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perpetually_reading_'s review against another edition
2.0
I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
What to say here… I really wanted to love this book. Honestly, the idea is amazing and it’s executed well enough but it just falls short for me. The writing is very smart and it reads like a nightmare fairytale but once the “truth” was revealed it felt like the dialogue (which had been so realistic) became very young quickly. The writing is beautiful but the lyrical nature, at times, made it feel like there was filler which could have been taken out to be more concise with the language. I also felt that there wasn’t enough depth for the characters for me to really hold onto.
What to say here… I really wanted to love this book. Honestly, the idea is amazing and it’s executed well enough but it just falls short for me. The writing is very smart and it reads like a nightmare fairytale but once the “truth” was revealed it felt like the dialogue (which had been so realistic) became very young quickly. The writing is beautiful but the lyrical nature, at times, made it feel like there was filler which could have been taken out to be more concise with the language. I also felt that there wasn’t enough depth for the characters for me to really hold onto.
krejdar's review against another edition
4.0
Surprisingly clever and incredibly unique. Female dominant story (all with diverse personalities!) that does have a love element but it is not in any way the focal point of the overarching plot. I'd actually really love to see more stories from the Maculae universe - there seems to be so much more the author can touch on without actually needing to return to this specific group of characters.
I do want to add a little trigger warning: the way this story is written and how MCs POV is described in the first half of the book, it might be triggering to those who are intimately linked to someone with schizophrenia. I cant say anything more without spoiling the story, but I felt it necessary to post a warning.
I do want to add a little trigger warning: the way this story is written and how MCs POV is described in the first half of the book, it might be triggering to those who are intimately linked to someone with schizophrenia. I cant say anything more without spoiling the story, but I felt it necessary to post a warning.
womanon's review against another edition
3.0
This book was super promising for the first part! The second part I sadly didn't enjoy as much. It was confusing and a little boring, and I lost interest in the story rather quickly.
ryleighmcg's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
bookishinidahome's review against another edition
2.5
Listen if you like:
✨ YA Books
✨ Fantasy Genre
✨ Single PoV & narrator
✨Dreams and nightmares
✨ Magic
This book sounded so good and promising from the plot description, but somehow I just was never quite hooked and fully interested, the writing felt redundant and it became annoying when phrases were used over and over in rapid succession such as “the fox who is not a fox” like I got it the first time I don’t need that introduction for the entire book.
I am definitely being knit picky here but I think the writing just didn’t have what I was looking for even though it was very atmospheric at times which I greatly enjoy but then the repeated odd phrasings pulled me out of those vibes.
Plot was predicable and slow and definitely didn’t get the pacing right.
Thank you to the publisher for my ALC in exchange for my honest review. I will say I think I’m in the odds for not loving this one and it has potential so take my review with a grain of salt.
✨ YA Books
✨ Fantasy Genre
✨ Single PoV & narrator
✨Dreams and nightmares
✨ Magic
This book sounded so good and promising from the plot description, but somehow I just was never quite hooked and fully interested, the writing felt redundant and it became annoying when phrases were used over and over in rapid succession such as “the fox who is not a fox” like I got it the first time I don’t need that introduction for the entire book.
I am definitely being knit picky here but I think the writing just didn’t have what I was looking for even though it was very atmospheric at times which I greatly enjoy but then the repeated odd phrasings pulled me out of those vibes.
Plot was predicable and slow and definitely didn’t get the pacing right.
Thank you to the publisher for my ALC in exchange for my honest review. I will say I think I’m in the odds for not loving this one and it has potential so take my review with a grain of salt.
thepolybrary's review against another edition
4.0
~*Check out all my reviews over at The Bent Bookworm!*~
The Waking Forest is a story that is a true journey. I wasn’t EXACTLY sure what to expect going into it, and I was almost halfway through before I was even sure what the heck I was reading! Perhaps not the most stellar start for a debut novel, BUT. Bear with me – and bear with the book, too. While I did only rate it at 3.5/5 stars (rounded up), I also feel it is totally a book worth reading and I will gladly be reading the next novel that Alyssa Wees comes out with.
The first half of the book is told in alternating chapters between Rhea, in our modern world, and the Witch of the Wood, in a very odd dream-like world. I was SO confused as to what was supposed to be happening in these…but the writing is beautiful. If you are not into heavy descriptions and very sustained metaphors, you might not enjoy it. It’s a very different style from what I’ve been reading recently, so it took a little while for it to grow on me. But grow on me it did, and eventually the prose (which could, admittedly, be considered kind of “purple” prose) was just painting these amazing pictures…so even if I was turned around and had no idea where the story was going, I was just enjoying the journey.
Eventually the two tales merge, and that is rather…mind-bending. There is enough foreshadowing that you sort of see it coming, but not…not…in the way it played out, or at least I didn’t. The story shifts to an entirely fantasy world, with incredible creatures and magic. I really wish the magic had been better explained! I was still kind of confused by how everything worked in the end, but it was glorious and shiny and I liked it.
My absolute favorite part was Rhea’s relationship with her sisters. These four girls are kicking ass and taking names and making no apologies – and dealing with their own issues along the way. There is some beautiful encouragement for those of us who struggle with anxiety in these pages – and the characters aren’t considered less than or incapable because of it! I loved it. Absolutely loved it.
Overall, The Waking Forest isn’t perfect but if you like fantasy and quirky characters, definitely give it a try. And keep an eye out for more books by Wees!
Blog | Twitter | Bloglovin | Instagram |
I sort of do know what she means, sitting here in the semi-dark and the semi-silence. I have a scratchy, restless feeling, as if my soul were grinding against my skin, my bones, not necessarily wanting to get out but urging my body to go to impossible places, convinced I can touch the stars and not burn.
The Waking Forest is a story that is a true journey. I wasn’t EXACTLY sure what to expect going into it, and I was almost halfway through before I was even sure what the heck I was reading! Perhaps not the most stellar start for a debut novel, BUT. Bear with me – and bear with the book, too. While I did only rate it at 3.5/5 stars (rounded up), I also feel it is totally a book worth reading and I will gladly be reading the next novel that Alyssa Wees comes out with.
The first half of the book is told in alternating chapters between Rhea, in our modern world, and the Witch of the Wood, in a very odd dream-like world. I was SO confused as to what was supposed to be happening in these…but the writing is beautiful. If you are not into heavy descriptions and very sustained metaphors, you might not enjoy it. It’s a very different style from what I’ve been reading recently, so it took a little while for it to grow on me. But grow on me it did, and eventually the prose (which could, admittedly, be considered kind of “purple” prose) was just painting these amazing pictures…so even if I was turned around and had no idea where the story was going, I was just enjoying the journey.
Eventually the two tales merge, and that is rather…mind-bending. There is enough foreshadowing that you sort of see it coming, but not…not…in the way it played out, or at least I didn’t. The story shifts to an entirely fantasy world, with incredible creatures and magic. I really wish the magic had been better explained! I was still kind of confused by how everything worked in the end, but it was glorious and shiny and I liked it.
My absolute favorite part was Rhea’s relationship with her sisters. These four girls are kicking ass and taking names and making no apologies – and dealing with their own issues along the way. There is some beautiful encouragement for those of us who struggle with anxiety in these pages – and the characters aren’t considered less than or incapable because of it! I loved it. Absolutely loved it.
Overall, The Waking Forest isn’t perfect but if you like fantasy and quirky characters, definitely give it a try. And keep an eye out for more books by Wees!
Blog | Twitter | Bloglovin | Instagram |
bizzybee429's review against another edition
if this ain't good and gay I will be severely disappointed
mrswhodunnit's review against another edition
4.0
Synopsis: a girl is taunted by a boy in darkness
Me, immediately running towards it: I'm in
Me, immediately running towards it: I'm in