A review by petalpineink
The Dark Between The Trees by Fiona Barnett

dark mysterious

2.0

The promise of this story had so much potential, but it just didn’t deliver for me. 

This story focuses on two alternating perspectives - one of a military unit lost in the for in the 1600s and another of a modern day group of women seeking to discover the history of the lost military group. This story sets you up to expect dark twists and monstrous beings as both groups discover the fatal mysteries of the woods. It seemed to me to have a feel crossed between Annihilation, though not science fiction, and The Blair Witch Project. However I quickly discovered that while the set up of the story gave these vibes, the execution just didn’t keep me interested or deliver enough mystery and excitement for my liking. 

To be honest, I didn’t find much of this story to be memorable. I found that the scenes describing the monster and the hardships and horrors the characters experience tended to speed through too quickly and not give enough detail to really give them the scare they ought to have delivered. And I felt the deterioration of some of the characters relationships, especially the women in modern time, occurred to quick. By the end I felt both that the horror aspect of a dark woods was sped over and therefore this read was not all too memorable for me. The ending just didn’t wow me either to elevate the rest of the issues I had with it. 

Overall, I really wanted to like this book based on its premise, but it was not a book written for me after all. 

Thanks NetGalley and Revellion for an ARC of this book.