A History Of Wild Places by Shea Ernshaw

July 14, 2021 theelvenwarriorLeave a comment

*Spoiler free*

53056007. sy475 — Thank you so much to Atria and Edelweiss for the e-ARC!

Travis Wren has an unusual talent for locating missing people. Hired by families as a last resort, he requires only a single object to find the person who has vanished. When he takes on the case of Maggie St. James—a well-known author of dark, macabre children’s books—he’s led to a place many believed to be only a legend. Called Pastoral, this reclusive community was founded in the 1970s by like-minded people searching for a simpler way of life. By all accounts, the commune shouldn’t exist anymore and soon after Travis stumbles upon it…he disappears. Just like Maggie St. James. Years later, Theo, a lifelong member of Pastoral, discovers Travis’s abandoned truck beyond the border of the community. No one is allowed in or out, not when there’s a risk of bringing a disease—rot—into Pastoral. Unraveling the mystery of what happened reveals secrets that Theo, his wife, Calla, and her sister, Bee, keep from one another. Secrets that prove their perfect, isolated world isn’t as safe as they believed—and that darkness takes many forms.

I have friends who are huge Shea Ernshaw fans, and that made incredibly eager to read her books. On top of that, this one sounded incredibly intriguing. Missing people becoming missing from searching for missing people. A reclusive community with a rotting disease keeping them secluded, and secrets building on secrets. I sounded like something I would really like, and I was eager to see what I would think! Trigger warnings: mentions of suicide, grief, blood

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Reviews

A Dark And Starless Forest by Sarah Hollowell

June 14, 2021 theelvenwarrior1 Comment

*Spoiler free*

52132628. sy475 — Thank you so much to HMH Books for Young Readers and Edelweiss for the e-ARC1

Derry and her eight siblings live in an isolated house by the lake, separated from the rest of the world by an eerie and menacing forest. Frank, the man who raised them after their families abandoned them, says it’s for their own good. After all, the world isn’t safe for people with magic. And Derry feels safe—most of the time. Until the night her eldest sister disappears. Jane and Derry swore to each other that they’d never go into the forest, not after their last trip ended in blood, but Derry is sure she saw Jane walk into the trees. When another sibling goes missing and Frank’s true colors start to show, feeling safe is no longer an option. Derry will risk anything to protect the family she has left. Even if that means returning to the forest that has started calling to Derry in her missing siblings’ voices. As Derry spends more time amidst the trees, her magic grows more powerful . . . and so does the darkness inside her, the viciousness she wants to pretend doesn’t exist. But saving her siblings from the forest and from Frank might mean embracing the darkness. And that just might be the most dangerous thing of all.

I’ve followed this author online for awhile before her book deal was even announced, so I was siked when it finally did! I’m of course a sucker for creepy forest stories, and this one features a fat girl main character, who must look out for her siblings as they are taken into the woods. She must also grapple with the darkness inside her as well. It sounded incredibly intriguing, and I couldn’t wait to read it! Trigger warnings: emotional and physical abuse, anxiety, depression

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Reviews

For The Wolf by Hannah Whitten

May 25, 2021May 25, 2021 theelvenwarrior1 Comment

*Spoiler free*

53418394 — Thank you so much to Orbit and NetGalley for the e-ARC!

As the only Second Daughter born in centuries, Red has one purpose-to be sacrificed to the Wolf in the Wood in the hope he’ll return the world’s captured gods. Red is almost relieved to go. Plagued by a dangerous power she can’t control, at least she knows that in the Wilderwood, she can’t hurt those she loves. Again. But the legends lie. The Wolf is a man, not a monster. Her magic is a calling, not a curse. And if she doesn’t learn how to use it, the monsters the gods have become will swallow the Wilderwood-and her world-whole.

It’s a forest and wolf book. About the first daughter being for the throne, and the second daughter being for the Wolf. But the Wolf is not the monster that the legends have made him out to be. I mean, that sounds right up my alley and I was desperate to to read this. It was a forest and a wolf book. It has magic. Yes, I wanted to read this very badly. Trigger warnings

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Reviews

The Forest Of Stolen Girls by June Hur

December 8, 2020 theelvenwarrior3 Comments

*Spoiler free*

51591586 — Thank you so much to Feiwel & Friends and Edelweiss for the e-ARC!

Hwani’s family has never been the same since she and her younger sister went missing and were later found unconscious in the forest, near a gruesome crime scene. The only thing they remember: Their captor wore a painted-white mask. To escape the haunting memories of this incident, the family flees their hometown. Years later, Detective Min—Hwani’s father—learns that thirteen girls have recently disappeared under similar circumstances, and so he returns to their hometown to investigate… only to vanish as well. Determined to find her father and solve the case that tore their family apart, Hwani returns home to pick up the trail. As she digs into the secrets of the small village—and reconnects with her now estranged sister—Hwani comes to realize that the answer lies within her own buried memories of what happened in the forest all those years ago.

Historical fiction and I don’t always mesh that well. That’s why when I read The Silence Of Bones and absolutely fell in love, I was eager to read anything else that June Hur wrote. Two sisters found unconscious next to a crime scene, and years later, 13 girls and the sister’s father’s have gone missing. Hwani is determined to solve the mystery, no matter what secrets she uncovers. It was so ready to see what June Hur was going to do with this story. Trigger warnings: mentions of rape, suicide, grief, parental abuse

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Among The Beasts And Briars by Ashley Poston: Blog Tour!

October 21, 2020September 27, 2020 theelvenwarrior1 Comment

I adore Ashley Poston books. I fell head over heels in love with the Heart Of Iron duology and I adored the Once Upon A Con books. So, when I found out about Among The Beasts And Briars I knew I wanted to read it. And wow, this book just confirms and makes me love Ashley Poston books even more. It’s beyond amazing and I’m so thrilled to be apart of the blog tour for it! Any reason to scream about this book, and I’m there.

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Reviews

Forest Of Souls by Lori M. Lee

April 9, 2020April 9, 2020 theelvenwarrior3 Comments

*Spoiler free*

45554589. sy475 — Thank you to Page Street Kids and NetGalley for the e-ARC!

Sirscha Ashwyn comes from nothing, but she’s intent on becoming something. After years of training to become the queen’s next royal spy, her plans are derailed when shamans attack and kill her best friend Saengo. And then Sirscha, somehow, restores Saengo to life. Unveiled as the first soulguide in living memory, Sirscha is summoned to the domain of the Spider King. For centuries, he has used his influence over the Dead Wood—an ancient forest possessed by souls—to enforce peace between the kingdoms. Now, with the trees growing wild and untamed, only a soulguide can restrain them. As war looms, Sirscha must master her newly awakened abilities before the trees shatter the brittle peace, or worse, claim Saengo, the friend she would die for.

As someone who’s not the biggest fan of spiders (I would say I don’t like them but I want to respect them), I was very excited for a book with a spider plot in it. Ever since I saw the cover, I’ve wanted to read this book. I mostly knew that there was a Spider King and that’s basically it. But that was enough to make me want to read it! Trigger warnings: gore, body horror

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