Season of Fear by Emily Cooper (Independent Bookshop Edition)

In the village of Heulensee, Ilse Odenwald dreams of being afraid. Because in Heulensee, fearfulness is next to godliness.

A monstrous forest borders the village – the Hexenwald. Its horrors attack every time the sky turns blood-red. The townsfolk’s only defence comes from the gruesome, ancient Saint of Fear, who demands the women and girls offer up their terror in return for its protection.

Born without the ability to feel fear, Ilse is an outsider. As hard as she tries, she cannot bring forth the dread that the Saint of Fear demands. When it discovers her divergence, the Saint levels a threat: Ilse must find her fear, or it will devour her sister.

Unable to lose Thea, the only person who understands her, Ilse enters the Hexenwald, hoping that the monsters it harbours will finally scare her. But the forest is hiding a multitude of secrets and Ilse is about to discover that there’s much more than fear to be found within . . .