The writing of this one was quite beautiful, and I had high hopes for it when I went in - the set-up was quite good, and the premise sounded right up my alley. But it just wasn't to be. I'm aware that this may be me 'reading into things' a little too much, but the descriptions of one of the main types of attacking creatures sounded incredibly fat-phobic - I mean, I reread these descriptions a couple of times and it really just sounded like a humanoid who was fat, but described in a really awful way.

Add to that the idea of someone who has lost their memory not being 'whole', and I was kind of done. It didn't take much for me to decide to put this one down - honestly the plot seemed a bit wishy-washy, and I didn't find I cared enough for the characters to stick around - so it's a low rating from me.

The synopsis of this and the cover made me assume this was more than just a romance but it was just a romance with a “devil” type boyfriend character. It has very little plot, and I have to have plot to balance out romance. If you aren’t a plot driven reader and love romance with dark characters, like Luc from Addie Larue, then you’ll like this book.

I am a sucker for Beauty and the Beast retellings! I'm also a big fan of Holmberg's other work, so I was eager to read this story. It did not disappoint! I immediately fell in love with Enna and Maekallus, and it's really their story that kept me quickly turning pages. Enna is a wonderful heroine, and I really enjoyed that the story is told through her perspective. She is fierce and brave and just a really interesting character. Maekallus is complicated and broody at times, and I wasn't sure that I really liked him, but I was won over in the end. 

If I had any criticism, it would be that the world-building is lackluster at times. There are plenty of magical creatures around, but I didn't feel like I got a good mental picture of what they looked like. Ultimately, it's not a story that is primarily focused on world-building (the character building is much better!), but it's such an interesting world that I would have liked to experience more of it somehow. 

All in all, I really enjoyed it! I'm sure that I will re-read it again sometime soon. 

A big thank you to Charlie N. Holmberg, 47North, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and honestly review this book!

I loved the story of Enna & Maekallus.  Enna has always worn a protection stone & feared the mystings.  When one tries to kill her to get her stone, she teams up with Maekallus.  He agrees to help her for the price of a kiss, which gives him a piece of her soul.  Now they must figure out how they can both survive.

DNF at the two-thirds point.

This is a perfectly ok quiet fantasy romance with interesting worldbuilding, but I just found that I wasn't in to it. The writing style kind of bugged me, and I found the protagonist to be a little Mary Sue-ish in the tradition of Jane Eyre. I also didn't connect with the structure of the novel - it seemed like nothing really happened except Enna running back and forth between her house and the clearing where the love interest character (who I didn't feel was fleshed out enough to be interesting. Smirking isn't a personality.) was trapped for a large portion of the story.

Just didn't work for me, but might for other fans of fantasy romance.

A whimsical and enchanting tale reminiscent of Beauty and the Beast.  Enna lives at the edge of the wildwood with her father, always on alert for mystings – monsters that enter the human realm to wreak havoc.  When Enna gets tangled up with mystings searching for her magic stone, Maekallus enters the scene to help her – but he can’t stay in the human realm for long before it starts to have negative effects. 

Enna is courageous, a bit feisty, smart, and so loving towards her father.  Her development through the story is a bit backwards, as she loses a bit of her soul with her kiss, but she never loses her determination.  It was a little frustrating at times to be trapped in her head.  Her thoughts tend to be a bit redundant.  No matter the challenge, Enna faces it with bravery and compassion.  

Maekallus was my favorite character.  A mysting with no soul, his development is particularly interesting because with Enna’s kiss, he gains a piece of her soul.  The reader is allowed little glimpses into his past as the soul takes root.  Whitty and cunning, Maekallus will do anything to break the spell.  

There are a number of other, smaller characters we are introduced to throughout the story, but I feel like none of them really got enough backstory.  Enna’s father deserves a whole book of his own.  I would love to see his backstory – falling in love with Enna’s mother, the war, and how he came in possession of the enchanted stone.. it sounds like an epic tale!  This would also give us some much needed backstory about the mysting and human war, and the mysting leader, Scroud.  

The writing is what really pulled me into this story.  It’s beautifully enchanting, and the way the story unfolds kept me interested – even when there wasn’t quite enough dialogue for my liking.  I will say, I was expecting the ending to be different.  I don’t want to spoil anything, but it feels like it builds and builds to a point, and then it didn’t quite deliver what I was hoping for.

Another fairy tale retelling, this one was mediocre.  If you love Beauty & the Beast, retellings, and romance, then you'll enjoy this.  If that isn't your thing, it will just be "eh".

I really enjoy Charlie N. Holmberg's works and was very excited to read this one.

I found myself losing interest in the story and after 100 pages came to the conclusion that this was not the book for me.

A kiss for assistance. One of the oldest tropes. But here it worked. I might have swooned a little. I will check out her other work.

The book was a bit too slow for me.  I honestly and tragically had a hard time getting into it.  After a few attempts to get past the first 75 pages, I had to let it go.

I enjoyed reading several aspects of this book! The pacing was wonderful, characters were well drawn, and the reading experience on the whole was delightful.

I really enjoyed this book. I felt like this is a "typical Charlie Holmberg novel." To me, this means it has a sweet romance, elements of magic or fantasy (often includind some kind of quest), and a happy ending. I will say this book actually tricked me in who has going to be Enna's love interest but I like the way it all turned out. It is very quickly moving and as I neared the end, I wondered if the story would be wrapped up in one book. The relationship between Enna and Maekallus was satisfying and exactly why I love Holmberg's books. I read this shortly after finishing the Numina series and I will admit that many of the creatures from this story kinda sorta seemed like leftover Numina beasts, but that is the only negative thing I can say about this book. If you are a fan of Charlie Holmberg and familiar with her other novels, I would rate this one above Veins of Gold, but below the Numina and Paper Magician series. I would put it about equal with The Fifth Doll and a little below Followed by Frost.

Thank you Netgalley and publisher for approving my request to read this book.

I am a big fan of fantasy and I like to explore different fantasy worlds. This book has a complex world system which I loved reading. The characters were well written and overall i was hooked from the first chapter. I love Enna and her thirst for knowledge. Overall, it's a perfect read.

Thank you Netgalley for sending me a complementary arc of this book. in exchange for an honest review. 

Enna, a human girl lives with her father in a house near the wildwoods, where mystings roam free. All her life she has been told not to trust a mysting but when oneday she is attacked by one, in desperation she strikes a dangerous deal with another mysting. Maekallus is devilish prankster who can steal a soul with a kiss.  While trying to fulfill his end of bargain, Maekallus gets stuck in the mortal realm that starts to eat him alive. In her endeavour to save his life and her own, Enna agrees to kiss him. But with every kiss, Enna loses a bit of herself while Maekallus gains bits of humanity that stirs feelings in him for the first time in a long time. 

This book was such a quick read. I picked this book up randomly one day with very vague idea of the synopsis and I was fairly surprised by how much I loved it. I really enjoyed the world building and the writing. Enna and Maekallus's relationship was very beautiful and heartwarming. The ending was a little anticlimactic but I was not bothered much by it.

***Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review***

I did not enjoy this as much as I thought I would.

I've read some of Charlie Holmberg's other books and was intrigued by Enna and this new world. 
I loved the idea of the 'mystings' living in a parallel world and seeping across into Enna's, and enjoyed the complexities of their magic system - the fact that mystings/humans suffer for being present in the other's world makes sense to me, and I prefer magic systems with logical consequences. The development of Enna and Maekallus' relationship was well paced and believable, it didn't feel rushed or inconceivable, and the same was true of Maekallus' character development.
Overall it was a really enjoyable read and, while it's currently a standalone, I wouldn't be disappointed if we saw more books in this world!

I requested this book by NetGalley & received a free copy. I regret that this took me so long to finish, but I had to savor it, it was a comfort to me in times of COVID-19. It's a rare book, if I had to liken it to others perhaps something like "The Near Witch" or "The Hob's Bargain" there's the girl in the woods who's between wisewoman and witch. She just wants to live in the woods in peace, but trouble finds her, has a history with her or her family or town, and she goes and seeks out a different kind of trouble of her own to bring to heel what troubles her. Such a book is a rare treat, hard to describe, and I think has a unique if folklore feel. I enjoyed it thoroughly, and I hope someday there will be a sequel to The Will and the Wild.

So, I absolutely adored Charlie Holmberg’s Paper Magician, but this novel has blown my mind. Barely larger than a novella, my heart hurts but is also so happy and I’m currently a flailing sobbing mess because HOW DARE YOU. Going in I was dubious about the hype but seriously what kind of person does that to someone else.

Let me break it down for you. Enna is a woman who is simply looking out for her father whose physical and mental health are degrading every day. She sells mushrooms at the local market to make a meagre living and lives outside the town so as to keep her privacy intact. When she has a bad encounter with a mysting, she takes the opportunity to call upon one of their own for help. Enter Maekallus the trickster mysting who just wants to satiate his appetite with the souls of human and then return to his home, away from the perils of the mortal realm. But when his deal goes wrong and he is tethered to a world that will kill him, he will do anything to defy fate and survive to trick another maiden.

Ok. Here's the thing. This thing is definitely a fantasy but its also a romance of sorts while also being SO MANY OTHER THINGS and I just cant deal. It’s a tale of intrigue and trickery but also compassion and lost love and a story of how far one will go to protect the ones they love from the evils in the world. Now one could read so much into this novel and how it draws religious parallels but honestly, I’m not doing that because I really don’t care – I just loved the damn narrative.

Now Enna spends most of her time either in the village, the forest, or at her home. There's really not a lot of actual locations involved but Holmberg works her magic and manages to build a world of epic proportions and beauty. When rain falls, the reader can hear its thunderous roar. You can smell the damp earth upon which Enna and Maekallus tread. It’s expert worldbuilding at its best and no one can make me change my mind.

The narrative itself on the surface seems a simple one but is in fact so complex it will drag you in and fail to let go. The highs are invigorating, the lows causing you to feel emotions you didn’t realise you had. And the whole thing is just so sweet but also super evil at the same time (I know this sounds like an oxymoron but it’s a thing and just read the book).

I think my favourite character throughout would have to be Enna’s father. He has fought in a great war and is slowly losing his faculties. But he is also so protective of his daughter and worried for her safety. Throughout the entire 2 hours that I spent reading this beautiful work of fiction, I found myself mentally swatting at anyone who even dared to THINK about hurting Enna’s squishy precious of a parent. Imagine Chris Crocker with the yellow backdrop circa 2007 ugly crying about the worlds treatment of his favourite idol. That’s me with Enna’s dad…

I seem to be now at that point where I’m rambling because I have feelings and why you do this to me? I will sum up by saying the narrative was amazing and drew me in. There is magic, monsters and mayhem which will take you on an emotional rollercoaster ride than spans the length of 270 pages but definitely felt more grandiose. There’s strong women, nasty demons and a squishy old man who has paid his debt to society. Also, its better than Paper Magician which is a super hard book to beat. I feel like this probably in the top 5 things I have read this year and that’s a long list.

I think the world that the author has created is unique and captivating, and that the characters were developed in a way that was suitable for the short length of the book. Beauty and the Beast is one of my favourite fairytales, so reading this adaption was a fun way to spend an afternoon, though I do think it would have been interesting to have a few more side characters involved as it felt as though the two main characters were the only people we read about,

This book was amazing! I really enjoyed the development of the characters. Especially Maekalluss, he was an amazing character. 
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read this book!