Beneath the still surface of a lake lurks a monster with needle sharp teeth. Hungry and ready to pounce.
Jenny Greenteeth has never spoken to a human before, but when a witch is thrown into her lake, something makes Jenny decide she’s worth saving. Temperance doesn’t know why her village has suddenly turned against her, only that it has something to do with the malevolent new pastor.
Though they have nothing in common, these two must band together on a magical quest to defeat the evil that threatens Jenny’s lake and Temperance’s family, as well as the very soul of Britain.(Hi.) Molly O’Neill’s Greenteeth is a novel that made me want to keep reading. I enjoyed reading about Jenny and Temperance and how their friendship is formed, tested, and strengthened. Both of their characters were really well formed. This is especially evident during times when we get to witness their more negative traits. As mentioned earlier, there’s a point where their friendship is tested. It comes at a point where they must complete certain tasks, and the internal struggle presented nicely echoes the external one they must soon face. Another aspect that was well done was the setting. The writing had a way of making everything come alive yet leaving just enough to the imagination. It felt like I could see Temperance’s village, for example. And finally, the ending sequence was page-turning. Really well done with just enough tension. Things came together very nicely.
Now while I did like this book, it wasn’t without its flaws. Jenny and Temperance are well-rounded characters. Everyone else? One-note, forgettable, and virtually interchangeable. There’s a third traveling companion, Brackus, who appears for the majority of the book. Couldn’t tell you much about him other than he’s a goblin. They meet high fae who give them tasks to complete. Although the characters appear multiple times throughout the book, they’re entirely forgettable. The overall tone of the writing kept changing throughout, almost as if it wasn’t sure what type of book it wanted to be. At times it felt like it was leaning more into a character-focused, personal journey type of novel. Then suddenly it would become a more action-oriented one with a bit of a comedic twist. The changes were sudden and didn’t make much sense. But my biggest gripe is a deus ex machina a little over halfway through. There’s a sort of cozy vibe running through the novel, so there’s the expectation that things will work out. However, the struggles faced earlier and later felt like actual struggles the characters had to face and think through how to solve. This one felt as though the book had given up. It was so egregious.
Would I recommend this book? If you like books with more rural settings, female friendship, cozy vibes yet still with some action, then yes. It’s not perfect, and some parts really got on my nerves. But as a whole, it kept me interested throughout. This feels like a standalone, but I would happily pick up a future book by this author if there is one.
Greenteeth will be published on February 25. I read a NetGalley ARC.
