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A review by whatyoutolkienabout
Smothermoss by Alisa Alering
5.0
While I am from the UK I have been researching the Appalachia Mountains and from what I’ve read or seen of people talking about the landscape I want to say that Alering captures the grandeur and suffocation of the location. Smothermoss ticks a lot of my boxes because it combines genres I like such as magical realism, folklore and fairy tales (of the Grimm variety) and a sprinkle of horror.
For me the thing that really worked was the setting and more importantly how Alering brings the world to life. You can almost hear the birds in the trees and wind whistling. On top of this the characters are incredibly well grounded and believable. While I couldn’t quite gel with Sheila I did understand her and where she was coming from. Thena and Angie were my favourites though. I liked how as readers we learnt with the characters and while the world had a hint of magic and mystery to it, we (or at least I), come to accept it being fact.
Now the only thing I didn’t like was some of the animal imagery used. I realise the characters live out in the forest so it makes sense. It’s just one of my triggers. That said Alering does use this to show how the girls live and tie deeper into the mountains and locations. As such, since it wasn’t just for shock value, I was able to accept it. That said, slight spoiler to follow, I nearly had to take a break when I thought the dog was going to die.
All that aside if you love books with some dark Wimsey, folklore and magical realism you are bound to enjoy this one.
Thank you so much to Titan Books and Netgalley for my copy. My review is left voluntarily and is honest.
For me the thing that really worked was the setting and more importantly how Alering brings the world to life. You can almost hear the birds in the trees and wind whistling. On top of this the characters are incredibly well grounded and believable. While I couldn’t quite gel with Sheila I did understand her and where she was coming from. Thena and Angie were my favourites though. I liked how as readers we learnt with the characters and while the world had a hint of magic and mystery to it, we (or at least I), come to accept it being fact.
Now the only thing I didn’t like was some of the animal imagery used. I realise the characters live out in the forest so it makes sense. It’s just one of my triggers. That said Alering does use this to show how the girls live and tie deeper into the mountains and locations. As such, since it wasn’t just for shock value, I was able to accept it. That said, slight spoiler to follow, I nearly had to take a break when I thought the dog was going to die.
All that aside if you love books with some dark Wimsey, folklore and magical realism you are bound to enjoy this one.
Thank you so much to Titan Books and Netgalley for my copy. My review is left voluntarily and is honest.