Had a good time with this book. I loved Jenny’s very specific and unique “voice” throughout the book. The imagery/descriptions also felt lush and easy to visualize. I think the best parts of the book were the interactions between characters and Jenny’s personality (curious, a little eccentric, and witty). I loved the folklore inspiration, as always.

A fun, low stakes time!

I ended up soft dnfing this book. It's not a bad book by any means but it just wasn't capturing my attention at this time. When I read the synopsis, I was so excited to read it but every time I put it down, I didn't ever want to pick it back up to finish it.
The story is about a woman who teams up with a greenteeth (basically a river monster) after she's thrown in the river for being a suspected witch by her small town to find out why she was accused and to get her family back.
I want to get back to this book at some point because it's not poorly written by any means. It's just not the book for me right now.

I loved the found family aspect of this story and that it was done from Jenny’s point of view. I didn’t know it’d have Arthurian legend on it, but it was a nice surprise and actually was done very well. While I didn’t really care too much about Temperance and her goals, there was enough other good stuff here to keep me interested throughout.

Note: ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The fist 25% of this book had me hooked, Jenny Greenteeth had such a strong voice and I loved her character. As the story progressed, I just wasn't invested in the main quest... I thought the villain was strong, but I just didn't really care if Temperance made it back to her family and saved the village. And I feel like this plot point overshadowed the relationship between Jenny, Temperance and Brackus. I was expecting this to have more of a found family vibe, but it really just felt like Temperance was using the other two. I also feel like this was such a missed opportunity to have an older female lead. I think this story would have been a lot more interesting if Temperance was an old spinster midwife that the village turned on rather than a young mother. I would have felt more invested in the village elder trying to save her village and along the way finding her own family amongst the fae monsters. Jenny and Brackus' relationship was so much fun, and I just found myself not caring for Temperance as the plot went on (especially the scene were they were attacked). When she was finally united with her family I didn't really feel anything at all. I did enjoy the writing though, and would read another book from this author in the future.

Hidden in Britain’s fading magical countryside, Jenny Greenteeth bides her time caring for her lake and its denizens and remembering happier times with her daughter. When a human witch is cast into her lake’s depths, Jenny’s intervention casts wider ripples into the worlds of both human and fae, revealing an evil menace that threatens the future of both. As a Jenny Greenteeth, Jenny is far from human. Proudly so. Yet, as Jenny makes difficult choices: to reach out for help, to be vulnerable, and to push herself to do hard and uncomfortable things, Jenny opens herself to caring again and to remembering a past that gives her the power to change the future. Jenny’s ability to adapt is inspiration to the human among us and may be the most magical part of O’Neill’s stunning debut. As a lucky early reader, I cannot wait to share this daring adventure full of heart and heartache, studded with characters that will stay with you long after the quest’s end.

Thanks to Orbit Books & NetGalley for providing a copy for review!

As someone who normally isn't into Arthurian inspired fantasy (although I enjoy giving it a shot), Greenteeth stands out above the rest. It subverts expectations of what an "Arthurian" tale is even supposed to be. The settings and main characters of Jenny and Temperance were a joy to read about. And the twist at the end was well executed; if you'd been reading carefully, you probably would've already figured it out. However, what worked for me was how it tied up some loose threads. Speaking of the end, the last few chapters had me hooked; I couldn't put the book down.

Unfortunately, not everything about the book was a winner. Too often it seemed as though the book didn't know what it wanted to be: a book of lush descriptions? a comedy with heartwarming touches? a coming of age-esque story? The tone wasn't consistent throughout and would often change seemingly on a whim. The two main characters were great, but everyone else might as well have been faceless extras with a single personality trait. I understand that it's told through Jenny's POV, but that doesn't mean minor and tertiary characters (like Brackus, who is in the majority of the book) can't be more fleshed out. And finally, the deus ex machina that happened in the third task. All of the tasks ended up being glossed over compared to how difficult they were claimed to be, really. But the third task was the most egregious with how it was completed.

Did I like this book? Yes. It wasn't perfect, but it kept me reading and had some great moments.

Thank you to Orbit Books for an eARC of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Greenteeth is an adventurous fantasy story about found family, resilience, and strength. Jenny Greenteeth is content to live alone, maintaining her beloved lake, until Temperance, the witch of the local town, is thrown in by a group of angry townspeople. After saving Temperance, they embark on an action packed quest to save their town, Chipping Appleby, from a dark presence.

Unfortunately, this book just didn’t work for me. I couldn’t connect to characters or the plot at all, which meant I didn’t care about the action. I liked the conversations around Temperance and Jenny connecting despite being so different, but I didn’t find the loyalty and trust of their friendship believable. I love a cozy fantasy read, but I honestly wish this book committed to the darker aspects and went full spooky as those were parts that kept me hooked. I appreciated O’Neill’s love for British folklore, which really came through in her writing. Despite not enjoying it as much as I hoped to, I would still recommend this book to anyone looking for an adventurous fantasy with rich lore.

This was a lovely story that unfortunately got bogged down in poor writing. Toward the beginning of the book, in particular, the dialogue was stilted and overly expository, and paragraphs were filled with sentences all of the same structure.

However, if you're able to overlook these syntax issues, you'll find a story that is full of heart. Jenny, Temperance, and the hobgoblin Brackus set out on an adventure that crisscrosses the British Isles and Fae country, learning much about love along the way. If you want found family, British folklore, and Arthurian legend, this is the book for you!

And the end of the book moves from a magical quest to a high-stakes confrontation with plenty of twists, so there really is something for everyone in this story.

This was my first 5 star read of the year. This cozy fantasy hooked me from the beginning and the writing style had me seeing the story in my head with Studio Ghibli vibes.

While the middle did lag just a bit, it redeemed itself with some character growth in two of the characters and had a strong ending, so I find I don’t feel the need to remove stars for it. I would have liked a bit more from Brackus in the story, as I enjoyed his interactions with Jenny and Temperance, but that is a minor quibble.

In all, this was a wonderful debut for Molly O’Neill, with many myths and legends woven in from various countries the characters visited on their quest. The interwoven stories were well done and added to the story without being jarring.

I highly recommend Greenteeth to fantasy readers that also enjoy old myths and legends with a fresh twist.

I enjoyed the journey of this book. Jenny’s story line confused me a bit with her memory. I feel it came out of no where. Were we supposed to be just as surprised as her? Maybe I missed little glimpses along the way. Over all I love the characters especially Cavall!

This was a delightful read. It's cozy but also very interesting because it leans on a lot of English folklore, so it's a kind of historical take on a fairy tale. I was excited about it not only because the premise sounded good and it's told from the perspective of a "monster," which is unusual, but also because it says it's for fans of T. Kingfisher and they also blurbed the book. I'm an easy mark. Thankfully, this does deliver. It's not perfect, in my opinion, but it was a good time.

Basically, it's a quest adventure where, Jenny, a reclusive monster who lives in a lake, saves and joins forces with a witch, Temperance, who was thrown in said lake by her village and left to drown. The goal is to save the village from an evil influence and, to do so, they team up with a goblin and they're sent to find certain items. They meet a lot of magical/mythical creatures along the way and we see Jenny kind of find herself through this journey out of her comfort zone and the relationships she develops with the other characters.

All that said, some things prevent me from giving this higher than 3.5 stars. It loses steam somewhere in the middle (the first 30 to 40% is better than the rest, IMO), not all characters are as interesting as Jenny, and it doesn't do anything exciting with the quest adventure story structure; they're sent to do or get something and they do or get it, very straightforward.

Also, because it's all from Jenny's perspective, the writing style is kind of matter-of-fact. She's not particularly in awe of all the magical/mystical creatures they encounter or taken by the different settings they visit. I think this would've maybe benefitted from a few chapters from Temperance's POV to add some of that charm. It still had some whimsy and humor, but not as much as I'd like from a cozy fantasy.

Where this really shines is the use of folklore. This author played with a lot of different stories and that's what made it interesting despite the issues I had with it. And I don't know many of the stories it references so, if you do, you'll enjoy this even more. Overall, a book to check out if you love quest adventures, fantasy mixed with folklore, and found family.

I read about 60% via audiobook and then did a tandem read with the audiobook and ebook for the last 40%. The narrator did a great job with this and I enjoyed the way she voiced Jenny. It's definitely a great way to consume this story!

I received an advanced reader copy of Greenteeth and want to thank NetGalley and Orbit Books for giving me the opportunity to read this novel in exchange for my honest review!
Looking for your next heartwarming, cozy read that features an unlikely trio of friends and might just make you cry? (Don’t worry, the tears are worth it in the end.) Look absolutely NO further! This brilliant debut novel by Molly O’Neill needs to be on your shelf ASAP.
Greenteeth is a whimsical fantasy novel set in New England. Jenny Greenteeth is a fae creature—a hag of the water—perfectly content with her isolation in her beautiful, tidy pond. That is, until her peace is shattered when a witch, Temperance Crump, ends up at the bottom of it. Jenny saves Temperance, and together, they embark on a grand adventure with a traveling goblin salesman, Brackus Marsh, to return Temperance safely to her husband and children in the village she was banished from.
This book is easily one of my top three debut novels of all time. I loved it so much that I almost don’t have the words to explain why—but I’ll do my best.
Greenteeth is built on a rich foundation of English folklore. While I wasn’t raised on these stories, I discovered much of the lore through reading and researching as I went. It’s clear that O’Neill has a deep understanding and love for these tales. From the fae creatures and monsters we meet to the setting itself, folklore is woven flawlessly into every aspect of the story.
The narration is vivid and utterly immersive. The world O’Neill creates drew me in completely, and I often found myself wandering the moors and highlands alongside Jenny, Temperance, and Brackus. The story unfolds much like a classic Dungeons and Dragons campaign: characters with unique motivations, witty banter, friendships forged through hardship, and epic adventures. I was hooked from the first chapter, and whenever I had to set the book down, I couldn’t stop thinking about what would happen next.
Jenny Greenteeth is a phenomenal protagonist. Her character development is deeply emotional and incredibly human, despite her monstrous nature. I saw so much of myself in Jenny, and her story moved me to tears more than once. It takes a lot for a book to make me cry, but Jenny’s journey is that powerful.
My only complaint? There aren’t more books from O’Neill yet! If there were, I’d have already bought and binged them all. That’s not even a real complaint—it’s just me saying I’ll be eagerly waiting for whatever she writes next.
Once again, thank you to Molly O’Neill, NetGalley, and Orbit Books for allowing me to read this incredible ARC!

I was so excited to dive into this book--I love fantasy, mythology, and especially Western folklore. Unfortunately for me, this felt really slow-paced and predictable. It's a classic quest storyline where the main characters have to complete three tasks from the trixy high-fae to get a special item, and then use that item to defeat evil. At every turn, I knew what would happen, and even the twist at the end I was like.....yeah duh? lol The characters were likable-ish, but honestly, my favorite was the dog and he isn't even a main character. The setting was the best part. I loved feeling like I was journeying across the UK.

Overall, maybe if you LOVE LOVE LOVE Arthurian legends, or aren't as familiar with Western folklore, you'll like this book a lot more and be surprised by the twists and turns. It wasn't the one for me, but I'd still check out more from this author in the future.

First and foremost, I'd like to thank Netgalley and Orbit Books for allowing me to read and review this book. However, I was a bit disappointed.

Greenteeth is a cozy fantasy about the unlikely friendship between a lake monster, a witch, and a goblin. It follows their journey as they come together to defeat a malevolent being threatening their home.

With beautiful imagery of the United Kingdom and a fast-paced start, I was actually quite enjoying the story. Until I just wasn't. Can something be too cozy?

Although I loved O'Neill's writing and descriptions of the lands, I hated how bored I was during the entire thing. I didn't care much about the characters and sometimes the heart-warming remarks and stubborn quabbles between characters just made me cringe.

Now, it might just be a me-problem. I thought this book was right up the alley for someone who enjoys cozy but epic adventures and old mythical creatures and magic, maybe fans of Lord of Rings (aka not me). When the book had action, the action was captivating and I did find myself wanting to know what would happen next but I just never found myself wanting to pick up the book in the first place.

Overall, I give it a 3.4 just because I don't even think I'll remember this book a month from now.

This was the perfect book to end the year! A quick and fun adventure with characters I could hear loud and clear. I truly enjoyed the characters, especially the main character, Jenny. I was hooked right away by Jenny and her unexpected personality as a lake monster. I remember laughing, and overall, just enjoying the lighthearted adventure. There was one little part of the book that was obvious and when it came to pass I felt how it was handled was meh. I loved the use of lore! Congratulations on your debut!

Greenteeth is a story full of folklore and friendship. I liked learning about Jenny Greenteeth, a creature of mythology that I had never heard of before. This book ended up just being okay for me. I didn't dislike it, but I didn't love it either. I liked it more in the beginning but Temperance's character started to rub me the wrong way and I couldn't get past it. I really liked Jenny as a character and I enjoyed following her and Brackus was also a very fun and sweet character. They go on a lot of quests that seemingly are resolved quickly and easily for the sake of moving the story along. I can see why this bothers a lot of people. I didn't mind this so much myself but I also wouldn't have minded if those moments had been more detailed and fleshed out either. Not a bad debut, it had some really interesting moments. There are elements of Arthurian mythology but personally, they seemed a little unnecessary and the story could have still worked without that element.

Greenteeth is a cozy fantasy that follows Jenny Greenteeth (a river hag, kind of, but no one is allowed to say so) and her two companions as they go on a quest to idk defeat evil or something. I had high expectations for Greenteeth, but ultimately I had a difficult time getting through this.

First, a disclaimer: I fully admit to making incorrect assumptions about what kind of book this would be based on its cover. It’s absolutely stunning and reminds me of the covers used for Greek retellings like Madeline Miller’s Circe—books that tend to be very lyrical and singularly focused on one heroine. Greenteeth is very much not that, which I should have gathered from the description. So that’s my bad.

Another disclaimer: I am not the biggest fan of cozy fantasy. Greenteeth is a cozy fantasy. (Why did I request an ARC of this, you may ask? See my first disclaimer above.) I tried not to let things that are hallmarks of this genre (overly friendly characters, cheesy humor, low stakes, magical solutions falling into the characters’ laps…) impact my opinion. Just know that if you’re a fan of cozy fantasy, I’m sure you’ll enjoy this more than I did.

The biggest thing that kept me from connecting with Greenteeth was the writing—both the prose itself and the storytelling. The dialogue is a notable weakness. It’s extremely unnatural and full of exposition, and because much of this story is told through dialogue, it began to wear on me almost immediately. The prose itself is extremely flat and monotone, which can be fine in a lot of cases, but because this is a very straightforward narrative with no twists or turns and no real sense of mystery or urgency to drive the plot forward, I found it to be a very dull read. It does start off strong, with Jenny introducing herself as lesser fae and highlighting all the things that make her decidedly not human. She is not a murderous lake monster (which was honestly disappointing, but whatever) but she has little regard for humans or the things they care about. For example, she doesn’t eat children, but it’s not out of any particular care for them; it’s because they take too long to digest. These kinds of insights about Jenny were my favorite moments in the book, but unfortunately, while there are several in Chapter 1, they’re few and far between after that.

Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit for providing me with an e-galley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

This was absolutely magical and lovely to read. I loved the writing style, characters and story. I would highly recommend if you enjoy cosy type fantasy and I look forward to reading more from this author in the future.

Greenteeth had me hooked from the first paragraph!! I've never read a book where the MC was a "monster" before. I loved the cast of characters we got, and would read additional books about them if we ever got those. And it was so refreshing to read a book that started and finished all in one volume. We don't get a lot of stand a lone books these days and this one was absolutely perfect. The pacing never felt rushed or too slow and we got plenty of details that let me build the scene in my mind. I love this book and already know it will be on my top 2025 reads list!

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Book Review of Greenteeth by Molly O'Neill
Publication date February 25th 2025

Thank you to the author Molly O'Neill, the publisher Orbit, and NetGalley for gifting me the eARC of Greenteeth! 💚

Greenteeth is one you do not want to miss! Add it to your tbr now and go ahead a preorder a copy as well!! I already know this book will stay in my top reads of the year. It's earned that spot!

An ancient evil, three nearly impossible tasks, and an unusual group of "hero's". Our MC is Jenny. Jenny Greenteeth. That's her name and what she is. Jenny has been around for... Oh a while now. Shes watched the village near her grow and change over the years. Shes raised a daughter. She's kept her waters clean and tidy. Now something new has happened and it will make her do some reflecting.

I loved Jenny's character, I want to meet her, dangle my meet in her waters and just chat about everything she's seen in her life. To hear about her daughter, to learn everything she knows and listen to the stories she has about Chipping Appleby.

We had to main side characters as well, a Goblin named Brackus Marsh and a Human Witch named Temperance Crump. They both were well written and I maybe have a soft spot in my heart now for Brackus.

I'd never heard of a creature called Jenny Greenteeth before, but you can tell the author researched all the folklore around them and the other fae mention in this book. I loved the vibe we got from the fae and the tasks they were sent on. And the ending! I did not see that coming at all. Though when I think back on it there were lots of little crumbs that should have led me to the cake lol

If you are a fan of cozy, a fan of faerie tales, a fan of all wrapped up nicely in one book, or a fan of T Kingfisher, then you will adore this book just as much as I did!

Some have called this cozy but there are definitely higher stakes. The last quarter of the book especially. This started slow for me. I struggled with the writing approach as Jenny was thinking to herself for a while. It was a bit boring, but I’m glad I kept going. The relationship between Temperance, Jenny, and Brackus was fun and endearing. There were times when there was just too much detail and not enough movement in the plot. I skimmed a few pages and didn’t miss anything. That’s why I gave it 3 stars instead of 4.