Well, well, well…welcome back! If you are reading this post then you either made it to the bottom of my April Fool’s post and found it was a trick, didn’t read that post, or simply were confused that I posted after I said I wouldn’t be posting any longer. I hope that you all made it through yesterday without being pranked too many times…unless I’m the only one who still participates in April Fool’s day. That is possible, I am yet a child at heart. Not only was it April Fool’s day, but it was also a Monday as well…I hope you all made it out alright. That must’ve been a rough day.
Anyway, how is everyone? I am getting into the habit of writing again for my novel. Thank you Camp Nano! I will continue posting writing updates throughout April to let everyone know how I’m coming along. Those will be either a full post or simple image and short blurb on Instagram or Twitter. One of my 2019 goals is to finish this first draft of my novel. I won’t give too much away because I’m always paranoid someone will want to steal my mediocre idea and make it a great one. It will be great, just let me have the time to get there. I am so in love with one of my characters though! She is so strong and determined to do what she thinks is right.
I’m also starting the #OWLsreadthon2019 this month. Are you participating? If so, what career did you choose and what is your TBR? You can link your TBR posts in the comments and I’ll take a look and leave some love behind.
That is not all that will be going on though, I am the host for the discussion posts for The Infernal Devices, Shadowhunter readathon hosted by Stephanie at Books in the Skye. We are reading all of the shadowhunter books, starting with Clockwork Angel from the Infernal Devices series. To keep it easy, we will only be reading one book a month. Each Monday I will be posting some discussion questions and I invite all of you to participate. If you would like to join us, you are crazy if you don’t, then get in touch with Stephanie and she will add you to the email list! This is going to be super fun.
The final thing that I am doing this month is the #Bespring2019 and #tidyathon. You read that right, I am taking part in the tidyathon and Bookending Spring 2019. I will be posting something about my plans for the tidyathon soon, so watch for that.
Now that you all know I keep piling things on myself because apparently, I love to be busy all the time, let’s get on to today’s review. Today I am talking about The Waking Forest, a book that I enjoyed and was happy to read.
The Waking Forest
Author: Alyssa Wees
Published: March 12th, 2019
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Book Length: 304 Pages
Genre: Fantasy (YA)
Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ (3.5)
Buy the book: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository (Use my referral ID: TheBibliophagist)
*Disclaimer: I won an ARC of this via a Twitter giveaway hosted by the author. This in no way impacted my rating of the book.
Pan’s Labyrinth meets The Hazel Wood in this novel about a girl with terrifying visions and a wish-granting witch whose lives collide in the most unexpected of ways.
The waking forest has secrets. To Rhea, it appears like a mirage, dark and dense, at the very edge of her backyard. But when she reaches out to touch it, the forest vanishes. She’s desperate to know more–until she finds a peculiar boy who offers to reveal its secrets. If she plays a game.
To the Witch, the forest is her home, where she sits on her throne of carved bone, waiting for dreaming children to beg her to grant their wishes. One night, a mysterious visitor arrives and asks her what she wishes for, but the Witch sends him away. And then the uninvited guest returns.
The strangers are just the beginning. Something is stirring in the forest, and when Rhea’s and the Witch’s paths collide, a truth more treacherous and deadly than either could ever imagine surfaces. But how much are they willing to risk to survive?
First of all, how is it that the last few books I’ve reviewed had blue covers. Completely ironic. The cover is beautifully dark and I love it. It reminds me of the trees in the winter at night, dark and baren. On the path you see what appears to be apples on the ground, leading to two foxes. The trail of what seems to be water starts as a single line and splits, traveling toward each fox…as if they are connecting something. These foxes are important and play a big role in the story. One of my favorite aspects about this cover is how the words are twisted between the branches of the trees.
The Waking Forest is a dark and tantalizing tale. I will say that I did enjoy the world building although there was not a lot of it. The imagery was vivid and the author used a myriad of similies and metaphors.
Rhea: I really liked her throughout the story. She was the typical girl with a happy family. I think the most interesting thing about her was her pet fox. I love how she fights for her family, or who she thinks is her family.
Witch: Throughout the story I found myself growing closer to the witch’s story. I felt pulled into her story, more invested in discovering what was happening. I was a little upset that she basically enslaves foxes but I found her character super interesting.
I want to remind everyone a rating of 3 is not bad. I rated this 3.5 overall. It is a good book, especially if you enjoy dark or slow-moving fairytales. The writing style was beautiful but at times the language made it difficult to read and slowed down the pace of the story. The story of the witch was most captivating. I really did enjoy the premise but overall the execution fell short for me near the middle.
Would you read this novel? Buy it or borrow it? If you have read it, what did you think?
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