Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this book. Unfortunately I have been unable to get into it.

I received a free copy of this book from the publishers via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

It took me awhile to get to this book but I was excited to read it. It started off with a straightforward premise, I saw some similarities to Harry Potter with the magic component, the owl, the school itself, but that's pretty much where it ended.

After the first half of the book, I found myself tuning out. I found it somewhat repetitive, the plot went flat, and I really didn't like any of the characters. I also really didn't like the ending because I felt it really wasn't much of one.

I never read the Fountain and perhaps I should have, at least for comparison's sake, to see if it is any better.
I wasn't a fan.

I liked and disliked parts of the book.

Likes:

I loved cole and hated what courtney did. She was terrible to him so good for Cole there.

I like the mystery of the founder of the school and how it ties to the fountain and having your wishes come true.

I liked how the fountain transforms you and it really takes over who you are as we see with Courtney.

I liked that the characters were flawed.

enjoyed the friendship aspect of this and even some of the moments with cole when Courtney was herself.

their was a sense of foreboding in this at times and that helps to propel you forward to see what is going to happen.

The book flows and is entertaining.

Seeing Courtney try to fight and struggle with the pull of the power of the fountain

Characters:

Cole: love

Courtney: has her moments. I enjoy seeing her realizing she is changing and struggle with it. You see her go from nice and meek to really obsessed with obtaining certain goals and losing herself and her own passion show she can achieve things that aren’t her. She loses her sense of self and becomes really mean at times. Like Mean girls mean. I enjoyed that aspect but didn’t like Courtney when this occurred. Heck she even blackmailed her friends at one point.

Her friends: were great at times but were loud. if one knew something it ended up with everyone knowing. Nothing was secret.

Dislikes:

Courtney at times I just didn’t like

At times the story felt stilted and forced.

Hated seeing her hurt Cole.

Overall:

I liked the story. It was entertaining and a new and different twist to a magic wishing fountain. We get a mystery and see characters struggle and be flawed. We get a fun different twist on the idea of a wishing fountain that gives us a mystery and struggle with oneself that is both fascinating and interesting while entertaining us. Valdori does a good job of giving us a mystery wrapped in magic while entertaining us with a imaginative take on the wishing fountain.

The West Woods is a unique adventure story. For the intended YA audience Suzy Vadori's writing style was perfect, easy and quick to read.
Vadori makes the reader experience Courtney's feelings with her. From extreme embarrassment to irritation. The book deals with issues pertinent to high school making the book perfect for teens and YA audiences.
I love adventure and this book took us on a treasure hunt of sorts. The book is filled with a lot of mystery and magic. From the beginning I felt like I wanted to know what secrets St. Augustus has for me to discover. Although it took Courtney a while to start on the 'treasure hunt', the second half of the book was fast paced, letting us get a small glimpse of all the possibilities of magic.
I was a little disappointing that we saw so little of the magic. There were countless possibilities, although adding them might have hindered the pace of the book.
The Fountain is one of the main magical objects that the book is written around, and it is an interesting one at that. It grants one wish for every student, thus the book delves into the dangers of wishes. Through Courtney we find out just how dangerous magic and wishes really can be.
I would have liked to see more of some of the other characters that could have counteracted the typical gossipy girls. Getting to know Cole more would have created a good break in the typical high school stereotypes that become a regular occurrence in Courtney's friend group.
Even with the easy read, I felt like the story dragged at times. It was a quick book but at the same time I felt like it was lacking a certain depth. This quick read will appeal to readers who like adventure. The book deals with a lot of issues concerning high school, the pressure of boys, teachers and parents. Although the magic throws a little bit of an unconventional twist in there, the story reminded me of a couple of embarrassing moments from my own high school experience.
The major lesson that the book taught me would be a common one, be careful what you wish for.

The West Woods by Suzy Vadori is the second novel in The Fountain series. Courtney Wallis tried to convince her father to her not return to St. Augustus after the winter break. Jim Wallis, Courtney’s father, told her that the school is special and he wants her to discover the answer on her own. He tells her that the West Woods are the key. That evening on a dare Courtney is running through the woods when her foot falls into a hole. She discovers a wood box with a key inside. Is this the key her father was referring to? After listening to Ms. Krick’s lecture on the school’s history, the teacher talks to Courtney privately. Ms. Krick wants Courtney’s help in discovering the location of the fountain. She wants to make a wish. Courtney is not sure what to make of Ms. Krick and her rantings. Later, Courtney then receives a map that her father left with her sister, Hanna. The map leads Courtney back into the West Woods where she finds a fountain. She makes a wish not expecting it to actually come true. Once a wish is made, though, it must be fulfilled—no matter what the cost.

The West Woods is a prequel to The Fountain. I found the book to have a good pace, but I was not fully engaged. The West Woods did not hold the same appeal as The Fountain. The West Woods is a young-adult novel that will appeal to tweens and teens (especially with Halloween fast approaching). There was a little too much focus on boys for my taste (it seemed to dominate the first half of the story). I wish there had been less attention on romance and more on the magic. Just when the paranormal action starts to heat up, the book quickly ends (I felt the séance scene was a bust). I felt The West Woods did not live up to its potential (especially after reading The Fountain). I had trouble liking Courtney and especially disliked Violet, the school gossip. It was interesting to find out more about the school and Ms. Krick. My rating for The West Woods is 3 out of 5 stars. I did like the moral of the story. I do recommend checking out The Fountain (I gave it 4.25 stars).

This is a great story. 

It is a unique plot. Though it follows a typical fantasy storyline by taking place at a boarding school with a mysterious background, it was unpredictable. 

I liked the way that Courtney changed throughout the book. The effects of her wish really change her thoughts and actions. 

I wished there was more about Courtney's dad in this book. I also thought that her conversations with Cole seemed forced. Sometimes they were repetitive and didn't move the story forward. This book is part of a series so maybe in previous book Courtney's dad and Cole have bigger parts. 

Even though I haven't read the other book, I still enjoyed this one. And it's by a Canadian author which is awesome! I'll definitely keep my eyes open for the other book in the series.

I received an Advanced Reader's Copy to read and review from Weapenry Co-Op and Netgalley.

If you could have one wish, what would you wish for? This book has you asking yourself that question as the students find a magic wishing well. It certainly puts a lot of pressure on your wish. You want it to be worth it, you don't want to waste your one wish. Well sorry to disappoint you, but that's exactly what these girls do, they waste their wishes. Absolutely no one make a worthwhile wish, making you angry that they have the opportunity.

I didn't have extremely high expectations for this book, and honestly it was about as good as I expected it to be. The first two-thirds of this book were pretty good and then it started going downhill, and it just kept going.

The characters were all crafted nicely and made a nice group of girlfriends for a boarding school. Courtney was an alright character in the beginning and then she just became more and more selfish and rude. I found myself wondering why the other girls would even want to hang out with her. She treated her friends like dirt, or rather, more like pawns. People who she could manipulate to her will in order to achieve everything she wanted. I like my main characters to have flaws, but damn, Courtney tips the scales overboard in The West Woods.

As for the writing, for the first part of the book I was thinking that this would be a four, potentially a five star read. The author filled some chapters with the feeling of anxiety and excitement as the girls snuck around. Some of the scenes were written so well that I found myself on the edge of my seat, covering my mouth and hoping that the characters could get away with whatever they were attempting at the moment. The writing is what saved this novel from being a two star read. It captivated me and it is clear that the author has the ability to create a five star read.

As for the plot... there was no climax! I feel as if this has happened far too frequently in some books I have been reading as of lately. I finished the book feeling like "that's it?". There were so many loose ends, absolutely no real resolution and not even a cliffhanger that left you feeling as if these problems could be solved later.

Oh and the romance? You mean the romance that wasn't? It was basically non existent because Courtney decided to be terrible. Good for Cole though, at least he didn't wind up subjected to her terrible treatment as well. The synopsis made it sound like there would be so much more to this romance.

Basically I feel as if this was a novel with a good idea and great writing, but lacked adequate structure. A book needs to have a climax and a resolution, this one had neither. Courtney was also an incredibly unlikable main character. I definitely would not count out the author, but I would not suggest reading this book.

This book was provided to me by Netgalley. The West Woods was given to me as an arc for an honest review.
I found out after reading it that it is suppose to be a sequel. I was very confused because it isn't pitched as one on Netgalley or Goodreads. I would consider it a companion read, there didn't seem like any missing puzzle pieces. So if you make the same mistake I did, don't worry you can read this by itself.

The first 50 or so pages were entertaining and I flew through them. Courtney our main character seems like a sweet, shy, and athletic girl. She can come off a little whinny, because she wants to be at a different school, and her dad makes a promise to her. If she finds out St. Augustus secretes, and still wants to leave she can. This made me think I was going to get a boarding school filled with secrets, magic, romance, and drama. While I DID get those things, it just didn't work.

Please let me make this clear. I am not bashing this book or the writing. I enjoyed some of the book, but there were problems I had with it. As a reviewer I will always be honest with all of you, no matter how difficult it is.


Like I said earlier I really enjoyed the first 50 pages or so of The West Woods. It held promise and set up the start of a intriguing plot. I was getting invested, and then I started to see a pattern that turned out to be problematic. The writing started to feel off in the sense that there would be a character set up, and it would fall through. Let me explain, in the start of the book we see our main character Courtney and her friends are playing truth or dare. She is dared to run into the woods with a cute boy, and the writing makes it sounds like there may be something between them. After this happens, it's like the male character falls off the face of the earth. Then we get another situation with another male character, and guess what? Yup you guessed it, nothing happens. We get this type of situation with THREE different male characters. This lead to the writing feeling choppy and confusing.

Speaking of confusing the character development was either complex or poorly written. Courtney goes through certain magical situations that cause her personalty to change. This didn't occur to me until another character pointed it out and explained it. Even with the explanation it happened so late in the book that I was already checking out, and debating on putting the book down. I do think that this plot choice could have worked if I got to know Courtney better. This decision made me feel like Courtney was just crazy and unlikable. If the change in her personality would have happened in the next book I feel like I would catch on to it, because I would have had time to learn more about Courtney.

I still held out hope because the school, woods, and enchanting history is what sold me to read the book in the first place. I kept waiting to learn more, and while it was explained some what, I was left wanting more, and not in a good way. However I did feel like the author did a good job in leaving the reader in the dark, and I learned as Courtney did. I wish we could have learned more about the enchantment of the school. I wanted to see it come alive, learn more of it's history in an enchanting way. I wanted fleshed out characters, true friendships that weren't so wishy washy. This book had so much potential to be an epic read, and it makes me beyond sad to know what it could have been.

I know that this isn't one of my best reviews, but I'm not use to writing low rated reviews. While I don't highly recommend this book, I do recommend you to make your own decision. The West Wood's is a short book, and if the description sounds like something you would enjoy, see if your library has it. Let me now your thoughts if you have read The West Woods.

A legacy family full of secrets, a mysterious fountain set in dense woods, and a prestigious preparatory school make up the bones of The West Woods, the new novel by Canadian author Suzy Vadori. A prequel to the Prix Aurora Awards Finalist The Fountain, readers of The West Woods are given exclusive insight into the character of Courtney and how she began her fast track from sweet and unassuming young lady to villainous mean girl.

Courtney never wanted to go back to St. Augustus and all it’s clinging pomp and circumstance. She much preferred pounding the pavement of the local public high school’s track and mixing with regular kids instead of rubbing elbows with the area’s elite and wealthy offspring. Despite her best efforts during the summer to convince him otherwise, Courtney’s position on her education is continually ignored by her father, who instead insists that she give St. Augustus a proper chance . . . leaving her at her dorm with mysterious words of how the school has more to offer than it may appear.

The girl with hair the vibrant color of heated flame has a hard time fitting in and seems to constantly be on the periphery of all things cool and accepted, no matter her built-in social status as an “alumni kid” or her best efforts at fitting in. Her older sister is consumed with her own educational advances and Courtney’s friends are both popular and full of blind confidence, seeming to magnify Courtney’s own teen insecurities. Pushed by these friends to fulfill a silly dare by entering the dark and forbidden West Woods, Courtney attempts to solidify a spot in the in-crowd by taking a trek through the forest that ignites chills and frights for anyone who passes by it.

In the forest Courtney finds a key, both mysterious in it’s nature and in it’s antique finish. And while her courageous entrance into the embrace of the bone-chilling trees didn’t push her further into the arms of the cool kids, it did give her a new goal — figure out what the key is used for, see if she can find the correlation it shares with the secretive old map her sister passed down to her via their father’s request, and finalize a plan that will allow her to slowly put the pieces of her life together, one shred at at time.

As Courtney begins to complete the puzzle of St. Augustus and it’s haunting riddles, she hunts down the enigmatic and fabled fountain, which leads her on a quest for its secrets as well. Making a complex and lofty wish, she watches with wonderment as her small world shifts and pushes her towards attainment of the things she asked for — sometimes even against her will or better judgement. But as the saying goes, you must always be careful what you wish for, and Courtney will soon learn that some things cannot be undone or unspoken.

The West Woods is a book widely being classified as young adult, but I would feel comfortable giving it a mid-grade genre level. The subject matter and writing is generously geared towards readers of ages 10 and up. Giving the prequel a 3.5 out of 5 stars, I can say that it was because I wanted more – more – more! Just when I felt that things were ramping up and the spooky gatherings were beginning to take full shape, the novel seemed to decline into an abrupt ending. Perhaps this was the author’s intent, as I am keen on reading The Fountain, it’s sequel. Although the books are issued as stand-alone, I am sure other readers will feel the same. I recommend The West Woods to young readers looking to sink into something of the ghostly nature just in time for the upcoming autumnal season, and for parents who are looking to share a novel with their child that will illustrate the perils and consequences of choosing wrong over right.

Received from NetGalley

Courtney really wants to escape boarding school, her parents made her go. Her father promises to reconsider, if she looks into The West Woods. As she explores, she stumbles on magic, power of wish and all sorts of secrets.

I really like the idea behind it, it's really interesting and unique. However, I didn't pull me in, the story wasn't as gripping as I hopped. It wasn't all that bad or all that good, somewhere in the middle.