Edgewood

Emeline has grown knowing about the mysteries of the Woods (she grew up in Edgewood as a child), she doesn’t quite believe all the tall tales however. The Woods are said to hold secrets and magic. Her grandfather disappears and she knows in order to get him back she has to go looking in the Woods. She realizes then that maybe she was foolish to not believe and finds herself getting caught in the middle. She reconnects with a brooding but irresistible blacksmith from her past to help her on her journey.
Kristen Ciccarelli has an amazing way of captivating and sharing her world building. Theres such a beautiful magic to the Woods that you just want to escape and get lost there yourself. Its the all in one perfect compilation for me. You have your magic, fantasy and mystery, but you also have romance. You will not want to put this book down.

Oh my god everybody needs to read this. Every part of it was so beautiful. The world building in the magical woods was everything to me. The imagery was stunning. The magic was perfect. Each character provided something so important to the story. The dialogue was addicting. The entire story was addicting.

I want to own this book forever. I want every person to read this. It's a perfect fantasy novel through and through. It's got romance. It's got monsters. It's got magic. It's got a creepy ass woods setting. It's perfect.

Hauntingly atmospheric without overburdening the reader with unnecessary details, Edgewood was everything that I hoped for in a fantasy story with the Fae. Wonderfully executed world-building, dynamic characters, and one of my favorite tropes - enemies to lovers! I am a sucker for slow-burn romance and morally gray/neutral characters. This was my first time reading work by Kristen Ciccarelli and I am so glad that I read Edgewood! I love her writing style. I can't wait to read her other books now.

I literally squealed when I received the e-mail I'd been approved for an eARC of Edgewood and let me tell you, it did not disappoint! I've loved Kristen's work since The Last Namsara first came out. The Caged Queen was the book that cinched Kristen as an auto-buy author for me. Edgewood is another one to add to her ever growing list of fantastic books and will have a home on my favourites bookshelf.

The cover is absolutely stunning, and let me tell you, the book within is just as beautiful and gripping. The setting is so lush it leaps off the page. The characters are real, multi-dimensional, complex, and you will fall in love with them and their secrets. The relationships are the heart of this story, and the portrayal of Emeline's relationship with her grandfather made me ache for my own. It filled me with sweet anguish, heartbreak, and hope all wrapped together.

And the romance ....? The slow burn kind that makes you melt when the characters finally admit that they have feelings for each other. And it's the complicated kind of romance that keeps you reading right up until the last page, dying to know how it will finish.

This is definitely one to add to your TBR pile for 2022!

Thank you #netgalley for this eARC in exchange of an honest review.

THIS BOOK?? IT WAS INSANE. I actually think it might be my favorite fantasy read of all time. The author really took everything I love and want in a fantasy novel, and served it in one book. Actually so angry this doesn't come out until next year, because I need it on my shelf right now. My life will be complete the day I can get my hands on the physical copy of this book.

First off, her writing is just beautiful. I hate when writing is too simple or too overwhelming, but Kristen Ciccarelli found the perfect balance here, and it really made the book so easy to read and enjoyable. I also loved that not one sentence in this book felt pointless or like a filler, even the briefest things mentioned all ended up having some greater meaning or importance to the plot and characters. The plot-twists were crazy too?? I never really find myself plotting and thinking in my head too much when I'm reading, but with this book it was the exact opposite. I was constantly pausing and thinking so deeply about what I was reading, trying to draw conclusions for what was happening in this book. Along with that, the pacing was just as well done. The chapters were a perfect length to keep me engaged, not too long but not too short. I was constantly just wanting to start the next chapter to find out what would happen.

The fantasy world is the book was what really made me love it so much. It was so interesting and intriguing, but not too confusing. I think I'm pretty good at following fantasy plots, but sometimes they just get too heavy and hard to understand. But this one managed to be complex, while also staying understandable completely throughout, which I don't see often. What really made this fantasy world so unique to me was the extremely well executed mix of the modern world with the magical land beyond the trees. I've really only read a few books where modern and magical worlds bordered one another, and none of them have even come close to this one. The settings inside the woods were also amazing. They were so well described and easy to make an image of in my head.

The main character Emeline Lark, was a perfect fantasy main character. She wasn't perfect by any means, and was in the real world trying to find her happiness through music. Her storyline throughout the book, of fighting between the pull of two worlds, and fighting to save the one person she loves was astounding to read. The issues with her Pa were heartbreaking to read, but I have so much respect for the author for incorporating these very real problems into the plot.

I LOVED THE SIDE CHARACTERS IN THIS BOOK. They were so important to the plot as well, which I loved. Getting to see Emeline bond with them, while also simultaneously learning that they may be more important to her than she previously realized, was so compelling.

The romance here??? I was already sold when I heard it was enemies to lovers, but I was actually shocked of how of it there was in this book. The chemistry between Hawthorne and Emeline was intense, and learning more about their relationship throughout the book left me so shocked. The flashbacks that were included...the author had no right to rip my heart out like that. Their ending?? Although I did truly love it, it was still heartbreaking, the openness but also certainty within it was so insane.

I DEFINITELY recommend checking this out when it releases on January 18th, 2022. I need everyone to read this so I have someone to scream about it to.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press (via NetGalley) for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review. It seems this publisher never disappoints!!

First of all, I'd like to thank NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the e-copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Wow, where to even start. Edgewood is about a girl, and a boy; a curse, and a gift; a city, and a forest; and above all, family. Kristen Ciccarelli weaves an amazing, beautiful, and at times, infuriating story that truly encompases what it means to be human, and to have dreams, and to make sacrifices for those we love, all while using the backdrop of a cursed forest and a Fae Court.

I will admit, at the beginning, I wasn't sure if I liked Emeline, our main character. It drove me crazy that she pushed things down and purposely put her head in the sand, to ignore the painful things, but as the story went on, and I learned more and more about her and her world, I have to admit - I probably would have done the exact same thing as Emeline, which is why it was so frustrating for me.

I connected to Emeline so deeply, and she was written so beautifully. She is a character who has some deep flaws, but also amazing strengths - I believe that she embodies what it is to be human.

I don't want to give anything away, but the ending is both amazing and heartbreaking, and so so perfect. It was the perfect ending for this book, but even as I say that, I desperately hope that there will be a sequel, because I am not ready to let go of this world and these characters.

Frankly, this book was amazing, and I'll be thinking about it for a while - I'm excited to buy a physical copy when it comes out.

Beautiful, evocative, lush. This was my first Ciccarelli book and I loved it so much. Music and creepy, woodsy/fae vibes are favorites of mine and this story did not did not disappoint as it mixed the two!

Edgewood is a riveting novel about a young woman, Emeline, who, in searching for her grandfather who she suspects got lost in the Woods, ends up discovering who she is. The book is full of interesting twists and turns that keep readers on the edge of their seats.

Ciccarelli builds an interesting world with interesting character and turns the traditional villain figure upside down. My only "critique" is that this book is probably more New Adult than Young Adult. While the romance wasn't at adult levels, it was a little more graphic than what I see in typical YA books.

Thanks Netgalley and the publishers for the free e-ARC.

You guys have no idea how excited I was when I got this eARC by @kristenciccarelli from @netgalley the other day. Ever since the cover reveal I’ve been in love with it and let me tell you it did not disappoint.

-
-
-

[“ 𝕋𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕥𝕚𝕞𝕖 𝕨𝕙𝕖𝕟 𝕙𝕖 𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕡𝕡𝕖𝕕 𝕥𝕠𝕨𝕒𝕣𝕕𝕤 𝕙𝕖𝕣, 𝕤𝕙𝕖 𝕕𝕚𝕕𝕟’𝕥 𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕡 𝕓𝕒𝕔𝕜. ℍ𝕖 𝕕𝕚𝕕𝕟’𝕥 𝕥𝕠𝕦𝕔𝕙 𝕙𝕖𝕣, 𝕓𝕦𝕥 𝕙𝕖 𝕤𝕥𝕠𝕠𝕕 𝕤𝕠 𝕔𝕝𝕠𝕤𝕖, 𝕙𝕖 𝕞𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥 𝕒𝕤 𝕨𝕖𝕝𝕝 𝕓𝕖 𝕥𝕠𝕦𝕔𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕙𝕖𝕣. 𝕊𝕙𝕖 𝕔𝕠𝕦𝕝𝕕 𝕤𝕞𝕖𝕝𝕝 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕨𝕠𝕠𝕕𝕤 𝕠𝕟 𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕤𝕜𝕚𝕟. ℂ𝕠𝕦𝕝𝕕 𝕗𝕖𝕖𝕝 𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕨𝕒𝕣𝕞𝕥𝕙 𝕤𝕖𝕖𝕡𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕚𝕟𝕥𝕠 𝕙𝕖𝕣.”]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

The world Kristen has built is beautiful and magnificent, I fell in love with the first sentence.

The way emeline grows into herself throughout the book blew me away. She just wants her dream come true but she also has to save the one person she loves more than anything her Pa, but in doing so everything turns upside down.

She learns secrets about herself and her family, she handles it so beautifully. Now enter Hawthorne the brooding henchmen to the fae king, and their uncontrollable feelings for one another .

These two of easily weaseled their way into my heart in to my top couples, they have pieces that remind me of Morpheus and Alyssa; you guys know how much that means to me.

The writing is just beautiful, the plot was fun and engaging. The side characters had me laughing and crying, please pick this book up when it comes out.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Edgewood by Kristen Ciccarelli is a dark contemporary YA fantasy with woodsy, fae-like themes. The protagonist is 19 year-old Emeline, an aspiring singer who hears the woods calling to her when she sings. The coolest part of this book was Emeline's power of singing, which functioned a bit like a darker The LIttle Mermaid. She's forced to confront her magical powers when her grandfather is spirited away one day. Local legends say that he has been "tithed" to the Wood King, and she heads into Edgewood to find him. Will she be able to rescue her grandfather from the Wood King, or will she be forced to serve in the Wood King's Court forever?

Here is an excerpt from Chapter 1 that introduces Emeline's magic to us:

"Emeline gritted her teeth, ignoring it. From her perch on the wooden stool beneath the white lights, she continued to croon into the mic, picking the strings of her ukulele, telling herself she didn’t care if the ale in the bar taps turned to mucky creek water tonight, or if the cash in the register transformed into crisp golden maple keys. She didn’t care if those spongy green clumps currently sprouting up between the floorboards were, in fact, forest moss.
She needed to stay focused.
She needed to not screw this up.
Emeline couldn’t give the representatives from Daybreak Records—sitting at the back of this crowded pub—any inkling that freaky things happened when she sang. Nope. Tonight, she was Emeline Lark, folk singer with a pop vibe. Rising star with foot-stomping melodies and a breathy, warbling voice.
Nothing freaky to see here at all."

Overall, Edgewood is an exquisite contemporary YA fantasy that combines magic, action, and romance. Emeline's quest was full of terror, and there were several surprising twists and turns near the end of the book that had me gasping. I really enjoyed reading this book, particularly at night-time, as the plot seemed particularly dream-like. This book would appeal to fans of woodsy, creepy books like House of Hollow and For the Wolf. If you're intrigued by the excerpt above, or if you're a fan of YA fantasy books, you won't regret checking out this book when it comes out in January!