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A review by courtney_saba
Into the Heartless Wood by Joanna Ruth Meyer
3.0
It wasn't what I thought it would be. It had so much damn potential. Overall: 3.25 stars.
It started out well. Atmospheric. Danger lurking around every corner. Fairy tale monster creatures. It reminded me of Naomi Novik's style and writing, specifically her book UPROOTED, which I adored. It also reminded me of classic fairy tales, with monstrous things, blood, and dark elements. I was hoping for a richly dense world of fairy tale creatures and an intensely forbidden romance. However, it had a lot of weak points.
Part 2 of the book felt like an entirely different story than Part 1. It felt like the author was trying to blend two stories together, without fully executing this. It felt extremely obvious that the author was directing the plot in a certain direction to try to make things work. Books need hints. Foreshadowing. These are the things that connect the threads of a story and makes sure that the reader is following along. But there was nothing in Part 1 that indicated what was going to happen in Part 2. We go from a tiny town in the woods to living in the King's palace for 2 months. Where did this come from? I wasn't invested in and I didn't care about the new characters in Part 2. They were throwaway characters ultimately because there was no hint of them in the beginning of the story. If the threads of the overall plot were tied together well, then everything would have made sense. But alas, that didn't happen. And so I was disappointed.
The worldbuilding, fairy tale aspect, and magic were extremely vague and lacking. There were telegrams and trains, and electricity was becoming more prevalent. But then it seemed like we were in this whole other world with some magical creatures thrown in alongside some modern characteristics. There were three countries, or maybe cities, ruled by Kings. That's it. That's all we know about the world. There were some throwaway lines about dryads, mermaids and mermen, and rock beings, but no explanation for why they were in this world. There were no origin stories. The magic was confusing. I didn't understand the way it worked, why it was there, and how a human could somehow learn sorcery. Overall, to have a really good story, these things have to be explained, and if they're not, it just weakens the whole story.
The climax was confusing. WTF happened? How did that happen? Things were muddled. Parts of it were entertaining, but I ultimately wanted more to be explained.
Overall, bravo to the author for creating a unique story. I enjoyed it, but the weak points really kept me back from rating this any higher. My expectations were set really high for this book, and I was eagerly anticipating it for months, but in the end, it fell below my expectations.
Would I re-read this? No.
Would I recommend this? Only if you're up for a unique story that focuses more on plot (a confusing one, mind you) with mild romantic themes.
Was I entertained? I read this in one sitting and I did tear up at the end, so yes.
Happy reading, Goodreads fiends.
It started out well. Atmospheric. Danger lurking around every corner. Fairy tale monster creatures. It reminded me of Naomi Novik's style and writing, specifically her book UPROOTED, which I adored. It also reminded me of classic fairy tales, with monstrous things, blood, and dark elements. I was hoping for a richly dense world of fairy tale creatures and an intensely forbidden romance. However, it had a lot of weak points.
Part 2 of the book felt like an entirely different story than Part 1. It felt like the author was trying to blend two stories together, without fully executing this. It felt extremely obvious that the author was directing the plot in a certain direction to try to make things work. Books need hints. Foreshadowing. These are the things that connect the threads of a story and makes sure that the reader is following along. But there was nothing in Part 1 that indicated what was going to happen in Part 2. We go from a tiny town in the woods to living in the King's palace for 2 months. Where did this come from? I wasn't invested in and I didn't care about the new characters in Part 2. They were throwaway characters ultimately because there was no hint of them in the beginning of the story. If the threads of the overall plot were tied together well, then everything would have made sense. But alas, that didn't happen. And so I was disappointed.
The worldbuilding, fairy tale aspect, and magic were extremely vague and lacking. There were telegrams and trains, and electricity was becoming more prevalent. But then it seemed like we were in this whole other world with some magical creatures thrown in alongside some modern characteristics. There were three countries, or maybe cities, ruled by Kings. That's it. That's all we know about the world. There were some throwaway lines about dryads, mermaids and mermen, and rock beings, but no explanation for why they were in this world. There were no origin stories. The magic was confusing. I didn't understand the way it worked, why it was there, and how a human could somehow learn sorcery. Overall, to have a really good story, these things have to be explained, and if they're not, it just weakens the whole story.
The climax was confusing. WTF happened? How did that happen? Things were muddled. Parts of it were entertaining, but I ultimately wanted more to be explained.
Overall, bravo to the author for creating a unique story. I enjoyed it, but the weak points really kept me back from rating this any higher. My expectations were set really high for this book, and I was eagerly anticipating it for months, but in the end, it fell below my expectations.
Would I re-read this? No.
Would I recommend this? Only if you're up for a unique story that focuses more on plot (a confusing one, mind you) with mild romantic themes.
Was I entertained? I read this in one sitting and I did tear up at the end, so yes.
Happy reading, Goodreads fiends.