Member Reviews

This is a fun story centering on Jenny Greenteeth, a thousand-year-old lake monster who encounters a witch thrown into her lake one day. There's a lot that happens in this book, which is a cozy fantasy, and also a quest narrative. The cozy fantasy aspect and the characters were top notch, but the traditional fantasy tropes and the quest were a little lackluster, due to which the middle of this book feels drawn.

Jenny is an endearing protagonist, morally grey and whimsically fearsome, and I greatly enjoyed the story from her, or the "monster's" point of view. The introduction to this fae world and integration of many English, Welsh and Scottish folklore led to beautiful and nostalgic imagery as I read this. The conclusion to the story is quite interesting, albeit parts of it were a little predictable. I'm not sure if the book should be classified as cozy or traditional fantasy, but I know that I was both entertained and a little bored in places. I'd recommend this to fantasy lovers who like a dash of folklore, found family, little to no romance, and quests!

Thank you to Netgalley and Orbit Books for an eARC of the book in exchange for an honest review!

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More cozy fantasies! There's something so beautiful about taking those warm feelings of belonging and family and transporting them into a fantasy world, and Molly O'Neill certainly delivered.

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Greenteeth by @mollyoneillwrites is an enchanting story about the most unlikely friends coming together to to save their people.
A Witch previously though dead by drowning, a Goblin who deals in strange goods, and a Jenny Greenteeth who protects the village lake set off on a mission to defeat an evil being who has made their shores his home. This book is filled with beautiful imagery, amazing creatures, seemingly impossible trials and an overall sense of wonder. This is a refreshing story that really makes you feel like you are on the journey along side our characters.
Thank you to the author as well as @orbitbooks_us and @netgalley for the opportunity to read this book before it hits the shelves of bookstores on February 25th!

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For some reason, I kept putting off this book, and after finishing it, I wish I hadn’t. While it isn’t exactly an exact match for items I like in my books, I still really enjoyed it. Jenny and her companions are so much fun, and it’s really a heartwarming tale. I don’t know that I’d necessarily call this a cozy fantasy, because it’s just a whole bunch of other things, too. I love how the author uses many different types of folklore in this, and I learned some new ones, including the titular character. This book is a heroic quest, but it’s also a tale of overcoming loneliness, banding together, and working together. Don’t be fooled, though; there is a little bit of darkness as well. Well-written, lovely, fun, and with a surprise twist, this is worth a second glance. Recommend. I was provided a complimentary copy which I voluntarily reviewed.

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Absolutely bewitching and wonderful! This story combines your classic witch hunt with a mermaid-like fairy as she helps plot revenge on the vicious pastor who condemned a witch to her watery home, add in a goblin and some magical twists then you get this lovely monstrous tale. I was completely pulled in from page one and loved these characters!

Thank you Orbit, Molly O'Neill & NetGalley for this ARC!

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5 stars. A monster, a witch, and a goblin walk into a bar. And by "bar" I mean, they go on an epic journey to retrieve magical items that will help them defeat evil, finding friendship (that feels more like family) and themselves along the way. Greenteeth is such an incredibly strong debut. The writing quality itself is fantastic-- it's flowery and descriptive, and some my find it slow, but I find it to be a testament of O'Neill's ability as a writer. The characters, especially Jenny, sucked me in from the very beginning. She was so used to being alone that she truly had no idea how lonely and small her life had become, until Temperance literally fell into her lake and shook things up. I love cozy fantasies and I especially love when they come equipped with found family, which is truly one of my favorite tropes. And Greenteeth delivers in giving you all of the heartwarming feels that cozy fantasy should, but also delivers a compelling plot steeped in mythology and British history. I can't say enough good things about this book. It's only January, but I think Greenteeth will certainly go down as a top read of 2025 for me. Thank you so much to Netgalley, Orbit, and O'Neill for the ARC in exchange for the honest review.

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This book was an unexpected gem. Even made me cry. Jenny Greenteeth is my favorite character of the year, truly.

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Overall, this book was interesting. The story line and the idea of found family was intriguing. However, I did find some points to be a bit slow, which made them hard to read through. The last several chapters definitely contained the big punches for the overall story and did wrap the story itself up nicely.

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The cover may be pretty to look at but I found this book to be soooo dull and boring. Most of the dialogue between characters was meandering and didn’t feel necessary. More to fill in the gaps of a mediocre story. Thankfully it was short sooo there’s that going for it.

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Greenteeth by Molly O’Neill was an exciting little cozy fantasy that I enjoyed very much! I haven’t read too many books directly based in Arthurian legend, but I enjoyed that aspect of the story. I also appreciated the way the characters seemed to tie in with those legends.

Mostly, I enjoyed the folklore and learning about different creatures and tales and such! I had to look some up, which is always a bonus for me!

There were a couple of contradictions within some of the character’s personalities, but I don’t feel like it took anything away from the book. Overall, if someone were looking for something that was cozier but still had some excitement to it, I would recommend this book!

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(Please give me more fantasy books from a true creature's point of view. I will BEG if I have to.)

Jenny Greenteeth--a green-skinned, shark-toothed, lower water fae--is a wonderfully descriptive narrator with a unique and curious voice.

When Jenny decides, rather arbitrarily, to save the iron-shackled witch who is unceremoniously tossed into her lake, her more than one thousand year long streak of peace and quiet is well and truly ended. Setting off on a magical quest to save Britain from an ancient evil with said nearly drowned witch and a cheeky goblin peddler, Jenny makes some beautiful discoveries about the nature of genuine friendship, and finds out just what her own heart and soul are made of.

Putting aside the fact that Jenny's definitely gobbled up some unlucky wayward children before, I had a fantastic time watching her gallop around on all fours like the eldritch horror she is. I found the folklore aspect of this to be well thought out and engaging, especially since I knew very little about European folktales going into this.

There is also a very good dog, and having an animal character always increases my personal enjoyment of a book because...well, why wouldn't it?

As for what I didn't totally love--there were some parts to this story that felt a bit meandering, and they bogged the overall plot down a not insignificant amount. I also felt like Jenny's immediate decision to help Temperance was a little strange, especially for a one thousand year old fae. But I do recognize that Jenny's loneliness drove a lot of her early on decisions.

Overall, I had a great time with this, and would be interested in reading anything O'Neill publishes in the future! I heartedly recommend it for fans of folkloric tales and for anyone who enjoyed the book or movie "The Last Unicorn."

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The tale of Jenny GREENTEETH- a reclusive fae creature of a forgotten pond , and a young witch who was cast into the bottom of her lake. A moment of quick decision in saving this young witch , leads them both on a compelling journey of friendship United against a common enemy and finding help from magical beings and creatures along the way. This story is a wonderful mixture of old legends , and is a masterfully written work from a debut author in the fantasy genre. This story kept me riveted the whole way , I truly enjoyed the descriptive imagery and unique characters. This novel is perfect for those who love cozy fantasy, interesting creatures and magical quests! I look forward to seeing what works are next from this author ! Thank you to Orbit and Mollie O’Neill for an advance reader copy for my honest review

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Cozy fantasies are all the rage. Let's escape and get out of anything in the real world! This was a charming quest tale of friendship and magic. And a cute dog:)
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

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Had a good time with this book. I loved Jenny’s very specific and unique “voice” throughout the book. The imagery/descriptions also felt lush and easy to visualize. I think the best parts of the book were the interactions between characters and Jenny’s personality (curious, a little eccentric, and witty). I loved the folklore inspiration, as always.

A fun, low stakes time!

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I ended up soft dnfing this book. It's not a bad book by any means but it just wasn't capturing my attention at this time. When I read the synopsis, I was so excited to read it but every time I put it down, I didn't ever want to pick it back up to finish it.
The story is about a woman who teams up with a greenteeth (basically a river monster) after she's thrown in the river for being a suspected witch by her small town to find out why she was accused and to get her family back.
I want to get back to this book at some point because it's not poorly written by any means. It's just not the book for me right now.

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I loved the found family aspect of this story and that it was done from Jenny’s point of view. I didn’t know it’d have Arthurian legend on it, but it was a nice surprise and actually was done very well. While I didn’t really care too much about Temperance and her goals, there was enough other good stuff here to keep me interested throughout.

Note: ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

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The fist 25% of this book had me hooked, Jenny Greenteeth had such a strong voice and I loved her character. As the story progressed, I just wasn't invested in the main quest... I thought the villain was strong, but I just didn't really care if Temperance made it back to her family and saved the village. And I feel like this plot point overshadowed the relationship between Jenny, Temperance and Brackus. I was expecting this to have more of a found family vibe, but it really just felt like Temperance was using the other two. I also feel like this was such a missed opportunity to have an older female lead. I think this story would have been a lot more interesting if Temperance was an old spinster midwife that the village turned on rather than a young mother. I would have felt more invested in the village elder trying to save her village and along the way finding her own family amongst the fae monsters. Jenny and Brackus' relationship was so much fun, and I just found myself not caring for Temperance as the plot went on (especially the scene were they were attacked). When she was finally united with her family I didn't really feel anything at all. I did enjoy the writing though, and would read another book from this author in the future.

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Hidden in Britain’s fading magical countryside, Jenny Greenteeth bides her time caring for her lake and its denizens and remembering happier times with her daughter. When a human witch is cast into her lake’s depths, Jenny’s intervention casts wider ripples into the worlds of both human and fae, revealing an evil menace that threatens the future of both. As a Jenny Greenteeth, Jenny is far from human. Proudly so. Yet, as Jenny makes difficult choices: to reach out for help, to be vulnerable, and to push herself to do hard and uncomfortable things, Jenny opens herself to caring again and to remembering a past that gives her the power to change the future. Jenny’s ability to adapt is inspiration to the human among us and may be the most magical part of O’Neill’s stunning debut. As a lucky early reader, I cannot wait to share this daring adventure full of heart and heartache, studded with characters that will stay with you long after the quest’s end.

Thanks to Orbit Books & NetGalley for providing a copy for review!

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As someone who normally isn't into Arthurian inspired fantasy (although I enjoy giving it a shot), Greenteeth stands out above the rest. It subverts expectations of what an "Arthurian" tale is even supposed to be. The settings and main characters of Jenny and Temperance were a joy to read about. And the twist at the end was well executed; if you'd been reading carefully, you probably would've already figured it out. However, what worked for me was how it tied up some loose threads. Speaking of the end, the last few chapters had me hooked; I couldn't put the book down.

Unfortunately, not everything about the book was a winner. Too often it seemed as though the book didn't know what it wanted to be: a book of lush descriptions? a comedy with heartwarming touches? a coming of age-esque story? The tone wasn't consistent throughout and would often change seemingly on a whim. The two main characters were great, but everyone else might as well have been faceless extras with a single personality trait. I understand that it's told through Jenny's POV, but that doesn't mean minor and tertiary characters (like Brackus, who is in the majority of the book) can't be more fleshed out. And finally, the deus ex machina that happened in the third task. All of the tasks ended up being glossed over compared to how difficult they were claimed to be, really. But the third task was the most egregious with how it was completed.

Did I like this book? Yes. It wasn't perfect, but it kept me reading and had some great moments.

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Thank you to Orbit Books for an eARC of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Greenteeth is an adventurous fantasy story about found family, resilience, and strength. Jenny Greenteeth is content to live alone, maintaining her beloved lake, until Temperance, the witch of the local town, is thrown in by a group of angry townspeople. After saving Temperance, they embark on an action packed quest to save their town, Chipping Appleby, from a dark presence.

Unfortunately, this book just didn’t work for me. I couldn’t connect to characters or the plot at all, which meant I didn’t care about the action. I liked the conversations around Temperance and Jenny connecting despite being so different, but I didn’t find the loyalty and trust of their friendship believable. I love a cozy fantasy read, but I honestly wish this book committed to the darker aspects and went full spooky as those were parts that kept me hooked. I appreciated O’Neill’s love for British folklore, which really came through in her writing. Despite not enjoying it as much as I hoped to, I would still recommend this book to anyone looking for an adventurous fantasy with rich lore.

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