A review by waywardskyril
Coil of Boughs by Penny Moss

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

A furry and heavily toned leg curled around him, eased him forward, careful enough that should he put up any resistance, it would stop. Ryurikov’s heart did a thing, a thing he didn’t like. It lurched and stuttered at the same time. His hands connected with Awimak’s torso, fingers splayed against the muscular chest to catch himself. The scent of earth and stone greeted him, drifting into his very soul with a deep, nervous inhale.

Little did I know when I started reading this book how much I would love it. How I would be swept into a place full of demons good and bad, magic, witches, strange beings, monsters, enchanted forests, and a romance that would grip my soul and make me mewl at least every other chapter. Besides being so lush with lore, this story is also full of characters, both lovable and loathsome, a full cast with found-family, found-home vibes exploding off the page. Coil of Boughs has history and secrets and bonds old and new, and it's so WRETCHEDLY good, I want to be friends with everyone who loves this book as much as I do.

When I first started Coil of Boughs, I knew I would like it, but I wasn't sure how much I would as I was presented with an MC, Ruri, who launched himself at a witch's ambling tree house and left the soldiers chasing him to the demons below. Immediately I knew Ruri was a bit of a morally gray character, and that realization was only confirmed as the story unfolded and I journeyed with this character willing to threaten and murder and steal but who, equally, felt the weight of his past and tried to find a way to kill the demons tormenting the kingdom.

Ruri is a bit of a scoundrel with a heart of gold who's more liable to act before he thinks and is careless with his own well-being but achingly protective of those he finds he cares about. And I loved him. I loved his stupid rashness, his endless ability to take a beating without complaint, his churlish snappy attitude, his willingness to have fun and leave a little chaos in his wake, and his clingy protectiveness once he finally allows himself to believe he has and deserves something good. I loved him. I adored him. He is precious boy and no one will ever change my mind.

But, while Ruri is the main character, he's still just one character in a book full of a cast of equally well-written folk with histories and secrets and personalities all their own. One favorite is his sword-weilding, magic-pipe-playing, stained-glass-enchanted-tunic-wearing sister. Another is the grumpy, ancient, squat witch of the forest who kills Ruri twice and tries a third time, full of her own history and reasons and who gives as good as she gets. And, of course, there's Ruri's counterpart, the immensely large, horned, dream-eating, goofy, loyally protective, incredibly powerful, forest demon, Awimak. It's hard for me to even begin describing my love for Awimak other than to say I would die for him. He's precious and silly and giant and ridiculously strong, and he's everything Ruri didn't admit he needed and then some, and I would protect the sweet, darling, tender demon with my life.

Basically? This story has an insane amount of HEART, and every time I picked it up I was sucked in and didn't want to come back out of their world ever again. The writing is gorgeous, rich with strong vocabulary, quick and light and easy to get sucked into. I already can't wait for this tale's sequel while book one has found its way to my Favorites shelf. This is a book I already look forward to coming back to, and I rarely re-read any more, so me wanting to already is saying a lot.

If you like a plotty fantasy M/M romance with incredible world and character building, this is for you. If you're remotely interested, try it out. It's so delicious, it's so much fun, and, just like me, you likely won't want to leave the world once you join it.