A review by wardenred
In the Winter Woods by Isabelle Adler

emotional hopeful lighthearted mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

At first glance, there was nothing sinister about the lakeside village of Maplewood, Vermont.

First, let's focus on what I loved about the book: the romance! It was absolutely lovely. Somewhat cliche, yeah, but in the BEST way. You know all those holiday Hallmark movies? The kind where the MC faces trouble in their big city life, escapes to that tiny quaint town in the middle of nowhere they remember from childhood, immediately experiences a meet-cute, gets surrounded by a bunch of nice local people and a couple of unpleasant ones for light drama, learns to appreciate the simple life, gets a shiny important opportunity back in the big city, debates the pros and cons of leaving, then ultimately chooses happiness? Well, this is that movie in book form, with a bit of murder to spice it up (more on that later). All the story and emotional beats get hit perfectly, at just the right times, and the result is so sweet and heartwarming. Just an awesome read for the holiday season!

I did feel like the characterization was a bit shallow even for a book-shaped Hallmark movie at times. I was also disappointed by how little Declan thought about writing: he was sad about having writing block, then he kinda randomly decided to switch genres, then whenever his job came up, it was seldom about the actual writing and more about the business side of things. He could have just as well been a lawyer, a chef, or a designer, idk. Admittedly, this is more of a pet peeve than an objective big flaw, I suppose: I always expect books about authors to be specifically relatable on that writerly level, and when I don't get that, I end up feeling let down.

Now to the part I didn't love outside of personal pet peeves: the mystery. The idea of it was cool, but the execution... eh. I just absolutely didn't enjoy how it was constructed, both the investigation and the crime itself. So much of this subplot depended on happenstance on one part and some really random and illogical decision on the other. So if you're going into this book looking for a combo of romance and fun murder investigation, like I was, better focus solely on the romance in advance, that's all I can say. Because, once again, the romance was really nice, and I also appreciated the overall "quaint small town in winter" vibe so much! There were just so many small details that really made Maplewood come to life. Such a cozy little place, a perfect backdrop for this kind of story.
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