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A review by cait_reads2024
Edgewood by Kristen Ciccarelli
5.0
I received this NetGalley ARC in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the publisher, St. Martin’s Press/Wednesday Books for this opportunity! I will be sharing on NetGalley, Goodreads, Instagram, Barnes & Noble, and Amazon. (I truly tried to be as concise as possible, but my love for this book is too vast.)
For my first ARC approval, this book hits it straight out of the park! Emeline Lark has done everything she can to escape the town of Edgewood to pursue her dreams of a career in music, being signed by a top label and performing daily for as long as possible. Despite being on the cusp of her dreams come true, the forest of Edgewood won’t let her go that easily. Every performance, the woods make themselves known, creeping closer and closer to Emeline and becoming more sinister every visit. In Edgewood, the forest is cloaked in mystery and long told folk tales, except its residents believe the tales to be true.
When her grandpa disappears from his nursing home with only a relic from the town’s folktales as a clue, Emeline must enter the forest against her better judgment to find him. Only she finds that the town’s tales aren’t just tales – it’s been true all along. With the help of a mysterious boy and two other citizens of the Wood King’s city, she works to free her grandpa while righting past wrongs, and discovering the truth behind her strange entanglement with the forest of Edgewood.
- I absolutely LOVED this book! Kristen Ciccarelli’s writing was haunting, ethereal, and absolutely gorgeous. No detail felt extraneous, the atmosphere was beautifully described without becoming overly wordy, and she sneakily placed important details throughout the entire story with us being none the wiser. As the story and plot progressed, those small details began to weave themselves into complex revelations, leading to a big shock that ended up being right in front of us all along.
-The character development was A+. Every interaction was meaningful and either heartwarming, or utterly heartbreaking. Emeline’s relationship with her grandpa was one of my favorite parts of the story as a whole, and the journey of dealing with the grief of slowly losing a loved one before your eyes is crucial. Just about everyone can understand that pain, having gone through it themselves in real life. Her neighbors were the perfect “found family”, creating a quirky and endearing little community she was able to rely on. The slow culmination of camaraderie between Emeline, Rooke, and Sable was joyous. I laughed out loud at some of the dialogue more than a few times! Lastly, I would do just about anything for Hawthorne, including dive in front of a bullet. Haha! Their relationship added the perfect amount of intrigue and mystery, and was just the right of romance woven throughout the story. The twist at the end caused me to shed tears!
-The world building was wonderful. We were given enough information and characteristics about both the forest and city, as well as their inhabitants, to make it creepy, enchanting, haunting, and captivating. But we weren’t bombarded with facts about the fae world, so it wasn’t able to overshadow the key points and story arc. The magic and the world was different than a lot, if not most of the YA fantasy books that have been out thus far. I can’t wait for this release to get my hands on a physical copy, and I’m hoping it gets special edition treatment! One of my favorite books now.
For my first ARC approval, this book hits it straight out of the park! Emeline Lark has done everything she can to escape the town of Edgewood to pursue her dreams of a career in music, being signed by a top label and performing daily for as long as possible. Despite being on the cusp of her dreams come true, the forest of Edgewood won’t let her go that easily. Every performance, the woods make themselves known, creeping closer and closer to Emeline and becoming more sinister every visit. In Edgewood, the forest is cloaked in mystery and long told folk tales, except its residents believe the tales to be true.
When her grandpa disappears from his nursing home with only a relic from the town’s folktales as a clue, Emeline must enter the forest against her better judgment to find him. Only she finds that the town’s tales aren’t just tales – it’s been true all along. With the help of a mysterious boy and two other citizens of the Wood King’s city, she works to free her grandpa while righting past wrongs, and discovering the truth behind her strange entanglement with the forest of Edgewood.
- I absolutely LOVED this book! Kristen Ciccarelli’s writing was haunting, ethereal, and absolutely gorgeous. No detail felt extraneous, the atmosphere was beautifully described without becoming overly wordy, and she sneakily placed important details throughout the entire story with us being none the wiser. As the story and plot progressed, those small details began to weave themselves into complex revelations, leading to a big shock that ended up being right in front of us all along.
-The character development was A+. Every interaction was meaningful and either heartwarming, or utterly heartbreaking. Emeline’s relationship with her grandpa was one of my favorite parts of the story as a whole, and the journey of dealing with the grief of slowly losing a loved one before your eyes is crucial. Just about everyone can understand that pain, having gone through it themselves in real life. Her neighbors were the perfect “found family”, creating a quirky and endearing little community she was able to rely on. The slow culmination of camaraderie between Emeline, Rooke, and Sable was joyous. I laughed out loud at some of the dialogue more than a few times! Lastly, I would do just about anything for Hawthorne, including dive in front of a bullet. Haha! Their relationship added the perfect amount of intrigue and mystery, and was just the right of romance woven throughout the story. The twist at the end caused me to shed tears!
-The world building was wonderful. We were given enough information and characteristics about both the forest and city, as well as their inhabitants, to make it creepy, enchanting, haunting, and captivating. But we weren’t bombarded with facts about the fae world, so it wasn’t able to overshadow the key points and story arc. The magic and the world was different than a lot, if not most of the YA fantasy books that have been out thus far. I can’t wait for this release to get my hands on a physical copy, and I’m hoping it gets special edition treatment! One of my favorite books now.