Sunnywood House (Book 1)

Retired adventurers, a cursed debt and one last stand.

Sunnywood House was supposed to be a quiet retirement home for adventurers past their prime — a place to rest weary bones, swap old stories, and stay well out of trouble.

Trouble, unfortunately, has other plans.

When a cursed debt brings dark magic, mysterious enforcers, and an alarming number of undead rabbits to their doorstep, a stubborn group of ageing heroes find their home under threat. With nowhere else to go, they’ll have to decide whether they’re truly finished… or if they still have one last adventure left in them.

Joined by a scrappy new recruit who never expected to live with legends, the residents of Sunnywood House must rely on old tricks, unlikely friendships, and the kind of magic that doesn’t fade with age.

Perfect for fans of The Thursday Murder Club and Legends & Lattes, Sunnywood House is a cozy, comic fantasy full of British humour and heart — a found-family story about fighting for your home, even when the world insists you’re past your prime.

Sunnywood House is Book 1 of the Sunnywood House duology.

Recommended age: 

Genre: Cosy comic fantasy / Cosy adventure

Blake Polden lives in Tasmania, Australia, and writes about found family, chaotic magic, and the general inconvenience of both showing up at once.

He's the author of the Sunnywood House series, including the newest instalment, Final Notice. His debut, The Strangest Criminals, became a Booktopia bestseller. Carnegie-longlisted author Wren James has called his work "funny, high-octane, and character-driven" and named him "a worthy successor to Rivers of London and Terry Pratchett" — which Blake has not stopped mentioning since.

Once an avid traveller, Blake now does most of his exploring on the page. When he's not writing, he throws pots (the ceramic kind, not the dramatic kind — though with his characters, you never quite know) and is professionally outranked in his household by Kip, a border collie with strong opinions and no patience for deadlines.