Silver in the Wood by Emily Tesh

There is a Wild Man who lives in the deep quiet of Greenhollow, and he listens to the wood. Tobias, tethered to the forest, does not dwell on his past life, but he lives a perfectly unremarkable existence with his cottage, his cat, and his dryads.

When Greenhollow Hall acquires a handsome, intensely curious new owner in Henry Silver, everything changes. Old secrets better left buried are dug up, and Tobias is forced to reckon with his troubled past—both the green magic of the woods, and the dark things that rest in its heart.

I received an ARC of this book from Tor.com Publishing in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Silver in the Wood managed to simultaneously subvert and exceed my expectations.

I did expect to be taken with the story: after all, an LGBT retelling of a myth? Very much my thing.

I didn’t expect the gentleness. The shinning streak of optimism and hope and sweetness. Which is what made me fall for this book even more than I anticipated.

Tobias has a dark past. He’s not a perfect person – he’s not even exactly a person anymore. But he still cares, and he still loves, and he still wants to protect this beautiful young man who stumbled into his life with familiar stories to tell…

The atmosphere was almost a presence in the book: the tension of evil lurking, the bittersweet changes of seasons, the levity and joie de vivre of Henry Silver…Every aspect brought a new dimension, a new facet, to the story.

I won’t say much about the plot because it needs to be discovered with fresh eyes. Suffice to say that the story takes us towards unexpected and pretty amazing roads.

The whimsy and magic of the novella reminded me a lot of Patricia McKillip’s books, but of course, Emily Tesh has her own distinctive voice and I’m looking forward to more from her.

The reading experience was similar to a leisurely stroll, restful and invigorating, but with enough twists and turns to keep me on my toes.

I would absolutely recommend this novella. It is released on June 18th.