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3.29 AVERAGE
3.29 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Definitely an atmospheric, introspective sort of read. It blends the past and present quite well in a chapter by chapter format that supports the plot rather than acting as a trope or quirk. The mystery element is one that I can see a lot of people disliking, as it is more ambiguous and the "answers" you get are never explained very well, but I found that it worked well with the way the story itself worked. The characters are confused, so you are too. The characters' explanations are half-baked or vague, and because of that you feel the same way they do at times. It's not a book for scares and intrigue, it's more of that creeping eeriness that something isn't right and the sinking feeling that you may not make it out of this. The ending reminded me quite a bit of Cabin in the Woods, and I enjoyed the less conventional way to wrap it up.
adventurous
dark
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-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
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:
No
The Dark Between the Trees sets itself up to be a moody blend of gothic horror and slow-burn mystery, and to its credit, the atmosphere mostly delivers. Moresby Wood, with its shifting geography, disappearing trees, and eerie silence, has all the bones of a compelling, haunted setting. Unfortunately, the novel never quite commits to what kind of story it wants to tell. It flirts with horror, dabbles in science fiction, and hints at psychological depth—but ultimately seems hesitant to lean fully into any of these. It’s a little like wandering through a foggy forest: evocative at first, but eventually disorienting and, in this case, oddly uneventful.
The dual timeline structure—one thread following a group of 17th-century soldiers fleeing into the woods, the other a present-day academic expedition retracing their path—should have been a strength. But both timelines suffer from the same problem: a lot of wandering, very little payoff. The monster? Barely glimpsed. The witch? Mostly rumor. And the forest, while described with creepy flair, becomes more of a narrative loop than a location with real stakes. There’s an entire chapter dedicated to someone finding a shed. That should tell you a lot.
Still, I’m not mad I read it. I love a weird forest, and I appreciate the ambition behind the book’s blurred lines between time, myth, and memory. I just found myself wishing it had chosen a lane—or at least picked up the pace a bit. There are hints of something sharp and unsettling buried in the underbrush of The Dark Between the Trees, but much like its characters, the book seems content to wander without ever truly arriving.
The pacing was off. I felt like I had gotten 20 percent in and still didn’t know what the mystery was or what was happening beside the two narratives. I skipped to the next hour and listened a bit to see if anything changed and all it shared was the same confusion I felt now the characters felt. Whatever the mystery of the woods is, will remain a mystery.
adventurous
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I absolutely loved this book and can’t for the life of me understand the lower ratings. Yes it’s a (very) slow burn, but it’s an incredibly atmospheric and unique tale. It can be confusing at times, and I feel like the author sometimes had a much longer story to tell but I found it to be a page turned and one I wanted to keep reading.
Atmospheric and with some great narration on the audio book. Not completely sure this will linger with me long, though - a nice read but not something that fully sank its teeth in.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced