Clumsy explication and shallow character development ruined what I expected to be an interesting foray into fantasy. Sorry, I only managed to slog through about half of the book, hoping in vain it would get better.

This book reminded me of many Twilight-era young adult paranormal romances. It has many of the same trends, such as a mysterious boy showing up that somehow knows more about her than anyone else. A fmc with untapped powers.

This book is quite Cheesey. These golems were created from the earth, and had no idea they were earth golems, but they all have names such as Clay, Brick, Terra, Gaia, and Adam. Come onnnnn lol

I think this book could be entertaining for the 13-14 age range, but this book ultimately did nothing really than making golems the paranormal creature rather than fae, vampires, or werewolves.

This is the kind of book I would of loved reading in my middle/high school days.

Terra thinks she is a regular high school girl but some to find out she is not. A boy turns up and breaks the news that she's a golem created by a warlock.

The first third of the book is a bit slow, It took too many pages describing how Terra is a normal girl.. But once the plot has been set up the story really picks up the pace. I couldn't have guessed the endings, but I really enjoyed how everything got tied together for a satisfying conclusion. I got to where I wanted to see the kids wanted the best for them.

NetGallery

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this book. I really enjoyed the read.

It was a truly enjoyable book and I do not hesitate to recommend.

Take the plunge!

Thank you NetGalley! 4.5⭐️ Loved this original book that proves that preconceived notions of a group of individuals is not always what’s expected. Terra Slater is ready for her senior year in high school until a new handsome guy named Thorne is assigned to her to help him navigate the school. Things take a strange turn when he reveals he’s a magical bounty hunter and is after a sweet older man in town and that she and many others in town are actually “creatures “ called golems. A unique story that deserves recognition. Highly recommend!

I'm not sure why this book is published so I'm really curious to see how it does. It reads as a kids book not a YA.
It's too much of a wanna be Mary Sue who lacks basic interrogation skills and has zero sense of self. Not for me.

4/5

Woven From Clay is an absolute delight—a magical blend of adventure, suspense, and a slow-burn romance that had me hooked from the start. Terra, a high-achieving high school senior, discovers that magic is real and that Thorne, a golem sent to kill her, is anything but what he seems.

What sets this book apart is the depth of its characters. Terra is more than just the “perfect” student—she’s an anxious perfectionist with a past that shapes who she is. Watching her grow and unlock hidden strengths, not just in magic but in her own self-confidence, was deeply satisfying. Thorne, too, evolves from a tool of the magical world to a fully realized character, and his dynamic with Terra is full of tension and heart.

The magic system is refreshingly unique, and while the plot is fun and full of action, it’s the character development that really stands out. The secondary characters are a bit one-dimensional, but that didn’t take away from the story’s charm. The ending ties things up nicely, but leaves room for more, and I’d love to see where the story goes next.

If you enjoy YA fantasy with strong characters and a twist on traditional tropes, Woven From Clay is a must-read.

Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for the ARC!

WOW! Woven From Clay is one of the most unique YA fantasy novels I’ve read in quite some time. Birch’s characters are believable and lovable. Her writing is descriptive, and her setting comes to life beautifully as her characters explore their small town. I pick up Woven From Clay and could not stop reading it until I knew what happened to Terra Slater. I feel like a small piece of her now lives in my heart. Absolutely beautiful book, kudos to Birch for her talent and hard work! Much like one of her beloved characters, it’s clear that Birch was built for this, not only to create immersive stories, but to contribute good to the world through her writing.

I really enjoyed the magic system in Woven From Clay, but I wished the replenishment aspect involved more than just eating excessive amounts of food. Thorne and Terra’s initial relationship didn’t work for me—I understood Thorne’s aggressiveness early on, but Terra’s reactions felt off. She tolerated almost everything he said or did, and the prolonged miscommunication between them became frustrating.

On the other hand, I think Terra and Brick’s relationship will resonate well with younger readers. I also wish we had an alternate POV from Willow at the end—it would have made for a fantastic cliffhanger and a strong setup for a sequel. Jett was an excellent antagonist, but I hated how she faced no real consequences for her actions.

Overall, I think this book is a great introduction to fantasy for young YA readers!

Thank you St. Martins Press for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Rating 3.5 (rounded up)
I’d sum it up as talking a pottery class where the teacher repeats and over-explains everything. It’s for those with a short attention span and the tendency to accidentally skip ahead to the dialogue (i.e. me).

The very first aspect I noticed with this book was that the writing is not winning any awards unless a bribe occurs. Though that would have boosted my rating up a star, it’s not necessary for me to enjoy the book. I can understand the way it was written correlating with the fact that this is a young adult novel. The characters themselves are not yet mature. Still, it was noted as I can be very picky when it comes to dialogue.

The plot saved this book on multiple occasions. As mentioned previously, dialogue holds a lot of value for me in a book, and while this book didn’t necessarily have the worst or best dialogue, any words from the characters were situational. So, the situation they’re put in really put some spackle in the gaps. A human-ish being created from mud by a supposedly evil wizard who is being hunted down by a coven? Sure, hand it over. I stayed up late into the night reading because of how easy it was to follow, considering Terra was learning along with us, the reader’s. In many situations I could see a Lynn Painter style scene happening (The Do-Over and Better Than the Movies). Overall, I think the plot carried a lot of this book’s weight, and I say that as a good thing.

As for the characters and their relationships, I had so much fun watching as the main characters became larger parts of each other’s lives. It was predictable, but enjoyable nonetheless. The friendships were reminiscent of the average high school experience with a jealous mean girl, who turns out to not be so mean, a best friend pining for our MC, and a friend group advising and watching from the sidelines as changes happen before their eyes. I will say, the names almost always gave away who was what in this book. I mean the main character’s name is Terra. But, it was really funny to have a character introduced and think “I know where you came from”.

I really enjoyed this story! Terra's journey really spoke to recognizing that even when you feel powerless to your circumstances, you can always find a little unexpected power within yourself-and if you nurture that, it could turn into something magical.
*
That being said, I did have a few sore spots that I felt impacted my investment into the story.

First, it felt like the story actually had a really nice pace--until it came to the really crucial plot points. Then it felt like we just rushed through the most interesting parts. For example, after getting passed the bickering, Thorne just sort of announced that Terra was magical and she believed him so quickly. There wasn't even a full day where she needed to reflect and consider what he said. It felt a little off that she'd be on board so quick. I had the exact same feeling with the conclusion of the book, where Terra finding her way back to Thorne and being accepted as the ambassador could have had more exploration and conversation.

Another thing that bothered me was how comfortable her dad was with his daughter being missing then finding her knocked out on the ground right near a stranger who's also knocked out. I understand that she explains that she hit her head and he passed out from not eating, but as a parent I feel like I would have been so much more skeptical and concerned.

I also feel like the friendship between Terra, Brick, and Kate was a little weird. They were friends since preschool, but it felt like they never understood each other's motivations or how to communicate with each other.
*
Thank you so much NetGalley for this ARC and the opportunity to give feedback!

This was a really fun YA fantasy book. The story was fast paced and well written and it kept my attention the whole time. Would highly recommend!

I've only read one or two books that deal with golem lore, and so I was excited and interested to read this one. On the whole, I enjoyed it. It's a fun, YA adventure with an interesting magic system that managed to have a pretty well-developed romance without any of the spice that somehow keeps finding its way into the YA genre. At the same time, it relied fairly heavily on some standard tropes for its plot, so I could normally figure out what was going to happen and very little of the plot was an actual surprise. That lack of surprise and unpredictability is the only reason this has a lower rating.

I think this would be a great read for newer fantasy readers, especially younger ones who fit the YA target audience. It's a good introduction to the genre, but it won't be mind-blowing for anyone who is already comfortable with YA fantasy.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for a free copy in exchange for an honest review!

This book was so gorgeously written and I was immediately sucked in. I loved the characters and the atmosphere Birch created and the book kept my attention the entire way through. Such a well done book!

"I don’t have to accept his inevitabilities. I can create my own."

Woven from Clay is a YA romantasy and is written to appeal to its target audience. Within the first few chapters Terra learns magic is real, there's a new bad boy in her classes, and he was sent to kill her. What sets Woven from Clay apart from the abundance of YA romantasy novels available these days is Birch's characterization of Terra. Yes, Terra is a high school senior in a small town, interested in the first guy who walks by that she hasn't known since kindergarten. However, Terra is also an adopted, anxious, perfectionist who is the captain of the debate team, top of her class, and pride of her school. Birch's examination of both Terra and Thorne as complex characters grounds the entirety of Woven from Clay.

First and foremost, Woven from Clay is fun. The back cover doesn't give Thorne enough justice - in the magical world, golems have no more rights than a trash can and are considered inanimate objects. Once Thorne realizes how horrifically wrong that assumption is (very early in the novel), the stage is set for Terra and Thorne to work together to prepare Terra for the coven's trials. There's a half-hearted mention of a love triangle, but this book is Terra and Thorne figuring out how to prove the entire magical world wrong. There's tension. There's silly games. There's a training montage. Terra unlocks abilities about herself that she never knew she had and continues to grow and hold as her own person. The secondary characters are fairly two dimensional, and don't get a lot of screen time, but that's okay because Birch makes sure that Terra is the star of the show.

I really appreciated watching Terra grow into herself over the course of Woven from Clay. Birch takes a moment to recognize that Terra has residual trauma from adoption and how that manifests into her being the competent person she is. The examination of the perfectionist and high-achiever tendencies, as well as how they were harming Terra, took an in-depth look at the "It Girl" in high school that I haven't seen in a while. Seeing Terra acknowledge her faults, but also work and grow into the self-confidence she needs to face and fight her own battles made me want to highlight so many quotes from the book. Terra takes her own destiny into her hands in Woven from Clay, and it's not the super powers that matter, but Terra herself.

Woven From Clay by Jennifer Birch didn’t quite live up to its potential. The story had an interesting premise, but I found myself struggling to stay engaged throughout. The pacing felt uneven, with sections that dragged on too long without adding much depth to the characters or plot.

While the writing itself is clear, it lacked the emotional resonance I was hoping for. The characters, though they had potential, never felt fully developed or relatable. Their motivations were often unclear, making it hard to connect with them on any meaningful level. The overall plot felt predictable, and I found myself anticipating the direction the story would go, which took away from the excitement.

Unfortunately, Woven From Clay didn’t leave the lasting impression I was hoping for. It has a lot of room for improvement, but ultimately, it didn’t fully deliver on its promise

Honestly, exceeded expectations and I would've ate this up as a middle school-high school kid.

The story follows a girl named Terra who, as far as she knows, is a normal (albeit, very successful, rule following, a-type) high school kid. A boy turns up and breaks the news that she's a golem created by a warlock. Ever wanted to turn into a puddle from embarrassment? WELL, Terra can!!!! Bet you've never read a book like this before! It's great! Ever had to prove your humanity to people who call you an 'it'?? Well, Terra has to!

The first third of the book is a bit slow, the set-up is a bit long, and the miscommunication trope lasts a bit too long as well. There could've been twenty less pages about how Terra is a normal girl and doesn't know anything. But once the plot has been set up, the story really picks up the pace and I was delighted to see how things went. I couldn't have guessed the endings, but I really enjoyed how everything got tied together for a satisfying conclusion. I really felt for these kids and I wanted the best for them.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC read!

This is a cute YA book surrounding magic and coming of age/growth. We meet Terra Slater who is your small town All-American girl next door. She learns that she is a golem and was crafted by a Warlock by mud and magic. This story takes us on her journey to prove her worth to a coven of Witches alongside Thorne Wilder, our esteemed tough hearted bounty hunter, to help save herself and those within her town.

Like most FMC's we watch grow into their role, we witness the same with Terra. She starts off unsure of herself and unable to see her greatness while those around her see it. We get to see her come into a strong role where she learns her worth and learns to cherish the things in her life she has often taken for granted. She comes from an adoptive background and grew up thinking she was not worth love. She often references her fears and feeling of abandonment.

I would recommend this book for a cute read in a world of magic that is outside the usual Fae and Vampire world we see most of these days.

*This book received 3 stars on my Goodreads because they refer to 3 stars as "liked it". In other review worlds I would likely give 3.5-4 stars.

2.75 Stars

The positives: I really enjoyed the world building and magic system, as it was pretty unique, and it was easy to follow the FMC’s magical journey. The story was relatively easy to get though and was mostly enjoyable.

I didn’t really care for the relationship between the two leads, especially the way Thorne treated her and talked to her when they first met. Yes, he went on a journey to change his views and see her as a person, which is the point of the book, but it I really disliked him in the beginning third of the book. At the end I also dislike the way he kept leaving her and not apologizing or really changing his behavior, when she’s expressed her fear of abandonment. I know he’s also dealing with the lies he’s believed his whole life but if they can’t properly communicate, it’s not a good foundation for a relationship.

The story started out a bit slow and I did feel the end was a little rushed. The final battle at the end and the aftermath felt like it ended and was “solved” so quickly. The ending also left me unsatisfied. I’m assuming the villain getting away and her new “job” at the end left the story open to have a sequel, but the story arcs of the main character felt completed for now and I was unsatisfied with how the villainous characters didn’t really face any consequences. Willow seemingly got away and she’s she was banished but it kinda felt like “that’s it? No other on-page consequences?” And don’t get me started on Jett. The way she mistreated the golems, especially Brick annoyed me to no end, especially when Marina was supposed to somewhat be her friend she has no qualms about her cruelty and mistreatment of the people she got to know at school. I would of loved to she her get to know Brick and change her mindset like Thorne, but she was cruel and bitter until the end. The dismissal that she was lied to by Willow, so that makes it okay for her to still have her position at the Guild and face no consequences for her mistreatment left a bitter taste in my mouth. I understand the author is trying to say that we should give people the benefit of the doubt to learn and change for the better, but unlike Quill or Thorne, Jett’s character had no actual growth or repentance to make getting away unscathed be a satisfying ending.

Thank you to Netgalley for this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Woven From Clay is a great standalone fantasy novel following a senior in high school as she navigates her newfound life as a golem and the coven trying to destroy her maker. I really enjoyed the fantasy aspect of the story. This was a fun intro to fantasy for beginners.

Thank you to the publisher for the e-copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.