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inkandmyths 's review for:
Ghost Wood Song
by Erica Waters
(3.50/5.00)
Ghost Wood Song is a dark and haunting debut that’s part ghost story and part mystery. It has it all: family secrets and an eerie atmosphere, small towns and the things they keep buried, loss and longing; but it’s also about love and friendship, about surrounding yourself with people who make the world a little bit brighter. And about music—music is in every single word, a bittersweet melody.
To be completely honest, it took me while to get into Ghost Wood Song. After ten chapters or so I still didn’t really connect with the characters, and that made it hard for me to focus on the mystery aspect of the story, too. I didn’t really understand Shady, the protagonist: so many of her thoughts where about how much she loved her family, but when her brother was accused of a murder he didn’t commit, instead of helping him, she found herself right in the middle of a love triangle. But the story took a turn for me about 15 chapters in, and from that moment on I was captivated, wanted to get to the bottom of all those secrets, wanted to know who really killed Shady’s stepfather and how the ghosts of her family’s past were tied up in it all.
A thing I found myself surprised by was how much I actually enjoyed the romance aspect of Ghost Wood Song. Shady is bisexual (yes, Erica Waters actually uses that word on page and I love her for it) and she’s pulled into a love triangle; who will she choose, her best friend Sarah who she had feelings for for years, or a Mandolin-playing cowboy called Cedar? I usually hate love triangles and at first I wasn’t sure what to think of the idea of two love interests with different genders, because it can easily feel like “choosing”—but here, at least to me, it didn’t. It was complicated, for Shady to choose the person she wanted to be with. But in the end, she chose the person who came even without her having to call for them, who had her side, despite all the difficulties. Who made her feel safe. I love that the relationships in this book were messy, not so straightforward, but full of twists and turns—sometimes it takes a while to find the person you actually want to be with.
I also loved the focus on family. Shady’s family is complicated, too, there are a lot of unspoken things between all of her family members, things that put a strain on their relationships. From her father’s death four years ago and his secrets, the ghost-raising fiddle that might or might not be responsible for it all—Shady isn’t sure what to believe and she wants to get answers, but no one seems to give them to her. It’s not always easy, but in the end, her family had it each other’s backs when it counted, they tried to work through a painful past and came out stronger for it.
Overall, Ghost Wood Song is a story about family secrets and what they can cost us, about grief and what it does to you—but, more than anything, it’s about facing your past to live a brighter future. It took me a while to get into the story, and I think some of the elements just weren’t for me, but if you love books with a Southern Gothic vibe, with pages filled with ghosts, music and secrets, with complicated feelings and a protagonist that’s trying her best—this is the book for you!
Ghost Wood Song is a dark and haunting debut that’s part ghost story and part mystery. It has it all: family secrets and an eerie atmosphere, small towns and the things they keep buried, loss and longing; but it’s also about love and friendship, about surrounding yourself with people who make the world a little bit brighter. And about music—music is in every single word, a bittersweet melody.
To be completely honest, it took me while to get into Ghost Wood Song. After ten chapters or so I still didn’t really connect with the characters, and that made it hard for me to focus on the mystery aspect of the story, too. I didn’t really understand Shady, the protagonist: so many of her thoughts where about how much she loved her family, but when her brother was accused of a murder he didn’t commit, instead of helping him, she found herself right in the middle of a love triangle. But the story took a turn for me about 15 chapters in, and from that moment on I was captivated, wanted to get to the bottom of all those secrets, wanted to know who really killed Shady’s stepfather and how the ghosts of her family’s past were tied up in it all.
A thing I found myself surprised by was how much I actually enjoyed the romance aspect of Ghost Wood Song. Shady is bisexual (yes, Erica Waters actually uses that word on page and I love her for it) and she’s pulled into a love triangle; who will she choose, her best friend Sarah who she had feelings for for years, or a Mandolin-playing cowboy called Cedar? I usually hate love triangles and at first I wasn’t sure what to think of the idea of two love interests with different genders, because it can easily feel like “choosing”—but here, at least to me, it didn’t. It was complicated, for Shady to choose the person she wanted to be with. But in the end, she chose the person who came even without her having to call for them, who had her side, despite all the difficulties. Who made her feel safe. I love that the relationships in this book were messy, not so straightforward, but full of twists and turns—sometimes it takes a while to find the person you actually want to be with.
I also loved the focus on family. Shady’s family is complicated, too, there are a lot of unspoken things between all of her family members, things that put a strain on their relationships. From her father’s death four years ago and his secrets, the ghost-raising fiddle that might or might not be responsible for it all—Shady isn’t sure what to believe and she wants to get answers, but no one seems to give them to her. It’s not always easy, but in the end, her family had it each other’s backs when it counted, they tried to work through a painful past and came out stronger for it.
Overall, Ghost Wood Song is a story about family secrets and what they can cost us, about grief and what it does to you—but, more than anything, it’s about facing your past to live a brighter future. It took me a while to get into the story, and I think some of the elements just weren’t for me, but if you love books with a Southern Gothic vibe, with pages filled with ghosts, music and secrets, with complicated feelings and a protagonist that’s trying her best—this is the book for you!