Edgewood by Kristen Ciccarelli

Full feature for this title will be posted at: @cattleboobooks on Instagram!

You guys have no idea how excited I was when I got this eARC by @kristenciccarelli from @netgalley the other day. Ever since the cover reveal I’ve been in love with it and let me tell you it did not disappoint.

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[“ 𝕋𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕥𝕚𝕞𝕖 𝕨𝕙𝕖𝕟 𝕙𝕖 𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕡𝕡𝕖𝕕 𝕥𝕠𝕨𝕒𝕣𝕕𝕤 𝕙𝕖𝕣, 𝕤𝕙𝕖 𝕕𝕚𝕕𝕟’𝕥 𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕡 𝕓𝕒𝕔𝕜. ℍ𝕖 𝕕𝕚𝕕𝕟’𝕥 𝕥𝕠𝕦𝕔𝕙 𝕙𝕖𝕣, 𝕓𝕦𝕥 𝕙𝕖 𝕤𝕥𝕠𝕠𝕕 𝕤𝕠 𝕔𝕝𝕠𝕤𝕖, 𝕙𝕖 𝕞𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥 𝕒𝕤 𝕨𝕖𝕝𝕝 𝕓𝕖 𝕥𝕠𝕦𝕔𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕙𝕖𝕣. 𝕊𝕙𝕖 𝕔𝕠𝕦𝕝𝕕 𝕤𝕞𝕖𝕝𝕝 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕨𝕠𝕠𝕕𝕤 𝕠𝕟 𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕤𝕜𝕚𝕟. ℂ𝕠𝕦𝕝𝕕 𝕗𝕖𝕖𝕝 𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕨𝕒𝕣𝕞𝕥𝕙 𝕤𝕖𝕖𝕡𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕚𝕟𝕥𝕠 𝕙𝕖𝕣.”]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

The world Kristen has built is beautiful and magnificent, I fell in love with the first sentence.

The way emeline grows into herself throughout the book blew me away. She just wants her dream come true but she also has to save the one person she loves more than anything her Pa, but in doing so everything turns upside down.

She learns secrets about herself and her family, she handles it so beautifully. Now enter Hawthorne the brooding henchmen to the fae king, and their uncontrollable feelings for one another .

These two of easily weaseled their way into my heart in to my top couples, they have pieces that remind me of Morpheus and Alyssa; you guys know how much that means to me.

The writing is just beautiful, the plot was fun and engaging. The side characters had me laughing and crying, please pick this book up when it comes out.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Edgewood by Kristen Ciccarelli is a dark contemporary YA fantasy with woodsy, fae-like themes. The protagonist is 19 year-old Emeline, an aspiring singer who hears the woods calling to her when she sings. The coolest part of this book was Emeline's power of singing, which functioned a bit like a darker The LIttle Mermaid. She's forced to confront her magical powers when her grandfather is spirited away one day. Local legends say that he has been "tithed" to the Wood King, and she heads into Edgewood to find him. Will she be able to rescue her grandfather from the Wood King, or will she be forced to serve in the Wood King's Court forever?

Here is an excerpt from Chapter 1 that introduces Emeline's magic to us:

"Emeline gritted her teeth, ignoring it. From her perch on the wooden stool beneath the white lights, she continued to croon into the mic, picking the strings of her ukulele, telling herself she didn’t care if the ale in the bar taps turned to mucky creek water tonight, or if the cash in the register transformed into crisp golden maple keys. She didn’t care if those spongy green clumps currently sprouting up between the floorboards were, in fact, forest moss.
She needed to stay focused.
She needed to not screw this up.
Emeline couldn’t give the representatives from Daybreak Records—sitting at the back of this crowded pub—any inkling that freaky things happened when she sang. Nope. Tonight, she was Emeline Lark, folk singer with a pop vibe. Rising star with foot-stomping melodies and a breathy, warbling voice.
Nothing freaky to see here at all."

Overall, Edgewood is an exquisite contemporary YA fantasy that combines magic, action, and romance. Emeline's quest was full of terror, and there were several surprising twists and turns near the end of the book that had me gasping. I really enjoyed reading this book, particularly at night-time, as the plot seemed particularly dream-like. This book would appeal to fans of woodsy, creepy books like House of Hollow and For the Wolf. If you're intrigued by the excerpt above, or if you're a fan of YA fantasy books, you won't regret checking out this book when it comes out in January!

I'd never even heard of this author before I decided to give this book a try and I can honestly say that I was not disappointed! I really enjoyed sitting through this story- it's one of those cant-put-it-downers!

I was not sure about this book but I am so glad I decided to give it a try. I really enjoyed where the author took the story and the main characters were great! I will keep a lookout for this author again.

Emeline has grown knowing about the mysteries of the Woods (she grew up in Edgewood as a child), she doesn’t quite believe all the tall tales however. The Woods are said to hold secrets and magic. Her grandfather disappears and she knows in order to get him back she has to go looking in the Woods. She realizes then that maybe she was foolish to not believe and finds herself getting caught in the middle. She reconnects with a brooding but irresistible blacksmith from her past to help her on her journey.
Kristen Ciccarelli has an amazing way of captivating and sharing her world building. Theres such a beautiful magic to the Woods that you just want to escape and get lost there yourself. Its the all in one perfect compilation for me. You have your magic, fantasy and mystery, but you also have romance. You will not want to put this book down.