Silver in the Wood

I didn't give this a star rating when I first finished reading it, because I wanted to leave it sit with me for a bit. I was kind of conflicted about what to give. Ultimately I decided to went with a three, because that was my experience with it, but I can certainly appreciate the higher star ratings and enthusiastically positive reviews.

I'm not sure I went into it with the right expectations. I had found this story on a list of books inspired by the Green Man folklore, because it's something I'm quite interested in and is a far less common topic than the usual fantasy elements of witches, elves, etc.

Chapter I of the book was perfection for me. It was atmospheric, sombre, and mysterious, and I was all in. In fact, I'd accidentally switched my Kindle progress indicator to the chapter instead of the whole book, and when I finished the chapter, I thought it was the end. I was so totally satisfied and in love with it, I was ready to hug it and scramble to download the next book in the duology before I realized that there was more to it.

So, I read the rest of it, and I was a little bit disappointed to be honest. The tone of the book changed on a dime and became something else that I was not expected and was not seeking out.

The second half introduces another character, Mrs Silver, who is plucky and almost comedic in her dourness, and feels rather trope-y. I feel like I would probably have loved her in a different book, but she seemed largely at odds with the more introspective, meditative, isolated atmosphere of the first half.

The tone of the exquisite first half is also undermined as the second half sets out to answer questions and provide backstory that I didn't need or want to be answered. The added backstory exposition and the resolution felt unnecessary and more like an episode of a monster-of-the-week series like Buffy or Supernatural. Again, in another book, I would probably have found these aspects to be charming and fun, but after the restrained and atmospheric first half, it felt to me like a bait ‘n' switch.

I would absolutely read more of Emily Tesh's writing, because the highs where so high. The lows weren't low necessarily, but just not what I was looking for.

I was looking for literary fiction that was darker, ancient, and reflective, and I did get a taste of that before it switched to gears towards a paranormal fantasy romance. Ultimately, it wasn't what I was personally looking for, and I don't think that's a fault of the book. I think if you go into this expecting more of a lighthearted fantasy that is more charming than brooding, you might find Silver in the Wood to be something quite special.