A review by mh_doma
The Woods All Black by Lee Mandelo

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

2.0

I had such high hopes for this novella. I absolutely loved the first half of it and kept a star because  the writing was so excellent and immersive. I thought this might even become a new favorite read from me. But then the second half happened:

an unexpected age gap romance (18/30) with inadequately explored and romanticized power dynamics and sex that was so graphic that I felt like I was reading porn. I thought the reviews were exaggerating how graphic the sex was because I typically don’t mind sex scenes in books if they serve a deeper purpose. However, this felt voyeuristic and uncomfortable especially given the extreme violence that happens before the sex scene and that surrounds it (not between those involved but still). I understand that this novella was advertised as a romance but that was not the type of dynamic that I felt prepared for or was anticipating and frankly it just left me feeling gross reading it.

I felt like I was abruptly placed in a completely different novella between the two halves and that what intrigued me in the first half was either underexplored, unfulfilled, or rushed toward a conclusion. Many of the townspeople felt one-dimensional as well

(their defining trait being bigotry)

which didn’t make for a sufficiently complex story for me where there could have absolutely been one. An unexpectedly disappointing read.