(2.5 - 3 Stars)

Judging the Book by its Cover
I adored The Wicked Deep so very much and was anxious to dive back into Earnshaw's magical writing and let it take me away to that warm and happy place books like this are supposed to take you. 5 Stars to a beautiful cover.

Book Review
I really wanted to like this. I wanted to like this way more than I actually did. The writing was beautiful, but I had a very difficult time getting into it at the start and the further I read, the more the story fell apart for me, just sort of disintegrating in front of my eyes.

I really liked the idea of Nora, who finds lost things in the woods, finding a missing boy in the woods. I liked her fascination with him and her desire to keep him. But I was disappointed that this scenario transitioned so quickly into a romantic arc that drove the majority of the story. There was a lot of room to explore this and take it somewhere deeper into her Walker folklore and let the rest of it develop naturally, but it didn’t. The characters didn’t really grow, the folklore of the Walkers, other than having snippets from the spell book woven between each chapter, was never really developed either. The lack of this development made this nothing more than a teen romance novel, which is fine for some people but that’s not what I signed up for.

I think my biggest issue was that I had figured out what was happening very early on, like pages into the book, so every time the book lead me in a false direction, I could clearly see through it and was slightly annoyed with an "I know what you're doing, book, you can't fool me" attitude. That was definitely distracting.

It was also painfully repetitive, continually telling me the same thoughts and feelings over and over again without moving anything forward. There is nothing I hate more than being treated like I can’t remember what was said three pages ago, like I need my hand held to piece together a story. Especially when I had already discovered the truth way before I was ever supposed to.

The atmosphere of the book was beautiful. The forest was a character in itself and it really came alive. I loved the description of Nora’s home and the brief encounters with her neighbors that we got to witness. And the ending was strong. I really liked the direction it went in and where we left off. In fact, the ending does a lot to redeem my opinion of the story and make me a little less hard on it as a whole.

I read an advanced copy of this and apparently the published final has some changes. I really hope these changes do a lot to impact that overall story. I hope that it is tightened up and the breadcrumbs are not so large, because I did really enjoy where I ended up, I just really did not enjoy the journey and was close to giving up many times.

If you’re looking for a magical book to get cozy with this winter, mark your calendars for November 5 and be sure to get your hands on a copy of Winterwood by Shea Ernshaw!

This is Shea’s second book (her first was The Wicked Deep, which I haven’t read yet), and it was incredible. I’d seen positive reviews of her debut novel, and was very excited to receive a digital ARC of Winterwood. I was a little nervous, thinking that my expectations were maybe set a little too high, but readers, this book knocked it out of the park.

Winterwood follows the story of Nora Walker, a young witch with generations of magic behind her. While she hasn’t quite found her magic yet, one cold, wintry night, she does find a lost boy while walking through the Wicker Woods. She brings him home, and finds out that his name is Oliver, and he’s been missing from a local boy’s camp for almost three weeks. How did he survived outside, and endure an epic winter storm? Well, you’ll have to read to find out!

What happens next is pure magic. Nora knows something isn’t quite right, and soon finds herself caught up in gossip from other local boys. They call her moon-witch and assume she’s evil, but what she learns about them is much worse than their assumptions about her.

The writing throughout this book is incredibly immersive and atmospheric. It’s easy to get lost in the pages, and find yourself with Nora inside her cozy little house, or walking in the snow through the woods. It can be hard to find a fantasy novel with such beautiful descriptions, but Winterwood is absolutely stunning.

While the plot is driven by some thriller-elements, the story itself also focuses quite a bit on Nora’s family history, and their relationship to the Wicker Woods. As I mentioned before, Nora’s mother, grandmother, aunts, and many other women before her were all witches. Their family is tied to the woods, they’ve always lived in the same house, and drawn their powers from their surroundings. The book is littered with small anecdotes referring to their history, which I thought added an extra layer to the story.

One thing I will note (that I’ve seen other reviews mention as well) is that some of the major plot points were quite predictable, and I was upset about guessing the ending well before it happened. However, I’ve also seen posts saying that the finished copy will be different from the ARC, and that readers can expect some differences. Hopefully this is adjusted a bit. However, I will also say that this aspect didn’t really deter my overall opinion of the book too much, and the writing alone was enough to make me fall in love with the Wicker Woods and the author’s storytelling.

I’d recommend this book to fans of YA fantasy, someone looking for a cozy winter read, or anyone who enjoys books featuring witches and magic.

Thank you to the publisher for sending me an electronic copy of this book via NetGalley. Winterwood will come out on November 5, 2019, and can be purchased wherever books are sold.

First off: Shae Ernshaw is the queen of plot twists. I strongly believe she has quickly become one of my fave authors and I cannot wait to read more of her works.

I cannot get enough of Shae’s super atmospheric books. The witchiness and creepiness and just overall immersion this book gives me is amazing. I love the way she writes!

This story hooked me from the start and I really loved the plot. The dual POV made guessing the twist difficult but it really immersed me into the story by allowing me to see things from both Oliver and Nora’s perspectives.

It has to be said again: THAT PLOT TWIST!!! I am dead.

Everyone needs to read all of Shae’s books because SHES such a great author.

arc provided by netgalley in exchange for an honest review

DNF @ 51%

I really thought I was going to love this. I was a bit bored at the beginning but at around 25% I was really enjoying the story. It was atmospheric with a hint of a creepy factor underlying all of the characters and the setting. But by 50% the story just wasn’t capturing my attention any longer. I wasn’t feeling the urge to pick it back up and I don’t want to force myself to finish this if I’m really not enjoying myself anymore. It just isn’t the book for me.

But if you like atmospheric books set in a winter setting with creepy woods and magic and a girl descended from a family of witches, give this a try! You’ll probably love it.

tw: death, death of a family member

Surrounding the town of Firhaven is woods. It's said that they are magical and haunted even. Only Nora Walker knows the truth, because the Walkers have a special connection to the forest. When Nora meets Oliver, she feels a special connection to him because of the forest.
There were many things I liked about this book. I loved the atmospheric writing for one. It was the perfect amount of purple and was just so lyrical. I could almost feel like I was in the cold forest with Nora. The fact she was a witch was great. Every two chapters there was a recipe for a spell and some history of the Walkers. This made me feel more apart of it. World building I think was good for a standalone YA Fantasy novel. It has a fairy tale feel to it and I love fairy tales.
My issues were the Instalove, the ending and the fact the characters didn't get very developed. I was super into the beginning of the novel and the intrigue at the beginning, I felt like as it went on it began to teeter out and I became less interested in it as it went on. The plot itself was just flat at certain moments for me.
Apparently the ending is different from what I read? Or maybe the other reviews or information I saw online are lying to me. Either way, I'll be picking up a finished copy to see because I did really enjoy it. The books biggest strength is Shea Ernshaw's writing and I'm really intrigued in seeing what else she comes out with.
3.5/5
I'd recommend this to fans of witches or are just looking for a standalone fantasy novel. It's very atmospheric and perfect for fall/winter.

Thank you Netgalley as well as Simon and Schuster Canada for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I read The Wicked Deep in either August or September and I absolutely loved it. So I couldn't wait to get my hands on this novel. I will say this novel definitely didn't disappoint.

I loved everything in this novel. The characters were very well fleshed out and extremely realistic. They all had flaws and their flaws were never hidden. They were out in the open so you knew they weren't these perfect people with perfect lives. The way they were written is as if they were real teenagers, they didn't feel forced or unrealistic. This made the reading experience much more enjoyable, as I wasn't rolling my eyes at these "perfect" teenagers with unrealistic thought processes.

The atmosphere...Good Lord let's talk about the way Shea Ernshaw does atmosphere. This woman is absolutely brilliant when it comes to writing atmospheres. They are so magical, dark, and just all-around glorious. Both of her novels have pulled me straight in, this one pulled a bit quicker than The Wicked Deep. She makes everything so dark but yet realistic while also maintaining the tiny bit of magic that may or may not be included in the story. She is definitely an insta-buy author for me now. Her books just pull at all the right parts to make me want to keep reading and delving into her worlds.

The plot in this book was magnificent! I didn't see any of the plot twists coming, which I definitely enjoyed. The fact that there is one boy missing and one dead drew me in. While the story isn't simple about just that, it handled everything perfectly. There is romance, but it is a slow burn and just so damn adorable. I was rooting for them from the very beginning of character introductions. This book kept me guessing, just as I would think I had a plot point figured out she would switch it up and be the closest to the opposite of my thought process.

This is a 5 star read for me and I will definitely be on the lookout for me Shea Ernshaw books!

ALL OF MY STARS!
After reading The Wicked Deep, I knew that I needed more of Shea Ernshaw’s writing and amazing world building in my life. What I wasn’t expecting was to be blown the heck away like this!
This book gave me all the feels. I knew what was coming at about 50% but still almost cried when the plot “thickened” so to speak.
With this book, Shea just became an auto buy author for me. This was just incredible and is probably one of my favourites this year. HIGHLY RECOMMEND!

First time reading from this author! I'm impressed with this one! It is a slow burn fairy tale-esque sort of story and I loved it. I literally read it in 1 sitting, I'm speechless, it was beautifully written, had compelling characters, and a fun and mysterious plot make this a story you will not regret diving into.
I've already recommended it to all my friends ahha

Winterwood is about Nora Walker, her family always lived near the Wicker Wood, a dangerous forest thet only Walker women can enter on a full moon. The kids at the camp for wayward boys across the lake whisper about the witches who lure boys away and bury them under their floorboards. The story begin after the biggest snow storm of the year, a boy went missing. But Nora found him deep in the Wicker Woods. Oliver is a mysterious boy, changed by the woods, and Nora is a Walker witch who feel the woods deep in her bones. Nora feel a pull to Oliver, but she still does not trust him fully. She still has to find out what happen to him on that faithful night in the snow. But Oliver has his secret too, secrets he’ll do anything to keep buried, because as it turns out, he wasn’t the only one to have gone missing on that fateful night all those weeks ago.

Once again Shea Ernshaw has written an amazing book, the setting is so vivid. I'm in love with her lyrical writing style. Everything that she wrote is so atmospheric, it envelop you in this beautiful surrendering that you never want to leave. But I must say that I enjoyed The Wicked Deep more then Winterwood. From what I saw the arc is different from the final copy of the book, so I'll have to wait and see if it that different to change my rating. But the writing style on it's own deserve the 4 stars I'm giving it.

The characters could have been more well developed, they felt a little allow at times. I really like that the forest felt like a character on it's own. The little insert about the past Walker women were great, you got to know the family a little better and I liked that. I wish we would have learn more about Oliver, we got to know him in the now but we didn't get to know all of him, his past and aspiration were left on the side.

Overall Winterwood is a great book and I would totally recommend it for people who love a well written atmospheric story.



*Thank you to Netgalley for providing me a copy of an arc. All thoughts are my own.*

Winterwood.
Three pages into this book I can already feel the goosebumps running over my arm. Shea has an amazing talent for weaving a story that captivates you.
I adore her writing style. I have already written down so many quotes from this novel.
This was the perfect book to end September with..it had all the witchy vibes I have been searching for.
Nora Walker comes from a long line of witches and she stumbles into Oliver Huntsman in the Wicked Woods. The setting of the wicked woods was so eerie and I really loved both Nora and Oliver.
The mystery was well developed and could definitely keep you guessing.
Winterwood is one of my favourites of 2019 and I will be revisiting every fall for sure!

This is a lovely story, I really enjoyed it! The writing itself feels very atmospheric, the plot unfolding into a fairytale. Winter as a season is so well encapsulated that you feel every creak of a branch and crackle of the fire without tiring.

Nora lives in a house in a wood in the town of Fir Haven. She has a spectacular family tree and she is connected to the forest. The forest itself is a character on its own in this book! (view spoiler) Many passages from this reminded me a lot of Alice Hoffman, and I think fans of her magical work will enjoy this as well. I will most definitely be keeping an eye out for work from Shea Ernshaw in the future!

Thank you so much for a copy of this book!

A magical and whimsical read!
I rarely enjoy this genre but I loved Winterwood!
It was an amazing read with well written characters and beautiful writing style!
Highly recommend!

Winterwood was haunting and atmospheric. I had so many questions about everything from the start. There wasn't one moment where I was not intrigued by both of the protaganists' stories.

Winterwood is the story of Nora Walker, a young witch, one of the few year round residents of a remote mountain village. During the worst storm of the winter a boy from the camp for wayward boys goes missing. Two weeks later Nora finds a boy in the depths of the Wicker Woods, and begins unraveling the mystery of how he survived and what brought him to the woods in the first place.

This is a book made to be read by the fire with a hot cup of tea while a storm brews outside.

Everything about this book is amazing. The writing is so elegant and magical. The characters are well developed. The plot is fantastic. It’s a unique story that somehow still felt familiar, like an old memory you can’t quite grasp.

I really wanted to give this one a higher rating given how much I loved her other book, The Wicked Deep, but it just wasn't there for me. I enjoyed this book because the author has such a beautiful way of writing stories, her books are so atmospheric and perfect for this time of the year. But as far as the plot goes, I predicted it from the start so it felt like the characters were going in circles until the last quarter of the book. There wasn't much character development, and a lot of the characters repeating themselves which I didn't enjoy. But the setting and premise of the book was still pretty good.

I did like this book, but I wanted more. I'm interested to see if the final copy differs from the ARC. But even with this one being a middle of the road type book for me (I didn't love it and I didn't hate it), I will always read Shea Ernshaw's books because her writing is so picturesque and beautiful.

The ARC of this book was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you @netgalley and @simonandschuster
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I read Shea’s first book, The Wicked Deep, a few years ago and I absolutely fell in love with her world building and writing style! When she revealed her upcoming book, I knew I was going to love it! Then I received an arc and I almost had a heart attack!
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This book was utterly amazing! I’m always drawn to witchy stories, especially in the Fall and this did not disappoint🙌🏻
We follow Nora Walker, who comes from a long line of witches and her journey with finding a missing boy and trying to solve a murder. Stuck on a mountain because of a storm, she gets involved with the Boys Camp across the lake, and with some characters that fear the Walker reputation and “the moon girl.”
The characters are well developed and I felt as though I was there in the Wicker Woods with them! Told between two perspectives, getting two sides of the story was a treat!
The world, The Wicker Woods, is eerie and hauntingly beautiful with everything that has ever been lost turning up for people to find, if they’re courageous enough to enter.
The mystery aspect kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time! I was constantly trying to figure out what the truth was and the twist was so mind blowing, I had to take a breather from the novel!
Overall, this book was stunning! I give it 5⭐️ and I highly recommend you check it out when it’s in stores come November!

A T M O S P H E R E.

Seriously. Whew. Shea Ernshaw is an absolute *master* at atmosphere, creating an almost claustrophobic sense of place. From the bottomless black lake to the sinister, ancient Wicker Woods to the knickknack-strewn cabin of the Walker witches ... everything was vivid, harsh, and beautiful. There was a palpable sense of dread bleeding off every page, alongside a strange calmness. It felt like deep-wintertime. And in this snowed-in world, we have Nora. I LOVED Nora. Despite the strangeness of her situation, she's an easy character to identify with - lonely, full of yearning, and always searching for her inner magic. Even Suzy was a refreshing take on the popular-girl stereotype. Oliver (the LI) came across as a little blander in comparison. I couldn't *quite* feel the chemistry in the romance. That being said, both Nora and Oliver's desire to not be alone was a major pinch point, so I definitely believed they'd cling to each other in that way.

I'm of two minds about the plot as a whole. My main criticism of the plot and the writing in general was it's REPETITIVENESS. The same thoughts and worries were circled around again and again, frequently with almost identical wording, and it got a little tedious. And the twist ending (which I won't spoil) sort of fell flat for me? I think because it all felt too easy, when I craved something darker and twistier and bittersweet. However, the strength of the writing kept me devouring page after page, and even if the images were repetitive, I loved them so ... I can forgive any plot holes. Also I adored the intermittent chapters about the Walkers! Such beautiful magic <3

Overall, a solidly enjoyable read, especially for fans of dark, atmospheric contemporary fantasy. 4/5

Holy smokes!
As usual Shea Earnshaw is killing the writing game.
Her books are a breath of fresh air and never fail to disappoint, winterwood is no exception.
It’s a thrilling and enticing tale with a delicious spin on YA fantasy.

I can not wait to see what she does next