No matter how I tried, I could not get through the first quarter of this book. I will try again down the road, but the narration styles were just a bit too simplistic for me, although I did enjoy the multiple perspectives. I also found myself irritated by just how much the author continually invoked some version of the title in the prose- it felt a bit children’s book-y on the nose. I.e. “But the woods are dark….,” “Who knew what was in the woods”, etc. I bet this one would be much more enjoyable in audio format because the tone was dramatic in a way which would lend itself well to recording.

This book turned out really well! There were short lulls where the town was redundantly described as small, takes care of their own, etc. but overall, I really enjoyed the premise.

After 5 years a woman travels back to her hometown to take care of her mother. This small town however, has deep rooted secrets. A child has just been reported missing and is the most recent in a string of missing and murdered children throughout decades.

This is thriller laced with superstitions and past ghosts. Definitely recommend!

I love stories set in the Appalachian Mountains, and I love thrillers, so this was the perfect read for me.

Cheyenne left her hometown of Blue City, Virginia to get away from her eccentric mother, Constance is sort of a local crazy/shaman type character. She has always warned Cheyenne about the evil that lurks in the woods nearby. But when Cheyenne learns that her mother needs her, she returns.

It turns out there is a good reason to think that there is evil in the woods, it’s where children go missing. Five years ago, three children went missing and now another child is missing.

A not-too-creepy atmospheric thriller. Plenty of old-fashioned superstitions.

I enjoyed the setting and there were plenty of twists and turns that kept me guessing.

I wanted this book to work for me so badly, but unfortunately the writing style just wasn’t for me, I couldn’t get into it. The premise is that we are following a small town in the mountains, we learn about how life works for these people in this close knit group, etc. But Cheyenne & Natalie are not prepared for the horror that awaits them. Years ago, three children were found murdered and a man was convicted of those crimes. But another child goes missing and this digs up the fears of the past again. The two friends must take a closer look at what is really going on.

Thank you to Netgalley & the publisher for my early copy!

🎧Audiobook Review🎧
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Summary: Cheyenne Ashby knows the dark and disturbing history of her hometown of Blue Cliff, Virginia, all too well. It’s why she left. Growing up deep within the woods with her eccentric mother, Constance, she was raised on the unusual customs and generational superstitions linked to the local legend of an evil entity that haunts the forest.

Five years ago, the bodies of three children were found in the woods. It was a man—not a mythical beast—named Jasper Clinton who was convicted of these heinous crimes. For five years the town breathed just a bit easier with a real-life monster behind bars.

But when another child goes missing, Cheyenne and Natalie are determined to discover the truth and uncover the town’s dangerous secrets rooted in its terrifying past.

The two women must confront the reality of the superstitions they always believed in and their town’s complicated connection with who—or what—lives in the woods.
*
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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My thoughts: thank you so much @penguinrandomhouse and @netgalley for advanced copy of this audio book! It was my first fiction one and definitely will not be my last! I loved this story; it was a fun mystery with supernatural elements. It reminded me of the whisper man by Alex north, it was just so creepy! Perfect setting and the writing was so engaging. I was hooked immediately 😍definitely cannot recommend this one enough it released earlier this month! Cheyenne was such an Interesting main character and the town was just so creepy. This one will give you full body chills!
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QOTD- how was you weekend ?!? Mine went by so so fast !!
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#thewoodsarewaiting #katherinegreen #bookreview #bookrecommendation #bookstagram #booksofinstagram #booksofig #bibliophile #bookobsessed #bookaesthetic #bookish #booknerd #bookworm #bookwormsunite

I received an audio arc of this book and will be leaving my full review there.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

The Woods Are Waiting is one of those Southern gothics drenched in history, folklore, and blood. Cheyenne Ashby is an Ashby, a member of a family whose potions, spells, and sacrifices have protected Blue Cliff, a small town in the Appalachian mountains. Their home is outside of town in the center of a forest that seems so real I almost write “forest who…” The forest is a malevolent and haunting presence in the town and in everyone’s nightmares, for generation after generation of Blue Cliff children have been taken and murdered there.

Cheyenne was called back to town by the local sheriff who keeps an eye on her mother who seems to be deteriorating. She left five years earlier after three children were murdered in the forest as had happened generation after generation. When she left the town, she left her best friend Natalie and her lover Jack, who understandably are a bit untrusting of her resolve to stick around this time.

And it’s understandable because another child is missing and the man convicted of murdering those children five years ago has been released, exonerated by DNA evidence. If he’s innocent, then the killer is still among them.



The Woods Are Waiting is a good Gothic mystery. There are strong elements of the supernatural that can be as easily explained as human action, so there is always this uncertainty. Cheyenne seems to believe whatever happens, it’s by human agency, but even she wonders from time to time. The writing is lushly descriptive and the woods succeed in become a presence that is more than their physical being.

The weakest element is the characters. They are pretty flat and Natalie is downright inexplicable, engaged to the repugnant Hunter, I cannot conceive how that woman tolerated that arrogant and cruel man for 5 minutes, let alone years. The class distinctions are so rigid and seem completely foreign. I grew up in a small town, there are not enough people to be as class exclusionary as Hunter’s and Natalie’s parents are. No matter what, Natalie seemed to have enough character and judgment that her engagement to Hunter has no credibility. And of course, why would Hunter be engaged to a woman he thought was worth so little?

Still, the mystery was engrossing. I was disappointed that the resolution and discovery of the truth was mainly of the DC-villain variety with the evil villain narrating their obsession from start to finish. I also think Cheyenne and Natalie did not live up to heroine status in the end, crying and hoping for external salvation in the end. But what really brought the book down the most in my opinion was the last sentence. It is such a tired trope. It is the horror story analog of a rim shot. Ba-dum-tiss.

I received an e-galley of The Woods Are Waiting from the publisher through NetGalley.

The Woods Are Waiting at Crooked Lane Books | Penguin Random House
Katherine Greene author site

The Woods Are Waiting follows Cheyenne Ashby as she returns home to small town Blue Ridge, VA after leaving abruptly five years before. Her mother, an eccentric woman who lives right at the edge of the forest, has been spiraling and the local police chief believes Cheyenne is the only one who can get her back under control.

Blue Ridge has a disturbing history - children go missing and turn up dead, with dirt in their shoes and silver coins in their pockets. The town is steeped in strange traditions and beliefs in “the old ways”, as well as terrified by The Hickory Man - a monster straight out of legends who some believe is responsible for the dead children. When Cheyenne left town, a man had just been arrested for the most recent child murders. Now, five years later, that man’s guilt verdict has been overturned…he’s free, and another child in Blue Ridge has gone missing.

This book definitely sets a spooky atmosphere. The town is tiny and close-knit, and feels fairly separated from the rest of the world. The legend of the Hickory Man haunts the thoughts of everyone, and the woods surrounding the town just fuel the fear. The author plays with the question of whether or not what’s happening to the children is the result of something supernatural, or simply the act of humans.

Unfortunately, the book was super predictable. I figured out what was going on really early in, which is unusual for me…the writing just made it so obvious. The characters also had essentially no personality. What has Cheyenne been doing for five years? Does she have a job? How old is she? Does she have friends outside of this town? What does she like? At one point another character says Cheyenne is the strongest person she knows…how? Why?! I am leaving the book unable to tell you anything about her. Also Cheyenne and her best friend described each other in such sapphic longing, I am devastated that that appeared to be unintentional; Cheyenne ends the books back with her (male) high school sweetheart.

Lastly, the motivations fueling the ending just really didn’t make sense for me. I didn’t find any of it very believable, and at times it seemed a bit over the top.

I think the author thrives at setting up a creepy atmosphere, and just getting to experience that kept me entertained despite my other critiques. I am compelled enough to try other books by this author in the future.

this had a really promising start but unfortunately fell flat for me. I was loving the spooky, is it paranormal or is it not? vibes but they ended pretty quickly and I found the book just lost all momentum.

The Woods Are Waiting is quite the slow burn, but unfortunately for me it fizzled out. While I don’t mind slow pacing here and there, this one took almost the entirety of the book to get going but I need something to work with in the meantime. I’m really picky about character development and dialogue and I just felt like the characters were all the same and the dialogue was so overly dramatized to be “southern” (the overuse of ma/pa was grating) that it drove me nuts. Another reason the pacing didn’t work for me was that it was so slow that you’re able to figure out who it is pretty early on. I don’t mind when I figure it out, but I would like to figure it out right before it’s revealed and not have to read through more in order to confirm it. Anyways, I think the idea of the story was good, but the dialogue and pacing was a bit tough for me. For most it most likely wouldn’t be an issue and would probably be a great read to head you into spooky season.

The Woods are Waiting is a Great read with an interesting twist. I could really visualize the characters

The Woods are Waiting

This was really immersive and grabbed you from the start. I wasn’t exactly sure where it was all going at first.

But there was one situation that caught my eye or should I say ear since I listened to the audio that told me what was going on. I can’t say too much without giving away part of the plot. So there was a small detail that was shown and if you payed close attention in the beginning then you knew who was the killer.

Anyways it was good but somewhat unbelievable in the sense that the FBI was involved but couldn’t figure it out. Clearly they didn’t look too closely into the deaths of these children.

It was super creepy so good thriller vibes with that and I’ll admit I was a bit spooked from listening.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

𝘼 𝙙𝙖𝙧𝙠 𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙘𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙙𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙘𝙪𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙢𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙖 𝙨𝙢𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙩𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘼𝙥𝙥𝙖𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙖𝙣 𝙈𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙨.

This was such a creepy and dark story, with a super eerie atmosphere. There was a nursery rhyme that creeped me out, but I honestly enjoyed this book a lot more than I was expecting to.

This is more of a slow-burn mystery, but I loved that it took place in the Appalachian mountains. I do feel like this is the perfect spooky to read near Halloween/fall, also, that cover just gives off those vibes.

I will say, this book definitely got dark and disturbing. Children going missing so it’s a bit tough reading about what happened to them. I listened to the audiobook while reading the digital version and oh man, I had to put the book down a few times because I felt so uncomfortable with the topic.

There were quite a few characters introduced, it did get confusing at times remembering who was who. However, after a while, it gets much easier to familiarize who was who.

The woods were definitely spooky, and I liked the way these characters were developed. The Hickory Man gave me chills! While I did predict part of the ending, I still really enjoyed it. There were a few questions I had that weren’t answered, but overall, I really enjoyed this book!

Thank you so much NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the eARC and Dreamscape Media for the ALC in exchange for my honest review!

What a fun book! I loved the voodoo style witchcraft that the MCs mom practiced in order to protect the town. I am fascinated by the Appalachian culture, and the stories from the people who live there. I definitely believe that there’s more going on in those woods than meets the eye. Some things just can’t be explained, and there can be pure evil lurking.

The atmospheric imagery was fantastic. I loved all of the main characters but the mother was my favorite. She was quirky, everyone thought she was crazy, and she was the only one I truly believed.

I very much enjoyed this book and will be recommending it to my fellow thriller readers. I will absolutely read more by this author.

I did not LOVE the twist at the very end- maybe because I was hoping for more of a supernatural element or maybe a little bit more detail as to why the kids were being murdered in the woods.

The Woods Are Waiting is a tale straight out of Appalachian lore. This book draws you in and keeps you there until the very end. The characters are well written and blend together to move the story along perfectly. The lore that is told in this title will have you on the edge of your seat wanting to know what is going to happen next. The twists were great and unpredictable. There is action, a bit of horror, a tiny smidge of romance and a hefty amount of 'OMG" moments. I really enjoyed this title and look forward to reading more by this author.

This debut novel by co-authors under the name of Katherine Green, was a very good read. The thriller/chiller aspect of the storyline is enough to keep the reader wondering what is going on in Blue Cliff Virginia. Main character Cheyenne Ashby returns to her hometown when town sheriff and life-long friend calls to tell her that her mom, Constance, really needs her - as another child has disappeared and Constance is spiraling out of control as history repeats itself. As the back-stories of the Ashby family and Blue Cliff play along with the developing storyline, we also meet Cheyenne's childhood friends Natalie and Jack. The three awkwardly reunite but soon find they are once again drawn into memories of growing up together, but also frightening memories that place them all in peril. I loved that from the get-go there are several characters that the reader focuses on that "could be" the much-feared woods-dwelling "Hickory Man", and the authors did a great job of putting twists in just the right places to keep the mystery until the final chapters. Enjoyed also chapters being written as either Cheyenne or Natalie - which allowed the story to be developed through all the pertinent characters. Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the opportunity to read and review this advance reader copy. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. #NetGalley #TheWoodsareWaiting

The Woods Are Waiting is a solid debut. It is a fairly simplistic story, but was easy to understand and I enjoyed the overall tone of Greene's writing. To be honest, I'm not sure how long the story and characters will stick in my mind, but I would absolutely pick up future work from this author.

In this story we're following two women, Cheyenne and Natalie. They were childhood best friends, but after Cheyenne moved away suddenly, they lost touch. Both born and raised in Blue Cliff, Virginia, the women are well versed in the local town lore and superstitions.

Cheyenne, who was raised in the mountains by her single-eccentric mother, in part fled the town to be done with all that stuff. She couldn't take it anymore. When a child disappears in Blue Cliff though, Cheyenne receives a call that the event has put her mother in a tailspin and she needs to return home.

The missing boy is all too reminiscent of the three children who were kidnapped and murdered five years before. A man named Jasper went to jail for those killings, but was recently released on a technicality, now another boy is gone.

Nat never left Blue Cliff and she's surprised when Cheyenne returns. Will the two women being able to repair their relationship long enough to figure out this new disappearance before it's too late?

As mentioned above, I particularly enjoyed the feel of this. Set in a small town in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, this narrative had a sort of Hillbilly Noir quality to it that I have enjoyed previously in Crime Fiction books such as The Familiar Dark and Out of the Ashes.

It was gritty and I enjoyed all the local lore that the main plot points revolved around. The characters as well were easy to follow, learn about and were mostly likable.

There's a lot of drama in the town and I think Cheyenne is fairly quickly reminded about why she left. I also tend to love the trope of someone returning to their hometown after many years and investigating some sort of mystery, so this one checked that box as well.

I didn't really enjoy the pace though. By the time I got to the 50%-point, I still felt like nothing happened. Not like in a slow-burn sort of way either, more in a hum-drum, there's no action-way. I think maybe the construction of the story was just slightly too simplistic, so it didn't really have a chance to build any good suspense, in my opinion. Because of this, I also don't feel this story is particularly memorable.

With this being said, this is a debut and I do think it is a great effort. I will definitely pick up whatever this author chooses to write next. I think there is a lot of potential here for growth and I am happy to go along for the ride.

Thank you to the publisher, Crooked Lane Books, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I'm looking forward to seeing where Greene's work goes from here.

I really enjoyed this creepy, atmospheric thriller! I love the authors writing style. It was hard for me to put this book down. This book will be perfect to read in the fall of the year. I recommend it for any thriller lover!

This book is sooooo creepy !!!! I loved it 🖤

The concept itself isn't super original. Gave me Jennifer McMahon & Shirley Jackson vibes.
Regardless though this book was so weird & creepy & just so much that I couldn't wait to read the whole thing I guessed what was going on but it still didn't take away from anything. I love a spooky read . 💀🖤

Thank u #Netgalley for this read .
Instead of Christmas in July I'm feeling October in July 🙃

Children in the town of Blue Cliff, nestled in the Appalachian Mountains, know to be wary of the woods, lest The Hickory Man take them. The tales go back over 100 years. Cheyenne Ashby's family helped found the town, but she left abruptly 5 years ago after a trio of children were taken and killed. Now, another boy has disappeared and Cheyenne is beckoned home to take care of her eccentric and superstitious mother, not eager to face the darkness she thought she had left behind. A modern gothic suspense that, for reasons I can't quite put my finger on, never quite hit the right tone to have me "on the edge of my seat". I did like the main characters, and there are enough clues and red herrings to keep you not quite sure what would happen until the end.