Ratings:
Star Rating: ★★☆☆☆
If This Book Was a Movie Rating: PG-13
Review:
I was so bloody excited for this book. I adored the cover, I adored the premise, I adored the spunky elven fire horses.
But this book missed on one very important, very key idea:
You don’t mix music industry talent agents and Wood Kings.
You don’t mix Birkenstocks and blood magic tithes.
And you really don’t mix Hydroflasks and faeries.
It just isn’t done.
and that is why Isabelle dnf'ed this one.
let’s kick off this review with a synopsis, shall we?
"No matter how far she runs, the forest of Edgewood always comes for Emeline Lark. The scent of damp earth curls into her nose when she sings and moss creeps across the stage. It’s as if the woods of her childhood, shrouded in folklore and tall tales, are trying to reclaim her. But Emeline has no patience for silly superstitions.
When her grandfather disappears, leaving only a mysterious orb in his wake, the stories Emeline has always scoffed at suddenly seem less foolish. She enters the forest she has spent years trying to escape, only to have Hawthorne Fell, a handsome and brooding tithe collector, try to dissuade her from searching.
Refusing to be deterred, Emeline finds herself drawn to the court of the fabled Wood King himself. She makes a deal—her voice for her grandfather’s freedom. Little does she know, she’s stumbled into the middle of a curse much bigger than herself, one that threatens the existence of this eerie world she’s trapped in, along with the devastating boy who feels so familiar.
With the help of Hawthorne—an enemy turned reluctant ally who she grows closer to each day—Emeline sets out to not only save her grandfather’s life, but to right past wrongs, and in the process, discover her true voice."
Yeah, it’s weird.
To be perfectly honest, I believe that was the problem with 99% of this book’s plot. It was just too odd. Trying to connect with the character’s modern music career in one sentence, and then learning that trees talk in this random magical forest in the other was just whiplash. I just couldn’t wrap my head around it, and thus could not bring myself to give a bloody care.
Next, the characters.
The characters didn’t do anything to redeem the plot. Everyone was relatively forgettable, but Emeline Lark, our main girl, was the worst of the lot. In fact, she was so horrifically forgettable, I actually had to go look up her name in order to write this review *sighs dramatically*
Her entire personality was getting her old grandfather who suffers from dementia back from the Wood King, and she literally dropped her life, everyone in her life, all of her auditions, her shows, and her music to get this man back. She basically sacrifices several big opportunities in auditions for this guy.
And did I care?
Nope.
Like, intellectually, I know he is our main girl’s grandpa and he’s really truly very important to her, but it was bloody difficult to care about the guy because there was no actual description or memories of him for me to connect with.
You give me nothing, I give you nothing 🥰
In addition, for solidly the first fifty pages, Emeline refuses to believe her grandfather has been taken by the Wood King. It’s very frustrating, and I dropped the book maybe three times because I couldn’t get past her stupid stubbornness. AND THEN we finally get into the forest, a couple fire horses show up, our leading lady is nearly burned to a crisp, and then SHE BELIEVES IT’S REAL.
NO WONDER SHERLOCK.
the number of times the stubbornness of this girl would’ve killed her if not for plot armor 💀
There was a heck ton more I could talk about, but it’s finals season and I very unfortunately lack the time to go over everything :( My overall thoughts, summed up in one succinct sentence: the worldbuilding was #whiplash, the characters were confusing, the heroine was stupid, and Hydroflasks should never, never, NEVER be used in the same sentence as a faerie.
thank you and goodbye.
Friend me on Goodreads (yes, you, I wanna be your friend): https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/136268749-isabelle
Buy this book: https://www.amazon.com/Edgewood-Novel-Kristen-Ciccarelli-ebook/dp/B092T82SFB/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1651189742&sr=8-1
Recommendations That Are Better Than This Book:
These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong
Heartless by Marissa Meyer
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