Cover Image: Edgewood

Edgewood

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Member Reviews

Emeline Lark lives by a forest shrouded by folklore and tall tales but she has no patience for these things. Until her grandfather disappears leaving a strange orb in his place she has to make some tough decisions whether to believe or not.

This was a sweet book. With romance and adventure both. I loved the author and look forward to reading her works again. I would give this book a 5 out of 5 stars.

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Beautifully written with a narrator that truly brought the characters to life. The character dynamics are painful yet dreamy at the same time. I would love to explore this world a bit deeper with a sequel.

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Masterpiece. I knew it would be a five star read before I was 60% though. It is the perfect blend of romance and fantasy, with amazing world building. unique and enchanting characters, and many unpredictable twists.
I want more, I want to read it again for the first time, I want to be apart of this world. It has been a long time since I’ve felt this way about a book.

If you are looking for that one book that is going to immerse you into an enchanted wood, curses, and fantastical creatures I can't recommend Edgewood enough. Plus the cover is absolutely stunning.

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Up-and-coming musician Emeline Lark delays joining her first ever tour when her grandfather goes missing, thought to have been tithed to the terrible fae Wood King. Losing her only family is unbearable and Emeline is determined to save him, no matter what. This story has a decidedly gothic feel, with the forest hunting after Emeline for years before the inciting events but amping up the horrors when the book gets going.


What follows is a surprising, romantic, creepy adventure with plants growing where they shouldn't, a mysterious boy and his scary horse, a forgotten past and a possibly deadly destiny. While at times I found some of the flora to be a little much (not quite as bad as Mexican Gothic), the creep factor was just right. Themes of family, found family, sacrifice, humanity vs. the entertainment industry and what we're willing to do for love made this a solid read and the music aspects were unexpected and lovely at times.
Audio note: Caitlin Kelly is still not my favorite narrator, but I enjoyed the story enough to mostly ignore the inflection issues I have.

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This one wasn’t for me. I just couldn’t get into it. I’m sure there will be people that love this.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the advanced reader copy. This is my honest review.

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2.5

DNF @ 40%

Unfortunately I got incredibly bored! The world was enchanting and I really wanted to connect with Emeline and her dreams to be a singer but it to my taste it totally lacked tension and conflict so I had a very hard time caring and staying engaged

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I have enjoyed this authors books in the past, so I was really excited to see what they could do with a standalone novel and I was not disappointed. I really enjoyed the worldbuilding of this book and how you were immersed in the setting of both the real world and Edgewood. This book had some crazy twists that I did not see coming and some of the plot points that it slowly built up to were fantastic. I listened to an advanced audiobook for this and it was really good. I love how the narrator captured all the characters in different ways and made it seem like it was one than one person reading the book. Overall, thoroughly enjoyed and will be reading more from this author in the future.

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The woods have always called to Emeline Lark, no matter how much she tries to ignore it. But when her grandfather disappears, the forest maybe the only way to get him back. Edgewood is about secrets and the passed we may not truly understand until we have left our hometown and become adults. The worlds building was atmospheric and surrounds the reader. The forest is dual sided and makes the quests Emiline goes through heroic and dangerous. The interaction between Emeline and Hawthorne are tense, causing friction that builds for the final release. Emeline is a flawed protagonist and through out her character arc is built upon.

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Emeline Lark, a budding musician about to go on her first tour, has a secret. She ran from home and every time she sings….the forest comes for her….but no one else sees it beside her. One night after a performance, she receives a phone call alerting her of the disappearance of her grandfather. Rumor has it he has been tithed to the wood king. Emeline returns to Edgewood not believing in the fae but determined to find her grandfather. Not only does she discover him at the wood kings court, but she is forced to make choices she can never escape from. The fae are slowly returning to their original forms, the trees are dying, the king is losing his mind, the Vile has cursed everyone, and Emeline discovers more than she ever knew she was missing.

This was a fun fae read!

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*received for free from netgalley for honest review* Longer than i thought but overall good. Not something i would reread but i would recommend it.

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No matter how far she runs, the forest of Edgewood always comes for Emeline Lark. The scent of damp earth curls into her nose when she sings and moss creeps across the stage. It’s as if the woods of her childhood, shrouded in folklore and tall tales, are trying to reclaim her. But Emeline has no patience for silly superstitions. When her grandfather disappears, leaving only a mysterious orb in his wake, the stories Emeline has always scoffed at suddenly seem less foolish. She enters the forest she has spent years trying to escape, only to have Hawthorne Fell, a handsome and brooding tithe collector, try to dissuade her from searching. Refusing to be deterred, Emeline finds herself drawn to the court of the fabled Wood King himself. She makes a deal―her voice for her grandfather’s freedom.

I loved the creepy, fae world of Edgewood! Kristen Ciccarelli has created a world I think most fans of fae YA will love. I enjoyed the fact that music played such a large role in this book as well. I'll admit that I saw one of the big reveals coming from miles away, but I thought the story was really intriguing overall. I wasn't a huge fan of the romance but I did like the romantic interest as a character. Although this book is marketed as YA, it's more New Adult. Some parts of Edgewood worked better for me than others, but I'm glad I read this one. Thank you to @wednesdaybooks for providing me with an ARC! Edgewood is available now.

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I gave this story 4.5 stars. I actually wasn't expecting to like it, I am very hit or miss when it comes to fae stories. But this book. This. damn. book. Sucked me in so hard. I think I read the entire story in about 4 or 5 hours. My husband had to check to make sure I was okay because I hadn't moved from the couch and it had been a while since a book did that to me.

My goodreads review is literally, "Okay, but did you really have to break my heart with that ending, Kristen?!"

So yeah, this book hit me for some reason.

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Was not my favourite. Too slow of a progression, uninteresting characters, low stakes, and confusing worldbuilding. I REALLY tried to make myself like this but found the writing extremely remedial and the narrator of the audio book exemplified that.

1.5/5

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The cover of this book definitely drew my attention and then the story just pulled me along. Emeline was a great character whose struggles and successes were well developed and easy to relate to. Secondary characters were a little flat, but still enjoyable. The fantasy throughout this story is very intricate and thought out, yet not too complicated. I really enjoyed this tale and look forward to reading more from Ciccarelli soon!
The narration of this audiobook was neutral for me. I wasn’t put off by the voice, yet it wasn’t me favorite either.

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They say you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but in this case the cover is the one thing that drew me to this book. The cover is absolutely stunning and I love it. Now when it comes to the story, I found the plot and world building to just be okay. It’s not awful, but it also isn’t the best story I’ve read in YA. I found it to be kind of simple and wasn’t fully drawn into the story.

While I did not fall in love with this book, I do think that it is a story others could still enjoy.

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This book got me out a reading slump so quick - a sweet YA fantasy that has absolutely lyrical writing. This story follows Emmeline Lark, who grew up by a magical forest. She dreams of nothing but becoming a famous singer, and sets out to make her dreams come true - however, the woods follow her everywhere she goes. When her grandfather goes missing, she is called back deep into the woods to find him, and finds that the woods are now cursed....

This story and audiobook were absolutely fantastic. I enjoyed it so much.

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If you're over the age of 30, Edgewood will give you all the feels for YA books you grew up reading. The cover first attracted me to this book, the dress with flowers that look like they could be real. The world-building is incredible and makes me wish there was more magic in the real world, especially in my own garden.

Emiline Clark is connected to nature more than most people. She feels the earth, and when she sings, nature responds. Emiline's beautiful voice is her ticket out of Edgewood; she's ready to grow up and make her own way. But after her grandfather's disappearance, a mysterious orb appears, and she's off on a new adventure. Enter hunk in the forest.

I received an advanced copy of the audiobook from Netgalley in exchange for this review. The narrator was pleasant to listen to, and the pace was enjoyable. Romance, enchantment, nature, and a unique storyline make this a fun fantasy listen.

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I absolutely could not get into this book. I feel like the magic was a little convoluted and I just couldn't get into the story. I think others will like it, it just wasn't for me.

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4.5/5 Stars

This urban fantasy by author Kristen Ciccarelli was hauntingly beautiful and has become one of my favourite books.

Aspiring musciain Emeline Lark has left her childhood home of Edgewood, full of folklore and tales of the fabled Wood King, to pursue a singing career in the big city of Montreal. Unfortunately, whenever Emeline sings, moss, bugs, and scents of the woods appears reminding her that she can't truly leave her home behind.

When she gets a call letting her know that her grandfather has disappeared, she quickly makes her way to Edgewood to help find him. As much as Emeline tries to deny it, the signs suggests that her grandfather was taken as a tithe to the Wood King.

What follows is an adventure into the woods where creatures of the folk tales that Emiline grew up hearing turn out to be true.

I loved Emeline, I loved the side characters, Edgewood and the Woods themselves. I love the sweet and swoon-worthy, and a little heath breaking, romance that was in this story. I loved all the twists and turns of this story.

Audio book review: the narrator, Caitlin Kelly, of this book was an excellent choice! Her voice was perfect for the mood of the story. It was easy to tell the different characters from once another from the voices she did. I listened to this book in one day because I couldn't put it down. I listened at a speed of x2 and was still able to understand and follow along.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio, NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the audio ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

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The narration was good, I was able to speed it up to 2.0 and still understand everything and I could tell the different characters apart when the narrator spoke.

This was another great book from Kristen Ciccarelli. I loved the twists and turns throughout the story. Every time you think you have it figured out, you are wrong. I mean Hawthorne, come on, did not see that coming (not really a spoiler but you will understand this statement when it happens).

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