Review Detail

EDGEWOOD is an atmospheric and enthralling stand-alone YA fantasy. Emeline Lark is an aspiring musician who is on the verge of a label contract, but while she performs, the woods seem to follow her, begging for a true song. These seeming hallucinations have followed her ever since she left Edgewood, a town on the border with a magical forest ruled over by the Wood King. His tithes are necessary to keeping the peace, and when Emeline learns that her grandfather has been taken as tithe, she is in disbelief.

As Emeline returns to Edgewood to find out what has happened to her grandfather, the man who raised her and now has dementia, forgetting who she is many days, she begins to realize that the stories about the forest may hold some truths and her answers will be within the dangerous woods.

What I loved: This was an absolutely haunting and riveting read that introduces an otherworld of magic and danger but also focuses on the power of love as a driving force. Emeline is a compelling character, who is eager to leave her past behind - until it forces her to confront it. As Emeline enters the forest, she meets some intriguing characters in Rooke, a shiftling, and Hawthorne, the tithe collector for the king who seems full of lies. Her journey leads her to a dangerous bargain with the Wood King to free her grandfather and become a minstrel for the court - a challenging proposition when the role is generally a death sentence.

There are several compelling characters here. Beyond Emeline, who at 19 is still defining herself, there are intriguing characters in the history of the forest, including Tomas, the man who loved her mother but is not her father, the Song Mage who changed the woods when he sang, and her friends in the forest, such as Grace, Sable, Rooke, and Hawthorne. Their stories are captivating, and they unfold in such an intriguing and unique way.

This story is a journey that needs to be undertaken without too much knowledge, so I won't say much more about the plot, but the world-building is masterful and the plotting intricate. Even for the later surprises that become readily apparent early on, there are still more twists and turns that will shock readers. There are also some really thought-provoking themes around romance, obsession, the choices we make and those we take, trust, forgiveness, memory, the sides of forgetting and coping with an elderly caregiver who has memory loss/dementia, autonomy, and family/friendship. The romance is a really consuming element that builds slowly, but with ultimate great intensity and powerful nature.

Final verdict: Atmospheric and enthralling, EDGEWOOD is a consuming and compelling YA dark fantasy that is sure to enchant readers. Highly recommend for fans of WINTERSONG, THE WHITE STAG, and THE KINGDOM OF BACK.