I'm not entirely sure what to say about Silver in the Wood. I liked it but I also felt like I was missing something. . . but also not? It was a weird feeling.

Novellas aren't usually what I go for when it comes to reading material but I liked the dark fairy tale vibe I got from the synopsis for this one and decided to give it a try! It's a quick read, probably took me no more than an hour to get through the whole thing, and the ending left me both wanting more and also satisfied all at once.

I think the former comes from the writing style. It reads very much like an extended fairy tale. Tobias, the man in the woods, is different. Not quite human. You don't really know what he is at first but it's clear he's got something special going on with the forest around him. Obviously I wanted to know more! Then Henry Silver's character is introduced and he's such a bright spot against the brooding Tobias that I really wanted to know how that whole bit worked out, especially when the inklings of a romance subplot began threading through the main story.

The first half of the story felt more exploratory as Silver tried to learn more about the woods and Tobias and all the local legends. The second is where things grew a bit darker but not as much as I would have liked, and the tension wasn't as heightened as I think it could have been if it had been a longer book with more time to flesh out the characters and their interactions. I think a longer story would have strengthened the romance between Tobias and Silver too. I liked it well enough but Silver in the Wood is only a little over 100 pages. There just wasn't time to really give the characters a chance to explore that romance to its fullest.

I was pretty satisfied with the ending, though. While there were aspects of the story that I wanted more detail for, the overall story wrapped up in a full circle kind of way. I think it worked for the fairy tale-esque plot and the characters who were both fully realized and mysterious. 

Silver in the Wood was a nice break from longer fiction, I have to say, and I would certainly pick up another novella (or full length novel) from Emily Tesh in the future.

I’d call this a quiet story, but there is in fact plenty that happens once it kicks off. Tobias Finch has a quiet life within the forest, dealing with supernatural threats within its boundaries and protecting the forest. He’s a Green Man, a creature of mythology — not quite a male Dryad, but a man whose existence is nonetheless deeply entwined with that of a vast oak growing near his cottage. One day the owner of the lands, Henry Silver, comes by, stays the night due to a rainstorm, and awkwardly flirts with Tobias. Naturally, that isn’t the last they see of each other, though Tobias tries to protect Henry from his own interest in the myths of the forest — myths of wildness and sacrifice, to which Tobias also has links.

The relationship between Tobias and Henry is a quiet centre of this story, along with Tobias’ own development and rejoining of the world outside the forest. There is also a badass older lady who takes down supernatural threats, the coming to life of some myths that would have been better left quiet, and an awesome Dryad called Bramble. Despite the atmosphere of quiet greenery, there’s a lot going on — which is true of all forests, really.

I enjoyed this both as a telling of a less-used myth and for the queer love story. And I’d happily read a lot more about the adventures of Tobias and [spoiler], solving supernatural mysteries and dealing with mythological threats — that part could’ve been a lot longer and a lot more detailed and I’d have been happy.

I received an ARC of this story. I so loved the premise and characters, so much so that I was sucked in on page one. My only qualm was that this is a novella (and I love novellas) but I somehow didn’t catch that. I was so sad to realize that the story would end so soon! I wanted to live with those characters and in that world a while longer. 💚

What first drew me to Silver in the Wood was its stunning cover, the trees and the wood intertwining to form a man’s face. I have always loved trees and wild woods. They contain history, in a way, and their quiet fortitude is rather inspiring at times. So of course I couldn’t help but be fascinated by the Wild man of the woods. Thanks to Macmillan-Tor/Forge, Tor.com and Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Silver in the Woods is more like a folk tale than a novella. The setting is quite precise and yet vague enough that it could be any wood. It sometimes felt as if I was reading a story I knew but which was being presented to me in a completely new way. Some aspects of the story reminded me of the Green Man archetype in folktales, a symbol of growth and rebirth, but also a symbol that closely ties man and nature together. Us humans aren’t separate from nature, we are of it, and Silver in the Woods couldn’t make this clearer. There is a love for nature that runs through Tesh’s writing that sometimes reminded me of how Tolkien’s passion for trees shone through in The Lord of the Rings. Whereas Christianity and other religions of the Book set man against nature, our earlier religions saw us as one with it, and so both Tobias, Henry and everyone else who comes in touch with the woods remains, in a way, a part of it.
Silver in the Woods follows Tobias Finch, the Wild Man of Greenhollow, who was once a man but is now something else. The caretaker of the woods, perhaps? Its spirit, somehow? It’s not entirely made clear by Tesh and I prefer it that way. Tobias’ quiet life is shaken up by the arrival of Henry Silver, the new lord of Greenhollow Hall who is absolutely fascinated with the woods and with folklore. Henry brings some human joy to Tobias’ life, but he also draws the attention of the old ghosts that haunt the Greenhollow woods. In Silver in the Woods magic and folklore are always just under the surface. The woods are a place of life, death, worship and depravity. They are a place where you can both find and lose yourself, face your fears and discover new ones. Tesh captures the beautiful duality of the woods in Silver in the Woods and they form the perfect background for the tentative romance and self-discovery her characters go through.
Although the cover was the first thing that drew my eye to Silver in the Woods, it was also the Naomi Novik’s enthusiastic endorsement that convinced me. I adored her novel Spinning Silver, which brought a fascinating twist to the Rumpelstiltskin tale. Similarly to Novik, Emily Tesh crafts some wonderful imagery in Silver in the Woods. There are some stunning phrases throughout the novella that truly transported me and captured some of the timelessness of nature and storytelling. Although Silver in the Woods is quite a gentle novel, it doesn’t shy away from laying bare the cruelty and greed of humanity. It asks us how we use our power, what we’re willing to sacrifice, and how far we’ll go to win back what we’ve lost. Tesh doesn’t get too moralizing, but it is quite clear what she thinks herself.

Silver in the Woods is a beautiful tale that will whisk its reader away. With stunning nature descriptions and lovely interactions between characters, Silver in the Woods is a sadly short but very rewarding read. I’d recommend this to anyone with a love of woods and a passion for folklore.

A lovely, luminous treasure of a book set in a world that reminded me of Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell. I originally picked it up for the M/M romance, but that was barely there. Normally I'd mind, but this small story is just so enchanting I let it lead me along wherever it wanted to go. It's like reading a dream. I highly recommend losing yourself in it for an hour or two.

I received a digital ARC from the publisher via Netgalley.

As a collector of fairy tales, I’m always excited to come across something new I’ve never seen before. There’s a beauty in old collections of Andersen or Grimm, in their many iterations filled with illustrations and well-worn tales. It’s a genre I highly respect, and it’s no easy feat to add something profound and deeply moving to the oeuvre. Silver in the Wood is just that - a profound and deeply moving look at an ancient tale set within a mysterious wood on the edge of civilization. The story goes beyond the watchful eye of a folklorist, breaking through the walls of awed storytelling to show us the truth behind the mystery. We see how this mysterious man in the wood was created, how he came to be rooted to this place long past his time. It’s fascinating to get that backstory, to watch as a myth is broken apart. The magic doesn’t disappear as you discover he’s just a man in a magical place.

I was most impressed by the author’s reverence for the relationship between Tobias and his woods. This isn’t a book filled with magical battles and larger-than-life occurrences, though there are a couple of those moments. For most of the book, it’s an examination of the little things that have grown to be Tobias’ everyday life. We get an understanding of how alive a forest can be as it works together to create a cohesive being. The trees feel each other, the ferns and the vines work together to enclose the life within. It’s only when Tobias eventually leaves the forest that we realize just how special and unique it is. The outside world moves a mile a minute with its trains and dirty cities brimming with people. In the wood, it all falls away, moving on its own time without a care in the world for what happens beyond the tree line. Tobias and Henry are fascinating characters, but it’s the wood itself that proves to be the real center of this expert character piece.

In the end, Silver in the Wood is a wonderful jaunt into the fairy tale genre. The pages are brimming with life and originality, begging you to venture further down its well-worn paths to discover the mysteries that lie within this little, unassuming wood.

Review to be published on 7/2: http://reviewsandrobots.com/2019/07/02/silver-in-the-wood-book-review

I received an uncorrected e-Galley of this book on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I initially saw a description of Emily Tesh’s Silver in the Wood and thought that it sounded interesting, but not immediately intriguing. The publisher description can’t really get into too much detail without spoiling the main plot and surprises of this story, but as I heard more about it, my curiosity about this story grew. Very luckily, it was still available on NetGalley, and I am so happy that I read it.

The intriguing thing about Silver in the Wood is that it feels so familiar. While reading it, I kept returning to the thought that it felt like a queer retelling of a folktale that I should already know. In some ways it definitely is, since it draws on the mythology around the Green Man figure. In other ways, it’s more that it brings in elements that evoke the folklore I’m familiar with. A wild man named Tobias Finch who at once lives in and embodies Greenhollow Wood, protecting a mundane world that is increasing less aware of the dangers he holds back. A young man, Henry Silver, who takes ownership of the wood, befriends Tobias, and seals his fate by wandering into that wood on the wrong day of the year despite warnings to stay away. A green space that is both alive as an entity and filled with dryads, spirits, and more dangerous mythological creatures, many of whom are struggling with the advance of modernity and a world that no longer acknowledges their existence. A cycle of sacrifice that steals away unmarried young men into the greenwood year after year, never to be seen again. And of course, a potential relationship between Tobias and Henry that is imperiled by the intersection of the supernatural and the mundane worlds. Tesh recently published a fascinating article on Tor.com about the origins of the Green Man mythology (“When is a Myth Not a Myth: The Origins of the Green Man”), the upshot of which is that sometimes all it takes for a myth to take hold is for the story to sound right and resonate with our sense of how mythology should be. In Silver in the Wood, Tesh plays on those expectations with incredible effectiveness.

My one disappointment with this story was that it wasn’t longer. That isn’t to say that it needed to be longer or that it doesn’t tell its story well in the space that it has. At the end of the day, I think that the length and level of detail serves this story well. But this is my eternal frustration with shorter-form stories: I wish that I could have spent more time with these characters and learned more about their lives. Tesh gives readers just enough information to imagine Tobias’s life before and after Henry enters Greenhallow Woods, but I found myself wanting to know more about his adventures as a guardian of the wood, more about his life before the wood, and more about his life after this story concludes, just as revelations later in the story made me curious about Henry’s early life and the legacy of his family. There are hints and clues that sketch a vague understanding of what those elements of their stories entailed, but I liked the story so well that I wanted to see those parts in full. I’ll be excited to see whatever Tesh writes next.

I don’t have particularly strong feelings about this book. The writing was fine. The characters were okay. The world was probably the most interesting element of the story, but nothing amazing in my opinion. I really enjoyed how the story takes place in this atmospheric wood and the fairy tale elements kinda set an undertone for the story. I found these elements in particular to be it's strongest point. Following a scruffy man living in a cabin in the woods when one day he meets a charming young man and everything after begins to change.

The romance itself which the book is heavily marketed on was pretty disappointing and I don't even care for romance but anytime a book promises "queer", I'll be the first to raise my hand but the two love interests really don't interact much at all.

It's difficult to review a book when you feel so "in the middle" about it but I hope this brings enjoyment to other readers.

I liked certain elements of this novella, but others just didn’t work for me.

I think this was just too short for anything to be very developed or for me to feel any connection to or between the characters. It’s not that novellas can’t be good, just that maybe this particular idea needed a longer book. The main character (Tobias) didn’t have much personality, the two characters hardly interacted much on-page, a lot of things weren’t explained, I was just kinda told that some things happened, and then the book was over. I felt very distanced from all of it. It was almost like a fairy tale though, now that I think about it, and maybe that was the point.

I liked the myth/folklore/fantasy element though. Tobias had an interesting connection to the woods. I also enjoyed learning the story behind the woods and Tobias and some of the supernatural stuff as it was given to the reader bit by bit. There was a dryad in the book too, and I think she was my favorite character. She was so sweet and protective.

This story had a good idea, but ultimately the execution just wasn’t right for me. Others may enjoy it more though, especially those who enjoy fairy tales, soft and somewhat open-ended romance, and woodsy magic.

Well, put this one under "I waited so long to read my ARC that my pre-order came in first"; but in this case I don't mind having both copies. It was pretty good, but I think would have worked better as a novel? It reminded me of Spinning Silver or Deathless, but without the meaty substance.

The nitty-gritty: An atmospheric, dreamy tale based on the Green Man myth that lacked a cohesive plot, but had some wonderful moments nonetheless.

This was an odd little tale that I enjoyed, although it didn’t completely capture me the way I was hoping, which is the reason for my middle-of-the-road rating.

Tobias Finch has lived in Greenhollow Wood for hundreds of years, a large burly man who is sometimes sighted by the townspeople nearby, and thus rumors have sprung up that he might be the Wild Man of legend. Tobias lives alone in a rundown cabin, keeping an eye on the woods and caring for the dryads who live there. One evening during a rainstorm, a stranger wanders into the woods and Tobias decides to rescue him from the rain and bring him into his cabin. The stranger is a man named Henry Silver, a scholar of mythology and history, young and handsome and full of youthful enthusiasm. Tobias is drawn to Henry, but sends him on his way.

But Henry cannot stay away from Tobias, despite his warnings to avoid the woods during the summer, when the legendary Fabian Rafela, or Red Fay as he’s called, searches for young, attractive men to entice back to his lair. Henry is caught by Fabian, even though Tobias tries to save him, and this event brings back painful memories of Tobias’s own youth, when Fabian stole him too.

I loved the idea of the Wild Man, a myth brought to life by Tobias. Tobias is literally part of the woods. He’s been their caretaker for years and has a simple routine he’s established over time, but the appearance of Henry Silver changes everything. Henry is obsessed with mythology and the stories that have sprung up over the years about the Wild Man, and at first he doesn’t realize he’s interacting with a living legend. About halfway through the story, we meet Henry’s mother, Mrs. Silver, who is much more than she appears, and it turns out she knows all about Tobias. When Fabian enters the story, it becomes a tale of the fae, with Fabian acting as a fae who steals (in this case) young men. I did love the blending of these two myths, both centered around a magical wood.

There is a sweet but subtle blossoming romance between Henry and Tobias, but the story is just too short to really develop it well, although I did get a sense at the end of the story that this relationship will progress off the page. In fact, I much preferred the relationship between Tobias and Bramble, the young dryad who watches over Tobias and keeps him safe and hidden from people who might wander into the woods. Bramble is a spirit who lives in a tree, and she and the other dryads move about the forest on their own. Tobias is like a father figure to these dryads, and there were some sweet and sad moments between him and Bramble, especially at the end.

What I loved most about this story were the atmospheric references to the wood and how Tobias and the dryads are intertwined with the tress and land around them. Tesh uses root imagery to describe Tobias' connection to the earth and the forest, and even his physical descriptions take on a dreamy quality as the tendrils of his hair become metaphorical vines. There is one memorable scene where Tobias rams a wooden walking stick into the ground, which immediately grows roots and becomes a sapling. These magical touches added to the mythological, fairy tale quality of the story.

However, the story itself was a bit meandering for my taste. It’s full of interesting and touching vignettes, but there's not a whole lot of plot to grab onto. For that reason I didn’t enjoy it as much as I wanted to, although I did love Emily Tesh’s writing and her atmospheric descriptions. Despite the fact that I wasn’t blown away by this story, I’m interested in reading more from her in the future.

Big thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.

Imaginative, beautifully written and evocative, this is a love story of magic, fairies, imprisoned souls and sentient trees. Short and wonderfully sweet.

Silver in the Wood was a pretty enjoyable read, but I found it mostly forgettable -- and I feel so bad saying that as I was highly anticipating its release. It's a loose retelling of the Green Man myths, which I've always found so interesting.

This book is marketed as a romance and it is -- to a certain extent. But unfortunately the love interests don't interact for much of the book, and even when they do, its quick encounters. I guess because Silver in the Wood is a novella, they had to get on with things, but I feel like if this book was maybe 100 pages longer, I would definitely enjoyed it. I think the pacing was just too fast, which is very strange considering how slow the book feels. I wasn't especially happy with the climax and the ending, but again if the book had been longer, I probably would have been okay with what happened. Without spoiling anything, it just felt like the book went in a completely different direction from what it started out as.

Anyway, I'm still going to be reading books by Emily Tesh because her writing was very beautiful and despite not completely enjoying the book, there were many moments I was swept into the story (primarily at the beginning). This book just wasn't to my particular taste but if you're intrigued by the synopsis, please do pick it up! I've seen many of my blogging friends adore it and you might too!

The story takes place in Greenhollow, particularly the old woods that surround it. It follows the story of Tobias Finch and his unremarkable yet peaceful existence.

There were some interesting concepts such as the supernatural creatures (nature-based) found in Greenhollow which are known as dryads and the imagery itself was spectacular. Most of the time, I was transported to this strange world constructed by Emily Tesh where ‘everything felt green and time stood still’ but it was not enough to make an impact.

This is a short story and half of the book doesn’t contain any bits of interest. We see the daily and painful routine of Tobias Finch and his companion Henry Silver, a new proprietor of Greenhollow Hall and amateur folklorist. There’s an awkward hint of romance between the two but neither of the characters drew me in to stay entirely connected. Henry Silver is bubbly, eager to explore and brag while Tobias Finch remains neutral to his advances and to the world around him.

Despite the fact that it was short and not entirely compelling, the concept touching up on the Old Gods and the fable of the fearsome Lord of Summer were enough to make this a positive reading experience. The sorcery that is found in the book is crude and realistic and encompassed of human greed.

ARC provided by the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This novella based around the mythos of the Green Man is short but so well written, it’s hard to believe it’s a debut work.

The blurb sums up the core of the story, and I don’t want to give too many other details and spoil the experience for readers. The author does a wonderful job evoking the sense of enchantment and deep time that can be felt in a very old forest. In her world, the powers found there can be either benevolent or malign, and she explores the wonder and terror of both.

As in all the very best fairytales, there’s also the potential for a happily ever after if evil can first be vanquished. In this case, that takes the form of a gentle romance between the narrator of the story, Toby, and Henry, the new owner of his forest.

Silver in the Wood is a brief but enchanting work of fantasy, and I’m looking forward to more from the author.

A copy of this book was provided through NetGalley for review; all opinions expressed are my own.

Silver in the Wood earns the award for the most enchanting novella I've read this year. It's a cross between a love story and a tale of the Green Man. It's beautiful, unique, and will capture your heart and your attention all in one go.
Tobias is not what he appears to be. He's older than he looks, and very connected to the woods in which he dwells in. Henry Silver is bright, handsome, and not afraid of seeking what he wants out of life. Together, these two find themselves on a journey with both light and dark moments.
If you've been searching for a novella that's capable of rich character development, dark tales, and fascinating creatures, then look no further.

I've been looking forward to Silver in the Wood ever since I first heard about it. And having read it (twice), I can honestly tell you that it was absolutely worth the wait. This was a world full of lush details, a dark past, and delightful characters.
Silver in the Wood was a very moving novella. It's emotional, beautiful, and fascinating. The world that these characters reside in would have been enough to hold my attention, but then to throw in the emotional side of the story? It brought this tale to a whole new level.
There was so much to love about this novel. Tobias and Henry Silver were outstanding of course, but so were many of the secondary characters as well. Their developing bond got them through an extraordinary set of circumstances, and leaves one wondering what will happen to them in the long run. But that wondering is done in a content sort of way.
Tobias' tale was dark and compelling. What he was able to make of his life was beautiful in its own way. I love the way his backstory unfolded over the course of the current events he was dealing with. It added additional context to the situation, and gave us a chance to get to know Tobias before knowing his past (thus removing many opportunities for judgment).
And let's not forget that this is a love story as much as anything else. And it's a beautiful one at that. Tobias and Silver may not have been made for each other in the classic fairy tale sense, but the fact that they chose one another made it so much larger than that. Their tale proves that love can heal even the deepest of wounds.
I would honestly love it if this became a series. I understand if that doesn't happen. But I just loved this world so much – so naturally I want to see more of it. I'd love to see what happens next with these two. And what happens next with Pearl and Bramble too (easily my second favorite set of characters in this story).

What a beautiful story. I am not someone who loves Fay stories but there is something special about Silver in the Wood. There is a lot of great world building and character development for such a short story. I was completely charmed by these characters and the forklore. I do not think you will regret picking this one up!

Silver in the Wood is a lovely, atmospheric little novella about an ancient wood, fae, the Green Man, and queer love. Tobias is a big, gruff man who lives in a cabin in the woods, and he isn't quite human, though perhaps he once was. When a young man named Silver walks into his life and slowly charms him, everything begins to change and an ancient evil threatens to destroy their burgeoning relationship. It's a short book, but there is a sense of depth to the world, a rootedness in mythology, and a sweetness to the characters and relationships. I enjoyed it and look forward to seeing more from this author.
I received a review copy of this book via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

[this review will be up on my blog, acquadimore.wordpress.com, on June 15, 2019]

Silver in the Wood reads like a forest fairytale. It could be seen like a loose m/m retelling of the Green Man myths, so it's fitting that this is a story about rebirth and reawakening, not only of nature after spring but of people after toxic relationships.

It's a quiet, slow story, and if at first I thought that the pacing was odd - things happen too quickly, but the book is still slow? - I realized that in a way it was a reflection of how the main character, who is part of the wood, experienced time himself.

This is also one of the best plant magic stories I've ever read. Not only it's about a vaguely creepy wood, it actually talks about which trees there are in detail - elms, oaks, and even a mention of gorse (I love gorse) - and there are scenes in which roots and vines are weapons.

What didn't work for me as much was the romance, as this is barely longer than 100 pages and the characters interact for only half of them; I thought it was cute, but I didn't feel it.

At times it reminded me of Witchmark for the sweet romance between a human and a paranormal creature, at times it reminded me of Strange Grace for the isolated town in the wood and the terrible things that lurk in it, and I'd definitely recommend it to everyone who liked those books.

Silver in the Wood is a beautifully written story about an enchanted forest, folklore come to life, and budding new love. The language is as lush as the magical and mysterious Greenhallow Wood. There is a music to the writing, and I found myself lulled and serenaded by the story of Tobias Finch and the sweet, curious Henry Silver. Honestly, I could've read 900 pages of Tesh's writing. I eagerly look forward to reading future works by this talented new author.