The Drowned Woods by Emily Lloyd-Jones
The Book:
The Drowned Woods takes place in the magical and dangerous kingdoms of Wales. As the last living water diviner, Mer is wanted for her power - dead or alive. So when the opportunity is presented to steal a fortune large enough to fund her escape from the kingdoms and live her life in peace, she takes it. Teaming up with the prince's spy master, a fae-cursed iron fetch, the lady of thieves, and a magic-allergic corgi, Mer’s quest for riches soon turns into a fight for the fate of the kingdom. Part heist, part dark fantasy, The Drowned Woods is teeming with Welsh lore, found family, secrets, betrayal, and an adorable fluff-ball corgi named Trefor.
Similar to my experience with The Nature of Witches, The Drowned Woods got bumped to the top of my reading list because of interactions with the author through social media. Author Emily Lloyd-Jones posted an amazing unofficial trailer for this book on Instagram advertising Trefor as the true hero of the story. It was hilarious, had an adorable dog, showed so much of the author’s personality, and I went out and bought the book that day. I absolutely loved it.
The Author:
Emily Lloyd-Jones is the author of several young adult fiction books, including The Bone Houses which is set in the same magical Welsh world of The Drowned Woods. She has a BA in English and a MA in publishing, and you can connect with her more on her website or Instagram, @em_llojo.
The Beastie:
Trefor the Corgi!
Trefor is mostly your average, adorable fluff-ball with the exception that he sneezes a lot around magic. And he's a local! Corgi’s have a long (though not tall) standing history in Welsh lore. It’s believed that corgis, or “dwarf dogs,” were created specifically for the fairies, serving as a means of transportation and intelligence gathering.
While Trefor doesn't have much in the name of special abilities, he does play a huge role in character and plot development.
First, Trefor provides the perfect comic relief to a very dark story. In addition to his typical canine antics, Trefor suffers from a serious leather boot obsession. This proves to be both helpful and problematic for our main characters, but mostly humorous for us readers because it's a classic dog problem. Trefor wants those boots and he will not be stopped.
However, my favorite way Lloyd-Jones utilizes Trefor is as a bridge for the relationship between our main characters Mer and Fane. Both characters are naturally untrusting - Mer because she’s being hunted as the last living water diviner, and Fane because violent events in his past landed him as an iron-fetch for the fae, and a cursed one at that.
Yes - Mer and Fane do the majority of their relationship building through life or death experiences shared on their journey - but their foundation is 100% Trefor.
When Fane first meets Mer he has no idea she’s the last water diviner, but he knows she’s hiding something. The instant his dog Trefor meets her, those magic-allergies act up and he sneezes himself sideways. Yet Fane still makes the choice to trust her. Why? Because Trefor loves Mer. He goes belly up and basically basks in her affection. Trefor trusts the stranger, so Fane figures he can too.
And Lloyd-Jones makes this work both ways. On multiple occasions Mer's decision to trust Fane is entirely based on how he treats his dog. One of my favorite moments is when Mer directly inquires as to how Fane acquired Trefor in the first place. Fane’s response is that he found the dog wandering in the woods, offered him some cheese, and Trefor decided that was a good enough reason to stick around. Mer figures if Fane’s good enough for the dog, he’s good enough for her heist.
Taking it even further, Mer later reflects that "Fane treated his dog with unwavering gentleness. That made her trust him far more than anything he could have said.”
As a licensed vet tech and general animal lover - I completely relate to this. If my dog doesn’t like you, odds are I’m going to keep my distance. And if you’re rude to dogs, we probably shouldn’t be friends. It’s an innate instinct - the very core of the human-animal bond. Working in veterinary medicine I frequently recognize people by their pets. “Oh, you’re Fluffy’s owner!” is not an uncommon statement in my day-to-day line of work. I’m an animal nurse; I bond first and foremost with Fluffy, then with Fluffy’s human.
And I think that’s why I love Trefor’s role in The Drowned Woods so much. He isn’t just a fluff-ball sidekick; he’s a bridge (a very low and long bridge) between two people. Because of him two strangers decide to trust each other. Because of him the kingdoms may be saved.
Because of him leather boots in Wales are scarred with teeth marks and drool.
Vet Tech Tidbit: There are actually two breeds of Welsh Corgis: the Pembroke Welsh and the Cardigan Welsh. Trefor is a Cardigan Welsh - most easily identified because he has a tail. All those Pembroke Corgis you see running around without their tails aren't actually born that way. Their tails are docked (surgically cut) 1 to 5 days after birth. There are some other differences that separate the two breeds as well, but that's the easiest to identify at a glance.
Personally, I love the tail - animals communicate SO much with their tails, both to humans and other animals. They express a whole range of emotions like joy, excitement, aggression, and shyness. The fact that they’re adorable is just a bonus.
Thanks so much for checking out this month’s Books&Beasties! If there’s a book or beastie you’d love to see featured email me and let me know.
In the meantime - happy holidays and happy reading!