“Come closer and I’ll tell you a story…” — Edgewood by Kristen Ciccarelli

First I want to thank Netgalley and McMillan for this e-ARC.

Edgewood is available January 18, 2022.

I am a huge fan of Kristen Ciccarelli’s books. She is seriously a kick ass Canadian author and if you haven’t read The Iskari series from her yet, it’s a must!!

Now, on to my thoughts on Edgewood:

Put simply, I’m obsessed and I want more!! I was hooked from the very beginning and Ciccarelli never let me down. I’ll be thinking about this book for weeks! Make sure to pre-order this book ASAP! You don’t want to miss out.

Emeline Lark is an up and coming singer looking for her big break in the Montreal music scene but can’t seem to shake the woods coming for her as she sings. Something she can’t quite explain or figure out if it’s real or imagined.
When her grandfather goes missing from his care home without a trace, Emeline starts a journey to find him and bring him home. But what Emeline doesn’t count on is just how true the stories from her childhood about the woods of Edgewood are until she’s forced to face them to save her grandfather, herself and the cursed woods shes stuck in.

I was lucky enough to receive an ARC on NetGalley for this book.

Going into Edgewood, I was hesitant it would stick with me. I’m not a fan of urban fantasy, and most of the time I avoid it. However, the premise of the woods and Wood King enticed me to give it a shot, along with knowing who the author was and how much I’ve enjoyed reading her past books. I’m so thankful I took that chance.

This book is phenomenal, and worth a read even if you’re not a fan of the urban part. Most of the book takes place with fantasy elements plentiful enough that you really only feel the modern day elements at the beginning. For me personally, that took a bit to get into and it felt like a slight pacing issue. Luckily, Emeline jumps quickly back home and the rollercoaster starts.

As a stand-alone entry, I applaud the author for managing to answer as many questions she throws at you by the end of the book, making it a satisfying- if somewhat bittersweet- ending. There’s full closure, you aren’t left wanting for anything. And let me tell you, the twists are insane. Some I saw coming, but several I did not and it was a joy to be surprised or shocked.

The romance is beautiful, strong but still allowing Emeline to be her own person with power, who makes both good and bad decisions. Hawthorne is well developed and three dimensional, along with other minor characters like Rooke.

I definitely recommend this book to anyone a fan of this author or want a great standalone story full of magic, mystery, and a lot of heart. It’ll leave you breathless and captivated.

When I saw that I was able to get an ARC for Edgewood I was so happy because I simply adore the way Kristen Ciccarelli writes.
This story contains everything I love in a book, from the folklore with its dark fairytale setting to the character development. This one felt even more special with the story happening partly in Montreal – where I live - (and with having a character sharing my name!).
This book tells the tale of finding out that all you have ever dreamed of is not always what you need, and it does so beautifully. It also reminds you the value of choosing for yourself and how sometimes decisions made with our hearts can lead to bigger sacrifices.
I read the whole thing in 8 hours and will probably read it again to absorb all it told. Needless to say that, come January, I definitely want Edgewood on my shelves.

A young singer must travel to the depths of a mystical forest to free her grandfather from the clutches of a magical, forest king.

I think this book will probably work better for a younger audience, it's definitely more so on that side of the YA spectrum. It was a quick read though and a fun magical romance and adventure.

This a good story about folklore, the Fae, and a magical realm deep within the forest. I liked the slow-burn, enemies-to lovers aspect and I understood what Ciccarelli was trying to do with her story I enjoyed story of a girl going into the wood to save her family.

Cover is stunning and the plot was fun and engaging.

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

First of all, thank you to the kind people over at St. Martin's and Wednesday who sent this gem my way and let me travel to Edgewood early.

It was a magical, heartfilled journey exploring family, loss, memories and magic that I can wholeheartedly recommend.

As someone who also grew up near slightly otherworldly woods and who had a very close relationship with her incredible grandfather, Edgewood resonated with me on a completely different level. The world and most of the characters that fill it felt very real and warm and you can tell that the author poured a lot of feeling into all of it, which I love.

The only reason I'm retracting a star is that I feel parts of the story (but mostly of Emeline) should have been given some more room to breathe and expand. As it is, I found some of the conflicts resolved too fast and some of our protagonist's reactions too distanced to connect with and understand (especially regarding the love interest but also her grandfather. I'm not sure of that may have been a conscious decision to untangle fiction from a reality a bit.)

Either way, Edgewood is a beautiful story that stands out and I recommend it.

Disclaimer: I received an E-arc from the Publisher, in exchange for my unbiased review.

Rating: 5 stars

This is definitely not what I expected. I only read a small part of the synopsis before requesting.

“No matter how far she runs, the forest of Edgewood always comes for Emeline Lark. The scent of damp earth curls into her nose when she sings and moss creeps across the stage.”

That was all I knew about the story before I started reading. I assumed there would be some form of magic.
I wasn’t expecting the best fae book that I’ve read in the last 5 years. But that’s exactly what I got. This is a beautiful book about forgetting… and remembering.

This was vastly different than the other books I've read by Kristen Ciccarelli, but this was also an intriguing read that draws you into the world she's created with her characters. This story was about Emeline, who is trying to escape her life and the woods by her house to live her own life out in the world, to sing her songs, and make a name for herself with her music.
One night she receives a call from a neighbor/family friend, who tells her that her grandfather is missing and an orb left in his place, which they tell her means he's been tithed to the Wood King. She has a hard time believing this is true since she doesn't believe in the silly stories and such that have been told to her since she was a child. She has to return home to find her grandfather and bring him back though and as she sets off to return home and search for her grandfather, she finds more than she bargained for in the woods when she meets the Wood King. She finds herself meeting and drawn to a boy there as she navigates her way through the woods and bargaining with the Wood King to find and get her grandfather back.
Ultimately, this becomes a journey of self-discovery for Emeline and the side characters have important parts to play and their own stories as well. The romance is definitely swoon-worthy and it's an amazing story with magic seeping out of it and drawing you into these magical woods.
The only thing I wasn't big on and think should have been different is that there were quite a few scenes in the book from the middle on that got rather a bit too hot and steamy for my taste and I wouldn't recommend it for a young YA audience, maybe older YA or NA/Adult instead.
Thank you to Wednesday Books/St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for letting me read and review this interesting read. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was a really rough start for me, but it absolutely got better. I enjoy the world building that Ciccarelli does and Edgewood was no exception. I was not expecting the twist at the end between Emeline and Hawthorne, and I liked the meshing of the fae realm with the human world.

Edgewood is an eerie and compelling tale of a girl who calls to the forest when she sings. Moss creeps across the stage, insects swarm, and the smell of the woods invades. As a professional singer, this is more than a slight inconvenience to Emeline Lark. But when her beloved grandfather with dementia goes missing, Emeline is called home to Edgewood and the mysterious forest. As she searches for him, Emeline soon realizes that the superstitions and fae stories she’s been told all her life are real.

Edgewood has a classic, timeless feel to it. It has such a beautiful cover too! Emeline is a very relatable heroine and it was so fun to watch her adventure through the dangerous and bewitching woods of Edgewood. Emeline’s relationship with her grandpa was beautifully done. As she grapples with the challenges of him not recognizing her, Emeline always does her best to take care of him in the way that he did for her growing up. This was truly one of my favorite parts of the book, as dementia is such a heartbreaking disease and I appreciated the thoughtful portrayal here.

The prose is lyrical and Ciccarelli’s love of music shines through. There were some great twists and I loved the cast of characters. The fae and shiftlings of Edgewood are very mysterious; I felt so curious about their secrets. This is such a successful standalone, though I hope we have not seen the last of Emeline and Edgewood! I would love to see more of these characters and this world, maybe through a novella? I would highly recommend Edgewood for those looking for a romantic and lyrical standalone that deals with memory and fae. Edgewood releases January 18, 2022. Thank you very much to Kristen Ciccarelli, Wednesday Books, and Netgalley for a free ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

For the publisher: My review will be posted on the publication date and I will publish it on Instagram, Goodreads, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble etc

I received this book via Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. Thank you to the author and publisher for giving me the opportunity to read this.

I absolutely adored Edgewood. The characters of Emeline and Hawthorne were so beautifully written. I’ve been searching for a fantasy book like this for a long time and found it in these words. I loved the melancholic atmosphere of the book and I thought the storyline was clever in how it introduced each character ( & reintroduced ) them as well.
I loved reading a story set in the modern world where the characters in “ our world” believe in magic and accept it. This book reminded me of some of Holly Black’s early work in that way and gave me the same warm feelings I had when reading Katherine Arden’s Winternight Trilogy.
I am looking forward to more of Edgewood someday. Make it a series please !

DNF @ 23%

The premise feels Stiefvater-esque, which I wanted to love: the woods, music, faerie stories and superstitions, horses, etc. I'm also drawn to a New Adult-aged protagonist (Emeline is 19) who knows what they want and is actively pursuing it, but I did feel like there was too much emphasis on what makes her different from everyone else (or special) which didn't give me a great idea of her character or why I should root for her to succeed — particularly given her vehement dismissal of other people's beliefs and her endless snark. Also, this seems like the kind of story that needs a strong sense of atmosphere, which I wasn't getting: more telling than showing.

Fans of Holly Black’s The Cruel Prince and Sarah J. Maas’s A Court of Thorns and Roses will be drawn in by the lore Ciccarelli pens into her narrative, like musical notes to an enchanting song.

Who doesn’t enjoy a good story about folklore, the Fae, and a magical realm deep within the forest. Stories like these always bring up fond memories of childhood. How one day I will step into a ring of mushrooms and be swept away to a magical kingdom. Or step into a wardrobe and find a door to a place I thought only possible in dreams.

I liked Edgewood though, the way in which the story played out felt off. As though we have the beautiful fabric for a intricate quilt woven in colors of lavender and gold, but the stitching, those threads that hold it all together aren’t tightly woven or precise.

Further, there are aspects of the novel that are a bit predictable. Though too, are the surprises. There is this fine line of what the reader needs to know and what the characters need to find out. And authors have this fine line they draw for themselves on what we as readers need to know or if the author wants you to be as surprised as the characters. Honestly, had Ciccarellli perhaps started her story when Emeline was sixteen, some aspects towards the end would have been less awkward. Where I was thinking, wait… what?

Don’t get me wrong, I did like this story, my frustration was mainly in the structure of the story itself. The skeleton of it, if you will. The bone structure. It’s the flesh and blood of the story that is something I enjoyed, Ciccarelli’s enchanting story of a girl going into the wood to save her family. Willing to exchange her happiness for his. The slow-burn, enemies-ish to lovers aspect. I understood what Ciccarelli was trying to do with her story it was the how that made me pause. How she structured her novel that didn’t feel like her other novels.

A lush imagining of a fairytale, step into Edgewood’s dark wood and see if you’ll be able to escape.

Happy Reading ̴ Cece

I liked this a lot more than I thought I would. I'm not a huge fan of urban fantasy, so I appreciate that only a few scenes take place in the human world. It allowed me to really enjoy Edgewood and the fae kingdom.

I think any fan of YA paranormal fantasy will have fun with this. It's a wholesome story filled with mysterious woods, secretive fae, a horrible curse, a wicked witch, and even a dragon! It's very much an ode to the magic found in both nature and music.

The characters are relatable, the plot has good pacing, the writing is nice, and the romance is sweet - it has all of the makings of a great fantasy standalone.

Emeline Lark is a young musician on the rise. She left the odd town of Edgewood behind- a town known for tithing visits from the Wood King. Emeline is used to hearing weird Fae stories from the townsfolk but she’s too old to believe them now. When her grandpa Pa disappears from his nursing home, she returns to Edgewood to find him. She finds evidence that he has been tithed to the Wood King- but this means that all of the stories are true. She enters the woods and meets mysterious Hawthorne, who wants her to return home, and equally mysterious Rooke, who takes her to the Wood King. In order to get her grandpa back, she needs to complete certain tasks and use the power of her singing voice to save the forests and the people she loves. She must choose between living the life of a famous musician in our world or using the power of the Song Mage to save Edgewood and the Fae world.
It was a great book! The beginning was a little it slow but the ending makes up for it.

This was surprisingly romantic. I had no idea when I began the story that even with the magic and Fae machinations and terrible dangers, at the heart of this story was a very sweet and at times bittersweet romance. This book is listed as YA but I would say it is more NA since the character is 19 and the story deals with the main character being an independent adult, getting a career on her own as well as her sex life. I would only relate this story to YA due to the fast pacing associated with the YA world which is always a win in my book- let's say this is YA the same way Sarah J Maas is YA (but a little less sexy time).

There was a lot of emotion in this story, be it good or painful. While I mentioned the romance, there was also a strong sense of loss and sadness when it came to the main character and the grandfather who raised her and has now forgotten who she is. It completely broke my heart for Emeline every time she tried to interact with her beloved Pa and he questioned who she was. This was very painful and realistic- which makes sense after reading the author's note at the end that this book was basically a love letter to the grandfather who raised her and forgot her. Yep, the story was emotional already and the note really got me in the feels.

The ending wrapped up well (well enough, you have hope which is nice but I would have been ok with a little more ending) so I am pretty sure this is a standalone story which I fully appreciate. While I loved this magical world, I am happy to have a complete story and not have to wait around for more to come in a sequel- I have no patience for that. Now that being said, I would love to come back to this world with one of the many great side characters finding their loves (cough cough, Sable or Rook). I have enjoyed many books by this author and I look forward to whatever she wants to create next. Edgewood is the perfect choice for anyone who likes Fae stories like The Cruel Prince and enjoys a little heartbreak with their epic romances.

I really enjoyed the Iskari series and was happy to find out the author has a new book coming out. Edgewood is pretty different from the previous books and I thought it was a well written story. The setting is more magical realism than high fantasy and I really liked the meshing of the fae realm with the human world. To have a town that sits right by the border, where children grow up knowing about tithes and fantastical creatures is pretty cool.

The beginning was intriguing, but a little slow. Once we saw Emeline go into the woods, things picked up and moved right along. I would have liked to know more about the fae, especially Sable and Rook. The world building lacked somewhat and could have been developed more. This is definitely character driven, focusing solely on Emeline and her trying to find where she belongs.

The romance was sweet and not overdone and the bit of mystery was fun. Hawthorne is a great male lead, he truly wants what's best for Emeline and will sacrifice himself for her without thought. His ember mare (a fire horse) is one of my favorite parts of the book.

I found this to be a fairly quick and easy read. Emeline's grandpa was adorable and I just wanted to bundle him up and take him somewhere safe. I did get emotionally invested and teary a time or two and can't wait for this to be out for everyone to read!

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. Thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the copy.

#edgewood #kristenciccarelli #netgalley

Thanks to netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book. This book was begging to be a good book, it had all the ingredients of a fantastic read! I just couldn't get into it, but I may give it another chance again soon.

Emeline has left everything behind, including her grandfather, to pursue her dream of singing professionally. But the magic woods near her home won't let her leave, causing her to see moss and parts of the forest take over the bars she sings in. When her grandfather goes missing from his nursing home, she rushes home to find him, but the forest has taken him. Can she bring him back? Can she save herself as well?

This book was so good! I couldn't put it down. There were some predictable elements, such as the romantic story line, but there were plenty of twists to keep this story fresh and surprising. I was invested from the beginning, and I wasn't disappointed.

All I can say, is that if you're a fan of the folklore and evermore albums by Taylor Swift, you are going to LOVE Edgewood!!!!!! It has so many of the same haunting, romantic, foresty vibes. I really enjoyed the character of Emeline Lark and this story's eerie brand of world-building. It not only made it the book feel like a fairytale, but a fairytale that could really exist. I think fans of The Hazel Wood would also love this book!