So glad you're enjoying Sabriel! Apart from the characterisation and, as you say, the narrative flow, I think Nix's combination of fantasy with realism is one of the things I love best about the series. There's an echo of WW1 in the scenes with the soldiers. (But I don't want to spoil anything.)

I've never read any of Philip Reeves' books, but I keep seeing them in secondhand shops. I should check out the one you recommend.

Much hoping that the upswings are long and the downswings as short as they can be x