There are a few things I enjoyed about this book. I’m a walker and enjoy the outdoors. I liked that the story took place in the autumnal woodland setting with a group from a waking society ready to go on their adventure. The theme seems to be dualistic, good vs evil and leading this group of walkers to a village that turns out to be very different. This is a place where each walker gets to be in a different time in their lives and live out parts of it that they wishes were different. There’s getting lost in ones obsessions as well as learning lessons and moving on to a better place in life. I must admit there were several parts I had to push through reading because I felt the author crammed too much into the story and thought it would have benefited from the concept of less is more. None the less an interesting read.

Thank you Leaf by Leaf/Cinnamon Press and NetGalley for the chance to read and review this Arc.

I was really looking forward to reading this book. As a fellow walker I was excited as to how the book started and the descriptions of everyone meeting up ready to trek through the woods. However my excitement soon turned to disappointment.

I'm not sure if this is Stephen's first novel but it did come across that way. Although the intention was good and the plot on paper probably looked good, I found the delivery was very poor. Descriptions were vague, rushed and often quite awkward. I agree describing walk after walk could get a bit tedious and therefore the use of different words and phrases would add interest. However I do think you have to remember your audience. Some of the text was just uncomfortable and embarrassing and often felt like a teenager had written it instead of an adult man.

The whole novel comes across like a hybrid between an adult Narnia and a Christmas Carol. It fell well below my expectations and consequently I was left very disappointed.

A mix of fantasy and fiction. Well plotted and entertaining.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

This was a fun day's read. I lik! e fantasy fiction and this one filled the bill. The character's were well written and interesting and I just loved the faery/spirit town of Miteby and it's characters. The dark side of the faery/spirit realm, Underside, ruled by Lucifix was suitably hellish. Parts of the story was just charming and had places I think I'd enjoy visiting, if they were real! I was kind of sad when the story ended. I look forward to reading more by Mr. Ford!