I went in blind with Edgewood and so glad I did because it surprised me - it has dancing fairies, magic, & supernatural elements. Emeline Lark is an inspiring singer ready to go on tour, but cancels when her grandfather disappears. She goes home to Edgewood, a place filled with folklore. Determined to find her grandfather, she enters the forest but is deterred by the Wood King. This is a wonderful story of good vs. evil, about following your dreams, and the love for family. Thank you to Wednesday Books for a gifted copy.

Hi, friends and Happy Tuesday! What was the last book you finished? Today I finished my read of #Edgewood by @kristenciccarelli on my lunch break and I’m very pleased to say that I quite enjoyed and will give it 4/5⭐️ Shoutout to @wednesdaybooks for an ebook copy to review! We follow Emeline Lark, an aspiring musician who is on the brink of her big break. She also always finds the nearby forest calling to her, but she doesn’t respond until her Pa disappears with only a tithe marker from the Wood King to suggest what happens. While this wasn’t a groundbreaking fantasy, it was heartfelt and had a unique MC and story that drew me in. Probably my two favourite aspects were the characters and how music was a large part of the story. From Emeline herself to the cursed Wood King to friends Sable and our LI, Hawthorne I truly loved each and every one of them and how they helped built the story. We also learn lessons about love, sacrifice, greed, and loyalty while we’re in this amazing magical atmosphere. Speaking of, the setting and atmosphere are so good, balancing the line between whimsical and creepy. The forest is in decay from a curse, and this is reflected in the writing how the trees and creatures are described. As someone who is musical, I so enjoyed how much of a role music played in Emeline’s story. She is trying to launch a music career, so we had scenes of her playing gigs, meeting other bands, and learning what it takes to make it in the industry. But, there’s also the magical side. When Emeline sings, weird things happen ~ the forest finds her wherever she is and tries to cause trouble, and her songs seem to have an effect on other people and creatures. Finally, Emeline’s relationship with her Pa was an emotional highlight for me throughout the book ❤️ He is battling dementia that is steadily getting worse, and she is having a hard time dealing with it since they are so close. But when Pa disappears, she will do anything for him. If you love atmospheric fantasy, I’d highly suggest giving this one a try!

In terms of genre, a romance filled fantasy novel is pretty much at the top of my list. So while Edgewood already meets that criteria, let me go into more detail and explain how it compares the many other fantasy romances that exist.

The premise of Edgewood was pretty interesting too me, a girl who is drawn to a fantasy realm. Although it’s familiar, it’s not so familiar to me that it feels like a trope. Compared to other fantasy novels, it’s more romance heavy and though the magic of this world is still really interesting and plays a big part in the story, it’s not as fantasy heavy as the “real world” still exists in this story.

What I am about to say next may sound negative, but I mean it in the best of ways. This books reads like a wattpad story. I don’t mean to say that this sounds unprofessional, but rather it’s one of those easily digestible romances that is also such a page turner. It’s almost addicting and makes you want more. However, if you’re looking for a book that makes you question life or has you analyzing every other sentence, this probably isn’t the story for you. On the other hand, if you’re looking for an adventurous, fast-paced, romance, you should definitely pick this one up!

Kristen Ciccarelli has a lovely grasp of the English language. This was a wonderfully told fairytale like YA fantasy. The magic system was interesting and the characters are ones you want to root for. I think students who like retellings and light, contemporary fantasy will find cross over appeal here and really enjoy it.

If you've never read Ciccarelli's work before, this is the book to get you hooked. The storytelling was lush, lyrical, atmospheric, and so beautifully written that I couldn't put it down. This has all the haunted forest, dangerous fae, and hidden danger vibes you could possibly love!

3.5 rounded up, I think.


I think I would’ve enjoyed this a lot more if I wasn’t an idiot and skimmed the last 70 pages first. The big reveal was pretty instrumental to the love story, and I definitely think the author set it up well, but I can’t be sure, because I knew the ending.


That being said, it was incredibly tender, and I lived for the flashbacks in the last third of the book.

The switch between the city and the woods was a little jarring/disorienting at times, but it was central to the conflict. I was able to forgive it once I saw how the woods and E’s actual life could coexist/intermingle (towards the end of the book, but I can’t give any more detail without spoiling it), but I would have loved to get even more of that.

There were a few huge revelations that never really got addressed/resolved on page, too, which was an interesting choice. I guess it makes sense, but I think it would be more believable to the reader if we saw the resolution, even if it was a little messier.

It was a sweet read and I read it all in one sitting, so I definitely recommend it, even if I don’t know when I’ll return to it. I did tab a few really tender scenes though, which will haunt me as I lay alone, single, on my bed tonight.

Emeline Lark grew up in the small town of Edgewood, raised by her grandfather in a house right next to the forest. She grew up hearing everyone talk about the Wood King in a magical city in the heart of the forest, about the tithes people had to leave for him. But she’s far away from all that superstition now: She’s living her dream as a singer. Even so, the forest comes for her every time she’s on the stage: When Emeline sings, moss creeps along the stage and she can smell earth. The woods call to her, asking her to sing a true song. Now, she’s about to get signed with a record label, and she just has to manage to ignore the woods. Somehow.

Then her grandfather disappears from the memory care facility he had recently moved into, and Emeline rushes home to try to find him. She finds a small pearly orb on his bed, which everyone in her town knows is a sign he’s been taken as a tithe. But Emeline won’t accept it. Her search takes her into the woods, where no one else will venture.

Soon after Emeline enters the forest, she encounters the handsome but brooding (and honestly grumpy) Hawthorne Fell, the tithe collector for the king, who does all he can to keep her out of the woods. But she gets help from another inhabitant of the forest to get to the city, and there she makes a bargain with the Wood King: She will sing for him, and he will set her grandfather free. There’s a catch, though: Emeline will have to prove herself; if the king doesn’t like her music, she’ll be killed.

With Hawthorne’s help, Emeline works hard to get ready to perform. The stakes are even higher than Emeline knows: The woods have been under a curse that is only getting stronger and will soon ruin the kingdom. As Emeline learns more about herself, Hawthorne, and the power of her music, she may be able to change her fate and that of the forest.

Edgewood is a lovely fantasy featuring romance and magic and the strong love of family. I particularly appreciated how it concluded; the various threads of the story came together in poignant ways.

I’ve been a long time fan of Kristin Ciccarelli’s books and Edgewood is no exception. The atmosphere is rich and haunting, the romance is charming, and Emeline is a top notch “unlikeable” protagonist.

Edgewood is a compelling fantasy about music and memory, new dreams and old ones and what it means to love something that’s gone. When it comes to theme, Edgewood walks a very delicate line and I think accomplishes what it came here to say with grace. If you’re looking for a cozy woodsy atmosphere, folksy vibes, and fae mischief, you can’t go wrong here.

In terms of plot, it left a little to be desired. I wish it had committed to one goal and run with it—every time I thought were figuring out what Emeline was going to be doing for the rest of the book, some new mission or problem came up and I think the book suffered a little for not giving Eveline one clear goal to work toward. I think she spent too much time in different places with too many goals, and it made it a little difficult to be invested in what she was doing. To keep it vague (no spoilers that aren’t in the pitch), she begins the search for her grandfather, goes on a quest, undergoes a trial, and has to solve a large scale problem with magic, and I think the book would’ve benefitted if she’d spent the majority of her time on one or two of those things.

I loved Emeline and Hawthorne’s relationship as a whole—there are many compelling character moments and I’m a big fan of the intimate, down to earth way that Ciccarelli approaches writing romance, but there was a plot twist with them in the last third of the book and I wish it had been better foreshadowed or more groundwork had been laid for it. To keep it spoiler free, I think certain relationships in the book (romantic and otherwise) counted on an emotional payoff you got from the twist at the the end of the book and said payoff came a little too late to make up for the lack of information and development earlier on. That said, I also understand that giving the reader more of a suggestion might have conflicted with the theme and undermined things Edgewood had to say about the shapes that love takes, and I wish the book had struck a more careful balance between reader expectations and theme.

Altogether though, I really enjoyed the book and highly recommend it! I’d give it a solid 4 stars and I can’t wait to see what Kristen Ciccarelli writes next!

Attention Magical forest lovers! Emeline finds all of her grandfather’s stories are true when she comes back home to Edgewood to search for her missing grandfather. She must journey through the treacherous forest to find the fairy king and get her grandfather back. It was fast paced and enjoyable. I would absolutely recommend it. It's an urban fantasy with Fae, a magical forest, romance, music, and mystery.

My only complaint would be I don’t think we got enough backstory on any of the side characters that I found so interesting I wanted to everything about them.

Big thanks to Kristen Ciccarelli, Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the eARC in exchange for a review.

Magic, wishes and tithing, oh MY! I really enjoyed this one. Hawthorne was my FAV and the twist at the end was super sneaky! I did not see it coming.

I like the 'world inside a world' style of worldbuilding. The fae realm exists within the human world past the edge of the forest and the townies (Edgewood) all know about the tithing and risks. The rest of the world, beyond the sleepy town still giving tithes, is normal, every day real life.

5 stars, super fun read.

Thank you to the publisher for an advanced copy of this book!

Oh boy, I first want to say that no one does fairytale creatures like Ciccarelli. She really does bring the magic and the creepy to a whole level. I have read two of her books before this and she really does bring the story to life. I will always pick up this author's books purely because I know she will make me shiver.

The beginning of this book really dragged to me. I want to say it was the last half that really made me turn my head. It starts off reading just like your generic Young Adult book. The mysterious stranger our protagonist is drawn to, a magical power she doesn't understand, an impossible task.. the normal tropes. But then everything is put on its head and I ended up really enjoying the last half! I never really got attached to any character in particular, but the story itself is what I thoroughly enjoyed.

Thank you so much Wednesday Books Publishing for sending me an eARC!

This book was a solid read for me! I thought it would be more like The Cruel Prince, based on the synopsis, but it had a refreshing element of contemporary that made it more readable.

In it, we follow blooming musician, Emeline. Whenever she plays, strange plants burst from the ground, almost as if her past home, Edgewood, were trying to call her back. Despite missing her grandfather so much, she has her own goal: make it to the big stage as a professional singer. She is getting ready to go on tour with a famous music group, in hopes of getting a record deal.
But then a family friend from Edgewood tells her that her grandfather is missing from his care center (he has dementia, I believe). She comes back home immediately and doesn't believe it when everyone tells her he was tithed to the Wood King (the mythical being who lives in Edgewood). She has dismissed those folktales for years, but now they seem less foolish with no evidence proving he left on his own.
She enters the wood in search of him and encounters several beings from the so-called "tall tales," like the ember mare, shadow skins (kind of like the creatures from Mrs. Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children), and even the Wood King's own tithe collector, Hawthorne Fell. He tries to dissuade her from traveling to the Wood King's court, but she refuses to not try to save her grandfather. Fell's friend, a shiftling named Rooke, agrees to guide her to it. She makes a deal with the Wood King, her voice for her grandfather's freedom, or they both must pay the price. She has no idea of the spreading curse or other dangers that lurk in Edgewood. She also doesn't know why the brooding boy named Hawthorne feels so familiar.
With the help of Hawthorne, Emeline must hit the right notes to save both herself and her grandfather, as well as right past wrongs.

Edgewood has high stakes, a time crunch, enemies to lovers, mysteries, and magic. What more could you want out of a book? There were several twists I didn't see coming (let's just say it had my LEAST favorite trope, but it actually worked for this book), but there was one major one I DID see coming (mostly in regards to Emeline's parents' identities). It's a little creepy, but definitely a fun and wild ride! The ending broke my heart though.

My only problem was the start. It was sooooooooooooo slow. I almost set this book down because I couldn't seem to power through, but I'm glad I didn't because it was so worth it! This book is for fans of House of Hollow and Among the Beasts and Briars!

I very nearly DNFd this half way through, but wanting to know what was going on I persisted, and then wished I hadn't of bothered to be honest. This story is vaguely interesting, but suffers from a lot of problems, self centred characters, a lack of world building and an abusive relationship with a tree.

Hawthorne is one of the worst love interests I've ever had to deal with. At first, he just seems generic, but there was something interesting about him. Later events showed that actually, he's quite emotionally abusive, making decisions for Emeline without her consent, and making her go along with what's he feels is best for her. And then when she finally decides what she wants for herself, he goes off in a huff and... becomes a tree again.

This book doesn't tell you it's set in Canada at the beginning, it just has two characters start speaking to each other in French and leaves you to fend for yourself which may be confusing for some readers. It's really set around Emeline's town, which is almost impossible to picture due to the complete lack of description.

The world of fae, at least I presume them to be fae, is very generic. There's a town, some forest, some sort of fae creatures good and bad, I was left wanting so much more development of both the background characters (who are supposed to be Emeline's friends) and the world of the fae itself. For such a basic story, I didn't feel it needed to be as long as it was.

This was another great book from Kristen Ciccarelli. I loved the twists and turns throughout the story. Every time you think you have it figured out, you are wrong. I mean Hawthorne, come on, did not see that coming (not really a spoiler but you will understand this statement when it happens).

I found this one to be an okay book. It didn't blow me away, but the writing was really lyrical. Emeline at times did come off a bit naive, especially when it came to the Mad King. The enemies to lovers romance was done well and I thought the pacing of the relationship was good. What dragged my rating down was the book seems to drag at times and the world building.

This was a fantastic YA fantasy novel, that I would definitely recommend! And the cover is so pretty!

I received an e-ARC from the publisher.

Emmeline Lark is a musician/singer, who has left her home at the edge of the woods to make it big in the world. She still has memories of the woods, and when she sings, the scent of damp earth curls into her nose and moss creeps across the stage. The woods of her childhood are shrouded in folklore and tall tales, but Emeline has no patience for silly superstitions, that is, until her grandfather disappears. She hurries home to find an orb in his place, letting her know he has been taken for not paying his tithes to Wood King. These are no longer just silly superstitions and she turns to Hawthorne Fell, the Wood King's tithe collector for help. To save her grandfather and herself, she needs to become the King's Minstrel. The problem is that no Minstrel's have pleased the king since his human Song Mage disappeared as well as his music. Emmeline and Hawthorne set out to find the music so she will please the Wood King and get him to set her grandfather free. In her quest, she finds out what is really important to her as well as to right years old wrongs.

Edgewood by Kristen Ciccarelli is a magical urban fantasy that was full of vivid imagery, creative creatures (fiery eyes horses, swamp monsters, dragons and even trees), fascinating magic and a scary curse. The story starts slowly, but once you are about halfway, it picks up and kept me gripped. There are several twists as the story progresses, with one being shocking and the turning point of the story. I loved that the town lore about the Woods proved to be more than just superstition and that it is inescapable, as evidenced by Emeline's attempt to leave. The characters are all interesting, and I enjoyed their backstories, especially Hawthorn's, the tithe collector for the Wood King. The writing was descriptive and I could picture the imagery as it was presented. This is a story about self-reflection and finding out what is really important to each person. Emeline grows a lot during this story dealing with regrets, betrayal, lies, family and friendship. There is a romance story line between Emeline and Hawthorne, an enemies-to-lovers story, but it is not the major storyline. It is touching and shows the power of love in unexpected ways. An enjoyable story that I recommend to those who enjoy a beautiful fantasy.

This book was the perfect escape from reality I was looking for right now. The world was fresh and interesting, the stakes were high, and I could not wait to find out what happened next. I was a little jaded going into it, because I thought it was going to be the same kind of faerie world and story that I’ve read dozens of times. But that was not the case. One of the reasons was that the main focus (and love interest) was not the king of the wood, but his subjects, and the main character’s relationship with many of them, not just her main love interest. It was not a perfect book, some of the plot and pacing was uneven, and I felt frustrated at some of the character motivations and decisions. There are a lot of good twists and turns though, and I would definitely want to reread it now that certain information was revealed. I’m sad that the story is over and there won’t be more in the series, because I would definitely want to return to the world, but the ending resolves in a satisfying way so I am satisfied.

I was drawn to the beautiful cover of this book and the lovely synopsis. While I’ve mostly stopped reading YA lately, I decided to give this one a try, and I’m glad I did.

While a fantasy about fae and otherworldly creatures in the woods, it also has deeply relevant themes of family, memory, and loss.

Emeline Lark left the life in Edgewood behind to become a singer, but the woods keep calling to her, showing up persistently as she sings. When her grandfather goes missing, she returns, only to find that the town’s stories she refused to believe - of tithing and shiftlings and the Wood King - are true. When she enters that world, she has to face difficult choices and a mystery in her own past, all the while yearning to do the one thing she’s always loved most: singing from her heart.

Since I was already a fan of Ciccarelli, I knew I could expect a well written and wonderfully crafted story with characters that I would cherish. She delivered a magical tale that will leave you feeling like you want to find the nearest forest to run around barefoot in.

A rich and whimsical story that hooks you right from the beginning, Edgewood is a book I will recommend to anyone who wants to escape into a beautifully written standalone novel.