A contemporary read that follows a group of kids dealing with their grief following the mysterious drowning of their friend that leans more to the journey one makes to overcome such a loss and less about the forest that has the power to take it from you. 

“We were Restless Things” sees Jonas in a new town and living in the shadow of the boy who was recently found dead in the woods behind his house. When his pseudo step sister brings him out to the lake hidden within the trees strange things start to unfold inviting more than just these two back into the embrace of a force that has no desire to let them leave. 

I came into this looking for a creepy sort of read that saw this menacing presence lurking in the woods that could kill those who ventured too far and unfortunately this was not that book. Instead we have an almost year in the life type book that follows those closest to Link and how the manage to deal with the fallout of his death and the guild they all share for not doing something to prevent the inevitable. 

When we did get to the more fantasy elements it was interesting and something I really wish we would have gotten more of but sadly they only face this sort of oddity a couple of times before the big “showdown” which is more sad than it is scary and I never really understood why it was happening despite the little insights we did get but that’s something I’d have to explain at a later date as to avoid spoilers. 

My biggest issue was the dynamics between Jonas and Noemi on the surface they were fine but the whole idea of practically being step siblings was never going to work for me and once she had a very personal conversation with him about her desires vs his I though okay maybe this will be it and we can move on because it’s almost immediately brought up again with another character who I felt handled it better but then we went right back to Jonas and it just felt gross to me and maybe I’m in the minority but I think it’s too weird to support. 

Overall this isn’t a bad book but it definitely isn’t what the synopsis makes it out to be so if you’re looking for a thriller or dark fantasy you’ll be a little disappointed but if you don’t mind a taste of both with a spin of the steps of grief this will work great.  

**special thanks to the publishers and netgalley for providing an arc in exchange for a fair and honest review**

I tried several times to start this novel, but just couldn’t seem to get myself enthralled in it. I did not care about the characters. And it seemed too little of a far fetched to be believable. I regret that I had to put it down because I just could not get into the story.

Haunting and breathtaking, We Were Restless Things is a murder mystery wrapped in a YA book wrapped in a noir horror novel. When a young man drowns inexplicably on dry land, the young Noemi and Jonas struggle to make sense of the tragedy and uncover what really happened. Throw in a secret mystical lake, a budding friendship, and a town with too many secrets and you've got yourself a real banger of a novel! I loved the sympathetic characters, the horror-esque setting, and way (no spoilers!) everything finally came together. I highly recommend this novel to those who enjoy murder mysteries with a fantasy-edge. 

Thank you to Netgalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

Amazing! This was my first from this author and they blew me away. Captivating story that draws you in.