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3.2 AVERAGE
3.2 AVERAGE
I recieved an e-ARC from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. My opinions are my own and are not influenced by this opportunity.
I was immediately drawn to The Waking Forest because that cover is serious goals! It is so creepy and mystifying and makes you want to read this book. I had to know what happens, with a cover so dark and daunting how could this book be anything less than amazing!?
And it, mostly was. I am honestly still trying to process what exactly I read while I write this review. There were some elements of the story that left me incredibly confused, which made it hard progressing through the book because half the time I had no idea what was happening. There were also some things that I really enjoyed though! So like I said, I’m very confused on my feelings about this one 😶
Let’s start with the things I liked about The Waking Forest. First and foremost, the BEAUTIFUL writing! Alyssa very much knows her way around the written word because my god I was immediately drawn in by her style of writing. I love a good story that weaves in beautiful and enchanting metaphors and prose. To me, the writing was the strongest aspect of this book. Because of this I also really liked how dark The Waking Forest was. Honestly though, I wish it was DARKER! There was so much more that could have been done with this story, so much more detail that could have taken this book to the next level.
Also, this story was basically Inception inside of Inception. For a while there I thought I was going crazy but I’m fairly certain now I understand what happened in this story 🤣 just imagine Inception but with basically a dark retelling of Sleeping Beauty.
I think there was a few things that could have been done better that would have made me love this story all the much more. One thing is I was hoping for more world building! The Waking Forest is partially set in a dark and creepy forest and partially set in a Kingdom with a glorious castle but I couldn’t really imagine either because the details were really lacking in this area. This didn’t make me like the book any less, I still really enjoyed it, I just want more from this story!
On to a couple things I wasn’t a big fan of, first I’ll start with the naming convention. Okay, not going to lie. Most of this book I had no idea who was who, I have no idea why but none of the names stuck with me. I think maybe because there was never clear descriptions of all the characters so I couldn’t imagine a face to put a name to. Also with that, all of their names in the main family started with R and were all incredibly similar so I just, couldn’t remember 🤷♀️
The other big thing I just can’t seem to grasp is the fact that this book is split into two parts but they have almost no relation. They feel very disjointed and I almost view them as two separate stories. At this point I also started to get incredibly confused by the plot, when Rhea and the Witch’s stories (which have been alternating chapters/separate stories until now) culminate and intersect I began to lose interest. I think Alyssa did such a fantastic job writing their stories *separately* that when they began weaving together it just got too convoluted for me to follow.
I do actually think this was a great book, it had a lot more potential though! If you like the dark creepy fantasies that are not too dense then I highly recommend this story. Especially because the writing is SO beautiful! I will be thinking of that writing for quite a while.
I was immediately drawn to The Waking Forest because that cover is serious goals! It is so creepy and mystifying and makes you want to read this book. I had to know what happens, with a cover so dark and daunting how could this book be anything less than amazing!?
And it, mostly was. I am honestly still trying to process what exactly I read while I write this review. There were some elements of the story that left me incredibly confused, which made it hard progressing through the book because half the time I had no idea what was happening. There were also some things that I really enjoyed though! So like I said, I’m very confused on my feelings about this one 😶
Let’s start with the things I liked about The Waking Forest. First and foremost, the BEAUTIFUL writing! Alyssa very much knows her way around the written word because my god I was immediately drawn in by her style of writing. I love a good story that weaves in beautiful and enchanting metaphors and prose. To me, the writing was the strongest aspect of this book. Because of this I also really liked how dark The Waking Forest was. Honestly though, I wish it was DARKER! There was so much more that could have been done with this story, so much more detail that could have taken this book to the next level.
Also, this story was basically Inception inside of Inception. For a while there I thought I was going crazy but I’m fairly certain now I understand what happened in this story 🤣 just imagine Inception but with basically a dark retelling of Sleeping Beauty.
I think there was a few things that could have been done better that would have made me love this story all the much more. One thing is I was hoping for more world building! The Waking Forest is partially set in a dark and creepy forest and partially set in a Kingdom with a glorious castle but I couldn’t really imagine either because the details were really lacking in this area. This didn’t make me like the book any less, I still really enjoyed it, I just want more from this story!
On to a couple things I wasn’t a big fan of, first I’ll start with the naming convention. Okay, not going to lie. Most of this book I had no idea who was who, I have no idea why but none of the names stuck with me. I think maybe because there was never clear descriptions of all the characters so I couldn’t imagine a face to put a name to. Also with that, all of their names in the main family started with R and were all incredibly similar so I just, couldn’t remember 🤷♀️
The other big thing I just can’t seem to grasp is the fact that this book is split into two parts but they have almost no relation. They feel very disjointed and I almost view them as two separate stories. At this point I also started to get incredibly confused by the plot, when Rhea and the Witch’s stories (which have been alternating chapters/separate stories until now) culminate and intersect I began to lose interest. I think Alyssa did such a fantastic job writing their stories *separately* that when they began weaving together it just got too convoluted for me to follow.
I do actually think this was a great book, it had a lot more potential though! If you like the dark creepy fantasies that are not too dense then I highly recommend this story. Especially because the writing is SO beautiful! I will be thinking of that writing for quite a while.
** ARC provided by the publisher through Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.**
"A witch, a witch, a witch in the woods. And suddenly I feel the witch, there at the center of the woods, just as I feel the boy in the darkness. She's a shadow falling across my heart, a rose blooming in the total dark. And she's screaming."
This is the story of Rhea whose three sisters and parents all have their own quirks. One doesn't really sleep, the other runs away a bunch, and one seem to see the future. They are all ecentric, labeled as witches in a modern time. Then we follow to witch in the woods and the fox that was not a fox (aka a super cool creepy woods vibe). Rhea and her siblings, the entire storyline there was a bit difficult to keep straight, not gonna lie. However, Rhea can feel the Darkness breathing around her at night, has conversations with "him" and man is that part of her story pretty awesome and angsty. Her family story...well that gets pretty confusing as well as you read, but that's the general gist of things.
" "Rhea Ravenna, you have returned." Again he uses my name like a spell, an incantation somewhere between sinister and sacred, demonic and divine."
This is an impressive debut novel in so many ways. The prose in this novel is beautiful, I highlighted and tabbed a ton of lines in my eARC. I mean, seriously, so pretty. The lore of the Witch in the Woods, the stories told about her and the vibe of her throne in the woods made from giant teeth, YES! Give me all of it. I'm impressed by the way that Alyssa was able to create this vivid world full of magic with words that truly are so memorable in their beauty.
"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."
However, what this story lacked for me was a connection to characters and a plot that made sense. There is so much I want to say about this story and so little that I can without giving away spoilers but even though the confusing aspects of this novel are explained on the page midway through the novel, I still had NO idea what the heck was going on. In theory, everything about this story works but in execution, something fell short for me, personally. How do you rate and review a book that you enjoyed but left you frustrated, confused, and feeling like something was missing? But honestly, the writing was great. So torn!
"It sounds like anxiety. It sounds like you have panic attacks. And that's nothing to be ashamed of. It doesn't make you weak or not able to handle things, and it doesn't make you any less of a macula than me, or anyone else."
We get representation for anxiety in this novel, which is always interesting in a fantasy novel. This is a dark story, a twisted story about a witch who rips flower petals from her chest to grant wishes to children then sews herself back up. It's a story about sacrifice, love, family, sisters, and darkness. It's a love story in many ways and it's a fast read, one that keeps you reading but sometimes, maybe mainly, because you want to figure out what the heck is going on...I never really did. Also, man, those chapters about the witch are compelling! The story of Rhea and her man Darkness...so gripping. I was here for them.
"My name is cradled in your bones. Because your heart sounds the same as mine. Because a sky is just unremarkable darkness without the stars... I don't know much, but I do know this. I am an inhale. And he-he is an exhale."
I buddy read this with the amazing Melanie from Meltotheany and I cannot wait to hear her thoughts. Overall, the writing was great, the concept was amazing, the vibe was phenomenal but the plot and some of the characters fell short for me. I apologize if this review made no sense, but my head is still a bit messed up from this story. They say it's for fans of Pans Labyrinth and The Hazelwood and I can see it...but this just didn't work as well for me. I don't think I'm meant to still be scratching my head over this days later.
"There is relief in destruction."
Trigger warnings for loss of a parent, slavery, murder, and blood. Also, some general themes of darkness and oppression.
"A witch, a witch, a witch in the woods. And suddenly I feel the witch, there at the center of the woods, just as I feel the boy in the darkness. She's a shadow falling across my heart, a rose blooming in the total dark. And she's screaming."
This is the story of Rhea whose three sisters and parents all have their own quirks. One doesn't really sleep, the other runs away a bunch, and one seem to see the future. They are all ecentric, labeled as witches in a modern time. Then we follow to witch in the woods and the fox that was not a fox (aka a super cool creepy woods vibe). Rhea and her siblings, the entire storyline there was a bit difficult to keep straight, not gonna lie. However, Rhea can feel the Darkness breathing around her at night, has conversations with "him" and man is that part of her story pretty awesome and angsty. Her family story...well that gets pretty confusing as well as you read, but that's the general gist of things.
" "Rhea Ravenna, you have returned." Again he uses my name like a spell, an incantation somewhere between sinister and sacred, demonic and divine."
This is an impressive debut novel in so many ways. The prose in this novel is beautiful, I highlighted and tabbed a ton of lines in my eARC. I mean, seriously, so pretty. The lore of the Witch in the Woods, the stories told about her and the vibe of her throne in the woods made from giant teeth, YES! Give me all of it. I'm impressed by the way that Alyssa was able to create this vivid world full of magic with words that truly are so memorable in their beauty.
"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."
However, what this story lacked for me was a connection to characters and a plot that made sense. There is so much I want to say about this story and so little that I can without giving away spoilers but even though the confusing aspects of this novel are explained on the page midway through the novel, I still had NO idea what the heck was going on. In theory, everything about this story works but in execution, something fell short for me, personally. How do you rate and review a book that you enjoyed but left you frustrated, confused, and feeling like something was missing? But honestly, the writing was great. So torn!
"It sounds like anxiety. It sounds like you have panic attacks. And that's nothing to be ashamed of. It doesn't make you weak or not able to handle things, and it doesn't make you any less of a macula than me, or anyone else."
We get representation for anxiety in this novel, which is always interesting in a fantasy novel. This is a dark story, a twisted story about a witch who rips flower petals from her chest to grant wishes to children then sews herself back up. It's a story about sacrifice, love, family, sisters, and darkness. It's a love story in many ways and it's a fast read, one that keeps you reading but sometimes, maybe mainly, because you want to figure out what the heck is going on...I never really did. Also, man, those chapters about the witch are compelling! The story of Rhea and her man Darkness...so gripping. I was here for them.
"My name is cradled in your bones. Because your heart sounds the same as mine. Because a sky is just unremarkable darkness without the stars... I don't know much, but I do know this. I am an inhale. And he-he is an exhale."
I buddy read this with the amazing Melanie from Meltotheany and I cannot wait to hear her thoughts. Overall, the writing was great, the concept was amazing, the vibe was phenomenal but the plot and some of the characters fell short for me. I apologize if this review made no sense, but my head is still a bit messed up from this story. They say it's for fans of Pans Labyrinth and The Hazelwood and I can see it...but this just didn't work as well for me. I don't think I'm meant to still be scratching my head over this days later.
"There is relief in destruction."
Trigger warnings for loss of a parent, slavery, murder, and blood. Also, some general themes of darkness and oppression.
Its not vary often that a book surprises me. This book surprised me in ways I truly wasn’t expecting. A sign of a great author I think is when a book presents a plot that you think will end one way but it ends up taking twists and turns that lead you to a completely different conclusion than the one you were expecting. That is what Alyssa Whees debut novel has done for me. But it’s more than just a brilliant mystery, its also a beautiful dark fantastical twisty fairy tale that relies as much on prose and atmosphere as it does on character development.
Rhea is a young girl who almost all of her live has be plagued by visions, vision of her death and a dark twisty forest that really isn’t there but she sees as almost another reality. One night in the darkness of her bedroom, she sees, or rather hears a boy, a boy seemingly made of darkness. She tries to discover the identity of this mysterious stranger while also trying to work out the source of her visions. Instead he challenges her to a game, a game whose outcome will not only clear up the mystery of his identity, but will also define her identity in the most brilliant beautiful and surprising ways.
Meanwhile in the dark twisty forest of Rhea’s visions The Witch of Wishes dwells. In her palace of bone, tree trunks and gnarled branches she sits on a throne carved of a canine tooth. Here she dwells day and night, with her pet foxes to keep her company. Waiting for dreaming children to wander into her realm so she can grant them their hearts desire with a petal plucked from the rose within her heart. One night, a stranger arrives and asks her the one question she never thought to ask, what is her deepest wish? The answer, it turns out, leads her and Rhea’s paths to cross in the most surprising of ways and on a journey that will forever change her. So begins a dark twisted ride, that leads readers in to a fantastical world where wishes can become reality, darkness has a voice, power exists in more than one form, and love wins in the end.
The language is lyrical, strange, atmospheric and intoxicating. The imagery is dark, gnarled, and vivid. The characters are so beautifully flawed, and the story brings strong ideas of acceptance, family, and love to the forefront. I cannot wait for readers to enjoy this beautiful dark richly told fairy tale. Please put on your to read list if you haven’t already. I flew through this in 5 days! Alyssa Whees is definitely one to watch! Thank you to eideilweiss @weiss_squad and Delcorte press for a DRC for review!
Rhea is a young girl who almost all of her live has be plagued by visions, vision of her death and a dark twisty forest that really isn’t there but she sees as almost another reality. One night in the darkness of her bedroom, she sees, or rather hears a boy, a boy seemingly made of darkness. She tries to discover the identity of this mysterious stranger while also trying to work out the source of her visions. Instead he challenges her to a game, a game whose outcome will not only clear up the mystery of his identity, but will also define her identity in the most brilliant beautiful and surprising ways.
Meanwhile in the dark twisty forest of Rhea’s visions The Witch of Wishes dwells. In her palace of bone, tree trunks and gnarled branches she sits on a throne carved of a canine tooth. Here she dwells day and night, with her pet foxes to keep her company. Waiting for dreaming children to wander into her realm so she can grant them their hearts desire with a petal plucked from the rose within her heart. One night, a stranger arrives and asks her the one question she never thought to ask, what is her deepest wish? The answer, it turns out, leads her and Rhea’s paths to cross in the most surprising of ways and on a journey that will forever change her. So begins a dark twisted ride, that leads readers in to a fantastical world where wishes can become reality, darkness has a voice, power exists in more than one form, and love wins in the end.
The language is lyrical, strange, atmospheric and intoxicating. The imagery is dark, gnarled, and vivid. The characters are so beautifully flawed, and the story brings strong ideas of acceptance, family, and love to the forefront. I cannot wait for readers to enjoy this beautiful dark richly told fairy tale. Please put on your to read list if you haven’t already. I flew through this in 5 days! Alyssa Whees is definitely one to watch! Thank you to eideilweiss @weiss_squad and Delcorte press for a DRC for review!
✨ I am so beyond excited that The Waking Forest is one of the Reader Voracious Novel19 Books! You can read my interview with Alyssa on my blog here!
This book is beautiful but requires some patience. The book has dual points-of-view and stylistically are night and day from one another. The Witch's narrative is more lyrical and is in third person, whereas Rhea's perspective is in first person and the prose is less purple (but still beautiful). There are two very different stories being told and I didn't really settle into the narrative until things started weaving together around the halfway point. I have a lot of "wtf is going on?" notes; I encourage you to just read the book and trust things will slide into focus.
The story is beautiful and reads like a lucid dream but none of the characters never really felt real to me. There are moments of sisterhood and just daily life with the family that was heartwarming, but they never felt like real people; the story itself was what I was invested in and drove the narrative forward for me. And I suppose that is the point for a magical, ephemeral read. I loved the anxiety rep in this book and how supportive the family is of their mental struggles. It was also refreshing to have a young adult fantasy story where the parents are present for once, and there is a f/f side relationship mentioned near the end.
Content warnings: anxiety, dead body, death, gore, grief, hallucinations
Representation: anxiety, f/f relationship
Many thanks to Delacorte for sending me an eARC via Netgalley for my honest review (I read my pre-ordered hardback)!
Narrative style: first & third person | Perspective(s): dual (The Witch {third}, Rhea)Spooky Season is upon us my friends, and The Waking Forest is a beautifully written fantasy debut that is sure to get you in the mood! Wees weaved fairy tales, dreams, and nightmares into a lyrical tale that flows on the page and takes on a life of its own.
"What waits for a kiss that does not come? What dreams and dreams until it comes undone?"This is one of the most atmospheric books I have read in awhile. Wees’ writing is beautiful and descriptive, and I almost feel like I am in a fever dream while reading it (much like when I read Strange Grace by Tessa Gratton – another witchy book I recommend).
This book is beautiful but requires some patience. The book has dual points-of-view and stylistically are night and day from one another. The Witch's narrative is more lyrical and is in third person, whereas Rhea's perspective is in first person and the prose is less purple (but still beautiful). There are two very different stories being told and I didn't really settle into the narrative until things started weaving together around the halfway point. I have a lot of "wtf is going on?" notes; I encourage you to just read the book and trust things will slide into focus.
"I can think of nothing more terrifying than a dream like this, which is only in your heart and cannot hurt you, until it suddenly reaches out and touches you."There's a lot I would like to say about the plot itself and how much I enjoyed it once it came together, but I really think it is best for you to go in as blind as possible on this one. As someone who oftentimes struggles with multiple POVs, I found the alternating perspectives to work here and the pacing of the story is done well.
The story is beautiful and reads like a lucid dream but none of the characters never really felt real to me. There are moments of sisterhood and just daily life with the family that was heartwarming, but they never felt like real people; the story itself was what I was invested in and drove the narrative forward for me. And I suppose that is the point for a magical, ephemeral read. I loved the anxiety rep in this book and how supportive the family is of their mental struggles. It was also refreshing to have a young adult fantasy story where the parents are present for once, and there is a f/f side relationship mentioned near the end.
"All things end, eventually. Even the very best stories. And the worst of them too."This is a book that I think will get better with re-reads. I spent the first half of this book utterly confused and wonder how much more I will enjoy it now that I know the ending. The story is beautiful and Wees is definitely an author to watch as I am sure she will continue to write atmospheric and lyrical stories. I don't think the writing style will be for everyone, but for those of you who love poetic writing, this debut is a great fall read to get you in the spooky mood.
Content warnings: anxiety, dead body, death, gore, grief, hallucinations
Representation: anxiety, f/f relationship
Many thanks to Delacorte for sending me an eARC via Netgalley for my honest review (I read my pre-ordered hardback)!
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This book had beautiful writing, amazing atmosphere, and a lovable protagonist. I have one--ONE--problem with it.
It broke so many promises! The amazing plot I was loving escalated into a climax that I thought would be coming eighty pages later, and destroyed the characters I had come to know and turned everything into a fantasy story I didn't expect.
BUT.
but.
It wasn't all bad. The twist didn't ruin the book, exactly.... I would still recommend it. All three worlds shown in this story were beautiful, well-described, and so real to the characters inside them. The main dream world felt modern (but I won't go into that) the witch's forest was perfect, and the fox, oh the fox! I loved that world, and the story told inside it.
The kingdom..... I feel like it had a deep blue-green sky full of deep blue-green clouds. Not sure why, but that's all I really imagined there. But it felt like a whole new genre, and that was so weird. The villain (the king, I think?) came out of NOWHERE and the Darkness boy never really did much, and I'm still confused about what they DID do..... BUT I LIKED IT A LOT ANYWAY!
If this extremely talented author writes another book, I'll be sure to check it out. Hopefully it sticks to one genre next time though. ;)
It broke so many promises! The amazing plot I was loving escalated into a climax that I thought would be coming eighty pages later, and destroyed the characters I had come to know and turned everything into a fantasy story I didn't expect.
BUT.
but.
It wasn't all bad. The twist didn't ruin the book, exactly.... I would still recommend it. All three worlds shown in this story were beautiful, well-described, and so real to the characters inside them. The main dream world felt modern (but I won't go into that) the witch's forest was perfect, and the fox, oh the fox! I loved that world, and the story told inside it.
The kingdom..... I feel like it had a deep blue-green sky full of deep blue-green clouds. Not sure why, but that's all I really imagined there. But it felt like a whole new genre, and that was so weird. The villain (the king, I think?) came out of NOWHERE and the Darkness boy never really did much, and I'm still confused about what they DID do..... BUT I LIKED IT A LOT ANYWAY!
If this extremely talented author writes another book, I'll be sure to check it out. Hopefully it sticks to one genre next time though. ;)
Written with a Gothic sensibility and lush and formal language, this book is like a lovechild of The Virgin Suicides, Hans Christian Anderson, and every banal YA about Girls With Powers who are also, unfortunately, not very intelligent. Characters are described to the nth degree, everyone is Mysterious and Dark, dreaming is waking and waking is dreaming and visions are reality and reality is---who cares? I suppose this was intended to be "darkly beautiful" with intrigue and secrets at every turn, full of magical animals and magical people and non-magical people and some kind of ideas of what is Just and Fair, but it's a hot, boring mess.
I don't even know what happened or what I read or what's going on, just that I'm legit confused. This was a story within a story within a story or more like a dream within a dream within a dream or maybe I should just say another version of Inception that was more confusing than the movie. The writing was different and that was a strength, but as the story progressed the lines between reality and dreams and fiction blurred to the point where I was edging towards a schizophrenia twist, but that was obliterated after the 60% mark. I struggled to finish this late in the early morning hours because I wanted to finally be finished so I could move on to something that made more sense and didn't hurt my head so here we are. Thanks NetGalley for the ARC; this was an interesting one.
DNF'd at 62%. I was intrigued, but not invested enough to keep going. It ended up being a confusing mess with way too much purple prose.
A dark, mysterious forest. A witch that grants wishes, a girl with nightmarish visions. I was intrigued and hopeful for The Waking Forest. And while some of the prose was beautiful, it quickly grew out of hand.
There was some downright beautiful writing in The Waking Forest. Unfortunately, a lot of it was drowned out by the overwhelming amount of purple prose. It got in the way of enjoying the story and the creepy, dream-like setting for a good portion of the book.
And then things got weird.
And not the good kind of weird.
There were two POVs throughout the story: Rhea, the girl with nightmare visions, and the Witch of Wishes, a witch that lived in the woods granting children’s wishes. I was intrigued by these two, and I really wanted them to meet (and for there to be some magical queerness). But that didn’t really happen.
And when the two POVs merged, it grew impossible to follow the story at all. It became a chore to read, and I don’t like when vacuuming the entire house and deep-cleaning the carpets becomes a more enjoyable experience than reading.
I was intrigued enough to get about halfway through the book, but never invested enough to want to keep reading. And eventually, I just got tired of it. So I had to DNF it.
A dark, mysterious forest. A witch that grants wishes, a girl with nightmarish visions. I was intrigued and hopeful for The Waking Forest. And while some of the prose was beautiful, it quickly grew out of hand.
There was some downright beautiful writing in The Waking Forest. Unfortunately, a lot of it was drowned out by the overwhelming amount of purple prose. It got in the way of enjoying the story and the creepy, dream-like setting for a good portion of the book.
And then things got weird.
And not the good kind of weird.
There were two POVs throughout the story: Rhea, the girl with nightmare visions, and the Witch of Wishes, a witch that lived in the woods granting children’s wishes. I was intrigued by these two, and I really wanted them to meet (and for there to be some magical queerness). But that didn’t really happen.
And when the two POVs merged, it grew impossible to follow the story at all. It became a chore to read, and I don’t like when vacuuming the entire house and deep-cleaning the carpets becomes a more enjoyable experience than reading.
I was intrigued enough to get about halfway through the book, but never invested enough to want to keep reading. And eventually, I just got tired of it. So I had to DNF it.
Rating: 2.5 stars
eARC provided by publisher through NetGalley
The Waking Forest follows young Rhea and her visions of a witch in a forest. A boy comes and visits her in the darkness of her family's attic and stranger things continually happen. She must uncover the truth before its too late.
I was pretty hyped to read this book and in some ways it lived up to that hype and in other ways it fell short. This book is categorized as young adult/teen but I would say it is more middle-grade. The plot of the book was intriguing and the way she wove in a lyrical story in between was magical. The book is written with two perspectives and eventually they collide into one which is very unique and something I have not seen before. Usually I am one to complain about slow pacing but the problem for me was that in this case it felt rushed and some of the plot was not fleshed out enough.
The characters were also a let down for me. I didn't feel connected to them and that killed a few of the plot twists. There wasn't enough background to any of the characters, including Rhea.
Overall, I liked the plot of the book and it was different than others I have read before but the lack of character development is what ultimately lost me.
eARC provided by publisher through NetGalley
The Waking Forest follows young Rhea and her visions of a witch in a forest. A boy comes and visits her in the darkness of her family's attic and stranger things continually happen. She must uncover the truth before its too late.
I was pretty hyped to read this book and in some ways it lived up to that hype and in other ways it fell short. This book is categorized as young adult/teen but I would say it is more middle-grade. The plot of the book was intriguing and the way she wove in a lyrical story in between was magical. The book is written with two perspectives and eventually they collide into one which is very unique and something I have not seen before. Usually I am one to complain about slow pacing but the problem for me was that in this case it felt rushed and some of the plot was not fleshed out enough.
The characters were also a let down for me. I didn't feel connected to them and that killed a few of the plot twists. There wasn't enough background to any of the characters, including Rhea.
Overall, I liked the plot of the book and it was different than others I have read before but the lack of character development is what ultimately lost me.
This review can also be found on my blog!
DNF at 65% – 1/5
Here we are. The first week of the readathon and I’m already using one of the cheats since I didn’t like this book.
I’m having to use the Corrupt Cop on this one to move ahead to the next prompt.
I just couldn’t get into this book. At all. I don’t know what it was about it, but I was lost from the first page and it never got better. The characters didn’t stand out at all. They just felt flat and boring. The plot was dull. Things were happening, but nothing was moving. If that makes sense.
I mean, it follows Rhea in one perspective. She has a lot of sisters — all who have names that start with the letter “R” — and she meets this shadow boy who wants to play a game. A game she can’t escape. Then, there’s the Witch who meets a boy who’s a fox yet not a fox.
I figured it out pretty early where the story was going to go. And so, when I hit part two — which is where I DNFed it — I wasn’t shocked. I actually had every intention to see this through to the end, even though I wasn’t enjoying it, but I picked it up and I did this:
So, I didn’t.
I think the moral to this story is that it didn’t work for me. Nothing about it worked for me. Even though it looked like it was really going to be good, kind of like The Wicked Deep was because it gave me that vibe from the cover and description. But, it wasn’t.
DNF at 65% – 1/5
Here we are. The first week of the readathon and I’m already using one of the cheats since I didn’t like this book.
I’m having to use the Corrupt Cop on this one to move ahead to the next prompt.
I just couldn’t get into this book. At all. I don’t know what it was about it, but I was lost from the first page and it never got better. The characters didn’t stand out at all. They just felt flat and boring. The plot was dull. Things were happening, but nothing was moving. If that makes sense.
I mean, it follows Rhea in one perspective. She has a lot of sisters — all who have names that start with the letter “R” — and she meets this shadow boy who wants to play a game. A game she can’t escape. Then, there’s the Witch who meets a boy who’s a fox yet not a fox.
I figured it out pretty early where the story was going to go. And so, when I hit part two — which is where I DNFed it — I wasn’t shocked. I actually had every intention to see this through to the end, even though I wasn’t enjoying it, but I picked it up and I did this:
So, I didn’t.
I think the moral to this story is that it didn’t work for me. Nothing about it worked for me. Even though it looked like it was really going to be good, kind of like The Wicked Deep was because it gave me that vibe from the cover and description. But, it wasn’t.