A review by gracecleo
Between the Water and the Woods by Simone Snaith

3.0

I have mixed feelings about this book, to be honest. I wasn’t a fan of the romantic subplot as it felt overdone and I found it boring. The main plot was more interesting though, and I really enjoyed picturing both Equane’s quaint little cobb cottages and the capital’s interesting fashions. I liked the few spooky scenes, wherever they ran into an Ithin, quite a bit. They were certainly the most exciting to read, but they felt out of place in midst of the bright mood of the rest of the book.

Also, I liked the plot twist! It was fun and kinda unexpected, but besides that I wasn’t a big fan of the ending. I think it would have made more sense for Reese to set it up so he would be sent with the other knights/guards to Equane to spend more time with Emeline, rather than suggesting that they completely uproot their lives and move to Willen, especially since Reese has no friends or family in the city, but Emeline has the farm, friends, and her mother’s memory as reasons not to move villages. If there’s a sequel I’d like to see something like that happen instead. They definitely should at least wait until after harvest season for the choice to be a little more sensible. Anyways. It was cute.

Oh, I can't believe I almost forgot to mention the beautiful illustrations! I liked them quite a bit, and now follow Sara Kipin on Instagram.