, she made sure Briony blamed herself for all the family's hardships. Now Briony has worn her guilt for so long it's become a second skin. She often escapes to the swamp, where she tells stories to the Old Ones, the spirits who haunt the marshes. But only witches can see the Old Ones, and in her village, witches are sentenced to death. Briony lives in fear her secret will be found out, even as she believes she deserves the worst kind of punishment.

Then Eldric comes along with his golden lion eyes and mane of tawny hair. He's as natural as the sun, and treats her as if she's extraordinary. And everything starts to change. As many secrets as Briony has been holding, there are secrets even she doesn't know.

This was such a thrilling novel! It took me awhile to get into Chime, but once I did, I couldn’t stop reading it! Franny Billingsley writing is beautiful, lyrical, and fluid. Absolutely perfect. Out of all of the mythical creatures (is it a mythical creature? Maybe not. But out of vampires, werewolves, etc.) witches are my favorite, which is why I was beyond thrilled to see that I got Chime in the mail for review.
While reading this, there were times when I just wanted to stop and soak up the amazing words that I had just read. If Chime were written by any other author, I think it wouldn’t be nearly as good as it is.
The characters were well developed, and the plot was amazing. I recommend Chime to anybody looking for a fantastically written book about witches! I would gladly reread Chime.

FTC- Publisher.