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3.21 AVERAGE
3.21 AVERAGE
This book had such an interesting premise, but I feel it fell short in its execution. I absolutely loved the writing style though; the language in this book was so beautiful and uncomfortable to most others that I have read. I wish the book would have been longer so that more world building could have occurred.
Thank you to netgalley and Dreamscape Media for providing me an e-arc of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review
This was a fun fantasy novel. Very ethereal, whimsical, and fairy tale-esq. There are two main timelines, one about a witch who grants wishes to children and lives in the woods and another about a mostly normal girl in the modern world who is plagued by recurring dreams. I really enjoyed the difference in the writing and the narrator's treatment between the two story arcs. They were easy to identify through narrative style.
I had a hard time getting invested in the book, however. I did not like the narrator's accent in the real-world parts and the whole thing was just a little too dreamy and unreal for my taste. However, I'm sure this book will have many fans.
This was a fun fantasy novel. Very ethereal, whimsical, and fairy tale-esq. There are two main timelines, one about a witch who grants wishes to children and lives in the woods and another about a mostly normal girl in the modern world who is plagued by recurring dreams. I really enjoyed the difference in the writing and the narrator's treatment between the two story arcs. They were easy to identify through narrative style.
I had a hard time getting invested in the book, however. I did not like the narrator's accent in the real-world parts and the whole thing was just a little too dreamy and unreal for my taste. However, I'm sure this book will have many fans.
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This book had so much potential. The writing comes off too forced….if that makes sense. The story it’s self was interesting, but just didn’t come together like I hoped
Two tales intertwined. The Witch who lives in the forest granting wishes to children who visit her in their dreams. Her only companion is the Fox-Who-Is-Not-A-Fox who comes to tell her stories. On the other side there's Rhea and her family. Rhea has visions of things that aren't there, and one day a forest appears in her backyard when she goes to touch it the forest disappears. She's desperate for answers, so when the Darkness in her attic tells her that it will reveal all the secrets, if only she plays a game this tale gets a little more complicated.
It had strong fairy-tale vibes, and the back and forth between The Witch and Rhea was interesting. The familial relationships were well written and nice. It was a fine read, I didn't hate it. But I didn't really like it either. Based on the premise I think I was expecting something darker, and although magical and in moments creepy this was not a dark tale.
It had strong fairy-tale vibes, and the back and forth between The Witch and Rhea was interesting. The familial relationships were well written and nice. It was a fine read, I didn't hate it. But I didn't really like it either. Based on the premise I think I was expecting something darker, and although magical and in moments creepy this was not a dark tale.
First and foremost, I would like to thank the very nice people at Netgalley for providing this book to read and review.
The Waking Forest is a beautiful book. The way Wees writes is very descriptive, evoking emotion with even the smallest turn of phrase. The characters of Rhea and her family are portrayed in a very realistic manner thanks to this. Rhea and her sisters squabble one minute then help each other out the next, something someone with siblings of their own will easily recognize.
The drawback though is that sometimes Wees’ descriptions become too much. The narrative becomes bogged down with descriptive words and phrases and the story itself slows to a crawl.
For the first half of the book, the story is told from two separate point of views – Rhea’s and the Witch’s. As each story is unique with its own set of characters, it’s easy to keep track of who goes where. It is only during the second half when the two stories are combined that things become a little more difficult to follow. Individuals who were sisters in one part now have no relation and the same but different.
Sadly, it is almost impossible to accurately describe the goings on without giving away massive spoilers, so I shall refrain from going further.
In writing The Waking Forest, Wees has created a unique story line. While there are some flaws, overall I enjoyed reading the book and would recommend it to my readers.
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
I like the descriptive language of this book, and the mystery of the first half, but the characters felt flat at times and I became bored with the plot during the second half of the book.
“Sometimes we can have a say in the way we fall apart.”
This was so much darker than I was expecting! With heavy themes of grief, loss, and how difficult it can be to be the only one who remembers a loved one who is gone. The first half to two-thirds of the book were emotionally raw, that by the time the secret identities were revealed you felt utterly fatigued. While this did have a happy ending, it felt lukewarm after such a powerful opening.
Thanks, NetGalley, for the opportunity to listen and review.
This was so much darker than I was expecting! With heavy themes of grief, loss, and how difficult it can be to be the only one who remembers a loved one who is gone. The first half to two-thirds of the book were emotionally raw, that by the time the secret identities were revealed you felt utterly fatigued. While this did have a happy ending, it felt lukewarm after such a powerful opening.
Thanks, NetGalley, for the opportunity to listen and review.
Thanks NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for this arc
2/5 stars
Dnf at 35%. This had such potential to be good and interesting, but it was trying WAY too hard. Our main character and her sisters have powers, but they felt forced and too epic. And I LOVE the fox friends. That's all I loved about this lol.
2/5 stars
Dnf at 35%. This had such potential to be good and interesting, but it was trying WAY too hard. Our main character and her sisters have powers, but they felt forced and too epic. And I LOVE the fox friends. That's all I loved about this lol.
3.5 stars. The first half or part of this book was really good. It was twisted and weird and I loved it. The second half though was really different and read to me like the sort of thing teens usually write in their first attempts at writing fantasy - wish fulfillment type of stuff, you know, where you suddenly get your memories back and you're a super magical awesome hero/ine from a magical universe blah blah. Even the attitude of some of the characters and how they spoke to each other, very very teen-ish - and sure this might be a YA novel, but that doesn't mean it needs to read so... cliched. It was a bit disappointing to find in this book that had such an unusual and twisted start. Also it has much less forest in it than I was wanting. The final confrontation had a good bit of darkness to it though so that was good.
