Between the Birches

4.5 stars rounded up

<b>CWs:</b> animal death, depiction of mental health, loss of a loved one

<b><u>Summary</u></b>

Beth Newman is incredibly excited for her birthday weekend--her husband of five months is finally bringing her along on his sacred camping trip with the boys! She's known Tom and his friends for most of her life, having grown up in a relatively small town in the south together.

The couple's best friend, Grady, who's supposed to be accompanying them on this trip has been distant for the past few weeks. Sure, he used to have a crush on Beth in their high school days, but that certainly isn't reason enough to be making himself scarce around the newlywed couple.

When Beth and Tom pull up to see Grady, along with two of their friends who they were not expecting to be coming along (Paul and Jeff), Beth is confused by the concerned look on her husband's face. Grady's steely look is no comfort either.

Quickly, Beth discovers that magic is real--and she has a lot of it running through her veins. Grady has also unlocked the power of harnessing and using magic, and he's the one who needs to teach her how to manage this new aspect of her life. She learns of prophecies, cults, ominous old gods, ancestors, and that their lives are in grave danger if she can't learn to use her magic soon.

There are also a whole lot of spoilers, but I want everyone to experience all the twists and turns themselves hehehe

<b><u>Star Rating Breakdown</u></b>

+1: characters - <i>these characters had me giggling and kicking my feet one moment and then sobbing the next; they were so well written and I wanted to protect almost all of them with every fibre of my bring</i>

+1: prose - <i>the writing was just so,,,,bingeworthy?? KP is a blessing and i love her endlessly. i'm very sure she could write a chore list and maybe that would inspire me to actually get shit done around my apartment</i>

+0.75: plot - <i>it's such a twist on a classic oh my gods i need other people to read this so i can fangirl over it and stop annoying my coworkers lmao</i>

-0.5: pacing - <i>it is VERY fast paced, but honestly it fits with KP's style. there were a few chunks i had to read over again just to make sure i got it right/wasn't missing anything, but if fast paced is something you enjoy you will absolutely love BtB:A. it was just a tad too fast for me!</i>

+0.75: the gods - <i>I want so badly to know what the process was like in researching/coming up with Ja'azul and the ranks that served him</i>

+1: vibes - <i>the spice didn't overtake the plot, it all made sense, my little DnD player & GM brain was so happy, i just loved all of it so much and i cannot WAIT for it to be in everyone's hands hehehehe</i>

Thanks to NetGalley and BDA Publishing for an ARC of this novel.

3.5 rounded down to 3.

It's been a while since I've read any fantasy novels, so I didn't really go into this one with too many expectations. I thought the premise sounded very intriguing, especially with the folklore and horror all wrapped in together.

Overall, I thought the concept was very good. The story was actually really fast-paced, and there were shorter chapters which help the story flow. I was highly entertained and was looking forward to seeing what would happen next.

However, I feel like overall it ended up falling short. It seemed like the author had too much going on, and this might have worked better as a longer series across several books than just a trilogy. There was literally everything in the novel - cults, ritual sacrifices, ghosts, witches, magic, shapeshifters, love triangles...it was a lot to develop the world, characters, and the plot in a mere 500 pages. A lot of things that happened that seemed extremely random, which left me confused and created minor plot holes since they weren't addressed later on. Additionally, the characters would have reactions to certain events happening that seemed life-altering, but then just move on and act as if other significant events weren't a big deal. It just came across as bizarre, which I think again has to do with how much the author wanted to include/accomplish in a short number of pages. I also didn't get much of a "folklore" aspect, since nothing was really explained/developed about the world or creatures. Normally I would prefer this style of storytelling, because I find that other authors tend to be too detailed; however, I think if there was more character and world-building, this would have resulted in a higher rating from me.

I will post a review to my Instagram once it is closer to publication day.

I had so much fun reading this book - yes, there was a lot going on, but it felt like the most exciting roller coaster from start to finish, and when that last line hit (that LAST LINE?!?!?) it felt JUST like that moment when the coaster comes to a stop and you're breathless and grinning. I am truly excited for the next installment!!