Drowned Country

This book starts a few years after the first one, and after some crucial developments that the reader isn't privy to until the latter part of the book. I found this frustrating because Silver constantly worried about this unknown event without just stating what happened throughout the story and the two main characters (Silver and Tobias) are at odds because of it. It turned out something pretty insignificant and petty imo so the build up didn't make it less frustrating. Also, half of the book is on a linear timeline but then suddenly we're jumping from two years before and back to the present. When I saw the “2 Years Ago” header I was like FINALLY we'll find out what happened between them... but nope, still not for another couple chapters.
I do like this world Tesh has imagined and we see a lot more of it, though the rules she seemed to have set out for the Greenman in the first book are completely broken/remade for it so it.
Overall, an interesting sequel with a lot more action and detail but I would like a more linear plot.

Last year I reviewed one of the most atmospheric books I had ever read—Silver in the Wood by Emily Tesh. It was whimsical, verdant, and dark. When I think about it a year later, I still get the mental picture of a deep lustrous forest with secrets to keep. Silver in the Wood was the first book in the Greenhollow Duology. The second, Drowned Country, is as good as the first one, although the tone is slightly different.

Drowned Country brings us many of the characters from the first story, specifically of the two male leads of Tobias and Silver. Where Silver in the Wood was very much Tobias's story to tell, Drowned Country is Silvers. It has been two years since the first novel has taken place. While in the first story, the setting of the deep dark woods was a character as much as Tobias was. Now in Drowned Forest, the temperament of the story has changed too much more character-driven.

Silver has a difficult time finding his footing as the new wild man of the forest. He is sulky, petulant, and bored. Tobias has taken to working with Silver's mother, the aging monster hunter Adela Silver. Adela asks Silver to come to help her with her newest monster problem. There is a 900-year-old vampire afoot and a missing ingenue that needs rescuing. Silver is bored and wants to get back some of the excitement that he had when he was not the wild man. Thus starts their adventure. Things certainly do not pan out as we think they will.

Most of the story is the tension between Silver and Tobias. There is a certain charm between the two of them, a lightness that comes off easily and is a testament to how good Tesh's writing is. Their relationship had an effortless quality to it. I spent much of the book wishing they would work things out. The background story of elves and Maud is less important than their relationship. It is what they were doing at the time, but it is not all-encompassing.

The small detractor I found with this novel is that I wished it was longer, and the plot felt more important. I wanted it fleshed out. It had some pretty vague points that lost me as a reader. And, because of its vagueness, it lost some of the atmospheric quality. I couldn't picture it as well as her first book, Silver in the Wood.

In the end, Tesh did a great job with this book. It is a fine ending or beginning depending on how you look at it to this Duology. I loved the romance between the two of them; there is a slow burn quality to it that is almost steamy. This book gave me some warm fuzzies.

I am sad that the series is over, but in many ways, the journey of Silver and Tobias is just beginning.

Sorry but I think I'll just DNF this. I am at %53 and trying to push through but it's really not working for me. I adored the first book and wanted to like this as well but everything I liked about Silver in the Wood is absent here. I wasn't that into Silver already and I don't like to be in his mind. Also I'm tired of his whining. The impressive atmosphere, the mysterious aura and charm of Tobias is beign missed. What a shame.

“It may not treat you kindly; it is the Wood. It may not keep you safe; it is the Wood. It will not last forever, but it will last long enough; and the trees grow, and the seasons change, and the wild things come and go, as do the monsters.”

Ik vond deze nog beter dan het eerste verhaal. Het was gewoon perfect, van de sfeer tot de sprookjesachtige inspiratie, gevuld met magie en verwondering, beklijvend en hartverwarmend, opwindend en lieflijk. Ik wou dat er meer van dit soort verhalen waren.

Format read: ebook (Libby)
Reading time: 1h20
Tags: fantasy, lgbt (m/m), light horror, adventure
Own a copy: no
Reread likelihood: 8/10

It's been well over a year since I read the first book in this duology, Silver in the Wood, so in all honesty, it took me a good 20 pages to situate myself in the story and remember what happened in the other book before truly enjoying this one. Obviously, this is a me problem, and should I reread this duology, I would read the two novellas back-to-back to fully appreciate them.

From what I remember of the first book (and after checking my reading notes to refresh my memory) my main issue I had with the first book was that the characters didn't have enough depth, and Tobias and Henry's relationship didn't have a very strong foundation.

In this book, however, it's quite the opposite. The focus of this story was more so on the characters' growth and development, which gave more depth to their relationships to one another. In this novella, we also meet a new character, Maud, who reveals herself to be an interesting catalyst for the plot, and we learn more about Henry's monster-hunting mother (who is a pretty cool lady when you think about it).

The use of flashbacks in part two “The Queen of Fairyland” added a lot of useful information on how and why things went wrong at the end of the first book. I found this a clever device to use in a novella.

Where the first book focused on Tobias' voice, and the emphasis was on the task of being (or becoming) the guardian of an ancient forest, this second book was from the perspective of Henry Silver, which was a welcome change in my opinion. I personally like Henry more out the two because of his more engaging personality, but Tobias in this book was very endearing too.

Drowned Country takes us on a magical adventure to a sunken forest and a lost fairy kingdom and, despite the length of the book (only 176 pages!) the scenes are compelling and action packed.

I feel that this second book is a significant improvement on the last, and the fact that it is so short and easy to consume in one sitting makes this duology a very likely reread in the future.

This second installment of the Greenhollow series is better than the first, in my humble opinion. We have the world-building and the character development out of the way so we can get right on with the adventure. I loved Maud. I love Mrs. Silver too, and her occupation. What I never do well with, it's me, is romance of any sort so once that yawn-factor was removed I could really enjoy this. Oh, and the imagery! As someone who grew up reading fairy tales, I love when I stumble upon stories that read like a fairy tale I have never read before, but comfortable enough to feel like an ancient tale. Tesh does this so very well.