This has not lived up to the hype of the first book. I have tried reading it twice now and have DNF’d it both times. Maybe I’m just not in the right headspace for it. I was really looking forward to this book, but since trying to read it, I have had no desire to come back to it and finally finish. I now own a physical copy, so I would like to finish it someday, but today is not that day. What I read was slow paced and not as atmospheric and gripping as The Wicked Deep

This book was perfectly eerily. I guessed the "ending" pretty early on, but a variety of different twists and turns made it unique and enjoyable!

Winterwood was exactly the book I’ve been craving. Broody, atmospheric and full of witchy goodness. I adored The Wicked Deep and Winterwood did not let me down in the slightest. Shea Ernshsw has such a poetic way with words, her prose ensares me and pulls me deep into the worlds she creates. I’m a fan.

What a lovely, spooky, strange little book.

Nora Walker's story reads like a fairytale. The writing is lush and dark. it teeters on the edge of real and fantasy. And although I guessed the twist quite early on, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Nora is something of a witch who lives with her absent mother and memories of her grandmother in a snowy wood. It's a chilly, claustrophobic setting, but somewhat cozy at the same time. She's never found her "nightshade" (basically a magical affinity) the way her ancestors did. But all that changes the day she discovers a boy in the strange Wicker Woods.

The boy is named Oliver, and together he and Nora try to figure out what happened leading up to her finding him. It's a fun, intriguing little mystery, and although I did not find it scary like some people apparently did, I was very invested in solving it. As I said, I guessed at the ending, but I didn't mind. I still liked watching everything unravel. The romance was cute, because these characters are both and sweet.

My only real complaints are that I find it difficult to deeply connect to the characters in books written this way, with an emphasis on the lyrical. I liked the romantic aspect fine, but I cared more about the mystery than whether the two main characters got their happily ever after. And though the ending was beautiful (if not a little mind-bending), I still felt like quite a few questions were left unanswered.

Overall, I would for sure recommend this! It's a fairly quick read with a great atmosphere, beautiful writing, and an otherworldly vibe. 4/5 stars!

It's no secret that Shea Ernshaw has stunning writing. Reading The Wicked Deep last year was phenomenal. Winterwood was no different. It has the same kind of vibe with a different storyline. While The Wicked Deep is perhaps a book to read in the fall, Winterwood is definitely a book you want to read in the winter. I'm not sure what genre you could classify it as, but magical realism makes the most sense to me. Although The Wicked Deep is probably my favourite (it was really hard to top), Winterwood's plot felt slightly underdeveloped in certain areas. I didn't find myself reaching for answers as much, and wasn't taken by surprise as often. Some parts were definitely shocking, though, and at times I had no idea where the plot was going to go next. This all seems very contradictory, I know, but there is just a slight difference. Even so, I thoroughly enjoyed my time reading this and found it to be a phenomenal experience to get wrapped up in the atmospheric writing. I think I will always pick up a Shea Ernshaw book no matter what she writes next.

The main character Nora was an independent, but lonely young witch living up an isolated mountain with her distant mother. I liked her well enough, but I didn't fully connected with her because I never really got to know her that well. I do know she misses her grandmother who died before being able to teach Nora everything she needed to know about being a witch and that her lack of magic makes her feel like she's letting down her entire line of ancestors. Nora always believed she was fine on her own until she got a glimpse of what it might be like to have friends and then she felt their absence deeply. I think that might be why she quickly grew attached to our other main character Oliver. He'd been missing from the boys camp across the lake for two weeks when Nora found him close to death lost in the frozen forest after a major snowstorm. Noras used to finding lost items in the woods, but she never expected to find a boy.

It took me a long time to sympathize with Oliver since he was just so sweet that his worry over being the villain wasn't very believable to me. Wouldn't he know for sure if he was a villain based on his personality leading up to the night he cant remember. His tragic past and everything that's happened at the camp had me eventually feeling for him. Since the romance came out of nowhere it took until close to the end for me to feel the chemistry between the two main characters. Once I did though I really wanted them to get a happy ending together. I did find Noras first and only female friendship a little disappointing. I wish it hadn't taken so long for Suzy to stand up to the bullies at the boys camp. I think a good person and friend would have done the right thing and helped Nora before their own life was in danger.

I have to say this authors writing was very captivating. She created a vivid atmosphere with her descriptions of the dark and cold winter setting. The forest surrounding Noras home have a long memory and know how to hold a grudge, but none are nearly as vengeful as the wicker woods. Even the clueless tourists feel uneasy around them. The Walker witches have a connection to the forest that prevent them from leaving for long. They are said to have sprung up from its soil, each of them blessed with a unique magic called a nightshade. Some of their abilities consist of sharing dreams, calming bees, and bonding with animal. I loved the pieces of the spellbook where we get to learn about past Walker witches, and the spell to access their ability. However the amount of times I was told Nora was a Walker witch did get repetitive.

The plot heavily focused on discovering what happened the night Oliver went missing. Despite having predicted that reveal when I was only about five chapters in, I still found it compelling watching the main character try to figure it out. The mystery had a good amount of suspense, but some of the threads didn't seem to add up. Plus memory loss isn't my favorite trope since it usually feels a little too convenient, but under these circumstances it did make sense. Having the characters be snowed in without any power or way off the mountain added some serious creepy vibes. Its known that people can be even more deadly than the dangerous woods, especially people who feel trapped and desperate. Im glad I decided to pick up Winterwood since dark and atmospheric standalones are the type of books I enjoy reading around this time of year. If you're looking for a winter themed book you might want to consider this one.

You know those books that you loved so much you have trouble talking about them? Because all you want to do is GUSH about every single aspect of the book but you need to try and be somewhat coherent? This is one of those books for me. So get ready because this is going to be a whole mess.

I’m going to try and do this in order of what I loved most about the book, but it’s still everything so the order doesn’t really matter.

Okay.

The atmosphere was incredible. Like beyond incredible. The lake with only a few cabins still inhabited in the dead of winter and a snowstorm that cuts them all off from the outside world. No cell service, no electricity, no outside contact. It just sets the scene for something really dark to happen. And the constant dread is always at the back of your mind as you’re reading, especially with the dark part of the woods that are mentioned throughout the book just to really set the scene for something dark to happen. Every setting in here was just so well described as well, I could picture the woods and the lake and every room in Nora’s house. It’s just really good okay? Take my word for it.

The magic and mystery of the story. The story is upfront about the fact that there’s magic, and that there’s a lot that you don’t know going in. Nora is the last in a long line of women who have magic and it’s a major part of the story. There’s also just this sense of unease and “what the hell is actually going on” all the way through. There are some mysteries that you know you’re trying to figure out…but also some other little tidbits that you don’t really think about but just wait to make sense. If you know what I mean? The story feels really high stakes, the fact that there’s only a few people stranded in the snowy forest just intensifies the feeling that anything can happen.

The characters. Look the characters in here could have been pretty bad and I probably would have still loved the book because I’m just that in love with the way it was written. Luckily they were great though! Nora was such a fascinating main character, just a young girl left on her own, trying to figure out her place in the world but also content to figure it out. She’s so full of strength and it’s just lovely getting to read from her POV. I also really liked Oliver, he was such a mystery from start to finish but it made for such a compelling story. All the minor characters were well fleshed out as well, there was depth to all of them, whether I liked them or not. I can’t deny that they were all well written.

So if you’re looking for a super atmospheric book, filled with magic, well written characters and a compelling mystery then look no further. This was a stunning book and I’m immediately picking up the authors debut and will read everything that they publish from here on out. I loved this book and everyone needs to read it.

Beautifully written and atmospheric, but I was left wanting so much more from the characters. I was so intrigued by the Walker family history and Nora and Oliver but didn’t feel like I got a chance to know them as much as I would have liked and felt that piece was missing from the novel.

Definite Practical Magic vibes (in a good way). Witchy read lovers will enjoy it and I’m interested to read her other work.

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

3.5

4/5

*I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

I loved the writing in this book and the setting. It was so atmospheric and beautiful and I just wanted more and more.

I really enjoyed the friendships that started to develop in this book, although at one point it felt like that side of the story was stunted.

I enjoyed the romance. I did find that it took over the story a lot, but I enjoyed it so I didn’t mind much.

The overall story I enjoyed and had fun reading. I loved the setting so much, and the mystery was fun and exciting to read.

Unfortunately I guessed the big twist very early on, so I wasn’t surprised by it at all. It was a little disappointing that I’d guessed it, but I still enjoyed that twist. The ending was good, I had expected something different but I ended up being happy with how it ended.

I absolutely loved Shea Ernshaw’s wonderfully creepy and atmospheric debut, The Wicked Deep, and I was so excited when I learned about Winterwood. This book has cemented my love of Ernshaw’s storytelling ability. She truly has a knack for writing super atmospheric, eerie books that suck you in and make you feel like you’re part of the story. I felt like I was stranded with Nora and Oliver on that frozen lake with the menacing woods as a backdrop. There was an underlying current of tension and danger throughout, which made it hard to put this book down. Winterwood wove together magic, mystery, and romance into a story that was beautiful, haunting, and enchanting. I can’t wait to see what Shea Ernshaw writes next.

4.5 stars

This book was so fantastic! It's so atmospheric, and incredible to read! I enjoyed learning about the Walker family (we got excerpts from their family book, of the various Walker women, their ability and a spell to be able to do what they did, or a recipe of food that they liked. I enjoyed it so much!

This world of humans and magic and of the Wicker Woods, it's just so interesting. It makes the women of the Walker family outcasts, and it puts Nora into some pretty tough situations. The fact that the forest is awake except when there's a full moon, these were bits that I enjoyed reading and learning about so much!

This story is just so cleverly written! There's the mystery of what happened the night the storm came in, that's now trapped them on the mountain for 2 weeks. Finding Oliver in a deeper part of the forest then she'd gone before, yeah, I couldn't stop reading!

There's the tension between the two of them, both romantically, and tense because there's a boy who died the same time that Oliver went missing. And that Oliver doesn't have memories of what happened, well, I just wanted to know!

This book was fantastic, and I can't wait to read more by Shea Ernshaw!

Finally getting around to writing a review for this bad boy.

I have to admit, out of most the books on my Netgalley shelf, I was most excited to read Winterwood. I'm going to have to give this one a 3 star rating however- not because it was bad (in fact, Ernshaw has very captivating writing style, the kind that keeps a person hooked into the story until you're done), but I felt like the elements I was promised/looking forward to were not explored enough.

-I didn't feel connected to the characters, would have loved to get to know them better
-the romance was...not my favourite? It was good but almost a little too unexplored.
-I wanted more deep dark and scary woods. lets talk about the woods more :'(
-more witchery!!!

enough said.

I have no regrets reading Winterwood., it was still a very engaging read with really interesting ideas. I would for sure acquire this for my library. It just wasn't a 5 star to me.

I just love Shea Ernshaw's writing! Dark, atmospheric and witchy. The only thing I'm not sure about is the ending, but I believe she may have said that she changed some things? I may not have loved it as much as her first novel, but I have already ordered a physical copy because the first editions are just stunning. I do plan on reading this book again as this is the perfect time of year to read it. A snowed in town. Dark, enchanted (and creepy) woods. Witchy vibes.

As much as it pains me to say it, I don't think it's going to workout between me and Shea Ernshaw. One of those it's not you, it's me, but actually it probably is you type of relationships. How do I know this? Because I broke one of my cardinal reading rules to get to the last page.

What rule did I break, you ask? Well. I couldn't put myself through it anymore and skimmed the last half. It's positively sacrilegious! But I'd had enough. I couldn't sit with this book anymore and ended up just reading the dialogue and a few paragraphs here and there to get the gist. Really, I should have DNF'd it, but that's a rule never break. So, I found out how it ends and I'm really just sort of meh over it all.

It sucks, because on paper Ernshaw's books are everything I want. Living woods with malicious intent? A family of female witches? A snowed in group of people in the middle of nowhere with a murder on their hands? Yes, please. So why does it never pan out for me? Easy. The pace is far too slow. There is far too little witchery, far too little malevolent woods and too. much. feelings. Much of it got quite repetitive, and Nora didn't come off all too clever at times because of it. I’m genuinely disappointed that there was so little forest and witchery focus. There were little snippets from the Walker family spell book that talked about the past witches, and I LOVED that. It was quirky and cute and made me smile? Why couldn’t there have been more of that?!

I think the main reason why I couldn't get into this book is that there seems to be something about Ernshaw's stories that makes me weirdly uncomfortable. In the way her characters are and their fall in too deep and too fast attitudes. I can do all the gore and blood and dark twists you want, but not ... this. With The Wicked Deep I found myself very uneasy with the relationship that blossomed. One, because it really felt completely unasked for. And two the deeper connotations just held a whole lot of wrong. The same holds true for Winterwood. Worse is that I figured out the major plot twist early on, and it made everything profoundly more unnerving.

2.5/5

Thank you to Simon and Schuster for the e-Arc.

October was the month I wanted to absolutely delve into all spooky books, and Winterwood was high on my tbr. It’s the perfect book to read during fall, and it was one of my favourite reads in October.

The language and storytelling is so, so beautiful. Ernshaw crafts a narrative that honours nature, shows love and respect for it. You can’t help but to feel drawn into the book, with the lush and atmospheric descriptions. I felt an immediate connection to the book, and that feeling never faded. The writing style is almost lyrical, but most definitely magical.

Nora, our main character, is so fascinating and well crafted. We feel her hopes and her fears, her weakness and her courage, over the course of the novel. She’s largely an independent young woman, who wants to embrace her magical heritage and also help Oliver. She undertakes this on her own, a daunting task in an isolated area surrounded by danger.

Oliver himself is interesting, and there’s mystery to unravel about him. I liked guessing what had happened, and the twist was well-done. It made me even more invested in the story, and it made me emotional.The romance is sweet, and though for some it can be considered almost insta-love, on the page it mostly felt like a deep connection formed because Nora saved Oliver’s life.

The magic and the mystery are two of my favourite aspects of the story. The mystery of how Oliver ended up in the woods is intricate, and keeps you guessing. I enjoyed trying to piece together what might have happened, and the reveal was intense. All of the pieces of the story came together to make for a riveting and rewarding ending. I honestly can’t stop thinking about it. The book is interspersed with background on witches from Nora’s family, and I loved that insight into the history of these women. The magic is very rooted in nature; I enjoy seeing that particular type of magic, and I think that magic made the setting come alive even more.

I can’t even fully express how much I enjoyed Winterwood. It’s a magical, romantic, dark novel with an interesting mystery to unravel. It was one of my favourite reads in October, and I can honestly see myself re-reading it in the future. It’s such a magical story, and the setting itself is almost another character. If you love books about witches, you might want to check this one out!

A paranormal/urban fantasy/magical realism book with a mystery set in creepy winter woods... I was completely sold on this story.

Anyone who knows me can tell you that my favourite genres are fantasy, contemporary and mystery. This book is an outstanding blend of them all. There’s just enough magic to feel enchanting. There’s just enough mystery to keep you hooked. There’s just enough romance to make your heart go pitter-patter. And atmospheric in a way that’s eerie and dark, but not in a bad way.

Make sure you have a big vat of hot cocoa on hand. Or a pot (or two) of tea. You will feel those chilly woods deep into your bones. A perfect read for a long and cold winter night, where you want to lock all of the doors, hide away bundled beneath five blankets, have a fire blazing and a room of candles lit, all the while watching the snow softly falling outside.

This was a fun read. I haven't read Ernshaw's first book The Wicked Deep so I was pleasantly surprised by her writing. It was vivid and immersive and I loved it. You could really feel Nora's hurt, discomfort, love, etc. Ernshaw's metaphors and descriptions were like rich chocolate - I could eat it up forever. I will be going back to read her first book after this one. It was a nice touch that Ernshaw included the spellbook entries about a different Walker between each chapter. It really brought the Walker witch heritage to life and added another glimpse to characters that were only mentioned in passing by Nora.

I would have liked more descriptions and actions in the woods. I thought they would be a bigger focal point of the story, and while they did go into the woods, not as much as I expected. But when they were in the woods you could feel the unease emanate off the page. I don't know if it's because I just finished The Shining before starting this, but I ate the setting of Jackjaw Lake up. It felt so much like the atmosphere of the Overlook - snowed in, no communications to the outside world, no power - that I think it really added to the creepy atmosphere of what was going on.

It was a bit insta-love-ish but I think the way that Ernshaw wrote Nora and Oliver's connection via the woods made it work. So I didn't hate it. I actually liked them together despite that part. The plot-twist was predictable as I guessed it around the 50% mark. I would have liked it to have been a little less obvious. I do think the way Ernshaw tied it all together by the end made it work out okay — also I’m happy with how the ending turned out. I would have been disappointed if it had been different.

Nora’s nightshade was also predictable in an almost painfully obvious way. I know Ernshaw probably left the clues strung along the narrative on purpose but it was a bit lacking compared to the strength of her writing. It was a bit funny because I just wanted to yell at Nora that she had a great power and she was ignoring it!! Like girl!! It’s right there!!! How could she not tell! I don't know. I think that part could have been done better and could have added more to her character development. I also wanted more witchy stuff. I guess the point of the story is that she isn't a traditional witch like the other Walkers. Which is why I enjoyed the journal entries. They gave that extra witchy stuff.

Nora was good, but I wanted more from her. I know the book isn’t terribly long - it’s only 320 pages - so it’s tough to fit huge character development but she was so back and forth on desiring to be alone versus not - especially when she kept resorting to pushing people away like Suzy and Oliver later on. I don’t know. I liked her but I didn’t love all the choices she made.

We don't get too much from Oliver so he fell a bit flat in the parts with his perspective but I did like him. I just wanted more. More from him and more from his development. The other secondary characters were okay - it was easy to loathe the other boys that were part of the story; except for Lin, I would say. They did feel a bit typical and I’m not sure I could remember all their names a month from now.

I rounded my rating up to 4 stars due to the vividness of Ernshaw's writing but my actual rating is 3.5 out of 5. I’ve seen a few people say there will be changes with the final print version since I had a digital arc, so I will likely check that out later at some point to see if it’s changed. I did like Winterwood, don't get me wrong. I'm excited to see Ernshaw progress as a writer and read her future work.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy. This did not affect my rating.
*4/5*

"A sleeping forest will allow safe passage. But if it wakes, be prepared to run."
Has one line of text ever given you chills? Given you a sense that you will love the atmosphere of a story? This book has that line for me.

“I am more darkness than girl. More winter shadows than August sunlight. We are the daughters of the wood”
Nora Walker is a witch. Or so they say. The Walker women are all witches. They never leave Fir Haven. If they do, something always pulls them back. They can enter the Wicker Woods on a full moon and not be harmed. They can bring back what has been lost.
Nora enters the woods on a full moon, and finds a boy. A boy who shouldn’t be there. A boy who changes her life. As storm after storm blocks the people of Fir Haven in, Nora decides to unravel the truth behind the mysterious boy. How did he survive the woods? What secrets is he keeping?
Quiet, slow burning, and intense. This novel made me want to curl up by a fireplace with hot tea and snuggle in. The air of mystery, and of magic.

As a bonus, there were little backstories and spell from previous Walker women and I loved it.

I will read whatever Shea Ernshaw publishes.

Set in the mountains, near magical, dark woods, lives the Walker family who are rumoured to be witches. When a boy from the Camp for Wayward Boys goes missing and a huge snowstorm approaches, everyone is trapped. Nora Walker, who is not certain if she can call herself a witch, finds the missing boy Oliver Huntsman in the Wicker Woods. Nora doesn’t understand how he could have survived weeks in the magical forest - Oliver has to be hiding something.

I loved this book - the atmospheric writing, the mystery of the woods, and what actually happened that one night out on the frozen lake. Nora is quite capable on her own while her mother is out in the nearby town - she shows tenacity and we learn along with Nora if she has magic or not. It was a joy to read about the different witches of the Walker line and discovering the motivations behind Oliver’s actions. The ending was unexpected and I kept on reading to find out the truth!

Overall, Winterwood is a haunting and lyrical read that will make you feel chills down your spine while you turn the pages!

Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher of this book for giving me a chance to read an e-ARC of Winterwood!

Real rating: 4.5 stars.

I've really been behind on reading my arcs, thanks to a reading slump and me, generally being a mess, but I am oh so glad I started picking them up again and that I started with this one, because WOW.

This book just....... It hooked me in, straight from the get go, you know? As early on as the first page, I knew this would be the book that'd get me out of my reading slump, and that I'd actually look forward to picking back up after I put it down to do things I had to do. 'Cause, believe you me, had I not had reasons to put this down a few times, I'd have read it in one go.

Thing is, whilst I would and do recommend this book to everyone, I'm not entirely sure it's going to work for everyone as well as it worked for me. The ending, in particular, is most likely a "love it or hate it" kind of thing, and whereas I loved it, I'm sure others might feel completely differently about it. Of course, I can't exactly tell what kind of people would love it, as that would spoil things, but just know that I thought it was wonderful.

The one reason I didn't give this five stars was the epilogue, really, which I'm not counting as part of the ending. The thing is, I just didn't see the point of it? It was a huge let down after the rest of the book, and even the writing just didn't feel as good within it as it did in the pages that preceded it? I just... I don't get it? I'm sure there might be some deep meaning behind it or whatever, but it 100% went over my head, and I high key wish there just hadn't been an epilogue altogether.

But yeah, that was honestly the only thing I didn't like about this book? Honestly, at times, this book made me feel somewhat unsettled, due to the way certain things happened and certain characters acted, and looking back on it now, I think that shows just how powerful Shea Ernshaw's writing is. The atmosphere was also *chef's kiss*, and I could have honestly highlighted practically this whole entire book if I was reading it physically and annotating it.

All in all, this came out of left field for me (as I'd only seen negative reviews so far) and surprised me in the best way possible. I loved loved loved this book, and I'm oh so glad it exists. Seriously, like, I wish I could thank Shea Ernshaw for writing it because it was exactly what I needed to remember why I love reading so much.