Woodwalker

What a delightful surprise!

I stumbled upon this book by chance, catching my eye in a small local bookshop, which had it on display due to the author calling this very state home.

I was intrigued by the promise of a fantasy adventure through the woods, written with the experience of an actual park ranger, and I was not let down. I learned a few things I didn't know about caring for the forest, and about the creatures who live there, creatures that are all real, by the way. So not a lot of fantasy in this fantasy, really the only thing ‘fantasy' about it is the made up kingdoms and the cultures that reside in them, so beware if that's a problem for you.

As a reader, I'm usually pretty forgiving of plot contrivances, if I can see a clear reason for their inclusion. In my view, especially in a more adventurous novel such as this one, there's an unspoken understanding between author and reader, that you may need to stretch the logic a few character choices and motivations in order to create interesting situations for our characters to navigate. All that is to say, I must tip my hat to Mrs. Martin. The few instances where I felt things were a little contrived, the main examples being how quickly Mae agrees to help the Allistaires, and how quickly Valien dismisses the idea that Mona and her brothers are royalty, were perfectly explained by the twist reveal of Mae's true allegiance at the end. A classic case of unreliable narrator, a trope that can so easily leave the reader feeling annoyed and betrayed, executed in a very skillful way.

Very keen to read the other two books in this series; I already know I'm gonna be sad when it's over.