I received this free eARC novel from NetGalley. This is my honest review.

This has been on my TBR pile for so long, and I'm glad I finally got around to it. I really enjoyed the storyline and seeing the characters change throughout the story was a great character development. The plot was great and kept my attention. I'm glad I got the chance to read this and will be on the lookout for more in the future!

When I pulled The Boy From the Woods out of my TBR jar, I thought it was going to be awful.

Let’s be honest, the cover is more than a little bit cringe, and the description did not do it for me at all.

So, imagine my surprise when I ended up thoroughly enjoying this book, so much so that I ended up reading it in one sitting!

Retelling a traditional Austrian folktale, The Boy From the Woods is perfect if you’re a huge fan of retellings but are getting tired by all of the new takes on Beauty and the Beast or the Arthurian tales.


In The Boy From the Woods we follow a girl called Julia who has finally bagged the boy of her dreams. Julia has been in love with Michael from a distance for years, but it isn’t until prom that he finally notices her. However, their romance is the definition of a ‘whirlwind’: Michael takes her out once, sleeps with her and then doesn’t call her when he says he will. Awks.

Things go from bad to worse for Julia when she stumbles across the scene of a motorbike crash in the woods, and the victim is none other than – you guessed it! – Michael himself. Instead of being able to avoid the boy who has humped and dumped her, Julia is instead forced to get him help, leaving her wondering why his amnesia was so strong that he couldn’t remember anything apart from her name. Did she mean more to him after all?

It’s always great to read a book set in a different country, and I found myself getting The Summer of Us vibes throughout The Boy From the Woods because the European setting is very well-crafted. It’s also helped by the fact that the characters take a trip to London towards the end of the novel and stay in a hostel, which is what the gang of friends get up to in The Summer of Us! I loved learning the fact that shops in Austria close for lunch! That’s certainly a fact about the country that I’ll never forget, because it’s so jarring compared to my experience living and working in the UK.

Being self-published, I wasn’t expecting the writing to be all that impressive (I’ve had some bad experiences with self-published novels in the past, okay?!) but I was thoroughly impressed throughout The Boy From the Woods. Jen Minkman writes some brilliant one liners, and her dialogue is very realistic, giving each of the characters a very strong voice and making me care about all of them.

I did enjoy the story a lot, although I could see where it was going from a mile away so the dramatic ending didn’t have a huge impact on me. However, if you can’t predict what’s going to happen I have a feeling some tears could be shed at the end of this one, because it’s a bittersweet ending. I applaud Jen Minkman’s bravery for taking the story in the direction she did, and for not leaving the story open-ended or writing a sequel; sometimes it’s nice to have a book with a sad ending, because not all stories have happy endings in real life.

I’m really interested in reading more of Jen Minkman’s work in the future, as her writing hugely impressed me, and I’m so glad that I gave The Boy From the Woods a chance.

(I received a free copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.)

Julia has been in love with Michael for years. He’s the hottest guy in school, and she can’t believe her luck when they finally hit it off during Senior Prom. Her dream doesn’t last, though: after a few dates, he callously dumps her out of the blue. Summer vacation starts with Julia feeling heart-broken and miserable.
But then she rescues Michael in the woods when he has a motorcycle accident in a heavy thunderstorm. From that point onward, her life is turned upside down. Michael has changed completely after the blow to the head that nearly killed him... and he wants her back. But why is he so different? And will she be able to trust him this time around?
Can the boy who broke your heart ever win it back again..?

I had high hopes for this book. The blurb sounded just a little different from the usual fare and the Austrian setting had me interested...

The first quarter of the book was somewhat slow and uninspiring. It really did feel like it was setting up for Michael's change and reappearance...

The next 150 pages were a mish-mash of plot, secondary characters and dialogue that, rearranged slightly, could have made for an awesome story. It felt like the author had a sensational idea (which she actually does) but just wasn't quite sure how to get it onto the page. However, the development of Anne's story during this part was great - would have loved more of the druid/pagan angle.

The last quarter of the book was the saviour. The two major plots come together perfectly and left me (I wasn't crying, honest!) having feelings that I wasn't expecting to feel at the halfway mark. And that's the great shame about this book - some people will probably give up in frustration and miss the wonderful ending...

Would I recommend this? For sure, but with a "stick with it" instruction...


Paul
ARH