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A review by restless_pages
There's a Monster in the Woods by Fae Quin
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.0
It's a sweet short story about Ellis, an outcast who lives with his dog on outskirts of a village, and Styx, a monster from the woods.
Before anything, the cover of the book is simply gorgeous and it's what drew me to pick up this book. I love it to bits.
Even though it's a short story, the romance is quite slow-paced, which is usually my preference. The writing is dreamy and poetic, which is also another plus for me.
I was really intrigued at first, with Ellis meeting this wild, mysterious, dangerous-looking creature from the legend in the middle of woods. But one thing that kinda ruined the experience for me was that we are mostly told, not shown.
I'd say the book mostly consists of Ellis' inner monologue. The interactions that we do get to <i>see</i> are really engaging, and the ones with Styx are especially beautiful. But a lot (most) of it is Ellis telling us about it, or rather, reminiscing about what happened. He tells us that Styx and him became more comfortable around each other as they spent more time together; that he was more talkative than he was with anyone else because Styx is mostly silent; he tells us about that time he discovered what Styx's favorite type of bread is.
And I just really wanted to see more of their interactions, because like this, it felt like so many stuff happened off-page.
But I liked both characters, especially Styx. The little details about them, their likes and dislikes, really added to their personalities. I liked how they bonded over loneliness and how soft and loving they were towards each other.
The spice at the very end didn't work for me, mostly because of situation in which it happened and location where it happend. I really don't understand why the author chose to have their first and only sex scene happen where it did and under such circumstances, and turn it into some sort of "revenge". It's really baffling and it made the scene so uncomfortable for me. As someone else also noted in their reviews, it would've made more sense if it happened in Ellis' garden, or even in the woods or in the cottage.
Before anything, the cover of the book is simply gorgeous and it's what drew me to pick up this book. I love it to bits.
Even though it's a short story, the romance is quite slow-paced, which is usually my preference. The writing is dreamy and poetic, which is also another plus for me.
I was really intrigued at first, with Ellis meeting this wild, mysterious, dangerous-looking creature from the legend in the middle of woods. But one thing that kinda ruined the experience for me was that we are mostly told, not shown.
I'd say the book mostly consists of Ellis' inner monologue. The interactions that we do get to <i>see</i> are really engaging, and the ones with Styx are especially beautiful. But a lot (most) of it is Ellis telling us about it, or rather, reminiscing about what happened. He tells us that Styx and him became more comfortable around each other as they spent more time together; that he was more talkative than he was with anyone else because Styx is mostly silent; he tells us about that time he discovered what Styx's favorite type of bread is.
And I just really wanted to see more of their interactions, because like this, it felt like so many stuff happened off-page.
But I liked both characters, especially Styx. The little details about them, their likes and dislikes, really added to their personalities. I liked how they bonded over loneliness and how soft and loving they were towards each other.
The spice at the very end didn't work for me, mostly because of situation in which it happened and location where it happend. I really don't understand why the author chose to have their first and only sex scene happen where it did and under such circumstances, and turn it into some sort of "revenge". It's really baffling and it made the scene so uncomfortable for me. As someone else also noted in their reviews, it would've made more sense if it happened in Ellis' garden, or even in the woods or in the cottage.