I had a nice time reading this book, even though it wasn’t exactly what I had expected.
I particularly enjoyed the first half of the story, with the call of the forest and the creepy premise, the autumn vibes. I loved the fact that the main character felt drawn to the forest and her relationship with her horse, her closeness with nature was something that was very nicely conveyed.
The romance part, however, felt very artificial to me. Even though my curiosity was piqued at first, the second half of the book reads more like a middle grade than a young adult story. Their relationship felt too forced and I could not get invested in this part of the story. Laura and Brell’s reactions and decisions could have been made by a 12 year old instead of high-schoolers and the dialogues never really felt authentic to me.
Although I really wanted to love this book, it was not all the beginning of the story promised and left me a bit disappointed. This book would probably be enjoyed by young teenagers, so you should not go into this read expecting a young adult book, which I think is one of the reasons I felt a little let down.

An interesting concept, I just wish it had more depth. I’m a huge young adult fan, but this seemed to be written more for school age. Very simple plot, and characters that you read and forget.

DNF-
Super unrealistic/dated dialogue, first three chapters just didn't catch my attention. Parent-child relationship was just annoying with the banter and mutual disrespect.

I have to admit that I had trouble staying in the story. I didn't really connect with the characters until about 75% of the way through. It's an interesting take on a story done a million times. Girl meets boy. Boy falls for girl. Girl is the 'chosen one'. I will read the next one if I come across it.

I struggled and DNF this one. I felt this was unpolished. The MC was very un relatable and read more like a child than a teen. I just couldn't get into this one.

I received this book for free for an honest review from netgalley #netgalley

Wonderful world building and stand Out characters.

An electronic review copy was provided by NetGalley for an honest review.
This book is more appropriate for middle school instead of high school The character is 17, but acts and speaks a lot younger. The romantic relationship between Brell and Laura seemed forced and rushed. I wanted to love this book but it just wasnt what i expected.

I had a hard time getting into this book and finishing it. The story and the relationships felt very rushed and although it was written for teens, it felt very pre-teen so it was hard to connect with Laura specifically.

I think if the author directs it towards more middle school aged readers, she might have better results.

I thought the world building was probably the best though!

Engaging urban fantasy tying parallel worlds together, discovering hidden magic, and finding a bit of romance on the way. Hope this is the beginning of a series - would love to see these characters continue.

An electronic review copy was provided by NetGalley for an honest review.

I struggled with 'The Grove'.

It was fast-paced, contained significant world-building, tied characters together subtly and had sound reasoning for the progression of the plot. It just felt like it was written more for pre-teens than for young adults.

It reminded me of Julia Kagawa's 'Iron Fey' series and Stephanie Meyer's 'Twilight' series - a hidden world, a teenage girl feels something missing in her life, a great destiny awaits, and nothing will ever be the same again.

Unfortunately, I think I have outgrown the stories I loved a decade ago and struggled to feel part of the story of 'The Grove'.

While Thompson created a realistic home life for Laura, split parents, lots of complaining about cheating ex-husbands, a self-sacrificing Mother and an indulgent uncle - that realism didn't extend out beyond the limits of the house.

The school dialogue felt forced with stereotypical means girls and a dorky boy thrown in to fill the gaps. A teacher who believes in the supernatural and doesn't kick up a fuss about a visible disturbed teenager hiding in his classroom or jumping out a window.

I might not be a teenager anymore, but I still find some of the dialogue feels off, as though the slang has been used incorrectly, and it takes me out of the story. Admittedly, I could just be super uncool or might be missing the nuances of the US, but sometimes the conversations between teenagers felt forced.

I also found every conversation with Brell frustrating. He spends two minutes at a time with her, promises to reveal more next time and yet the romance develops in leaps and bounds. It's hard to enjoy a book when one of the main characters feels two dimensional.

The main reason I struggled with enjoying the book as a whole was the story being unfinished - I hate this trend of developing a story and plan and leaving you hanging in the first book of a series. Personally, the best series have a fully developed first book that could stand alone like Suzanne Collins' 'Hunger Games' or they develop the storyline in more depth so you know where the second book will go like J.R.R Tolkien's 'Fellowship of the Ring'.

There is no opportunity for the storyline to mature, for characters to develop or to be truly drawn into the story. I feel like my rating for this story could be a star or two higher if I was able to read it with the rest of the series.

It feels like the beginning of something but more like I read the first three chapters of a manuscript than the first book in a series.

Thanks to the publisher for providing an eARC of The Grove in exchange for an honest review.

I feel so bad because I think a lot of heart genuinely went into this, but this reads like a debut. The writing (and especially the dialogue) is really stilted and unrealistic but the biggest issue for me was probably Laura herself. Though it's very quickly established she's 17 and in high school, she consistently reads like a 12 year old. This honestly might have worked as an MG book (especially with 1 or 2 more rounds of editing but stilted unrealistic dialogue already gets by better in MG anyways) but it doesn't as YA.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

⭐⭐

I don't like leaving negative reviews for books, but I just could not get into the story. The romantic relationship between Brell and Laura seemed forced and rushed. There was no buildup or background and was reminiscent of instalove...though only on Brell's end. We know nothing of what Brell is or where he comes from, but it becomes a very integral part of the story. Laura was a written as a 17 year old, but she comes off as a lot younger. The dialogue is stilted and awkward and her stream of consciousness is very wishy washy.

I wish I had a different review to give this book, but I did not enjoy it. I am a bit older than the targeted audience, however, even as a teen I would not have enjoyed reading this book.

Laura moved with his mother after the divorce of her parents. They're now living at a small town close to the woods. It seems to be a little bored living with a bad connection to internet and the phone. Bit the woods keep their own magic and secrets, so Laura very soon will meet Brell, a Landaffen, a kind of elves loving in the forests.
So,this story has started very nice, with cozy Autumn vibes, and I was so excited to keep on reading. The story seems to be so similar to Twilight, but here we have elves and an old prophecy. The book is very fast paced, so you won't get bored. But, maybe it's because I'm 31 years old, that this book seems to me very childish. Don't get me wrong, it's cute, bit for the age 15-18. It was veeery sweet, and veeery lovely. And, of course, the instant-love, that I've "love" so much.
The characters are nice bolded too, and in general, it's a cute story. But not for my age. If I would be 15, maybe I would love it. The book is very fast read. You will fly across the pages. And the cover is stunning 😍.
A huge thanks to Netgalley and the publisher to give the opportunity to read this book.

This was a interesting enough book. I was intrigued about the shadow person and wolf. The way she described the woods made it sound like a beautiful place to be.
The story wasn't bad either. This is definitely for the younger teen. Just by the way this is written. I did find myself at times confused and never got answers for some of my questions. That was the only negative comment I have about this. It does start abruptly. However, I think it worked for this story.

The start of this novel was a little abrupt for me, I felt like I was missing a chapter or two. The story was interesting and the characters were lovable. I am curious how the story continues in the second book. However, this is not a book that I would rush out to get or recommend. The quick romance was explained but still felt forced, the whole book needed to be a bit longer and detailed.

I did not finish the book. I stopped at 47% because I was not interested and have many other books to read and review. I am giving this book three stars because I think it has great potential if it were adapted for middle school instead of high school. The main character does not read as 17 at all and the dialogue among all characters seemed forced.

Cover: gorgeous. Description: intriguing. Execution: Meh. It felt like a a weird Twilight sort of mix with no real plot/pacing even for an intro book. This would have served better as a novella.

Also, pls start letting female characters have friend, esp female friendships bc it's a huge gaping hole. And what was the point of Todd? The entire backstory was confusing. There's nothing truly ominous (in this entry anyway) of the woods. I hope the author expands the world building, gets her some friends and a personality of her own and unlocks some mysteries.