Prepare to immerse yourself in this beautiful heist/revenge story with dark fairytale vibes, set in a lush world of Welsh mythology, and driven by a ragtag team of misfits fighting to overcome trauma and build new lives--and take down a king in the process. This book is set in the same world as The Bone Houses but acts as a standalone (though the connection to The Bone Houses, when it's revealed, is absolutely perfect). And as someone who loved The Bone Houses, I really enjoyed this one as well! It's more than just a pretty cover; it is an artfully woven tale, a lovely blend of action and emotion with a splash of humor, perfect for a rainy afternoon, and honestly, y'all should read it purely for the Welsh monsters and the Very Good Dog. (Side note: is Trefor the corgi even better than the zombie goat from The Bone Houses? Hard to say, because I truly love them both. But honestly, that is a glowing endorsement.)

A few things you can look forward to in this one:
- Multiple characters with multiple varieties of trauma, all learning to deal with them
- A softhearted boy who happens to be good at killing
- A powerful girl who's always been ruthless for the sake of survival
- A princess of thieves
- Waterbender vibes
- that awkward moment when you're committing illegal activity with your new possible-crush but also have to team up with your ex-girlfriend for her unique skill set
- Cool Welsh monsters, including the king of the boars and creepy water horses
- Spies! Betrayals! Action!
- A smart and wonderful corgi who might be a spy for the fae (and who, just to be clear, does not die, if that's something you tend to worry about)
- An ongoing emphasis on the importance of consequences and accepting responsibility for your choices

Rep: bisexual MC, lesbian SC

Prior to researching this book, I had never heard of Cantre’r Gwaelod, a sunken kingdom off the coast of Wales that is reminiscent of the tale of Atlantis. Plus, I recommend the author’s previous novel The Bone Houses, which also incorporates Welsh lore.

Unfortunately, The Drowned Woods didn’t entrance me. I liked each of the characters, but I never felt a particular emotional attachment to them. Mer, with her independent attitude and childhood as an indentured water diviner, felt like a generic strong female protagonist. There’s nothing wrong with that—she was, after all, easy to root for—but it dampened the potential of the heist and the novel’s mythological base. Fane, the aforementioned fae-cursed young man, also served as the classic quiet and mysterious yet tough male lead, so he was just as likeable. I found their romance a bit too sweet, though; it felt convenient, which tends to be characteristic of younger YA.

I feel similarly about the plot. It’s rather slow-moving, which I didn’t expect from a heist novel with an ensemble cast. I would have liked to see the pace pick up sooner and stay more even until the end. With a longer page count, the barrage of plot twists at the end would feel more intentional and developed.

4.5/5 stars

Thank you to Netgally, the publishers, and Emily Lloyd-Jones for allowing me to read this book and give it a review.

I am sorry for how late this review is, I am behind on my reviews since I have started back at college and I am making my way through the best I can.

I loved this book. It did take me a little bit to get into it, however the last 100 pages were so intriguing and heart-wrenching that it was impossible to put the book down. I read the other book set in this world, The Bone Houses, and I would wholly recommend reading that book first. They are not a series, but reading the Bone Houses first will definitely give you a good idea of the world and its inhabitants.

This book is set at a good pacing and you get to know the characters insanely well for the book to only be 352 pages. You will fall in love with the characters, feel betrayed, and have your heart broken in this story. It is so well written.

Emily Lloyd-Jones has yet to write a bad book in my opinion. I have read three of her books now and I have loved them all. She always writes fantastic stories with characters you can't help but love and feel for.

**********************SPOILERS***********************
The ending to this book was just amazing. Especially since having read The Bone Houses first. I was hoping the two stories would intertwine somehow, and I could not have imagined a better way than how they did. I hope there are more books set in this world to continue the story and keep the world alive.

Also I just have to say that I love Trefor in this book. Definitely my favorite character.

Mererid is only 18, but she has already spent years running from the prince who bound her into his service, as well as the prince’s spymaster who took her from her family in the first place. Her power as a water diviner made her valuable. When she located the wells of the prince’s enemies, she wasn’t to know he was going to use that information to poison them and kill hundreds of innocent people.

Now, the spymaster has found her and has a proposition: they will use her powers and his years of training to ruin the prince who was so cruel to both of them. Mer isn’t eager to join Renfrew, but his proposal is sound. A magical well protects the country, but if they can find it, they can remove the protection. A cruel prince will be removed from power, and they will have riches that can free Mer to live her life as she wants.

Mer and Renfrew need others on their team to enact their plan, and that ends up including a young man cursed by the fae to work for them. He has special powers granted him to do what they need him to do — and a devoted corgi who doesn’t belong to him but follows him around devotedly.

The Drowned Woods is a kind of heist story, where one person assembles a team of misfits with special skills to help him pull off a seemingly impossible task, set in ancient Wales. It has a few of the fun elements that come with a heist. (The dog provides some cute moments in particular.) But it’s mostly dangerous, dark and magical, and there are mysteries and secrets that are revealed a bit at a time throughout the book. There’s even a little romance.

I dove right into the world of this atmospheric young adult fantasy book and enjoyed the whole thing.

Although this read a little younger than I had expected, this book was a well-written reimagining of the cantre'r gwaelod myth, with characters that are the absolute strongest part of the story. I wish Ifanna had been mentioned earlier than she was, and that Emrick had more going for him so his death actually impacted the characters and reader, but neither made me enjoy this book any less!

The Drowned Woods is an absolute pleasure for readers who like a well constructed fantasy! This book focuses on Mer, one of the last water diviners. When her powers are discovered, she is ripped away from her family and taken in as a royal pawn. Mer fights back at every turn! The book eventually turns into an all out heist in the vein of Six of Crows.

The Drowned Woods is set in Wales with a fantastic female Main Character.

Magic, heist, romance, princes, found family (in a sometimes backstabbing way), mischief… all my boxes are checked with this book!

This was a fun, motley cast of characters. Mer was a badass magical woman and I loved her arc throughout the book. Her story was heartbreaking yet hopeful and her strength was so admirable. The crew she found herself with was definitely not trustworthy but was very fun to read about. Each character had hidden motives and histories that were slowly revealed as the book progressed. There were lots of twists when it came to relationships between characters and it was just wonderful!

This is one of those books where I can’t exactly explain why I loved it so much- I just did. I think it has to do with the magic. This world just feels steeped in a sense of otherness. Even though Mer is one of the last water diviners it still feels like such a magical atmosphere. Whether it’s because of the presence of a prince and his kingdom, the referencing of elves, or the heist for magical artifacts this setting stays so magical throughout the book.

I don’t want to give anything about this book away as a standalone or how it relates to The Bone Houses so I feel like I should stop here. Overall this is a magical book with lgbtq+ representation, betrayals and backstabbing, loss and hope. I would definitely recommend giving this a read if you’re a fan of fantasy and/or heist books. I will personally be keeping an eye out for a copy to purchase!

The most important thing about this book, is that it contains a magical corgi.

Mer is the last living Water Diviner. Due to her abilities she was torn from her home as a child and bound to serve the prince. Mer escaped the prince and has been on the run ever since. She longs to rest and for peace & the only way to do that is to complete one last mission with a group of strangers brought together for the same cause.

I had to pick up a copy of The Drowned Woods after reading the synopsis. I also loved The Hearts We Sold by the author so I thought I'd pick this one up. Honestly, it was good... but I was expecting more from the story, it just felt a little flat for me.

The story is told from multiple points of view, and while I normally love this, for some reason it just didn't work well in this book. I also wasn't a huge fan of any of the characters. Normally Mer is the type of character I would like, but she felt very bland and boring most of the time. Yes she is powerful and strong but she didn't have much of a personality. The only character I truly loved was the dog.. and lets be honest here he didn't do much!

The pace of the story was okay. It gets quite slow in the middle of the book but picks up really well in the last 20%. I quite enjoyed the ending which is basically why my rating wasn't two stars.

Overall, I'm still going to continue reading books from this author & hope this one was just a miss for me.

I’m putting this at 4⭐️ but it might be more of a 3.5 or 3.75⭐️

*** Spoiler-ish Review ***

I think the world was really neat and I loved Trefor, but I just found the characters flat. I didn’t really feel much of a connection to any of them other than our corgi friend. I don’t know if the deaths were supposed to draw an emotion out of me but I just didn’t feel anything with the characters. It sorta felt like we were at an arms-distance from each of the characters.

I really like the tie into Welsh lore and the magic that the story builds. The world building may be what keeps it more towards the 4⭐️ than the 3⭐️

I would die for Trefor 🐶

The Drowned Woods is a bit of a mixed bag. In terms of the fantasy elements, there is a severe lack of world building to truly ground the story. However, the writing and character work is truly impressive given that this is a standalone.

Thanks to NetGalley for the eARC.

This book was okay. The author did a good job of world building in a short number of pages and the story moved along at a good pace. But I found myself wanting more from the story and the characters. The relationships between the characters all felt like we were being told about the connections/emotions, rather than experiencing them ourselves. Overall, it kept my interest and there were aspects I enjoyed, but there was something missing for me.

Reading The Drowned Woods feels a little bit like snuggling under a blanket and listening to someone tell an old tale. You know there will be peril and betrayal and darkness, but also hope and love and kindness. It's a cozy feeling, even as the story takes its twists and turns.

This book is gorgeously written, and its three main characters are intriguing and complex, flawed but still ultimately strong. (Though let's be real, Trefor the corgi is the real star, and he is PERFECT.) I loved getting all three of their perspectives, and even in third person, their narration styles felt unique and provided new perspectives on everyone else. And on top of the characters, the world of this story is atmospheric and vivid, the descriptions gorgeous. Whether the characters were walking through city streets or avoiding fae horses, I felt equally engrossed and able to picture what was happening.

I loved the potential of the heist element of this story, but felt that it was inconsistently realized. Much of the preparation seemed to take place with background characters, meaning the main characters - and the reader - were largely just waiting for things to get started. On the subject of those background characters - aka, the adults - only Renfrew felt truly fleshed out. The others felt more like roles than actual characters, and I found myself simultaneously wanting them to be more interesting and removed completely, as they didn't add much in their current state.

Overall, though, this book is a lovely and lush autumnal read that draws you in and holds your attention until the very end!

4/5

Emily Lloyd-Jones has done it again! I loved The Bone Houses, and this book is set in the same world. We follow Mer, who refuses to continue using her power for others unless she wills it, as she runs into characters from her past (and some new ones) as they set off on a quest to break an evil princes’ power over the land. It’s part fairytale (Welsh folklore inspired) and part heist which make this book hard to put down!

Thank you Netgalley and Little, Brown books for Young Readers for allowing me to read and review this book!

The Drowned Wood was a fun and pace paced YA fantasy! It follows a water diviner, a spy master, thief, a fae-curse boy, a researcher, an explosions expert, and a corgi as they plan a heist to steal the magical artifacts that protect the prince.

This was a great YA fantasy. It was fast paced, plot focused, and engaging. Also I loved the little nod at the end to The Bone Houses! Overall, I would recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an eARC!

I absolutely loved this book. For the first time in ages, I didn’t feel the rush to fly through a book I was reviewing. Instead, I wanted to savor the world in which this story took place, I wanted to know more about the characters, and more than anything - I wanted to know if the corgi was a spy.

“Once upon a time, the kingdoms of Wales were rife with magic and conflict, and eighteen-year-old Mererid “Mer” is well-acquainted with both.”

The Drowned Forest is a story of adventure, of loyalties lost and gained. More than anything, it is a story about the choices we make, especially when our lives have been filled with turmoil beyond our control.

4.4/5

Thank you so very much to Netgalley and Hachette Book Group for the opportunity to read this tile in exchange for my honest review,

My Rating: 4/5 Stars

My Review:

I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via TBR and Beyond Tours in exchange for an honest review and a place on this blog tour!

This was my first Emily Lloyd-Jones book and I have to say it definitely will not be the last. Her writing style was so easy to get into, the characters and world were so intriguing that I honestly couldn’t put it down for the last forty percent or so. I am very excited to pick up The Bone Houses which I now know is set in the same universe as The Drowned Woods.

Even though this multi POV book did not have chapter headings, it was very easy to distinguish between each of the characters. Fane and Mer both had really unique voices and outlooks and it was very easy to tell which one of them was telling the story. I didn’t really get why Ifanna needed a POV, but I did really enjoy her character. I wish in the end we would have gotten more of her, but alas.

I enjoyed the way this book read as a dark fairy tale, and I could see the way it would be passed down through the generations to end up as the backbone of The Bone Houses. It just had such a folklore-esque quality. All of the different legends mixed up into one, it was just so fun to read. I am not an expert on Welsh folklore, but it was definitely cool to learn more about them through this book.

One thing I do hope the FC of this book has is a pronunciation guide. A lot of the Welsh words are consonant heavy and I more than likely butchered them in my narration. Especially the name of the boar king, it was very overwhelming and my kindle did not have any help for me.

All in all, this was such a wonderful read. I loved the full circle of the ending, and all of the subtle clues placed in the beginning that were revealed in the end … literally chef’s kiss. It was perfection.

The Drowned Woods released August 16th, 2022

As a water diviner, Mer’s powers have been used to poison the enemy. After running away from the prince who has used her powers for ill, she has one chance to bring him down.

The Drowned Woods is a generally fast-paced standalone that I devoured in a day. I usually prefer duologies or trilogies, because standalones often try to include too much into the plot, but this doesn’t happen here. The story stays focused on the heist although it does meander at times. (I think it's a standalone at least...)

The past and present are interwoven together as characters recall critical moments in their lives. It enabled me to learn about the characters without feeling like it was veering too much from the present and the task at hand. While I liked these glimpses, I didn’t connect with the characters very much. Mer felt somewhat closed off to me. She had an interesting background, and I wanted to know more about her time under the spymaster’s mentorship. She often surprised me with her skills, which made me want to know more about how she acquired them. I understand her motivations for partaking in the heist, but I didn’t feel them. My favorite moments were probably those when Mer allowed her vulnerability to peek through.

Overall, I enjoyed the book. I'm not sure if I would reread it, but this was a good introduction to Emily Lloyd-Jones. I would pick up something from her again. (3.5 stars rounded to 4 stars)

This is it, this is going to be the book that lives rent free in my head for months. I absolutely adored everything about this book. The characters were wholesome and I loved the misfit band of crew that they all were. The plot was phenomenal and had me abandoning everything else in my life to continue reading. The ending was actually *chefs kiss* perfection, and that epilogue was everything I needed it to be. IYKYK.

We're following Mer, who is the last living water diviner. She can control water however she pleases, she used to work for the prince until she escaped. She is constantly on the run, and her old spy master catches up to her one day and offers her a deal. If she will help him on a mission, it will stop the prince from having power. She takes the deal and they gather up a couple more people to help them on their journey. Fane, who is cursed by the fae but can kill anyone he wants... and he also has a Corgi named Trefor who is along for the ride. The lady of thieves accompanies them as well.

I cannot tell you how much I loved this book. It was action packed and had the best crew of misfits and reading about who they were touched my heart. They had all been through some rough stuff in life and all wanted to take down the prince who just wanted war and death. About 70% into the book, right at the most action packed part there is plot twist on plot twist that has you gasping. I couldn't believe what I was reading and am still shook just thinking about it.

I can't describe how perfect the ending was, not that everything was perfect in the end but the way the author wrote what happened was everything I wanted. I loved The Bone Houses which was the authors other book and the epilogue ties the two books together and I internally screamed when I figured out how the two books connected.

I have not a single negative thing about this book, it was honestly just amazing. The characters all hold a special place in my heart and I can't wait to read more from this author. She knows how to write top notch world building and fully developed characters who have faults that you can't help but root for.

Thank you to NetGalley and Little, Brown Books for the eARC in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed The Bone Houses from this author, so when I heard that The Drowned Woods was set in that same world, I was very intrigued.

Mer is a water diviner, and after being on the run and on her own for several years, she agrees to join her mentor for one last job in order to finally be free of the kingdom that has taken so much from her.

Steeped in Welsh mythology and folklore, I enjoyed this story with its sprinkling of heist plot, found family, magic, and subtle romance. I will admit I wanted just a little bit more of everything - more character development, more world building, more suspense and action - but similar to The Bone Houses, I liked the calmer tone and pace of the story. I especially liked some of the plot twists near the end that kept me turning the pages to find out what would happen next.

So while I did enjoy the story, the epilogue is what it made it really special. It was basically a warm hug from Emily herself, right there at the end.

I definitely recommend The Bone Houses, and then I definitely recommend this as a really good follow-up stand-alone story!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: Folklore Fantasy
Age Level: Young Adult
Content: None

The Drowned Woods by Emily Lloyd-Jones was a fantastic read that I didn't want to put down. I previously read The Bone Houses and was excited to hear that this book was part of that world though I wouldn't compare the two books since they're standalones. The Drowned Woods had good characters with interesting backgrounds who come together for a magical heist. I wish some of the characters were a but more developed because they seemed rush. The plot was really good and was surprising, which I liked because most stories have predictable plots. There was just a hint dash of romance so it didn't take away from the overall plot of the story. My favorite character by far was Trefor (the Corgi).