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A review by sarahshams
The Twisted Tree by Rachel Burge
2.0
this was WILDY ENTERTAINING....at times.
The premise had me SOLD, so I ventured into this with high expectations, which were more or less fulfilled, I suppose. Yes, I was drawn into the mythology. Yes, I was scared shitless in certain scenes. And yet...altogether it came off as a little amateur.
Why? Mainly because the story was packed into a meagre 125 pages. It felt rushed, and though I'm happy that it didn't drag, I still felt that there was just too much going on at once, and that the clues and hints being given to us were a VERY heavy handed. You know what else was heavy handed? The romance.
you just know that there's going to be insta love when you read the words "peculiar boy" in the blurb.
the entire time I was like GIRL YOU JUST MET A STRANGER SQUATTING IN YOUR DEAD GRANDMOTHER'S HOUSE AND YOU'RE SUDDENLY ACTING LIKE HIS SUBURBAN MIDDLE AGED HOUSEWIFE.
In Martha's defence, though, she does have the same reservations in the start, and the situation that brings the two of them together is one borne from necessity more than anything else. I get why she would want someone else to be with her in a creepy cabin, but still...idk. If they wanted to go that way they should have drawn out their relationship. But I'll admit that I'm looking at this book with a slightly biased lens because it's written in first person present tense, which I hate, so that might have pushed my negative opinions on the book a little further.
That being said, it was genuinely fun to read. The whole deal with her left eye, Stig's backstory, her ability, family history, suspense, setting....10/10 for plot elements. 5/10 for execution.
The premise had me SOLD, so I ventured into this with high expectations, which were more or less fulfilled, I suppose. Yes, I was drawn into the mythology. Yes, I was scared shitless in certain scenes. And yet...altogether it came off as a little amateur.
Why? Mainly because the story was packed into a meagre 125 pages. It felt rushed, and though I'm happy that it didn't drag, I still felt that there was just too much going on at once, and that the clues and hints being given to us were a VERY heavy handed. You know what else was heavy handed? The romance.
the entire time I was like GIRL YOU JUST MET A STRANGER SQUATTING IN YOUR DEAD GRANDMOTHER'S HOUSE AND YOU'RE SUDDENLY ACTING LIKE HIS SUBURBAN MIDDLE AGED HOUSEWIFE.
In Martha's defence, though, she does have the same reservations in the start, and the situation that brings the two of them together is one borne from necessity more than anything else. I get why she would want someone else to be with her in a creepy cabin, but still...idk. If they wanted to go that way they should have drawn out their relationship. But I'll admit that I'm looking at this book with a slightly biased lens because it's written in first person present tense, which I hate, so that might have pushed my negative opinions on the book a little further.
That being said, it was genuinely fun to read. The whole deal with her left eye, Stig's backstory, her ability, family history, suspense, setting....10/10 for plot elements. 5/10 for execution.