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teaand_tomes's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Edgewood is an amazing book that captivated me from start to finish. The story, set in a fey realm, is filled with enchantment, curses, and intriguing villains.
The magic system in Edgewood is captivating. I loved how Emeline's music served as her magic, showcasing its versatility and power. The curse that slowly consumed the forest and the king added another layer of intrigue to the story.
The relationships between the characters, particularly the dynamic between Emeline and Hawthorne, were a highlight of the book. Hawthorne was a wonderfully crafted character, and the tension between him and Emeline kept me hooked throughout.
Kristen Ciccarelli's writing is simply fantastic. She tells a compelling story with skill and finesse, making her an auto-buy author for me.
In conclusion, Edgewood is a haunting and romantic novel that showcases Ciccarelli's talent as a writer. I highly recommend this book to fans of fantasy and anyone looking for a captivating and beautifully crafted story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment and Dementia
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Confinement and Cursing
l1brarygirl's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Dementia
Moderate: Sexual content, Abandonment, Violence, and Confinement
Minor: Toxic relationship, Death, and Gaslighting
disnelyse's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
LOVED this book! It drew me in from the get-go, and there wasn't any portion of the book that felt forced.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Dementia
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Blood, Rape, and Confinement
fromjuliereads's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I don't even have words for how much I enjoyed this book! I read the entirety over my 4 day long weekend.
I was so invested in this story and the characters, and I just had to know what was going on. The story and the world really pulled me in. I loved the reveals, the bits and pieces that we got from all of the characters. I loved how magic and music played a part, and how forgetting was so integral to the story for multiple characters - how some chose it and some were forced without knowing.
I already loved Kristen Ciccarelli's writing from her previous works, and this has further cemented her as a favourite author. Definitely a YA fantasy standalone that I would recommend!
I was so invested in this story and the characters, and I just had to know what was going on. The story and the world really pulled me in. I loved the reveals, the bits and pieces that we got from all of the characters. I loved how magic and music played a part, and how forgetting was so integral to the story for multiple characters - how some chose it and some were forced without knowing.
I already loved Kristen Ciccarelli's writing from her previous works, and this has further cemented her as a favourite author. Definitely a YA fantasy standalone that I would recommend!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Abandonment, Death, Confinement, and Grief
Minor: Pregnancy and Toxic relationship
stacyroth's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
Emeline Lark has left her small hometown of Edgewood to become a singer in Montreal, but whenever she performs, the woods from home won’t leave her alone. The smell of the woods fills her nose; moss creeps across the stage. Still, she does her best to ignore it. When Emeline receives a phone call that her beloved grandfather (who has dementia) has disappeared, she returns home to find him. Emeline scoffed at the Edgewood stories about the Wood King and his court in the forest by Edgewood. However, while trying to find her grandfather, she meets Hawthorne Fell, and despite his insistence that she leave the woods, Emeline meets the Wood King. She makes a deal – her voice for her grandfather’s freedom. The forest is under an evil curse, though, and Emeline finds herself embroiled in its midst.
Caitlin Kelly did a lovely job narrating this YA fantasy book, and Ciccarelli’s talent for imagery builds a beautiful world. I liked that the “fantasy” world in this story took place in the world as we know it. That said, I never truly connected with the main character, which made it hard to really get lost inside the story. The love-interest plotline had some ick factors in it for me, too. Overall, I would say YA fantasy fans will like this book, but it won’t win over readers who don’t favor the genre.
Many thanks to NetGalley for providing me an audio ARC of this book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content and Emotional abuse
kanra's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Edgewood follows Emeline, a singer with magic in her voice. Strange things happen when she sings which makes following her dreams of becoming a popular singer difficult, even more so when the Edgewood calls her back whenever she sings. Putting off her dreams for a few days, Emeline adventures into the Edgewood to bring back something stolen from her. This story gave me major nostalgia, it reminded me of years ago when I first read the Iron Fey series as the beginning feels quite similar to how that series starts. Remembering how much I loved that series kept me reading until I hit the point where everything changes and it gets good, like real good. At first I felt like this book read very YA, short chapters, a MC that had very teenager thoughts, but to be fair it is YA and even so it changes a bit for the better the father into the book you get. Things all of a sudden just kept happening, some I was able to figure out and others that pleasantly surprised me. There was a part at the end that had me reading to just get through it because it sort of stops to backtrack and then rushes back forward again but even with that I enjoyed the ending. I'm rating this 4/5 due to the beginning only being enjoyable for me due to the nostalgia of the other book and the part at the end I could have done without being so long. If you like family, fae, love, and adventure you should read Edgewood, even more so if you've read and enjoyed the Iron Fey series due to similar vibes. Feels like a standalone but I would read a sequel if the author writes one.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content
betweentheshelves's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Oh man, do I have mixed feelings about this book. It started out pretty promising. A girl who can sing, goes into the enchanted woods to save her grandfather. And her singing is magical in some way. Overall, it's a pretty straightforward plot line, and one that overall was predictable for the most part. But, I read a lot of YA fantasy, so that also could contribute to that.
Anyway! I'm not sure if it was because I was listening to it, but the romance at the core got a little confusing to me by the end. Also, it got steamier than I was expecting it to. There's one scene in particular that felt like it kind of came out of left field, and for me, didn't seem to fit with the tone of the book overall.
However, if you like faery stories, chances are you'll like this one! It's got some good fae vibes, and fits within the general framework that you'd probably expect from a fae story. It's very atmospheric and good if that's something you're looking for.
Anyway! I'm not sure if it was because I was listening to it, but the romance at the core got a little confusing to me by the end. Also, it got steamier than I was expecting it to. There's one scene in particular that felt like it kind of came out of left field, and for me, didn't seem to fit with the tone of the book overall.
However, if you like faery stories, chances are you'll like this one! It's got some good fae vibes, and fits within the general framework that you'd probably expect from a fae story. It's very atmospheric and good if that's something you're looking for.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Dementia
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Sexual content, and Abandonment
Minor: Confinement, Blood, and Rape
melaniereadsbooks's review
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan for an arc/alc of this book!
The forest will always come for Emeline when she sings. But when she heads back to Edgewood to look for her grandpa, she learns that he tithed himself to the fae king in the forest, and she must become his new singer to get her grandfather back...with potentially deadly consequences.
This book was delightfully creepy and atmospheric. I really enjoyed the vibes to this one and it reminded me of like a cross between An Enchantment of Ravens and The Darkest Part of the Forest and maybe a little bit of These Hollow Vows. It has fun romantic elements alongside the darkness of the fae and the forest and I really liked that. I also really like the focus on singing!
Pub date: March 1, 2022
The forest will always come for Emeline when she sings. But when she heads back to Edgewood to look for her grandpa, she learns that he tithed himself to the fae king in the forest, and she must become his new singer to get her grandfather back...with potentially deadly consequences.
This book was delightfully creepy and atmospheric. I really enjoyed the vibes to this one and it reminded me of like a cross between An Enchantment of Ravens and The Darkest Part of the Forest and maybe a little bit of These Hollow Vows. It has fun romantic elements alongside the darkness of the fae and the forest and I really liked that. I also really like the focus on singing!
Pub date: March 1, 2022
Content Warnings
Graphic: Dementia
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Confinement, Blood, Rape, and Sexual content
allisonwonderlandreads's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
This ya fantasy is set on the boundary of the contemporary world in the small town of Edgewood, where everyone pays a tithe or faces the wrath of The Wood King and his dark servants in the forest. Emeline left Edgewood and the grandfather who raised her to pursue her music career, but the forest is far from done with her. One night after a concert, she gets the fateful call that her grandfather has gone missing, claimed by the woods. A fast-paced start takes us to the court of The Wood King through a forest that I rate 10/10 for creepy vibes. The court has many trappings of a fae novel with shifters, a dragon, a curse, and a mad king in attendance. Unfortunately, the plot soon devolves into something predictable. There's a high reliance on tropes that steals the drama from big reveals because of their obvious nature.
Most plot deficiencies can be saved in my eyes with loveable characters. I will overlook all kinds of things if you put certifiably huggable people in front of me. Unfortunately, here our heroine is bland and largely defined by her musical talent. There's a little spark of life in the difficult decisions she has to make as caregiver for her grandfather when dementia robs him of his memories of her. She feels guilty for pursuing her dreams without him and longs for their relationship from before. It could have been a powerful plot, but it was subsumed by the romantic subplot, fueling contradictory arguments between Emeline and broody boy that seem to be more about driving up (sexual?) tension between the two rather than any kind of substantive conversation that might, I don't know, inspire character growth or a self-aware examination of feelings and motivations.
Speaking of broody boy, Hawthrone is a typical ya love interest: moody, secretive, tragic, and misunderstood. This is a trope I can only get behind with active convincing. Merely putting it in front of me and expecting a thrilled reaction is folly. Emeline and Hawthorne's relationship is argumentative and juvenile (yes, I know this is a ya novel, but I've seen the genre produce so much better by modeling healthy communication and mutual support or at least growth towards that goal without idealizing toxicity). They strike out at each other out of insecurity and fear of vulnerability. A heavy secret festers between them, along with more superficial lies. When a betrayal is uncovered, it brings up a lot of questions regarding consent, respect, and agency that I do not feel are satisfactorily answered. In one of my least favorite moves in fiction, angst and self-pity go a long way towards camouflaging controlling, harmful behavior.
Side characters are largely ignored outside of tiny opportunities to push forward the plot. There's a sapphic couple on the periphery, but they have no discernable personality between the two of them beyond a willingness to help our protagonist. There's also a cruel manipulator who attacks even her friends with no provocation. There is no other dimension of her being, but somehow she hasn't been excised from the group or at least kept accountable for her actions. Finally, don't even get me started on the rape backstory for one character where the trauma is essentially resolved through magic.
There's a seed of something good here about memory and its loss, but it's piled so deeply under the pile of flaming garbage that is twisted, self-pitying ya romance tropes that it suffocates itself. For me, the opportunity is lost. I wouldn't recommend this book.
Most plot deficiencies can be saved in my eyes with loveable characters. I will overlook all kinds of things if you put certifiably huggable people in front of me. Unfortunately, here our heroine is bland and largely defined by her musical talent. There's a little spark of life in the difficult decisions she has to make as caregiver for her grandfather when dementia robs him of his memories of her. She feels guilty for pursuing her dreams without him and longs for their relationship from before. It could have been a powerful plot, but it was subsumed by the romantic subplot, fueling contradictory arguments between Emeline and broody boy that seem to be more about driving up (sexual?) tension between the two rather than any kind of substantive conversation that might, I don't know, inspire character growth or a self-aware examination of feelings and motivations.
Speaking of broody boy, Hawthrone is a typical ya love interest: moody, secretive, tragic, and misunderstood. This is a trope I can only get behind with active convincing. Merely putting it in front of me and expecting a thrilled reaction is folly. Emeline and Hawthorne's relationship is argumentative and juvenile (yes, I know this is a ya novel, but I've seen the genre produce so much better by modeling healthy communication and mutual support or at least growth towards that goal without idealizing toxicity). They strike out at each other out of insecurity and fear of vulnerability. A heavy secret festers between them, along with more superficial lies. When a betrayal is uncovered, it brings up a lot of questions regarding consent, respect, and agency that I do not feel are satisfactorily answered. In one of my least favorite moves in fiction, angst and self-pity go a long way towards camouflaging controlling, harmful behavior.
Side characters are largely ignored outside of tiny opportunities to push forward the plot. There's a sapphic couple on the periphery, but they have no discernable personality between the two of them beyond a willingness to help our protagonist. There's also a cruel manipulator who attacks even her friends with no provocation. There is no other dimension of her being, but somehow she hasn't been excised from the group or at least kept accountable for her actions. Finally, don't even get me started on the rape backstory for one character where the trauma is essentially resolved through magic.
There's a seed of something good here about memory and its loss, but it's piled so deeply under the pile of flaming garbage that is twisted, self-pitying ya romance tropes that it suffocates itself. For me, the opportunity is lost. I wouldn't recommend this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Dementia
Moderate: Abandonment, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Blood, Confinement, Gaslighting, and Rape
mposten's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content
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