I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a DNF for me, which is kind of surprising because 1) I rated Rutherford's last book, "Luminous," pretty highly and 2) I'm a sucker for the wicked forest trope. Unfortunately the writing style just didn't work for me; I felt like I was reading an explanation of a story instead of the story itself. I will still give her next work a try though.

A gorgeously exquisite magical story with a dark forest, a poisonous lake, and a fantastical love story. The Village but whimsical, or Encanto with a bit more darkness ✨✨ Thank you Inkyard for providing me with an ARC!

This simple, hopefully standalone, novel transports us to a new world, where there is magic and a living murderous woods. The people of Endla live on the last remaining Wandering Forest to protect themselves and the forest from the outsiders who see them as different, and in the past tried to hurt them.
Now an outsider has breached the forest, and captured the interest of Leelo, an Endlan with strong singing powers.
I am so glad I received a copy of this eARC. I love this book!
While it had a few parts that weren’t super intriguing, I thought the plot was exquisite. This book held my rapt attention for two days because I couldn’t put it down.
The story was haunting but also featured a simple romance.
I hope everyone looks at this book when they get a chance because it really is special. I cannot wait for more form Rutherford.

This book gave me chills multiple times! The writing is spectacular, as can be expected from Rutherford. The characters are just as enjoyable as ones from her other world and this world is what really steals the show! 'Outsiders are always given a choice: the Forest or the lake. Either way, they’re never heard from again' it's so incredibly to see how insular people can get and what they will do to keep their way of life the same, how outsiders are treated. Wonderful fantasy with real lessons.

**this review is in exchange for getting a copy sent to me by the publishing company on Netgalley. Thank you for allowing me to read this!**

I wanted to like this book so bad. When I saw the title and cover, I was so intrigued and I had to read it immediately. It wasn't a bad story, but it also wasn't as captivating as I would have wanted. I loved the characters, in fact they were probably my favorite part of this book. The world building was fine.

It's almost like at time, there were a lot of details given, and at others, those details fell flat. Some conversations and scenes definitely demanded more attention but the details weren't quite there, and it led to me being confused. It is definitely slow paced and I wished it hadn't been such a slow burn (that's just my own preference! Slow burns can be great!)

I will definitely be interested in checking out other books by this author in the future. Again, thank you so much for allowing me to have a look into this world!

This eARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The island of Endla was founded generations prior to Leelo’s story beginning and has been used by her community as a refuge from the outsiders. Endla is not only protected by a poisonous lake surrounding it, but also by the Wandering Forest that has its own personality and requires sacrifices by the people of Endla for its shelter. The people of Endla use their enchanted voices to survive on the island and perform a variety of ceremonies, but to outsiders or those that do not have this magic, their voices are similar to those of the siren and can be deadly. Even with the different safeguards in place, outsiders still find their way to the island and, when they are captured, they are given the choice of death by poisonous lake or trying to survive the Wandering Forest who does not like outsiders.

The story follows Leelo, a young woman living on the island who begins to question the traditions of her community as she gets older. It also follows Jaren, a young outsider who, through an accident, comes to the island and finds his life in the hands of Leelo. As the story progresses, the lies and secrets surrounding the people of Endla, Leelo’s family, and Jaren build and slowly unravel. Leelo and Jaren learn to trust each other and build a relationship while hiding from the community that wants to see him gone or dead.

Every time I pick up one of Rutherford’s books, I know exactly what I am going to get in the best way. Every book is well written with beautiful worlds, well-rounded characters, and complicated antagonists. In this book, she creates one of her most fascinating settings yet with Endla. Its characters have so much depth to them and nothing is quite what it seems. The lies and secrets are the backbone of this book and drive the story even if they left me somewhat stressed knowing everything was going to be revealed at some point. These scenes are punctuated with lovely moments of Jaren and Leelo growing together. My only complaint is that the pacing does seem to be a bit off. The build-up to the climax is so well done that when that scene finally took place it seemed to resolve much quicker than it should have. Overall, this is yet another wonderful fantasy for Rutherford that is perfect for a rainy day read and will stick with you for days after.

Very interesting story. I loved the depth of characters and I was never bored with the story itself. It did take me a little bit to get engaged in the story itself, but more from a bit of confusion than anything. I enjoyed the fact that the story started off at a decent pace, if a bit slow, but I did have a few moments where I wasn't sure where everything was going.. The family dynamic between Leelo's mother and aunt definitely had me digging in and hoping that all would be revealed. I was not disappointed, and the ending wrapped everything up in such a way that I gave a happy sigh. As the story progressed, I began to see why the story opened the way it did. Without that information and context, the rest of the story would have fallen flat. Leelo and Jaren are from opposing worlds and love between them is more than forbidden, it ends in execution for them both if they're discovered. The phrase "love conquers all" certainly has potential here. Leelo and her family kept the story close, while Jaren brought in the outside perspective that helped push everything forward. I don't remember ever reading about a wandering forest before, so that bit of fairy tale aspect was engaging.
I received a copy of this book from NetGalley. I was not required to leave a positive review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

I had incredibly high hopes for this book. The cover is gorgeous, the title is compelling, and the summary drew me in immediately. Unfortunately, it did not live up to my expectations.

I read a lot of fantasy YA books. I really wanted to like this book, but it fell short almost immediately. The writing wasn't bad, the imagery was well-written, and it wasn't a difficult read in any sense of the word. However, the main issue I had with the book was the pacing. At 25%, nothing had happened. I understand world-building can take time, and that character introductions are vital at the beginning of books, however there were many scenes that seemed almost repetitive within the first 25% of the book. Nothing plot wise really happened, and the characters seemed flat. The rest of the book was much of the same in my opinion. As the plot progressed, the pacing continued to drag. The romance was lackluster and was almost insta-love. I never connected with the characters. The main character, Leelo, was not a compelling character. The only quality that was remotely relatable to or that I really found admirable was the devotion to take care of her brother. Jaren was a bit boring in my opinion. I liked Sage for the first fifth of the book and then she tended to get on my nerves for the rest.

For me, characters make up most of the book. Good plots are incredibly important, but without characters that you can love, the story isn't a story. The characters here were a miss for me and didn't feel fleshed out enough.

Overall, I found the book to be quite boring, and the pacing and characters needed some work in my opinion. The concept was enticing but unfortunately, I found the execution fell short.

Thank you Netgalley and Inkyard Press for an eARC of "The Poison Season" in exchange for an honest review.

What can I say? Like the stunning cover and haunting songs of the Endla residents, this book draws you in. While I wouldn’t call it the most perfectly polished book or one that tied up every plot seamlessly, what this book did do right were its characters, pacing and atmosphere.

It’s rare for me to like nearly all the characters in a book but even the villains in this story were worth the pages spent on them. Everyone had an interesting personality, quality and dimension to them, making it easy to connect to each of the characters in their own way. Leelo was easily likable as the main heroine. She is a bit innocent throughout the book, although the world around her is obviously not. Somehow you can tell that even though she’s been exposed to a certain kind of dark brutality, her inner spirit is one of kindness and innocence that makes her come across as genuine and a character worth rooting for. Her treatment of Jaren and her family only fuels that. I admired her strength of character in being willing to question when she felt things were wrong around her, like the treatment of her friend Isola, what happened to her brother Tate and how Sage began to act towards her.

Jaren is a different kind of male character in the sense that he spends pretty much the entire book in an almost idle state but that doesn’t make him less important or less a presence in the book. His steadfast, kind and honorable personality wins your heart easily and it makes sense why Leelo, who has been exposed to so much sadness and darkness, would gravitate towards him. While I think some of the language used for him was a bit unrealistic for what a guy would say or think, the author did a good job of portraying a boy with a soft heart while keeping him distinctly masculine which can be hard to do.

The romance between Leelo and Jaren was very sweet. It’s not so much insta love but forbidden and first love. Some of the lines between them could be a bit cheeseball. From the moment they get together everything did feel a little rushed, which in a sense is understandable because they don’t believe they’ll be able to stay together but it was a bit jarring to go from one debating on killing the other to being intimate in what seemed like not that long of a time. Now don’t get me wrong, their moments are cute but cute in the sense of first love, sweet with passion and flowery words but rife with immaturity. Calling what they have love (in the mature sense) is a stretch to me and this profound thing like what Jaren describes…I don’t quite buy it. I mean, he didn’t even know her last name before they took the biggest step in their relationship. Not that knowing her last name would’ve made the timeline any better. For me overall, I liked the general warmth of their relationship, how considerate and caring he was towards her and how they grew together during the difficulty they were facing but I think there was something missing to turn it into the amazing soul connection we were supposed to believe it to be.

The family dynamics were big part of this book, Endla being the isolated, somewhat close-knit community that it was. Watching the secrets unravel between Leelo, Sage and their mothers was such a suspenseful part of the book. Sage, Leelo’s cousin, was a terrifying and yet sad character, watching her devolve into this possessive person towards Leelo as she was paralyzed by her fear of being alone. Ketty, Sage’s mother was an equally intimidating character as she lorded her influence and power over the family throughout and the secrets that got revelaed near the end did take on a bittersweet note as it’s understandable why she did what she did but just as with Sage, she took everything way too far. Fiona, Leelo’s mother, made it clear where Leelo got her kind and tenderhearted nature from but her reasonings Fiona, Leelo's mother, made it clear where Leelo got her kind and tenderhearted nature from but her reasonings for the choices she made I didn't wholly understand later in the book. I think the family situation was a good statement on individual choice. With the girls lives being so similar to their mothers it shows that the change comes only when Leelo makes the choice to go a different road than what had been ingrained in her her whole life.

The world building of the book is hard to explain. The magic wasn’t ever fully fleshed out by the end, only vaguely hinted at and left shrouded in mystery. We come to kind of understand the origins of Endla but not enough for me to grasp the purpose behind why the people did what they did or the purpose of the Wandering Forest or Lake Luma. The Wandering Forest is especially left without much resolution by the end and while that didn’t bother me as much since the main components of the story that mattered were resolved, I would’ve liked to have known more. The bigger frustration was regarding hints given about Leelo and how she seemed to have more magic than other people on Endla. These hints were never fully realized in any concrete way as Leelo never seems to show any more magical ability than anyone else beyond Jaren being drawn to her and saying that she seems to belong neither on Endla or in his village. I wish more had been explored with whatever magic it was she possessed. Beyond some potential plot problems though, I will say the pacing of the book is excellent. There wasn’t a moment I was bored with this book. The story pulls you along with ease and I finished the book in a couple of days, eager to figure out the mystery of Endla and understand Leelo’s family.

Really, I think the main draw of this book comes down to its atmosphere. Dark and eerie with just the right amount of suspense done at the perfect time, it manages to pull you in and keep your attention. Plus the author somehow managed to weave a pretty lighthearted, gentle romance in the middle of book with a more grim mood which worked really well.

Overall this reminded me a lot of a dark fairytale. Spooky and haunting but with a little magic at the same time. This book has elements of fantasy, romance, suspense and mystery so there’s a lot about it to enjoy and get immersed in for just about anyone.

**Review will be published December 6th on my site and socials!**

NEEDED SOMETHING.

I wanted to love this. I went in hoping I would, buuuut here we are. I liked it, it just wasn’t a favorite.

It did have a very distinct YA fantasy feel. And I know that can be a winner for a lot. For me, I felt like I needed more. Something that added an edge, something I hadn’t read before. I don’t know. Within a few chapters I knew exactly what was going to happen and I wasn’t surprised by how it ended.

I did love Leelo as a main character. She has that strength and loyalty that I always appreciate in a FMC. I love that she was open to changing her opinions and took time to understand the new information that was being heaped upon her. Leelo handled a lot of things really well.

The romance is a bit much on the insta-love side. I was hoping for to see them connect over more things before confessions of love started rolling out. Leelo and Jaren were charming and easily sweet on each other.

I loved Leelo’s Mom and Brother. They were some of my favorite side characters and helped me enjoy and look forward to scenes with them. I liked the conclusion and do think it wrapped up things pretty well.

Overall audience notes:
- YA Fantasy + Romance
- Language: very little
- Romance: make-outs
- Violence: medium
- Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of a parent, loss of loved ones, poison, weapons violence, murder, physical altercations

The first 75-80% of this book is a solid 4 stars. It had great ambience, good characters, and a huge weight hovering over everything while Leelo- and the readers- tried to piece together everything that wasn’t being said on the island of Endla.

However, we had all that build up for what felt like the quickest and least climactic climax possible. Everything was resolved in a few chapters and although the big reveal was BIG, it didn’t have the emotional tremors I was expecting based on the first 3/4 of the book.

Overall, I would still give this 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4. I enjoyed it, I recommend it, I was just a little disappointed at the conclusion.

I enjoyed this YA Fantasy filled with lots of symbolism on several levels.

Leelo is a 17-year-old who lives with her family in the Wandering Forest on the island of Endla. The islanders have succeeded in isolating themselves from marauding outsiders for generations through the protection of the Forest which requires blood sacrifices and reverence as its due. Most inhabitants are gifted with a magical singing ability by the age of 12, and those who are not are exiled to live on the mainland. Any outsiders caught on the island are given the choice of either surviving the Forest or Lake Luma, which is filled with deadly poison and cannot be crossed except in the frozen depths of winter. When Jaren, an 18-year-old from the mainland accidentally ends up injured and stranded on Endla, Leelo grudgingly helps him. Will he escape with his life? Will Leelo begin to see that the world outside her island home is really not as dangerous as it’s touted to be?

This story follows a young woman who begins to question traditions/rules that have been set in place for generations for supposed protection. She learns how secrets can poison families and the bravery it takes to do the right thing and stand up against both community/family. There were a few slower spots, but not enough to detract from the author’s great character development and storyline.

As an aside, that cover is really beautiful and exactly how I pictured Leelo.

My sincere thanks to the author, NetGalley and Inkyard Press for providing the free early arc of The Poison Season for review. The opinions are strictly my own.

I really enjoyed reading this book - the storyline was really interesting and it was an idea I haven't read or thought of before. There were lots of twists and turns and the characters were interesting to me. I would definitely read.more from this author and recommend this books to others.

Felt like an old fairytale...
This story was so deeply atmospheric, the setting was perfectly eerie and the descriptions made me imagine this as a tale passed down years ago, around campfires late at night...subtly spooky, and richly fascinating. It took me some time to make sense of this story, but it wasn't a frustrating sort of feeling, more of a feeling like I was peeling back layers in a mystery to understand what I was dealing with. This story is one of those slow-build, engrossing world-building, savor the delicious seven-course dinner of a story, rather than an action packed thriller to devour. This felt like the perfect book for autumn, or for a cozy winter night.

Leelo was raised with a healthy fear and respect for her island home and the poison lake the surrounds it. But one mishap turned her world upside down and provided her with a different perspective. Warring with what she feels is right and the lessons that she's been taught all her life, Leelo must decide her next steps carefully or face possible ruination.

I really enjoyed this! It was super eerie, pushing the importance of moderation in all things - even love. The unique story of the Endlans and the Wandering Forest was enticing and fresh! I really disliked certain characters (which I think you were supposed to), and it had me rooting for Leelo and Jaren until the end.

Really the only feedback that I have was that the idea of singing to weald the magic for the Endlans was a great idea, but I don't feel that it was necessarily tapped into as well as it could have been. It was an interesting piece, but I wanted more than what was given. After the initial explanation, the song idea felt more like an after thought to the entire story and it became more about the poison lake and the history of Leelo's family.

Magical, eerie and fairytale-like, The Poison Season tells a story of a girl on a island surrounded by poisoned lake, confronted with a choice: save an outsider or give in to the rules of her village and give him the death sentence.

My favorite thing about this book was the atmosphere. I loved the world the author created and how it gave me that magical, fairytale-like feeling when I was reading the book. It's not hard to graps and while simple to understand, it works in the story really well and gives it that magical feel.

The themes that this book explores include familial relationships, breaking free of the rules, life in a closed community, finding yourself and first love. They were all very well explored and woven into the book. Leelo is the main character who faces all of that, but many other characters suffer the consequences or are part of that. We really got to see how this impacts the whole communities and families included.

Family bonds, especially those between sisters area constant presence in author's work, and this is no exception. We see how these bonds can strenghten the person and pull them under, and even how they break if corrupted.

What I missed what just a tiny bit more of romance foundation, even though it is first love type of romance and I would love even more lore or information about the forest! It seems like such interesting factor in the story. The story feels finished, but some mysteries remain, which is part its charm.

Book: The Poison Season
Author: Mara Rutherford
Rating: 5 Out of 5 Stars

I would like to thank the publisher, Inkyard Press, for providing me with an ARC.

Mara Rutherford is quickly becoming one of my favourite authors. She writes YA fantasy that feels like you are being sucked into a fairytale. Now, these are not the kind and loving fairytales. No, these are dark, with an unforgiving atmosphere. This one is no different. I think that this may be my favourite book by this author. There was just something about it that pulled me in and made me want to keep going.

In this one, we follow a group of people who live on an isolated island. They cannot leave. The lake is full of poison and the forest will not let them. They have magic through song. Those who do not have this magic are forced to leave the island and everyone they love. Those who are not from the island and find themselves here are killed without question. There are songs and rituals for everything. To question means that you will end up finding yourself on the wrong side of society. Leelo has always played by the rules and done what she has been told. That is until she comes across Jaren drowning in the lake. She knows that she should kill him, but she cannot make it herself. She saves him and from here on out, her life is forever changed.

The idea of an island and a forest is what got me. I love reading books about isolation and not knowing for sure what is going on. This is a dark and unforgiving place. However, these people have managed to build a life here. They have their own culture and way of doing things. The magic is through song, which is something different. The idea that a group of isolated people has the power to change things through song also adds to the overall dynamic of the setting, it’s dark. It has secrets and these secrets do not want to be exposed. This sense of unease and unknowing is what made me keep going. I had to know what was going to happen. I had to know what was going on. You see, whenever you pick this one up, you can tell that something is off, but you don’t know what.

I loved fowling Leelo and Jaren. We can see the danger. After all, early on in the book, we see an outsider killed and how the whole island was behind it. This world has no mercy. Leelo knows that she should turn Jaren in, but can’t make herself. She doesn’t have the heart. The book follows her and Jaren as they try to get him off the island and save his life. The stakes are high. Mara does an amazing job allowing us to see just how high the stakes are. Never once are you allowed to think that somehow everyone will be safe. You cannot let your guard down in this situation. Now, since this is a YA book, you know there will be a romance develop. Don’t worry, it’s not a fast one. It takes time for romantic feelings to develop.
Another focus of the book is family. The characters’ families play a highly important role in their lives. This is something that I liked. Time and time again in YA, we don’t see a lot of family interactions. I always enjoy it whenever that comes out. Like the world, you get a sense that with families that everything is not what they seem. As you keep reading, you learn about these secrets and come to understand that is why some of the characters are the way they are and why they have made some of the choices that they have.

Overall, I highly enjoyed this book. it’s the perfect read to pick up in the fall.
This book comes out on December 6, 2022.

Youtube: https://youtu.be/srhnUSBtdJg

The Poison Season was a delightful YA fantasy with a fairy tale feel. The world building was nicely done, and Leelo was a captivating character who held my interest throughout. The pacing of the tale was good, and it kept me turning the pages. There were a few aspects for which I would have liked a more detailed explanation, but that is a very minor complaint in an otherwise highly enjoyable story. I definitely recommend it to YA fantasy fans. It gets 4.5 stars from me.

I love Mara Rutherford's writing style, it definitely has a way of drawing you in. The world building was excellent, I had a clear view of what Indla looked liked throughout the story. I loved the mysteries and how they were revealed slowly throughout the book. Although some of the twists I figured out ahead of time, some of them kept me guessing until the end!

This book is definitely a slow burn, in my opinion. There is a lot of world building and getting to know the characters, so the start is a bit slow. That being said, once the action starts, it will amps up quick!

I loved that this book was dual pov! I loved getting to read from both Leelo and Jaren’s side of the story and getting to know both of them. Leelo was a super interesting main character and it was really cool getting to watch her learn the truths of her family and their world. Jaren himself was a mystery on the island and he was so understanding! Both of them are such sweethearts.

The island itself was so weird and fascinating! As a setting, it was so dynamic- even just the lake itself was such a presence. I definitely wouldn’t want to be stuck in Endla, but I would maybe take a day trip to check it out lol.

The magic was nature and music based and I really enjoyed learning more about it. Especially seeing how the different villagers used it!

This book has some romance and there is spice implied, but it is a fade to black kind of book. I personally prefer less spice, so it was the perfect fantasy book for me. Just full of yearning, enemies-to-friends-to-lovers, forbidden love… oh the swooning!

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and would recommend to fantasy lovers! It is ya so it’s not too intense, but it’s still so good! I think I liked Rutherford’s previous book a bit more, but still a great standalone fantasy book!