Emeline Lark can sing a forest into the world. Except she doesn’t mean to, and she doesn’t want to. Besides, it’s probably just in her imagination. She longs to see her name in lights as a musician. But when she receives a call that her grandfather—the man who raised her—has gone missing, she’s forced to return to her hometown of Edgewood. Situated—well—on the edge of the woods, Emeline has never believed the stories of shiftlings and shadow skins, of curses and tithes. But when she ventures into those woods looking for her Pa, she eventually lands in a city in the woods, one ruled by a cursed King. Her grandfather is here, as are guards and other shiftlings. She makes the King a deal: She will prove herself a good fit for the King’s singer if he lets her grandfather go. She only needs to then find a way to escape. The only problem is the woods really are cursed.
Atmosphere
What a beautifully written novel. I love it when I keep wanting to read a book. The ones where you’re conflicted about wanting to not put it down but also wanting to savor it. Edgewood by Kristen Ciccarelli was this book for me. It has this magic about it that draws me in. It’s probably the setting and atmosphere. This book falls into that odd category of fantasy that isn’t strictly Portal Fantasy but feels like it is. The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater, the Tufa series by Alex Bledsoe, Wildwood Whispers by Willa Reece. I’d say these books are roughly comparable in that they feature characters finding that the woods hold magic within. The Tufa novels especially, since music also plays a big role in that series. I loved how music was tied into Edgewood and how it showed us a part of Emeline’s personality. She pursued her passion and didn’t take no for an answer. She can be a bit selfish, even putting aside family for her dreams, but she grows through the course of the book.
Weaknesses
I think the book’s weakest area lies in the minor characters. Emeline was a fantastically frustrating character. A big theme coursing through this book is seeing things that are right in front of you. Sometimes I wanted to shout at her, “What are you doing?!” But she was well fleshed out and felt real. Then there’s Hawthorne, a boy around her age—19 or so—who also becomes more developed as the novel goes on. And I can’t forget the forest itself as a character. I thought that aspect was well done. But from there, the minor characters are varying shades of, “Yep that sure is your name” (Rooke, Sable) to “you’re so close to being an amazing character” (Grace). Granted, it never took me out of the story. But beyond Grace, a lot of the other characters felt like they could’ve been anyone to me.
Overall
This book enchanted me. It was full of beautiful imagery and prose. It managed to pull off a few different surprises, too. But even if you find everything predictable, I think the way the story unfolds is still incredible. Some of the fun is discovering things that were right there all along or even finding out that your hunches were correct.
(I received an e-ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.)
